30-06 suited for various animal types/sling questions

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ormandj

New member
Hi,

I've just finished mounting my Zeiss Conquest on my Remington 700 XCR in 30-06, and it's soon to be hunting time.

I'm planning to hunt deer and hogs as the seasons permit, and I was wondering what people felt the best loads were for each of these tasks. I'm in TX to give you some idea of the size of game (our deer aren't exactly beastly!)

I'm not recoil shy, and I'm open to any bullet weight - I just want to make sure I've shot the hunting load(s) I'll be using to determine how the rifle shoots with them/zero the scope properly.

I'm eventually going to reload for this rifle (probably a few months out), but in the meantime would like to know what factory loads are nice to use on deer/hogs.

I've got the following here to shoot and see how the rifle handles them:
Monarch 150 gr SP (cheapie stuff.)
Winchester Super X 180gr Power Point
Federal Premium Gold Medal Match 168gr

I figure the Federal stuff is target ammunition only. I typically like Hornady rounds, but didn't see any at the Academy I stopped at (I'm sure I can find it at other stores.)

Ideally, the suggestions would be fairly accurate, but also have good terminal performance.

Also, for hunting in the field *without* one of those sticks I see everybody using, what sling would you suggest? I was planning to order a military style web/nylon sling, but wanted to get an impression what people who hunt suggest. Links would be very much appreciated on this. I'm looking for a sling to stabilize my shots, not necessarily to carry it slung over my shoulder.

I look forward to your responses,
David
 
You didn't mount that scope yourself did you? Many are of the strong belief that unless your a full time gunsmith you are in over your head mounting a scope.
 
sourdough: I had a smith do it, but I won't do that again. It's a joke to slap a scope on top/mount the brackets/rings. I worked with the smith when he was doing it, it took no more than 15 minutes, and most of that was spent getting the rings to align perfectly. With that alignment tool from Brownells, it would have taken 5.

Pull the screws from the receiver, test fit brackets, tighten down screws softly to hand tight, then give another quarter turn. Test bolt for proper movement, remove screws, little lock-tite, and do it again. Then, mount the rings, monkey with them until they are lined up properly, test fit scope (turn it to check for any binding that would indicate off rings.)

Then, put the rings on, not too tight yet, check eye relief, then tighten them down evenly on each side. After this, all that's left is boresighting then range-time. Doesn't strike me as being very hard, assuming you've seen/read about somebody doing it before.

Cheers,
David
 
Didn't mean to sound flippant about the scope. Nice scope at that.

Anyway; My usual favorite for deer in the 30-06(&308) is a 165 grn bullet. For handloads I'll take a Sierra gameking or Hornaday interlock. If I wanted more I would move to the 180 for bears & such. With mail order you should be able to find anything.
 
150gr should be more than enough for small deer. Up here the blacktail rarely get bigger than 120 or so and top off at 140. If that's the size of deer you're looking at then your cheap stuff should do fine, Ifit shoots well out of your rifle.

Unfortunately what shoots well out of my .30-06 might not shoot well out of yours. I've used 150gr Remington Core-Lokt a couple times and it did fine.

So basically you have to buy a bunch of different ammo, take it to the range and shoot it off till you find the round that's most accurate out of your rifle. That's not really a bad thing.
 
150 grain would probably work nicely for both applications. I also like corelokt and shoot it from time to time. Plus, it is readily available.
 
There are folks in Texas that swear that .223 is all you need for deer. If that is the case anything is 06 will work just fine. I like Remington Corelok should run around $16 a box. I like the 150's but deer do not and fall dead as it blasts through them.
 
I don't see any particular reason to use any bullet heavier than the 150. It's been plenty good for the Eatman clan since back in the 1920s. You hit Bambi where you're supposed to hit Bambi, and he mostly just folds up and quits. Usually, right there.

Whatever 150 groups decently in your rifle oughta do just fine.
 
