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

Well I could find no load data so I had to wing it. This was back in the 90's so I have no idea what load I went with.

I like heavy bullets in anything including the o6, and round nose bullets, but I grew up reading Elmer, and followed his advice. I started shooting the 220 rem Coreloks in an old Enfield I cut down for my first rifle. My friend saw me shooting them and wanted to try them in his Remington pump. It didn't work out for him so well, the worst case of scope eye I ever saw, blood running down his face, looked like a hockey fight. Those things were pretty bad in the heavy old Enfield, but were brutal in his light Rem pump, I was laughing at him, so he told me to shoot it if I was so smart. I tried it, and one was enough.

Regardless, I still have a box of Hornady 7mm 154 gr. roundnose that I intend to shoot something with some day. I have never shot anything with a roundnose bullet except a 22 rim or pistol, but for some reason I just like them. Must be because I read so many articles by Elmer.

A friend of mine loaded those 154 grain round nose Hornady bullets for another hunter who didn't handload. The hunter had a 7mm Weatherby Magnum rifle and frequently went to Africa, where he used those bullets on pretty much everything. He loved them, and claimed they were the deadliest bullets ever. I saw his mounted trophies, and he had a bunch. This was some 30 years ago. Both men have gone to the happy hunting grounds. At one point my friend loaded some other bullets for the hunter's Weatherby, and he was furious.

Regarding round nose bullets, here in the Northeast Remington round nose ammo has long been a favorite. Somewhere in Jack O'Connor's work I read that he felt the 180 grain round nose Core-Lokt bullet was an excellent bullet which he had never known to fail. They are no longer sold as components, but I still have more than 100 of them salted away.

My dad was an Alaskan bush pilot, in the mid to late 1960's. He told me that the 06/220 grain combo was very common, back then. A "poor man's" 375 H&H was the way he put it. MANY moose and brown bear taken with that combination.

I have a ruger 77/30-06 that will put them dead on at 100 yards, when 165 grain accubonds are sighted 2.5" high at the same distance. I use it as a 500 yard clear cut rifle with the accubonds, then switch to 220's, when stalking timber/bedding areas here in Idaho. The leupold 6x42 with the long range duplex makes it simple, and a true "all around rifle"!

Andy#3

That, and a 303 British 215 grain load were very popular up north for many years.

I am working on loads for a book. Today I finished tweaking some 220 gr. loads for the 30-303. It's a 303 British with a 308 diameter barrel. My loads generate about 250 fps less than Remington's Express load for the 30-06. Their 220 gr. load has a MV of 2410 fps. My loads have a MV of approx. 2150 fps. I would not feel undergunned.

My best three were IMR 4064, the slow poke at 2060 fps. It is a steady performer, consistently grouping around an inch. Hodgdon Hybrid V at 2130 fps, and Ramshot Hunter at 2150 fps.


IMR 4064



Hodgdon Hybrid V



Ramshot Hunter