Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Mule Deer - .30-06 and 200 grain partition loads

I noticed that you have used this load quite a bit. I have been using this load for years, but recently went back to 180 grain partitions because of poor accuracy/velocity.

What powder/powders do you use for this combo?

SlowHand:
I noticed your post and was curious. The .30/06 is pretty good with the 180 as a general purpose weight, but I agree that 190's and 200's have merit for the heavier critters. I have dabbled with the Hornady 190 grain SPBT and got good accuracy with IMR 4350 intstantly with the milder loads. I didn't pursue it as a hunting bullet for my '06 since it wasn't recommended for anything smaller than elk at the typical '06 speeds. It needs .300 Mag. speed to act right on deer according to Hornady. As a rule you should expect the heavy bullets to go with slow powders. I would go back to the drawing board and try Reloader 22. It's pretty much the old Norma MRP reintroduced, so old data for MRP is somewhat valid. Just start low and work up.AW
P.S. I hope Mule Deer weighs in on this since the concept does intrigue me should I ever need to go beyond my current midwestern do-all 165's.AW

If I had an .06 and I don't but have hunted with many many that did....I would use the 180 Partition.Theres not an Elk around that will notice if you do your job.In my opinion there is no need for the 200 grain or larger in the 30-06 unless up close and personal with something that bites back...

Jayco

Thanks for your comments guys.

I do hunt a lot of big critters with the '06 and while I've been using the 180 partition for most have noticed that my distance isn't that long, so I thought about using 200 grain partitions.

I had tried working up loads several times without too much luck, but reloader 22 sounds promising. I may just give that powder a try. Another friend had good results with N-165 and I will probably try that powder too.

Appreciate the advice!

Reloader 22 or H-4831 have both done very wel for me with 200gr Partition. Work up to MAX load in your gun. I have always had better accuracy with heavier loads in this combination and of course if you are using a 200 Partition or similar "mild" probably is not in your vocabulary to begin with.

I have been using 220 gr Sierra RN backed with 48 gr H4831 in Winchester cases, CCI primers,OL of 3.310. In my Model 70. I too don't shoot far, but this load does better than 1 1/4 inch groups at 100 yds. At .06 velocities, I don't think you will need the partitions. I have shot elk over 200 yds with these and all have been 1 shot kills.

I use the 200 Grain Speer Grand Slam and H4831. I can get an honest 2600 FPS. It's a great bullet and I have been very happy with it on Elk.

I don't shoot at Elk any further that 200 yards and prefer if they are much closer. Long shots on Elk are just too risky. I have seen them take multiple shots from 300's, both win. and ultramag, catch their breath and run a long way!

I use 150 Grain Hornady's for deer and antelope. I rarely use 180's or 165's anymore and prefer 150/200 combo.

Since I believe MD's off in the Arctic somewhere, I do recall that he used one of the 4831s with this bullet.

In one of my rifles it shoots better with H4350 and gets around 2600 fps.

I'll second the H4350. In my '06 I got close to 2600fps with it but my barrel was slow. Accuracy was good, this is generally not a fussy bullet.

MtnHtr

Federals "High Energy" loads for the 180 grain Trophy Bonded and Nosler equals the old but good .300 H&H Mag in 180 grains at 2880 fps....Now tell me that 300 fps does not make a diff? Kinda like the .308-30-06 and 300 Mag but worse.The standard 180 ammo for the .300 Win Mag is 2960 fps and what can't it kill?Big diff in 80 fps and the standard 180 in .06 and .300 and almost 300 fps in the 180 and 200 .06 ballistics.

If your going to throw out 200 grain bullets out of a .308 caliber..then the .300 Mag should be the choice at 2930 fps with "High Energy" federals...

180's work just fine in the 30-06 and I see know need for a heavier bullet.

My opinion............Jayco.

I think MD is in NM hunting this week. He does like the 200's and says they always exit. I don't remember if he was shooting them out of a 30-06 though. I have shot a number of 200's in my -06 and used H4831 and got OK velocities. I agree that out of an -06, 200 partitions are probably not needed. I almost always had the speer hot cores, barnes originals and such go all the way through elk. Once in a while I would get a quartering shot and keep them in.

I am taking my 06 to Canada next week and will use 180 partitions. It just seems like a better balance of speed and bullet weight for my uses.

Try H4831 if you haven't, it did seem to be the best powder I tried back then. This was before we had all the choices we do now however. I am using VV N550 with the 180's. It seems about perfect for this.

