Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Good LR factory ammo for .30-06...?

I'm planning a pronghorn hunt and would like to start experimenting with various LR factory loads for my pre-64 .30-06. Distance will probably be inside 200-400 yds. What are some good high BC hunting rounds that I should check out? I expect it will be windy.

Thanks!
Eric

Pronghorn don't take much killing. But wind can be difficult at times though 200-400 is not long range, it still has to be factored if you are talking 300 and beyond and 30mph plus winds.

Having an 06, I'd start looking in the 180 range... I'm sure someone loads heavier bergers, IF they barrel twist would stabilize them. I'd be thinking 185 bergers or so personally for high BC. I would not be offended at 175 sierra matchkings.

Personally I run barnes bullets for hunting just about anything these days.... gives a good margin of error on penetration.

One warning, I run Bergers in my 308, target version, not hunting version, IE mine expand LESS than the hunting ones... I've shot some stuff that would NOT be mountable at all due to exit holes, if the exit hole comes out in the wrong place.... I'd expect even worse from the hunting version.

All that being said a standard cup and core 180 boat tail would not be at all a bad choice. Followed by a 165 if the 180 doesn't shoot well. BTSP, bonded core ballistic tip type if I had to go that route.

Thanks, Rost495. My rifle seems to like 165 gr, but I may try some other 180's out. I have 165 gr TSX and 168 gr TTSX coming in the mail. I've had good experiences with sierra matchkings in other rifles as well. The main thing I'm thinking about is wind.

Thanks again,
Eric

Under 400 yards? 125 or 150 ballistic tip. I have never hunted pronghorn ao take that for what it is worth (not much)

I would shoot whatever groups best in your rifle. Don't overlooked the hornday superformance or nosler custom ammo either. A 165gr would be plenty for antelope.

805, I shot Hornady superformance today. Top and middle are with the 165 SST, the bottom is the 150 SST. My rifle liked the 150 SST. I f'ed up the middle target but got my concentration back last round on the top target. I wasn't expecting much out of this ammo but it's alright. I'll have to see how the Barnes compares.





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Eric

I would use what ever you used to make those targets and then just practice. If you limit yourself to 400yds, then a different bullet probably won't make that much of a difference.

Pronghorn are, IMO, a relatively tough animal, but they are small. It doesn't take much to kill them if you put it in the right spot. Miss that spot and they can put some ground between you and them in a hurry, even on 3 legs!

Like pointer said, you have the bullet right in front of you. I would opt for the 150's and back up to 400 yards, getting your exact drop for your rifle (don't go off of charts). There is no need for any bullet heavier than what you are shooting for deer or antelope. The SST's are a hard bullet and perform well on bone as well. Go forth and start your collection. Flinch

Right on, pointer & Flinch. The 150 was a pleasant surprise! I'm going to still compare the Barnes 165 and 168, but unless I get better groups I may just go with the 150 SST and like you say Flinch, work up the drop.

Eric

...at 400+ yards the 168 grain Barnes is on the ragged edge of expanding at factory .30-06 ballistics. You will get an exit hole...and a caliber sized wound channel, but don't expect much else on an antelope. I have shot elk with the 150 Barnes X's, .30-06 out to 350 yards. Caliber sized entrance and exit, not a huge wound channel. Barnes bullets like speed to really get things going. You will get much better performance from the ballistic tips, unless you just like small exit holes

Another winner is the 150 grain Hornady flat base spire point. Heck, even the Winchester silver box 150 grain soft points shoot super accurate, cheap and kill really well. 400 yards isn't very far, so don't worry about bullets with the best B.C.

Shoot what the gun already likes and buy more of the same ammo and practice practice practice in field conditions out to 400 yards or so. Flinch

Barnes expands at slower speeds than one thinks... I wouldn't be at all afraid of it at 500 or 600 out of a 308.. 168tsx have done it before....

But if you are of the ballistic tip type group needs of big exit holes and bang flops... Barnes is not the best choice.

Beyond that, when you can run a more wind resistant bullet, personally I opt for that fact every last time... why hamper yourself otherwise.

Flinch, thanks for the scoop!

I also have some 110 grain Federal TTSX coming in, with a muzzle velocity of 3400 fps. That will be fun to shoot!

I'll probably buy more 150 SST and practice practice practice.

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Eric

Just FYI.. SSTs are going to be somewhat explosive RE exit holes.. as mentioned if you want to mount one... make sure the exit hole is not in the cape area....

I load SSTs for a friends dad that is getting on up there in years and we have a hard time finding his deer sometimes mostly because he isn't sure where they were or went to.... the SSTs open up a large enough hole that they are usually dead within 50 yards regardless.... I wouldn't use them personally... but I don't care for large holes or waste of meat and thats just me.

Good luck!

Jeff

Jeff, it sounds like SST's are similar to BT's?

Are there any other 150 gr cartridges I should try?

Thanks,

Eric

The 150 grain silver box Winchester power points are the best of both worlds. Great penetration, excellent accuracy and not quite as explosive as the ballistic tips and SST. I like explosive though. I like LOTS of trauma, internal hydrostatic shock and an animal dead right on the spot. I hunt public land with yahoos everywhere. If the animal isn't dead right now, everyone starts shooting. I don't like arguing over who killed the animal. Ballistic tips and SST's provide that level of confidence and HUGE exit holes "if" I need to track an animal. Flinch

I'd prolly get some Federal loads with the Sierra 165 BTSP.

Just fyi, that load from Federal shoots lights out in my 30-06 (a vanguard). I have had perfect performance from 10 yards out to 200 (no shots yet past that far).

444Matt,
That's always been one of Federal's better .30-06 loads, and it's been around a long time, which should tell you something.

In Hunter's Guide to Accurate Shooting by Wayne van Zwoll he describes a couple of ways to quickly come up with drift for 10mph full value cross wind. He says that someone from Black Hills Ammunition gave him the method of using the range in hundreds, as for 500 yards use (5 x 5) - 5 = 20 inches drift. This method was given for .308 match bullets, but seems to be OK for .30-06 wh 150-gr NBT at 2900fps, too. Table in the book shows 20.7 inches drift at 500 yards for that load.

Another method given in the book is take the range in hundreds of yards, and subtract 1 to get MOA of drift. For 500 yards it would be 5 - 1 = 4 minutes. 4 Minutes(inches100) x 5 = 20 inches.

These methods are probably only good to get within about an inch, but considering that in hunting we have estimate the wind, they are probably good enough.

Conditions haven't been windy here but I expect it will be blowin' pretty hard during my antelope hunt in WY. Marlin, would it be correct to estimate 10 inches of drift at 300 yds? (5 x 3) - 5?

I bought a few other rounds to try out, leaning towards the 150's which my rifle seems to like:

Federal Sierra GameKing SPBT, 165 gr
Federal Sierra GameKing SPBT, 150 gr
Hornady Superformance SST, 150 gr
Hornady Superformance GMX, 150 gr

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Eric