Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Your favorite 30/06 elk bullet?

Never owned a 30/06, wondering which bullet folks prefer in theirs for elk.

Thanks

Barnes 150 grain MRX Bt.

Oh, boy.....


LOTS of good ones.....

This should be interesting...

I'd start with a garden variety 180 gr. flat base Hornady Interlock, good price, good accuracy, good performance...

here we go ........ simple.. Sierra BT Game King 150gr.

180 gr nosler partition..many others, but the old standby works consistently.

180 Horn or 180 Noz along with one of the 4350's. Always worked for us and if I had to go with one load in a 06 for life this is what it'd be 4 me.

And yes I have used it and seen it used a ton..

Dober

I know I've killed more elk with a .30-06 using the 200-grain Nosler Partition than any other. However, that's mostly because when I first got serious about elk hunting, back in the late 1970's, most of my hunting was in thick timber where 100 yards was a long shot. It was handy to have a bullet that could penetrate from almost any angle, and the 200 Partition was the deepest-penetrator available. (It still ain't bad at all! I've since used it on elk from the .300 Winchester and Weatherby Magnums, and still haven't recovered one, even from mature bulls.)

But these days there are a bunch of good bullets. I'd be quite happy using either the 150- or 165-grain Barnes Tipped TSX or Nosler E-Tip, in any kind of terrain. About any 180 will also work, because even a fast .30-06 load will only give them 2800 fps or so, not enough to discombobulate cup-and-cores.

In other words, a lot of bullets will work, but only if you put them in the right place.

200 grain BBC or Nosler Partition for Elk and Moose...

Ordinary 150 grain Hornady Interlocks, since before they had a name. Over 50 elk kills among those of us using my '06 handloads. Don't need the heavier bullets or the extra recoil.

Sierra 220 gr RN

Havent used my little 06 on elk, but the 200NP load @2700 would def. do the job.

Gunner

Thanks.

My 300 Win likes 180 Accubonds, I was thinking about trying 165's in a 30/06. I've used the crap out of the regular Hornady interlocks in my 270, but the biggest thing I've shot has been a few truckloads of deer with it.

200gr Nosler Partition, 150 gr TTSX, 180 Nosler Partition, 165gr Nosler Accubond. There are sooooo many great choices out of the '06!

I'm not into using fancy designer bullets. I killed the first dozen or so elk using 150 grain Sierra GameKing BTSP and was satisfied until one day it took four in the lungs at 30 yards to kill a cow elk. I switched to 180 grain Nosler Partitions and have killed a couple dozen more using that bullet. Not sexy, but still works fine.

KC

180 Remington core locks work great

I have killed around 8 with 150 grain Hornady interlocks. Another 4 or 5 with 165 grain Nosler ballistic tips. A couple more with 150 grain MRX. One with 165 grain partitions. All worked exceptionally well in the old .30-06 work horse, except the partitions. Only had two move after the shot. One I muffed the shot on with the 150 Hornady. The other was 165 grain partition (3 good hits, just no internal trauma, pencil holes in, pencil holes out). Flinch

I've killed a bunch with the 180 grain Core-lokt that isn't supposed to work. mtmuley

I haven't found any cup and core bullets that don't work in the .30-06. Some of the premiums are too hard. Flinch

I have just killed one elk with my 30-06 and I used 150 grn Accubond but this year I will be using 180 Accubonds or Partitions....

Depends on the one that shoots the best goes with me this year.

I have only killed one Elk with the 30-06 and it was with Nosler 165 gr Partition .The Elk was a cow and she dropped in her tracks at around 100 yards.