Reloading for a 30-06 Springfield

Iron_DukeXIII

Iron_DukeXIII

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Hey guys, I'm new to reloading and will be starting this winter. I have a Ruger M77 MkII Hawkeye in 30-06 with a 22" 1-10 twist barrel. My question is which bullet would be better as a long range/ hunting round? The 178 AMAX or 208 AMAX? Also what would be a good combo for either bullet with my rifle? My rifle likes either 180 or 165 grain right now but I'm always pushing my shooting range further and further so I thought I could maybe find a nice all round bullet. What do you think?
 
First thing.....ditch the idea of using the A-Max as a hunting round.
I know some have used it successfully, but it is not an ideal bullet for hunting.

Try the new LR Accubond if you want to hunt with that '06.
It comes in 190 grain and 210 grain weights, and very nice BC's.

Any weight that shoots well between 175 and 210 grains should be great.

Regards, Dave.
 
I'm a fan of 180 gr. bullets in my 30.06. I bush hunt and its rare to get a shot more than 300 yards. A 180 is like a cannonball going through the trees and brush. Most of my deer are under 150 yards and 180 tend to drop them on the spot more often than not.
 
Also try the Nosler Partition, it's a great all around bullet. I used it (165 grain) on a sheep and a mountain caribou this year, one at 265 yds and the other at 190, both one shot kills.
 
If your gun likes 168 g try Berger 168 gr Match Grade Classic Hunter. I have used them they work ok on big game, but can be very accurate. For hunting I still prefer Nosler partitions. With the Bergers I use 4064 and get them going real fast, I would not recommend that but my rifle likes it that way, and the noslers not so fast actually more on the slow side.
 
Hornady says the amax is a very good long range hunting bullet. It wasnt designed to be but it is. I would use the 178 personally. I have loaded a bunch and they shoot really really well. 56.5gr h4350 178gr amax. cci primers and win brass. Work up to this lead by the way.
 
hometownhero said:
Hornady says the amax is a very good long range hunting bullet. It wasnt designed to be but it is. I would use the 178 personally. I have loaded a bunch and they shoot really really well. 56.5gr h4350 178gr amax. cci primers and win brass. Work up to this lead by the way.
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not to get into it but were did you find that information? The only thing I could find was "*Match bullets are not recommended for hunting."
 
my hunting buddy took quite a few nice size bull moose up to 350 yards using 180 nosler ballistic tips pushed by IMR4064 and CCI250
I will probably try the new 210 accubound long range next year in my 300wm and he might give a try to the 190 in his 30-06
 
twosmokinspades said:
not to get into it but were did you find that information? The only thing I could find was "*Match bullets are not recommended for hunting."
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I think it was snipers hide or long range hunting forum. There was a fe posts about it with some replies form hornady posted about it stating that the amax wasnt intended as a hunting bullet but performs very well as one.
 
hometownhero said:
I think it was snipers hide or long range hunting forum. There was a fe posts about it with some replies form hornady posted about it stating that the amax wasnt intended as a hunting bullet but performs very well as one.
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Hearsay is worth exactly what you pay for it!!

I am in the habit of sectioning bullets lengthwise to see how they are constructed.
What I see tells me if it is a worthy "hunting" bullet or not.

The A-Max is a "fail" as a hunting bullet. [Thin jacket, nothing to retain the core, boattail design without bonding encourages bullet disintegration, etc]

There are several bullets I would gladly have in the chamber when that big Bull Elk or Moose shows up, quartering towards me at 50-60 meters.
The A-Max, Berger, SMK and others like them are NOT in that desirable group.

Regards, Dave.
 
I think you may be confused by all the recent hype about long range "hunting".

May I suggest that you concentrate on learning how to hunt, which is way more complicated than just shooting accurately.

Skilled hunters stalk as close as possible. And they use bullets designed for hunting. Target shooters are justifiably proud of long range shots, and use the most accurate bullet available to consistently shoot tiny groups. Both pursuits have their experts, and some individuals are both competent hunters and precision target shooters, but the overlap is not as common as one might believe.

Hunters are proud of placing a shot as accurately as possible under various difficult field conditions, which means getting as close as possible as the first priority. Hunters next priority is to use a bullet that is designed to penetrate adequately and expand reliably while holding together at all velocities ( = distances) that a reasonable shot may be taken at. Ultimate accuracy is never the real hunter's primary goal, unless hunting for tiny varmints. Far too many big game animals suffer and die wasted by people who are duped by the marketing hype about long range "hunting".
To answer your question, the best hunting bullet for your Ruger 30-06 is the bullet that performs the best INSIDE THE GAME YOU INTEND TO SHOOT and that YOU can shoot into a 6" or smaller group at the range that you intend to shoot it at. Nosler partitions, Barnes "x" bullets, and core bonded bullets are worthy of consideration for hunting big critters like moose and elk. Standard hunting style soft points are good for smaller "big" game. Target bullets should stay on the range, not in the bush.
 
Longwalker said:
I think you may be confused by all the recent hype about long range "hunting".

May I suggest that you concentrate on learning how to hunt, which is way more complicated than just shooting accurately.

Skilled hunters stalk as close as possible. And they use bullets designed for hunting. Target shooters are justifiably proud of long range shots, and use the most accurate bullet available to consistently shoot tiny groups. Both pursuits have their experts, and some individuals are both competent hunters and precision target shooters, but the overlap is not as common as one might believe.

