Well, here goes nothing. First-timer posting here. I actually joined this forum because I stumbled across it while I was researching the things I am going to ask about in this post. I am a classic central Minnesota whitetail hunter. All of my life I hunted whitetails with a bow, shotgun and muzzleloader. I don't pretend to know a great deal about rifles as I didn't grow up hunting with them. However, over the past couple years I've read a lot about them and tried to educate myself on the matter.
I ended up buying a Browning A-Bolt .30-06 with a Vortex 4-18X scope. I bought this setup as its a very versatile caliber, of which I can put to use here in MN for whitetails as well as use it in the future for moose and elk. And its the latter that I am going to ask my questions around. I am headed to Colorado this coming fall on an elk hunt. I will be using my .30-06 and am curious about 3 specific bullets and the ammunition that they come factory loaded in.
I have narrowed down my selections to the below for my gun. Any comments are appreciated:
1. 180 grain Nosler Accubonds - Nosler Trophy Grade (BC .507)
2. 180 grain TTSX - Barnes VOR-TX (BC .484)
3. 185 grain Berger Hunter - HSM (BC .549)
I know these are suitable, well constructed bullets for elk. My question is mostly around how important is Ballistic Coefficient in my .30-06. Knowing that my .30-06 is no 6.5 CM, I want to get the best performance out of it as possible.
If I intend on keeping my shots within 500 yards, is a high BC bullet (Berger, Accubond) as important? Will my 06 be more accurate at 300-500 yards with a BC of .549 than .484?
Lastly, I've heard that in order to get best performance out of the Berger the bullet needs to hit bone..."you need to hit the shoulder to get performance, otherwise the bullet will pencil through the body cavity and won't expand." Is this true?
I just want to make sure that since I have this opportunity to get on a hunt I've been dreaming about I have the proper bullets. Certainly I will need to see if any of these three will shoot well out of my Browning A-Bolt.
Welcome to the fire. I probably have more questions than answers. Im curious how youve "educated yourself" with a rifle in the last few years, as you state, you havent used a rifle much. To make consistent 1 shot kills at your proposed 500 yard distance, you are going to need a lot of trigger time, shooting at that distance and beyond. I have no idea what type of terrain you will be hunting in, but generally a big percentage of elk are shot inside of 100 yards. How much hunting have you actually done with your 06? The reason i ask is because shooting at an animal with the intent to cleanly put its lights out with 1 shot is different than punching paper or ringing steel. Ive seen guys fu ck up a 30 yard shot, because of lack of experience. My best advice to you is to find out which factory round shoots the best in your rifle, get it dialed in and properly zeroed and practice field positions. Practice shooting off of your pack too. I see you list the bc of those bullets, which isnt a bad thing, but its not the most important part of the equation. All of those loads will suffice, unless they dont shoot well in your rifle. Even the highest bc bullet you can find for the 06, wont save your bacon, if you or your rifle arent dialed in. That doesnt just apply to shooting longrange either. You have to be able to bring your A game at short range too. Id worry less about the bc of the bullet and make sure you and your rifle are up to the task. Dont let all the longrange gak here convince you that all of your shots are going to be from one county line to the next, because the majority of elk are shot up close. Yes, even here "out west".
