bullet drop...30-06

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Well I finally got around to sighting in my 742. I was very impressed, sub moa at 100 yards, and 1.7 inches at 200 yards off the bench. Took a box to get me on paper though. :)

The thing that I was surprised was the bullet drop.
I dropped 6 inches from 100 - 200 yards. Is normal or abnormal from a 30-06 180 Express PSP out of a rem 742 carbine?
 
It's not far off what Remington's ballistics tables say for that bullet. Sighted in at 100, it should drop about 4.9" between 100 and 200. The shorter barrel's slightly lower velocity will explain the extra inch. I think they use a 24" barrel for testing, but there's no mention of exactly what barrel was used on their site.
Sight in 5" high at 100 and you'll be on target out to 200 and about that much low at 300. Drops like a brick past 300.
"...Took a box to get me on paper..." Scoped? Did you bore sight it first?
 
Sunray's advice is pretty sound.

You might want to check out different bullets for better ballistics as well. I've got a 742 in 308, and the difference between Federal 150 Power Shock, and Federal 165 (Boattail) Vital shock, is that at 400 yards the 150's drop TWICE as much as the 165's and have about 1/3rd less energy. It pays to look around for what you want in terms of bullet performance.
 
Bullet drop between 100 and 200 will also depend on how high the scope is above the bore. If your scope is mounted very low, it will show more drop. The Remington table will be based on an assumption like 1.5" above the bore.
 
Ahh I thnk everyones advice is right, on my scope is a 50mm and is pretty high off the barrel, I ran out of time to get the scope I wanted. I tried a box of Winchester 180's and remington 180's and had similar results. My shooting will likely be in the 50 - 150 yard range. There is a spot where I can reach out to about 300 yards, but I have never seen a deer there ever. between 50 and 100 yards I didn't really see any noticable difference in bullet height over the average of the groups, maybe about a half an inch to an inch.

Did I bore sight it? Nope didn't have a boresighter. I basically lined up the iron sights to a spot on a wall and then mounted the scope. in alignment with that spot. It turned out I was a 2 feet low and 2 feet right. I am sure a boresighter would have helped.

I don't think reloading is in my near future, but its a possibility, if I buy a range membership next year. Although If I do I think I'll do most of my fun shooting with a 22. I'll go broke shooting 30-06's. :)


Would a lower grain have more or less bullet drop? Using the remington Express 180 psp core Lokt rounds as a baseline what would you guys receomend to try out? Need something all around, for moos e and deer out to about 200 yards, 300 would be the hail mary shot. 50 - 100 would be the 90 percent of shooting.
 
You can maybe go with a lighter bullet but with a higher sectional density. I'm shooting the TSX 168gr in my 30-06. I'm zero'd at 200 yards and about 3'' high at 100 yards. I know that it drops off pretty quick after 250 yards so I limit myself to that.

Of all the deer I've dropped, I think the furthest one was about 230yards. Not really that far.

The TSX is a really tough bullet and sure does some damage on poor little deer at 100 yards or less.

If you want something you can shoot moose with, I know the 168gr TSX will do the job for you.

Unless you have deep pockets you wont want to use it for punching paper at the range.
 
I bought a Leupold 2-7x33 VX 2 with the LR reticle for my 30/06 . Sighted dead on @ 100 , first dot down is 1" low @ 200, second dot is 2" high @ 300 and the top of the heavy post is 3" low @ 400. With a range finder it take all the guess work out of it.
 
I also just picked up a Leupold VX-II scope with the LR reticle. Havent even mounted it yet but I'm looking forward to seeing how it works on my 7mm RUM.
 
Mad_Mikee said:
You can maybe go with a lighter bullet but with a higher sectional density.
Click to expand...

sectional density is the result of a calculation that compares a bullet's weight to its diameter. Lighter bullet = lower SD


PS - Federal loads the 165 gr TSX in their Vital Shock factory ammo

 
I don't really shoot enough right now to bother with the time and expense. Like I said maybe if I join a range I'll start reloading. Will I need to re sight in if I switch from Rem 180 express's to Federal Vital Shock? How much less Bullet drop could I expect between the two?
 
You should sight-in and hunt with the same batch number of ammo...never mind different brands! There are rifles which are more sensitive to different brands and batches of ammo and others less. It's more than just bullet drop.
 
you should re-sight in, and put your impact two inches high at 100, then check it at 200. Should be around zero or a couple inches low
 
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