30-06 .. 220 grain
- Thread starter Luke60
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I had a thread about this sort of stuff a while ago an had plenty responses,
If you don't have anything bigger than 06, then a heavy 200+ would throw some serious smack down but in say under 200meters , closer being better.
As a stalking outfit in the thick bush Down Here, it would be a good combo in a 30-06.
Having th 35Whelen , there was no point in my trying to load anything heavier than 180gr in the 06 for what it was doing
If you don't have anything bigger than 06, then a heavy 200+ would throw some serious smack down but in say under 200meters , closer being better.
As a stalking outfit in the thick bush Down Here, it would be a good combo in a 30-06.
Having th 35Whelen , there was no point in my trying to load anything heavier than 180gr in the 06 for what it was doing
Really ive’d never shot any game with them but have tested them into Fir wood from Both a 308 and a 30-06 and they expanded. Plenty ! What draw you to your conclusion
RJThey expand perfectly fine for me at 30-06 velocities. Just regular loaded ones. Don't even have to be hot loaded.
They even work fine in my 308. Not out to extended ranges by no means. But the expand just fine for me.
The 180, and 200 grain accubonds, and the 190 accubond long range, are definitely my favorite rounds for the cartridge though.
If I would have taken pictures of the entrance and exit wounds of the mule deer would that have made a difference?Really ive’d never shot any game with them but have tested them into Fir wood from Both a 308 and a 30-06 and they expanded. Plenty ! What draw you to your conclusion
With the 220 grain Hornady I recommend you line up your deer with a tree. Shoot so that your bullet goes through the tree before it goes into the deer. If you use a tree that is thick enough it should slow the 220 enough that you can recover your bullet in the deer. This way you can reload that bullet again and use it next year on another deer. Haha
Don’t have more pics. Buddy shot this at under 50yards, broadside with a factory loaded 180corelokt. Somehow he managed to place the bullet way far back and high, hit absolutely nothing. Being close to spine, and close range, the deer dropped immediately, suggesting some energy transfer occurred. We had to do a double/triple take looking for an exit. Didn’t measure the hole, but didn’t appear to expand at all. Not appearing to expand, and not expanding is two different things.
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Yeah, so you think your one mule deer story and amazingly shooting a branch over your head against the sky and "recovering" the bullets (???) Is conclusive proof of the 220 RN failing when compared to dozens of animals that I have personally or had clients harvest, where the bullet expanded and worked perfectly?
Your personal experiences, as expressed on this thread, are lacking in scope to draw the conclusion you are drawing,... and I am avoiding saying the obvious.
OP asked for opinions. I used it on mule deer once and didn't like it. I was actually surprised because as a young guy I read so much in early books about 220 grain load. And of course col.jeff Cooper wrote so much positive things about it as well. I was very surprised to find the load sure didn't work for me.
About the shooting through trees and reloading the bullets. I thought it was obvious I was trying to be funny. I was trying to make people laugh. Not get them mad. Haha relax you guys.
I could go look up my loading information if anyone interested. But to use up those 220 Hornaday bullets I handloaded themeith a reduced load of 2400. Basically one hole groups. Awesome silhouette target load and I'm not joking about this.
I had a pencil barrel light weight ruger that was struggling with accuracy even though I tried my usual tricks with it. An older fella I shoot with gave a box of hornady rn 220 to try out…. With a mild load the accuracy was done right excellent. It was an eye opener for me about the versatility of the old work horse cartridge.
