Ammo suggestions for 30-06 on Moose?

SerbSniper

SerbSniper

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Hi,

I'm sure this has been asked a million times on here... and I don't mean to start a huge debate either.

I'm looking at switching up my ammo to something new this year for Moose on my Ruger 30-06. Any suggestions?

I've been using the Winchester Fail-safes 180 grain up to now.... and not too impressed. Plus... they do not make them anymore from what I hear, and I'm running low for this season.

What are you all using for Moose?

Take care,
 
Just about anything you use will result in a dead moose if your using factory ammo. I had good success with the failsafes, but I was using them in my 300 win mag back in the days. All of the shots were relatively close distance though... I've had good success with partitions out of my 30-06, and its resulted in 3 dead deer over the years. Though they were Bigredd handloads.


Never has here been a better selection of good ammo for the 30-06 from the factory. My best advise is if you've got 100 bucks, go and buy 3 boxes of ammo, and see which your gun shoots best. A 30-06 isnt driving bullets to velocities where a half decent factory load is going to come apart, and fail. Figure out what shoots most accurately in your gun. that would be my choice for option A

Option B is...
Chances are, you've got a buddy who handloads, and now might be a good time to spend a few bucks on bullets, powder, (Im sure you've got brass) and some primers, and maybe learn how to load. The benifit is, you can get premium ammo, at cheaper than whitebox price in most cases, and... you can tailor a load to your gun. It opens up a world of possibilities, that might save you a ton of money in the longrun...
 
try the Winchester or Federal 180 grain Accubonds, or a Federal vital shock 165 grain triple shock x. you wont be dissapointed with the performance of these rounds
 
Daryl said it all.

Moose are not difficult to kill. A shot through the boiler room with any commercial 180 grain hunting bullet will work well.

If you hit the shoulder, the bullet will take a pounding, but any commercial 180 would still work - usually. Avoid the shoulder if you can. Why destroy a quarter?

My buddy and I once shot at a walking moose 425 yards away. (Distance was measured off the lumber company survey of the cut over we were on.) It looked like a dog with antlers, it was so far away.

I missed. (358 Winchester is not a long range rifle) He hit it twice in the lungs with a 308 Win loaded with 180 soft point spitzers. This is the same bullet loaded in your 30-06.

We could not tell the moose was hit. It looked to me like it walked about 30 feet and then lay down. It took us 15 minutes to get there. It was dead.

The recovered bullets were pristine. This was how we know it was my buddy that got it, not me. The lead tips had a small dent. The bullets could have been used again.

The moral of this story - Moose are not difficult to kill if you place the bullet.

Therefore, if I was you, I would buy a box of Winchester, Remington and Federal 180 grain pointed soft point ammo and shoot off a rest at the range.

Your rifle might show a clear preference for one of them. Sight in with that ammo, and use the other ammo for practice shooting standing and sitting.

By the way, a hot barrel may not shoot to the same place as a cold one. After you fire your first 5 shot group, move your sights to better centre the group, and then don’t fiddle for the rest of the test. After the test and after you have decided which is the ammo for hunting, let the rifle cool all the way to cold, then shoot another group. Then make your final sight adjustment.

Have you made sure your barrel channel is clear of the barrel? A free floating barrel is most reliable.
 
GANDERITE said:
The recovered bullets were pristine. This was how we know it was my buddy that got it, not me. The lead tips had a small dent. The bullets could have been used again
Click to expand...

classic example of bullet failure. Impact velocity roughly 1700 fps @ 425 yards with a 308/180, and not enough speed retained to make the bullets expand properly as they are designed to.

the moose died, yes, but me thinks the results could of been MUCH worse

bullet choice is crucial, dont overlook it! :)
 
Im on TB' side on this one and have shot moose with everything from a 30-30 to a 458 mag, and a 400 yard moose kill with a 180 grain speer grand slam bullet that was a pass through, dont mess around with junk it could ruin your day ;) right now I am using fushion factory ammo, it has an insain shock pattern after passing through an animal, I am not saying fusion is the best but my rifle loves it and it kills, Barnes makes great products for the reloader if you have time to #### around perfecting the load and lengths for best accuracy
 
Hell, 50 years plus they just shot the dam thing, what hell are ya worried about, If your a good hunter and luck is on your side. It won't matter what cal, what bullet, your shooting a slow moving horse. No need for over kill on data. Just hunt!!. It's the pre-hunt data, you should worry about, not the cal, bullet.
 
GANDERITE said:
The recovered bullets were pristine. This was how we know it was my buddy that got it, not me. The lead tips had a small dent. The bullets could have been used again.
Click to expand...

So what you're saying is at 425 yds your soft points acted like a FMJ bullet, with ZERO expansion? And this is good how?

SERB, go get some Federal ammo with 180 partitions and shoot some moose.;)
 
The .30-06 loves 165 grain hunting bullets. A 165 will kill anything in North America. Since it appears that you're not reloading, you'll have to try a box of as many brands as you can to find the ammo your rifle shoots best.
Moose season opens today in some WMU's. 6 Oct in others, so you'd best get a move on. Or find a box of Failsafes.
 
30-06 is a very easy cartridge to choose for. By any quality ammunition, with a Partition/Accubond, Barnes, Swift Scirroco/Aframe, BearClaw, and my personal favorite with 180gr, Hornady Interlock. Good Luck.
 
With factory ammo, meat-in-the-pot (my semi-retired .30-06) has dropped many moose near & far with the old Federal red box 165gr SPBT and Federal Premium 180gr Nosler Partitions. My IMR 4350/Fed 210/Speer 165gr SPBT recipe has never me failed either.
 
I know of someone who dropped a moose with a well placed shot from a 243. It's not something I would do, but if they are hit right they go down fast. A deer will generally go farther when hit through the boiler than a moose.
 
Canadian Bush Wacker said:
Hell, 50 years plus they just shot the dam thing, what hell are ya worried about, If your a good hunter and luck is on your side. It won't matter what cal, what bullet, your shooting a slow moving horse. No need for over kill on data. Just hunt!!. It's the pre-hunt data, you should worry about, not the cal, bullet.
Click to expand...

:jerkit:


no never worry about the bullet or caliber , why not use a 222 and a 40 grain bullet then ? :rolleyes:

comment like the above always make me wonder how many animals are running around with holes in them or just died off 3 or 4 days later, a fair logical question was asked no were did I read please reply with stupidity and lack of knowledge ! ;)


if you do not reload barnes bullets are offered in factory premium ammo along with many of the choices some of the guys have mentioned
 
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