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

My Husky's were the Lightweight versions too. And 220's were rather "sporty" out of them.

I guess these never caught on. Vintage Barnes 30 caliber 250grain.

Always wanted to try some of those 250 grain Barnes in a 30-06. Kind of puts it in of the same class as the 318 Westley Richards.

I use RN bullets in most of my mid day stalk hunting rifles. The theory is that a follow up shot may be necessary on a wounded deer running straight away. That is the theory, but I know that most any well built spire point will do just as well. I don't care....I just like RNs because 1) they work and 2) I am a nostalgic type guy!

That includes 175 gr RNs in the 7X57, 220s in my 30-40 and 30.06, 250 gr in my 9X57, and 286s in my 9.3X62. Soon I'll add 160 gr RNs in my 1903 M-S after I get through shooting all the 139 gr Norma factory rounds I got (for the brass).

Here is my newest stalking rifle. A 1917 Enfield with a Weaver 330 M8 and it is loaded with 220s.



So far, I have only finished off a wounded deer with it, but I did dispatch an armadillo. The 220 did a number on him. Note.....this picture is of the ENTRY hole from the 220....

I still load them and use them in 2 of my 30-06s and sometimes in my 300 H&H.

Bear and elk are the main targets but I have killed a few deer with them too. Those were killed when I had elk tags in my pack so I used what I had in my hands. Overall I have zero complaints. I like them.

I recovered only one in all my life. It was from an elk I killed in the Selway Wilderness in Idaho, but the bullet went through most of it's body lengthwise as it was going away from me. All other kills have left exits. I didn't weight that one I recovered, but I am going to guess it still had about 70% of it's weight.

So are they "better" then 180 and 200 grain bullets? there is no way for me to know for sure.

I always use pretty tough bullets in my 30-06s and my 300, so I usually get exits. If you have the same sized hole and it goes clear through I can't say that anything is "better" then anything else.

I only criticize bullets that don't give me exits or that veer off at odd angles when they hit fairly regularly. It's the hole that kills. 100% penetration is as good as you can get ---- and if you have that, the only thing one round can do 'better" is to give greater cavitation. (Hole diameter)

In my 50 years of experience, if you want a larger diameter hole you should go to a larger diameter (and often heavier) bullet. I have owned some VERY fast over-bore 300s and killed game with them, but I can't say any of them made bigger diameter holes then my 30-06s or my 300H&H in the elk. In fact if the bullets break up they don't do as well as a 30-06.

My father hunted his lifetime with a 30-06 and loved the 220s for elk. He shot everything from muskrats, owls and coyotes to elk and deer, cows and horses with his short Mauser. I saw some hella shots with it that defy modern rules. I checked the throat on that rifle last year and I don't think the 250 grain Barnes would reach the riflings. Though I don't know where it started. Family lore is that he bought it at monkey wards but it is a military Mauser with thumb cut, so?
I don't ever remember him shooting a fancy partition. It was old school heavy heavy for elk and I only remember green Sierra boxes in the reloading room besides the military fmj.
Makes my shoulder hurt just thinking about shooting it.

Try the 240 Woodleigh's they are buffalo approved. They expand so violently that they don't penetrate as much as the old Barnes but the BC is so high it is not an issue unless your using them on really big game. The Barnes original had an almost un-tapered jacket and sometimes were too tough. The thick jacketed version benefited from hollow pointing them for lighter game.

You guys remember Big Morty I presume? Dude on the right.



He always had good things to say about the -06 and the 220 grain Core Lokt for squill.

Cast a 250 grainer and call it a "decent close range coyote rifle"?

I've always worked up a good load with those 240 Woodleighs in the last 3 30-06s I've owned. Never got to kill anything with them, but I sure wanted to shoot a big hog. Big hogs are great "bullet testers" and much cheaper/available than big elk. Plus, a hog is pretty solid for its size, its a good medium!

Talk about sporty. When Gander Mountain first open in Texarkana my son bought a single shot Rossi there. He wanted to hunt hogs with it. We loaded a book max load with Hornady 220s. FIVE shots out of that rifle was all I could take at a time. Sporty indeed.

Was he an adult?

A max load with the 220 gr. Hornady will manage 2500 fps or a little better. With a light rifle like the Rossi, it would generate over 27 ft/lb of recoil. About the same as a middling 45-70 load with a 400 gr. bullet around 1600 fps. It gets your attention.

Not a “gun writer “ nor an expert of anything. However I’ve shot a black bear or two with a 30-06’ and 220 gr. RN. They shine in this application especially when you have some rather expensive bear hounds in tow. Not saying a 180 won’t work but a 220 sure as heck does without a doubt.

Steve
He was an adult.
He couldn't take more than 5 either.
10 shots got it zeroed to 2" @ 100 YDS.
We decided it was good enough for in the woods.
It would more than get your attention.

That’s like one of those old H&R single shot 12 Ga. 3 inch magnum shotguns. Punishment written all over it.

my husky has a muzzle break on it, i bought it that way it sure takes the sting out of those 220 and 180's it has a nasty bark on it with the light bullets

Can't say as I blame him. My 30-06 weighs a little over 8 lb. Recoil energy is about 23 ft-lb. It's about the most I care for if I am shooting a lot from the bench for an extended period.

Steve
I cant remember for sure how much it weighted
but it was less than 6 lbs. He never put a scope
on it. To say it was light is an understatement.
It was more of a mule than an H&R 12 gauge
with 3" magnums anyday. Oldest son learned he
wasnt any tougher than dad with that rifle.
Dad learned he wasnt tougher than oldest son with
that rifle also. It was reasonably accurate and I think
had enough oomph to get the job done.
Wasnt a fun rifle at all.

Those are a special kind of obnoxious when you shoot slugs out of them

I never knew he posted here. He was active on the old Marlin Talk site years back. Dude was hilarious. Always shooting "Squill" with "REMINGTON GREAN BOX". Plus hunting "annamules" and eating "HORSE MEET".