Hunters are proud of placing a shot as accurately as possible under various difficult field conditions, which means getting as close as possible as the first priority. Hunters next priority is to use a bullet that is designed to penetrate adequately and expand reliably while holding together at all velocities ( = distances) that a reasonable shot may be taken at. Ultimate accuracy is never the real hunter's primary goal, unless hunting for tiny varmints. Far too many big game animals suffer and die wasted by people who are duped by the marketing hype about long range "hunting".
To answer your question, the best hunting bullet for your Ruger 30-06 is the bullet that performs the best INSIDE THE GAME YOU INTEND TO SHOOT and that YOU can shoot into a 6" or smaller group at the range that you intend to shoot it at. Nosler partitions, Barnes "x" bullets, and core bonded bullets are worthy of consideration for hunting big critters like moose and elk. Standard hunting style soft points are good for smaller "big" game. Target bullets should stay on the range, not in the bush.
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Well said!
 
Longwalker said:
I think you may be confused by all the recent hype about long range "hunting".

May I suggest that you concentrate on learning how to hunt, which is way more complicated than just shooting accurately.

Skilled hunters stalk as close as possible. And they use bullets designed for hunting. Target shooters are justifiably proud of long range shots, and use the most accurate bullet available to consistently shoot tiny groups. Both pursuits have their experts, and some individuals are both competent hunters and precision target shooters, but the overlap is not as common as one might believe.

Hunters are proud of placing a shot as accurately as possible under various difficult field conditions, which means getting as close as possible as the first priority. Hunters next priority is to use a bullet that is designed to penetrate adequately and expand reliably while holding together at all velocities ( = distances) that a reasonable shot may be taken at. Ultimate accuracy is never the real hunter's primary goal, unless hunting for tiny varmints. Far too many big game animals suffer and die wasted by people who are duped by the marketing hype about long range "hunting".
To answer your question, the best hunting bullet for your Ruger 30-06 is the bullet that performs the best INSIDE THE GAME YOU INTEND TO SHOOT and that YOU can shoot into a 6" or smaller group at the range that you intend to shoot it at. Nosler partitions, Barnes "x" bullets, and core bonded bullets are worthy of consideration for hunting big critters like moose and elk. Standard hunting style soft points are good for smaller "big" game. Target bullets should stay on the range, not in the bush.
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I must agree. The OP has not even defined "long-range" yet. While of necessity, I have shot ONE animal over 400 yds, it is not something I recommend to anyone unless they have a place to practice those long-range shots ( I did and fired about 200 rds at 600yds before the season)...not dial it in at 100 yds and then go out for 600yd shots at game. If you are a re-incarnated Carlos Hathcock, shoot 6000 rds a year from your rifle, and can place each round in a 3" cloverleaf at 800yds no matter WHAT conditions exist, then maybe you don't need a "hunting bullet" and can get by with a lesser round 'cuz you're gonna shoot it in the eye between blinks anyway. But, for me, I'll take a different construction for my shots at game. Not necessarily "premium bullets", but definitely bullets built for game. In all my time hunting (including helping with game shot by others with me), I have only found 4 bullets still inside an animal. All the rest were pass-throughs bringing the animal down quickly. Why pass-throughs? Ranges haven't been beyond 400yds, shots have been classic broadside, animals not moving, shooter with a SOLID rest, LOTS of rounds down-range before the season.
OP, you have a nice rifle. My M77 (not a Hawkeye) likes 165gn Remington Corelokts (as I was told by the guy I bought it from who sent along 4 boxes with the rifle and he was right) so I load to near those numbers and get the same results.

Most shots are never over 300yds and beginners should not even be shooting that. Most of the first timers I take out shoot their deer within 100yds, every time. So what good is placing bullets at 1000yds?
 
I have this rule of thumb when it comes to the Hornady SST bullet: Minimum sectional denisty of .225....and maximum muzzle velocity of 2,900 fps.....We've shot enough deer to know it works inside these parameters.....For the old '06, I would look at the 165 grain pill, loaded to 2,800+ fps for deer......My neighbour used the 180 grain SST in his 300 WM to take down a spike bull moose with no problem at all...broke one rib and exited clean....
 
hometownhero said:
So you describe the hornady sst almost to a T there.
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Varmit said:
I agree, but I also avoid them too.
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Dont use them either. Interlocks have done the trick for me and cheap Remington PSPs

rojogrande said:
I have this rule of thumb when it comes to the Hornady SST bullet: Minimum sectional denisty of .225....and maximum muzzle velocity of 2,900 fps.....We've shot enough deer to know it works inside these parameters.....For the old '06, I would look at the 165 grain pill, loaded to 2,800+ fps for deer......My neighbour used the 180 grain SST in his 300 WM to take down a spike bull moose with no problem at all...broke one rib and exited clean....
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well, knowing what a bullet will do is part of what makes hunting exciting. Proper tool, proper application, proper result. Thanks for the info.
 
I'd try H4350 or H4831SC with 180gr Partitions, 200gr Partitions or 175gr LRX. At velocities obtainable with the .30-06 each of those bullets will be ok out to somewhere between 400 and 500 yards.
 
I used to do some work with Hornady. Our ammo company used some of their components.

One test involved shooting some Amax 30 cals into gelatine to see what would happen. This ammo was being made for police sniper use. If velocity was not too high, or too low, they mushroomed much like a hunting bullet. The Sierra MatchKing bullets either drilled straight through, or tumbled and broke in two.

In a pinch, an Amax is a better choice than a Sierra for hunting (the exception is the 69 gr MK, which does a good job on deer.) But, for planned hunting, most any hunting bullet would be a better choice than a AMax.

One of the concerns I have is that manufacturers make subtle changes to their bullets from time to time. Changes to AMax, like jacket thickness and core hardness, would be made for accuracy improvement or more reliable manufacturing considerations. No thought would be given to possible degradation of hunting performance. Whereas if you buy a hunting bullet, you know it will always work.
 
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