I also will praise Big Red's post and logic, but would ultimately choose whatever bullet weight proved most accurate in my ".30/06" if that was my goto rifle.
The 165 Partition is indeed no slouche, and the .30 cal 180 Pt's have proven themselves in countless elk harvests.
It was only a couple years before Finn Aaggard's death that I discovered him as a writer to Wolfe's
Rifle and Reloading magazines. I recall that once Aaggard wrote an article
that he praised VERY LIBERALLY the prowess of the .30/06 with 180 grain boollits, with its ever-present .271 SD.
That article is when I started paying [profound] attention to
sectional density, as I also recall that AAggard was [partially] commenting in that article that he'd recommended to one of his son's that
that one particular load could take ANYTHING in North America - that wasn't too inclined to eat people ......
I too have also thought about what
ONE bullet I'd use for that
ultimate one-load scenario in the '06, and also the .308 Win.
The 165iver certainly makes most sense in the .308 - for the sake of this thread. However, for example, if I was going Mtn Goat or Sheep hunting in the outback of Alaska, NWT, Yukon, BC, etc. - a good accurate .30/06 165-load could handle everything, including GRIZZ protection.
But shoot what works best in your rifle!
