Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Why does the 220 grain .30-06 load still exist?

Somebody's buying 220s, or they'd quit making them. For better or worse, wise or foolish, what we do is mostly for fun and to satisfy the need to gratify our notions. I tend to run my .30/06s, when I have them, like .308s, but if someone wants to rattle their chops at the range or slay critters large or small with pencil-length .30s, it's fine with me. No one mentioned 220gr solids, which might still have some utility in certain circumstances for some people. I'm not sure (and am too lazy to look) if those are still available. A 220gr X-bullet designed to expand a bit and then keep going might be handy for the one-gun character in some places. Mr. Phil might have a use for such a thing, and I hope he weighs in here as the resident '06 expert anyway.

Just for fun, I looked up the 220gr ELD-X bullet in the .30/06 data ftom the new Hornady manual. Started at 2550 with Superformance, with a .650 BC, it's still going over 1400fps at 1000, with over 1000 pounds of energy. Most of those may end up being fired subsonic out of Blackouts I suspect.

Answer....it’s effective! Would it be my first choice....”No”! But, for those that still prefer cup and core, it’s still effective .....as it always has been. memtb

Not sure which writer possibly Jack OConner said one of the ammo reps noticed brisk sales of the 220 grain load in Wisconsin. It turned out that there was a season where you could shoot carp with a rifle and the 220 worked the best to stun them.

Before the availability of so many great bullets African PH's would recommend the 220 grain load in the 06 and 300 H&H as an all around plains game choice up to and including Buffalo. Should still work today.

Lot of people here in PA use the 06, like the PA rem 760/7600 meatmaster.
bact in the late 70s, early 80s, 220 rem corelokts were pretty common on the shelves and people used them.
Of course 100 yd shot was a long one.

From a premium bullet stance, they look cool as hell and are fun, 220gr partitions and even 240gr woodleighs provided many hours of entertainment for me in an old Ruger Express Rifle, I should have kept that damn thing, but, like you, I never hit anything big, just a few deer with the express barrel sights.

I remember seeing a post online of someone loading 220s in the 30-06 behind some R26 and getting 2600 fps. That'd be a pretty sporty moose load for the old '06. I'd like to try it when I can get a hold of some R26.

Lots of folks seem to like stuff like .35 Whelens, .338-06 and Federal, .358, .348 etc for thumping deer and black bears. Can't see much difference between those and the 220gr load, assuming decent expansion like Partitions are known for, even at moderate velocities. JB used 200s for a good bit, I believe; how much difference can 20gr make, except maybe in recoil?

Sorry, but I just can't see how another choice is a probem, or why anyone gives a red rat's rump what anyone else uses.

I don't think another choice is a problem, I wasn't complaining, I am curious. I like and use the .35 Whelen too.

Couple of interesting things regarding 220 gr. 30 caliber bullets.

1. There was an article by the late Finn Aagaard in IIRC either Rifle or Handloader magazine where he was using 220 gr. round nose bullets while culling Whitetail Deer. Results were deer quickly killed and meat damage mostly very minor. Deer were killed at various ranges as I recall but don't remember if any were at any kind of long range. Finn was reputed to be an excellent stalker of game.

2. A few years back I did some experimentation with the Sierra 220 gr. round nose bullet in the .308 Win. using Winchester brass, WLR primer and W760 powder. I got extremely fine accuracy and a velocity of 2310 FPD average with low extreme spread. (9 FPS)

3. At the same time I was running tests of the Winchester 180 gr. Power Points in three barrel lengths. (22", 24" and 26")
The only one that came even close to Winchester's advertised velocity of 2700 FPS was from the 26" barrel of my Ruger #1B. Also interesting was that load did 2600 FPS from a commercial FN Mauser with 22" barrel giving within 15 FPS of the 180 gr. Winchester Power Point load from a 22" barreled .308. I never could find any 30-06 220 gr. ammo here in Tucson at the time of the experiments which could have been interesting as well. Would they have delivered an honest 2400 FPS as advertised or would it been closer to what I got from the .308 handload.

It is also interesting to note the that W.D.M. "Karamojo" Bell once opined that the .308 with a 220 gr. solid at 2200 to 2300 FPS might be the perfect elephant gun. I'd add "for him".
Paul B.

30/03 1895s -

i'm going to be using 220gr out of my husky on my cow elk hunt

It's normal, but many people on this board and others think only about their hunting. They do not consider that the requirements of others living elsewhere in the US, or the world for that matter, may be different. For example, if you live in a place where long shots are the norm, you would forego using a 220 gr. RN bullet in favour of something that has more reach. Conversely, there are people who have never shot farther than 100 yd at medium/large game and a round nose cup and core is just fine.

Some folks hunt completely different animals with the same calibre. The 30-06 is a great example of that. There is precious little on the planet that the 30-06 is not capable of dropping. From groundhogs to grizzlies, the 30-06 is potent medicine. To even the odds, only the bullet needs to be changed. But that doesn't mean you have to use a copper bullet, a bonded core, or a Partition. You could use a heavy cup and core bullet. Or something frangible like a VMax. Choices are great.

There is also an age divide on some boards, with hunters under 45 or so thinking that Partitions or Barnes bullets are the only bullets that can get the job done. They are victims of marketing hype. But that's fine, it's their money. Choices are great.

All of us joke at one time or another about new hunters 'needing' a copper bullet to take that deer - even if it's only 50 to 100 yd away. They are convinced that premium bullets are the only option. But I think that they haven't learned what is required to drop their game of choice. Their mind is fixed, until they get more experience. But that's okay, choices are great.

I wonder why clunky old cartridges like the 30-30, 303 British or the 45-70 have managed to survive when there are so many other, supposedly better cartridges and bullets available?

We're all lucky to have choices!

I agree about the value of choices. The opportunity to choose is a huge benefit of the free market system.

I still carry them because of these varmints.

He's on the rib cage from the bull elk we'd killed the night before.

Kobuku68, I have heard the same thing about the 220 in the 3003. It prevents or lowers the risk of damage using the shorter brass.

I also have a friend that says it was the projectile of choice 4 the 30/40 Krag?

I guess the 30 cal 250 Grainers never caught on? Not much load info on them.

Well, I felt the need to add my 2 cts worth here. One of the best things about a 30-06 is the ability to shoot ammo from 110 grs to 220 grs from the factory and with handloads an even wider range. I am not sure WW loads the 220 Silvertips anymore, if I lived closer to you I'd buy them just to experience the use of them. So for what it's worth zero your 06 with them and go forth and get that elk, moose or bears that you can hunt that the rest of us can't. And just because your buddy used them to shoot running fawns at 300 yds doesn't mean you need to be a stunt shooter too. Use them on the big stuff and tell us how they really work I'll bet you will be pleasantly surprised. The few guys I've read here that have used them do not condemn them at all. Last year I loaded some 180 & 220 grain Hornady RN's just to try them and experience them ( finding out for myself) I haven't shot anything with them yet, but they do shoot really well in my receiver sighted Remington 03 sporter. Color me optimistic about it, because I am. Don't automatically write off things with out some REAL hands on. Magnum Bob

X2 Magnum Bob is 100% right that`s the great thing about a 30-06 all the different factory grain weights ,types of bullets in a factory manufactured cartridge name another cartridge that can offer this ?

All I shoot out of my Krags and they are deadly in my Win 1895 SRC.

The .30 US Army was simply made for the 220 RN.

Shooting 220gr. Core-lokts out of my HVA LW is extremely unpleasant.