I REALLY like the 200 grain Speers in the .30-06. The rifle that really likes them has a 27" barrel and spits them out at just under 2,800 fps with 59 grain of RL22 (work up to this), which IS the powder for 200 and 220 grain bullets in 24"+ barrels. In barrels of 23" or less, H4831 performs equally well, along with H4350. I have experimented with a couple of 22 inch barreled .30-06's and no matter how much RL22 you stuff in them, velocity for 220 grain bullets stops right at 2,500 fps, which isn't bad. I really like the 200's and 220's for elk, moose and buffalo. They simply plow through with authority and simply do not stop when crunching shoulders. I took a buffalo with the 200 grain Speer at just over 500 yards. The damage and kill was most impressive, and yes, it exited.

I also tried the Federal Trophy Bonded high energy loads in 180 grain weight in a 24" and 27" barreled .30-06's. The 24 produced 2,890 fps. The 27" barreled rifle produced an average of 3,023 fps. This load is a sledge hammer and gives every .300 Winchester magnum factory loads a run for their money. Most .300 loads barely squeak past 2,900 fps. I will take the Federal HE loads any day to the .300 Win loads. Even the Federal High Energy loads in .300 win don't hit 3,100 fps. It is about time somebody loaded the .30-06 up to it's potential <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Flinch

I REALLY like the 200 grain Speers in the .30-06. The rifle that really likes them has a 27" barrel and spits them out at just under 2,800 fps with 59 grain of RL22 (work up to this), which IS the powder for 200 and 220 grain bullets in 24"+ barrels. In barrels of 23" or less, H4831 performs equally well, along with H4350. I have experimented with a couple of 22 inch barreled .30-06's and no matter how much RL22 you stuff in them, velocity for 220 grain bullets stops right at 2,500 fps, which isn't bad. I really like the 200's and 220's for elk, moose and buffalo. They simply plow through with authority and simply do not stop when crunching shoulders. I took a buffalo with the 200 grain Speer at just over 500 yards. The damage and kill was most impressive, and yes, it exited.

I also tried the Federal Trophy Bonded high energy loads in 180 grain weight in a 24" and 27" barreled .30-06's. The 24 produced 2,890 fps. The 27" barreled rifle produced an average of 3,023 fps. This load is a sledge hammer and gives every .300 Winchester magnum factory loads a run for their money. Most .300 loads barely squeak past 2,900 fps. I will take the Federal HE loads any day to the .300 Win loads. Even the Federal High Energy loads in .300 win don't hit 3,100 fps. It is about time somebody loaded the .30-06 up to it's potential <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Flinch

I REALLY like the 200 grain Speers in the .30-06. The rifle that really likes them has a 27" barrel and spits them out at just under 2,800 fps with 59 grain of RL22 (work up to this), which IS the powder for 200 and 220 grain bullets in 24"+ barrels. In barrels of 23" or less, H4831 performs equally well, along with H4350. I have experimented with a couple of 22 inch barreled .30-06's and no matter how much RL22 you stuff in them, velocity for 220 grain bullets stops right at 2,500 fps, which isn't bad. I really like the 200's and 220's for elk, moose and buffalo. They simply plow through with authority and simply do not stop when crunching shoulders. I took a buffalo with the 200 grain Speer at just over 500 yards. The damage and kill was most impressive, and yes, it exited.

I also tried the Federal Trophy Bonded high energy loads in 180 grain weight in a 24" and 27" barreled .30-06's. The 24 produced 2,890 fps. The 27" barreled rifle produced an average of 3,023 fps. This load is a sledge hammer and gives every .300 Winchester magnum factory loads a run for their money. Most .300 loads barely squeak past 2,900 fps. I will take the Federal HE loads any day to the .300 Win loads. Even the Federal High Energy loads in .300 win don't hit 3,100 fps. It is about time somebody loaded the .30-06 up to it's potential <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Flinch

Flinch,
I always wanted a custom barreled Mod 70 .30/06 with a 24" tube. Your post tells me I'm on the right track. Those numbers really are impressive. Who the heck needs a .30 mag anything if numbers such as those are within the realm of the hoary old .30/06 with a decent barrel and ammo? If you need more "whop" than that, then you need to jump to a .338.AW

I can't remember what velocities I got with the 200 grain Hot cores but it was less than 2700 fps in my 24" barrel. I did manage to kill one bull elk with a 250 grain Barnes soft point (.035 jacket). I used H4831. This was before the advent of R22, VV N560, N170, MRP (was impossible to come by) and the new slow ball powders such as WMR and Ramshot Magnum. You may get enough of these into a case to do some good.