Thank you for all of the responses! What about hogs? Also, as I'm planning making a trip to the north in the next year, are 180gr bullets more suited to the larger game (such as moose?) I don't hunt for pleasure, rather for the dinner table, otherwise I'd just use heavier bullets for everything - but I don't like the idea of wasting meat. I believe in being humane at the same time, so don't want to undershoot and end up with an animal that suffers.

I'm a good shot, so placement won't be an issue - but I also realize some animals are tough, and I'd rather end things as quickly as possible in terms of suffering, but at the same time not do it in waste so as to have killed a beautiful animal only for the sake of killing it, due to 30% of the meat being turned into jello. I've seen what happens when a deer gets shot with a large caliber African-game style magnum, and would prefer to avoid such waste. Even placement tips you might have would be very much appreciated; if a 150gr round will do the job quickly, that's quite ok for me. Money isn't an issue, I'd rather pay 5$ a round to ensure kills are quick and efficient if that was what it boiled down to. The only reason I didn't buy a 6.5x55 was lack of store bought ammunition (mail order is fine, until a buddy asks you to go hunt tomorrow), because I've used it before and it has always done the job.

Thank you again!
 
I've been hunting big northern whitetails (250+ lbs) for 30 years...first couple years w/ a Model94 30-30, evrything since a 30-06. Somewhere along the line, I settled on 165gr bullets as the perfect solution for the '06...but I think its like your favorite fishin' lure...you know its gonna work when you use it, so it does. The '06 is wonderfully flexible and will kill your deer with many different bullets (provided you put them in the right place, which after all, is 100X more important!)
 
Do some web search on "Ching sling". I haven't spent the money for one, but the idea looks good, and folks who use them seem very pleased by the way they help steady offhand shots.
 
Art,

I looked the sling up, it looks nice. However, my rifle only has two sling mounting points. Being that it's a synthetic stock, is it hard to add another? I'm needing my rifle length to be extended, so I might as well get it all done in one go.
 
"Thank you for all of the responses! What about hogs? Also, as I'm planning making a trip to the north in the next year, are 180gr bullets more suited to the larger game (such as moose?) I don't hunt for pleasure, rather for the dinner table, otherwise I'd just use heavier bullets for everything - but I don't like the idea of wasting meat. I believe in being humane at the same time, so don't want to undershoot and end up with an animal that suffers."

I quit using 150 gr. bullets for deer in my .308 Win. and 30-06 almost 40 years ago. They just destroy too much eating meat if your shot is just a bit off. I too hunt for meat, so now for deer I use the 180 gr. Sierra Pro-Hunter for deer and the 180 gr. Nosler partiton for the bigger stuff in the 30-06 and frankly, I'd probably be just as good to go with only the Sierra.
In factory ammo, if that Winchester 180 gr. Power Point is accurate enough to suit you, that'd be the one to go with.
I recently bought a box of Winchester 150 gr. Power Point ammo to shoot in a new .270 I just bought to get case head expansion and pressure ring measurements along with the chronograph data. The rifle was a very lucky buy as that ammo gave .250" to .500" groups with factory ammo and my handloads were mainly in the .500" range as well. Sometimes, I get lucky.
Anyway, if you're a meat hunter, I'd suggest sticking with the heavier bullets.
JMHO.
 
What works well for deer usually works well for hogs. I wouldn't have seperate loads unless you are going after dangerous game (pi$$ed off hogs would qualify, so don't pi$$ 'em off).;)
 
ormandj, I found this at www.shottist.com:
http://www.shottist.com/use.htm

I'd go with the 1.25" oiled leather, myself. Leather won't slide from your shoulder the way nylon will...

I've always used a leather carry strap as my sling, and have it adjusted for the proper length to use as a "Hasty" sling for offhand shots. I'd set myself up with the Ching Sling but for those proverbial "round tuits". :)
 
150gr. bullets are perfectly fine as are 180's. That being said, before I started handloading I used 165 Core Lokt Remington loads and never had a single problem.
 
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