Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 30-06 Ammunition Question

Is there any major disadvantage to using 150 grain bullets for elk hunting. It seems the .308 users like them but the consensus is that 165 and 180 grains are the Holy Grail for the odd6. Seeing is that they are closely related is there a disadvantage?

What type of bullet? Nosler Partition? Sierra Match? VLD? In general terms, I'd go with 180's. You'll appreciate the extra weight if you smack a shoulder blade, less than broadside shot angle, etc.

Best of luck!

155 Scenars work well on elk out of .308s.

I don't have personal experience with 155 Scenars out of a 30-06 on elk, but I don't see why they would not be effective with the extra velocity provided with the -06.

My wife and a few friends all killed their elk 2 seasons ago with Winchester 150 Gr Power Points. I was very pleased and surprised at how well they worked on elk. Breaking major bone (upper leg) on 2 elk of the 4 elk killed with them, 2 bullets didn't exit, but the recovered bullets weigh 134 and 129 grains each.
That's as good as a Nosler partition.

The heavier 180s in the tougher bullets penetrate better. In the trees an exit wound is a BIG benefit leaving a blood trail to follow. I am usually a fanatic about my rifle loads giving me exits on elk. But with that said, I still have to praise how well the standard WW 150 gr worked and how accurate they are I get sub MOA out of my 308 with them.
Bullet weight is a bit less important then bullet construction.

In my experience my daughters 257 Roberts with 115 Barnes TSX bullets out penetrates 180 grain Sierra 30 cals in 30-06, and 300 magnums. The holes are not as big around with the 257, but they go clear through, and the Sierras don't about half the time.

I have never seen a Burger get through an elk yet regardless of caliber, rifle cambering or bullet weight.

Bullet toughness is what you want to look at first and then weight.

My son killed a huge cow elk with a 308 and a 150 grain partition.

Bang flop.

It's more about bullets than weight within reason.

I shoot the 155 Secnars now, and wouldn't hesitate to shoot an elk with my 308 and that bullet over Varget.

I think there's a decided disadvantage from 300 yards and longer...

example: Looking at the ballistics of a 150 grain partition traveling at 2900fps, compared to a 200 grain partition at 2650fps tells you that the 200 grain handles long range with more energy delivered by about 25%, and will penetrate much more because of the sectional density.

No reason to shoot the small pill in my mind.

FWIW, here's a quote from Dogzapper, a guy with one or 2 elk under his belt...



FC

If memory serves, the first elk killed with the then-new 308 Winchester back in the 1950s was killed with a 150 grain Winchester factory load. Today's premium 150 grain bullets would be even better. That said, I would use a 165-168 grain premium bullet in a 30-06 or 308 for game as large as elk. The one elk I shot with a 30 caliber rifle took a 180 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw out of a 300 Weatherby Magnum. It worked just fine.

I use 180 grain bullets. No reason to fix what isn't broken.

For longer ranges, compare the impact velocity and energy from a 180 gr bullet and a 150 gr bullet. Even more so a 200 gr bullet.

I prefer a heavy for caliber bullet,as I know they will hold up at short ranges that elk are normally killed a. Of course that does not apply to most mono bullets and partitions as such.

I'm one of the stupid ones though,I like the 220 gr RN in the.06, when I know I am in for 300 +yard shots, I defer to the 180 gr partitions

Several years ago, I loaded up some Barnes 150 gr. TSX bullets for my son's '06. They went over the chronograph at 2950 fps, and sub-MOA accuracy, out of his older Savage bolt action.

On his cow elk hunt, he took a large cow at 250 yards, which ran 40 yards and dropped. Bullet was a pass-thru. Couldn't ask for better performance from a bullet from the '06, IMO.

The 150 grainers offer less recoil than the heavier 165 and 180 bullets, which can be a real advantage for recoil-sensitive shooters.

Almost any bullet will kill elk ( or moose) if they are shot broadside through the forward ribs. Things get more interesting when the shot is not so perfect.
I've twice seen 150 grain cup and core .308" bullets stopped dead by the humerus/ scapula joint when elk were angling 45° towards the hunter and were shot at the point of the shoulder at moderate range. Both those elk would have escaped and would have been lost if they hadn't been shot again while they hobbled off. One was a small calf.

I have never seen a more substantial bullet of more weight stopped dead in a similar manner, a dozen other elk and moose shot with .308/180's or other heavier / larger bullets placed similarly were quickly killed when the bullet continued through that hard bone and into the vitals. However, no bullet is a sure thing.

One bull I shot at the point of the shoulder with a .375 H&H and 260gr. NP ran off as if nothing much happened. Another quick shot to the spine dropped him. That first big, strong bullet entered the point of the shoulder, broke the joint, pulverized the scapula, and exited out the same side without ever penetrating the chest cavity. Improbable, but true.

I'd hunt elk with a .308/150 cup and core bullet if that's all I had available, but I greatly prefer something heavier and stronger.


the bull that deflected the 260 gr. NP...



and the calf that stopped the 150 grain ...

No there really isn't any problem with a 150 in the 06.
I prefer 165's in both the 06 and 308, altho there is a lot to be said for a 180 out of a 308 when hunting timber. Makes a person get a better understanding why the 30-40 Krag had such a following back in the day.

For twenty years I used 150 grain cup & core 30-06 bullets and killed a bunch of elk. But one day it took three shots in the chest at close range to drop a cow elk. She just stood there while I pumped rounds into her lungs. She was so close that I could see the hair raise and the muscles twitch each time a bullet hit her. That's not the kind of performance that I wanted so I switched to 30-06, 180 grain Nosler Partitions. That was twenty years ago and there have been no problems with that bullet.

KC

If I make this purchase i would not use cup and core bullets due to the bullet weight. I would be using something more substantial.

More substantial than what? I've never recovered a 165 gr Hornady interloc from an elk hit broadside at 250 yds and under yet, and the very few from over 250 yds was usually a lump under the hide on the far side..
"premium" bullets are all well and good but cup and core bullets were putting elk in the freezer for decades before "premiums" were invented.

I use 200 grain NPs in a 300 win mag for everything just about.

That said my daughter has now killed two elk with a .308 and 150 cup and core federals.

She broke both of this bulls front legs last November. He turned 180 degrees after the first hit. When I went to quarter him I could flop both front legs almost straight up without any cutting. He went about 40-50 yards but it was mostly stumbling/falling down a pretty steep hill. Shot distance around 240 yards.

Not a huge sample size for sure. But it's there.



I've shown this photo a couple times. The first time just to brag and now a couple times to show what some "inferior" guns and loads can do. Ok, I'm bragging now too.

For good reason.

So far I've dropped three elk with a .30-06. Two were with a 165g North Fork SS, one with a 150g Nosler AB. All three dropped at the shot.

As a matter of preference, my vote goes for the heavier 165g bullet.

This is my choice as well.