I found the 250 grain killed elk tasted just the same as the 200 grainers. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Dennise, in factory barrels, you can't get the velocity you can in custom match barrels. The factory barrels will always run 100 fps slower, sometimes much more. I have experimented extensively with the .30-06 in a number of factory and custom rifles with barrels from 22 to 27 inches. Contrary to what many think, the .30-06 DOES benefit from tubes over 24 inches. I should have a match grade custom .30-06 here early next week that will merrit more testing, but I am sure it will toss bullets out with authority.

I have shot clean through to many elk and moose to think I need anything more than a .30-06. Many of these were at LONG range. If you load the right bullet for the critter at hand, it will do it all. It continues to amaze me. Flinch

I never had a problem with a 200 grain bullet of any kind in the 30-06. My 300 WBY though was pushing them at about 3020. I had most of them stay in the elk I shot with them and had 2 fail to adequately penetrate in a very POORLY shot bear. The bear was very fat and the jackets separated in the fat layer. Only shrapnel made it through to the vitals. I finally spined it on the 4th shot as it was spinning around like a rodeo bull.

I was impressed at what a heavy layer of fat (3") could do to a fast bullet. I was using 200 grain Hot cores and 200 grain Barnes softpoints staggered in the magazine ( I did it to test them as I knew my shots would be very close in the oaks) I couldn't find much difference in the performance initially but when cutting up the meat, the biggest chucks were from the Barnes.

On elk, I had several mushroom perfectly on the off-side hide.

I haven't hotrodded the 30-06 at all. I have no desire when I have a perfectly good 300 WBY or 2 in the vault! I pretty much switched completely to X bullets in the magnums.

I don't "hot rod" anything, not even the .30-06. I just load it up to snuff in the books and enjoy the power. The factory loads, for the most part, barely make .308 velocities in all of my chronograph tests. When the .30-06 is loaded up to 55,000-60,000 psi like all the other similar based cartridges (.280, .25-06, .270), it really shines. It is perfect for most of the cup jacket bullets, like the hot cores, Hornady's and Sierras. Once you push those bullets past 2,900 fps, they do weird things, like in the case of your Weatherby. In the .30-06, they are PERFECT for even the biggest critters. Flinch

SlowHand--

I am back from the game fields of New Mexico and northern Quebec, so will try to shed some light on my use of the 200 Nosler Partitrion and the .30-06.

I started using this bullet in the thickets of northwestern Montana for deer and elk, back when it was a "semi-spitzer." I liked it better than the 180 because it penetrated deeper, and at the close ranges shots normally came at (I can't ever recall shooting anything more than 100 yards away) it killed very well without shooting up much meat.

This was back before the present spate of Wonder Bullets, and the 200 Partition gave the deepest penetration of any .30 available then, which gave me comfort in thick stuff--which could have also held a grizzly. I used 58 grains of military H4831 in my Springfield for about 2600 fps.

After that the 200 spitzer appeared, along with new H4831 of different stripes. In one rifle with some very large capacity WW brass I used 60 grains, but since then have stuck to 59, which I believe in the max listed in manuals. This generally shoots into 1" or less, which is plenty for any big game, Velocity runs 2600 to 2700, depending on various factors. It shoots about as flat as the 180 Partition at 2700-2800, another load I have used a lot, and does penetrate better. In fact, I have never recovered one, but have recovered some 180's.

Have also used the 200 Partition in the .300 magnums, mostly the original Winchester, though it also does in fine the .300 WSM, contrary to superstition. I load it to around 2900 and it just kills stuff.

Lately I have been using other nifty bullets in the .30-06 and .300's, but haven't actually found one that works "better" on bigger stuff than the 200 Partition. Thanks to the need for experimentation in my profession I may never shoot another animal with the 200 Partition, but it will always be near the top of my list for bigger game in any .30 from the '06 up.

Once, by mistake, I shot a pronghorn with it at fairly long range, and it worked there too! We make an awful lot of a few 100 fps or fractions in BC, but if you can get a spitzer up to 2700 fps or close to it, the trajectory will do for about any practical hunting out to 400+ yards.

MD