Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 30-06 is still a great cartridge

In the past, I never loaded a Barnes under 165gr. My next '06 is going to get a tryout with some 150 TTSX I have on hand. But, being the OCD tinkerer I am, I will try all I have on hand of other makes/types/weights, ha.

BC should be of little concern unless you are planning on shooting past 500 yards consistently. Accuracy and terminal performance are usually much more of a consideration. That said, I prefer the TSX or TTSX in 150 to 180gr depending on the application. I have found them to consistently provide near match grade accuracy in a number of rifles and stellar terminal ballistics.

Coyote Hunter,
My 06’ did not give me great accuracy on all partitions from 180 grain and smaller.
Groups were certainly “ok”, but weren’t great.

Then, some of the threads on the fire highly touted the accuracy of the 200 grain partition....
I tried the 200 grain spitzer, and it was dead-nutz accurate!

You might pick up 50 blems from Nosler and give it a whirl.

Cheers to you and yours!

I have three of them. But, they are all stamped 300 WSM.

You have my deepest sympathy

I love ‘em.

The 175 LRX in the good ol 06 would be a pretty good pick, if you could work up a good accurate load for said rifle. Hell, I might just do that...

Great advice. I should have picked up more than 500 the last time they were $13.45/bag!!!!!!!! Damn, now you are lucky to find them under $20/bag...

+1 for 175g barnes lrx. I have had great results with them.

Curious. What would be the difference in performance out of the 30/06 between a TTSX & LRX bullet? They sound like they are damn near identical from what I just read over on Barnes website. Maybe the LRX is just a bit more streamlined? Not sure.

My most consistently accurate loads in two ought sixes, were with Speer 150gr Hot Cor spitzers, over 57grs of IMR 4350. Shot great in a M760 I had and the US Rem 1903 sporter. That was probably 35 years ago, but at the time that bullet was fairly inexpensive and those were my primary deer rifle choices over several seasons.

Performance on whitetails was great. Loaded hundreds of them for a farmer cousin back then, no complaints from him.

I've used the '06 with a 150 driven just past 2900 fps--usually by H4895--for decades now. I've used basic Sierra, Hornady or Speer bullets along with Nosler BTs, all of which will flatten deer 30-300 yards with a good hit.

I picked up a late production Remington 7400 Synthetic and have been wringing it out. Runs fine with factory loads and the above reloads. So far it's looking like 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 for three shots cold; and that is with the old Tasco that came on it. Plenty good for a beater farm gun that just might get aperture sights anyway.

FWIW I've used something similar for quite some years: a plain vanilla 150 gn (most often a Winchester Power Point, but I've used others) at about 2900 fps. I've killed literally hundreds of pigs with it, a good number of fallow and the odd red stag, and sundry other game. It has proved very reliable. I've used other loads too, from 110 gn to 220 gn, and seen 240 gn used, but that 150 gn load is my go-to.

Supposedly the LRX opens up slightly better at lower velocities... Thus, making it a better longrange barnes option..

The LRX are more streamlined and have a higher Ballistic Coefficient as a result. Both have been very very accurate in every rifle I've tried them in. Easy load development for both as well.

I had great results this past season with 150 gr. TTSX in factory ammo. Very accurate and devastating terminal performance. I only wish Barnes had factory .30-06 in 130 gr. TTSX as they do in .308.

I was thinking the exact same thing on those 130s

Otherwise, I may have to purchase a .308 😂

nothing wrong with the 30-06. I've shot more deer with an '06 and a 270 than every other cartridge combined.

Could you define the correct power for those big game animals? It would make it easier to decide if a cartridge is overpowered or underpowered.

Well well I guess if you just go around and skull f**k everything you shoot it probably is. So go pass go get a 223 collect the ego trip and shoot a bunch of deer thru the ears or the lower jaw shot off or just tell every one it was a clean miss when in fact it wasn't. When you get asked how you missed just tell them you farted caused by all the smoke that got blowed up your ass by some one who only believes what they think to be the only answer. MB