Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Fav 30-06 bullet

I have sent 180 gr. Partitions and Hornady flat base interloks into and out the other side of some pretty hefty feral hogs and find them excellent for the purpose. I hunt at night usually so many shots are not perfectly broadside either. I have recovered a couple of the Hornady bullets but none of the Partitions, yet.

I've never had the same trouble catching Barnes X bullets which so many people seem to have trouble catching either. Caught a 225 XFB from a 340 Weatherby in a caribou at under 100 yards in pretty much the same way: lower spine, etc. Caribou are nowhere near as solid as hogs, though often larger than the ones you were shooting.

I used Partitions early on and wasn't so much impressed (with a 150 on a small whitetail and a moose with a 200, for example). Consequently, I tried other things for awhile until I realized that 'they' all perform 'oddly' once in awhile. You just need to find a bullet that works under the kinds of conditions you subject your bullets to. Partitions are good 'broad spectrum' bullets, though perhaps not as good as some for certain narrower applications.

For killing deer, black bear, and caribou, a 165 or 168 grain BT our of a 30-06 is plenty. Plus an Accubond of the same weight should strike close to if not right on the same POI so you could mix and match them based on your worries. Shoot targets and deer with the BT and everything else with the Accubond if you so desire.

If you look at a pic of a cross sectioned BT you can see that the rear jacket is thick and it has a solid gilding metal base. I think they are excellent. The Accubond is just a bonded version of the same thing, maybe better for shooting something like Elk or Moose.

I will have to try out the 200 grainers never used them so may get to do some experimenting.

I still like the Sierra 220 gr Round Nose as I hunt elk a lot in the thick timber and don't need a long distance bullet.Close up at 2400fps,they don't do much meat damage should I pull a shot out of the lungs. If I am hunting open coutry them I prefer the 180 gr GK by Sierra. This coming year,I will be usinga 180 gr Nosler partition that I bought from SPS for $13/50 so I thought I would give them a try. I never did like highter bullets as they shed velocity and energy quicker than the heavys

180 grain Hornady Interlock PSP FB

Browning BAR 30-06

There is no better killing machine!


Bill

A buddy once shot a hog with a 150 PT from a 7x57 that didn't exit. His experience, like yours, is rare on critters this size and it shouldn't smear the bullets reputation, IMO. Sometimes things happen that you're not expecting. And I might add that his hog was DRT.

You will like them, I dont know why or how, but that extra 20 grs seems to make a big difference.

They are shooting very well at 3050 from my son's 300 Wby.. I have no doubts they will decisive on elk. The 180 PT's have always done well at the same speed.

10-4 B, that will work, I have loaded that bullet for more than 20 years for friends that hunt elk out west, I have had reported 3 or 4 times that those guys knocked elk down at less than 100 yards, one bull got up and staggered a half circle then was down again, for keeps.

They were all loaded in excess of 3000 fps in 26" barreled 300 Win and WBY mags, a helluva testament imho.

Interesting. I put ONE 165gr Partition from a 30-06 through THREE pigs at about 100yds. I think what this says more than anything is that the two of use need to shoot more stuff with Partitions even if just for data's sake!

I tried the 210 ABLR's and it didn't like them.. Went to the 200 PT's and all is well in the world. I have a ton of confidence in the combo.

Barnes 130 TippedTSX for an easy-shooting all-around.

I wish those 180's would have done the same but unfortunately they didn't. Looking forward to harvesting some more pigs though either way! Good hunting!

Confidence is near half the battle won Beretzs, now we only need the 51% luck factor to make the critter show in the glass.

150 gr. Horn SPBT or 165 gr Sierra HPBT.. Both excellent for the game you describe. Loaded 100 of the 150's in about 1981.. I am still using from that stash.

180gr Hornady Interlock

I have a penchant for bullets 180 grains and up in 30-06 for an all-purpose hunting load, including many notorious C&C. I've got lighter bullets loaded, but they sit at home year after year. Certainly the weight isn't required for the tasks described here. I'd say pick whatever 165-168 your taste prefers and that shoots well. Nothing described on this thread is going to overtax a 165 in the '06. Choot 'em up!

Most anything named will work until you poke old Bullwinkle in one of those big leg pipes as he strides along through the mayhem. (Don't ask he how I know what a 165 cup and core will make a mess of!)



The 180 Partition works well going light and long for 'bou and is heavy enough to for moose (as this one did at 300 yards). A 200 would undoubtedly be a better choice if moose and other big and bitey creatures alone were on schedule. Then again, the plain old cup and core of the likes of the 190 BTSP Interlock has handily dispatched a couple bull-winkles for me.

Just an antidotal story---
About 5 years ago when I was combing the gun racks at a local gun/reloading shop in Superior WI, a man in in his late 60's said to me " do you see any Hornady 165 g Interlocks ? " I showed him where they were on the shelf. He said that he hadn't bought any since they changed the label on the box a few years back, hence the confusion. He then proceeded to put 10 boxes of the bullets on the counter. I said to him, " you must really like those bullets." He replied to me, " I could save you a lot of time and grief. You see all of those guns on the rack over there? All you need is a 30-06, with these bullets, over 57 grains of 4350. I am the hand loader for our group up in Ontario Canada, where I am from. I have been loading these bullets for all 8 of our group members including me since 1972, before they were called Interlocks just spire points. Each member of our group has taken a moose and a deer every year since then and we have never lost an animal. That combination ( 30-06 / 165 Hornady Interlock ) has proven itself over and over. It is all that you need. " It would be hard to argue with a track record like that.

I posted this story on another part of the forum yesterday. I thought it was relevant.