Factory Ammo for Rem 700CDL SF in 30-06

F

frozenoceanfish

Inactive
Good Morning,
I'm new to this site and was hoping to get some advice from you all. Yesterday I became the owner of a new Remington 700 BDL with a 24" stainless steel fluted barrel. I would like to get it zeroed quickly so I bought a couple boxes of cheap ammo to put through it for break in and I now need to get her dialed in. Does anyone with experience with this gun have a suggestion on what factory ammo to use?
Thanks in advance!
 
cheap ammo will help you get close, but dont forget the zero will change with different ammo, cheap ammo mostly due to inconsistent loads. i like the rem core lokt for my .308, good, not cheap not expensive. also have around 600 rounds of lake city.

there is a bolt action rifle section in this forum, perhaps a mod could move this thread to there.....
 
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thanks for the suggestion. Just to clarify, I got the cheap ammo just to put some rounds thru it, I never even tried to adjust the scope. What I am looking for is a recommendation for a couple of good factory ammo's for this gun so that I can avoid buying several different types to see which works best.
 
Buy premium anything. Only your gun can tell you what it likes. What size groups are you hoping for? What will you be using it for? Maybe we can narrow the spectrum of choices.
 
-What will you be using it for?
Click to expand...

Big Al nailed it. This is a very important question.

Are you hunting and if so what are you hunting? Are you a target shooter? Are you preparing for an 'uncertain' future? And at what ranges will you you be shooting?

This information will get you better answers.
 
THERE IS NO MAGIC SOLUTION TO THIS QUESTION!!!!!!!!!!!!
Each rifle will have it's own ammo preference. The only way you will know what yours likes is to try several(worst case scenario=many)brands/bullet weights/bullet types. The selection is large in the 30/06. Start out with common stuff like Hornady Custom, Remington Corelokt, or Federal. Personally, I've never had acceptable results from Winchester Super X but have from the Supreme. If you don't find a useable combination, keep trying.
For deer hunting, my choices are 150-165 grain pointed soft point or polymer tipped bullets.
I shoot a lot more handloads than factory loaded ammo but for the last 7-8 years, my deer hunting ammo for the 30/06 has been old stock Ultramax commercial reloaded 165 grain Ballistic Tips. Absolute deer hammering stuff.
 
Thank you for all the responses.
I'll be using this for deer hunting primarily and occassionally for Elk. My short term goal is to just get 1" (at 100yds) or better groups with a factory round.
I've reloaded shotgun shells but never rifle cartridges. A freind of mine is heavily into reloading and sometime in the Spring he is going to help me develop the best charge/bullet combo for this gun.
I appreciate all your suggestions and will be trying some of your recommended rounds Thursday morning before the family arrives for turkey.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
 
Let your friend teach you, let him advise you, let him walk you through the process and even kibitz on your eventual load. But load them yourself. Pick up the hobby yourself. There's a video on Youtube about an "M-16 blowing up in kids face" or some such similar. You can hear them talking crap to each other about a bunch of fail-to-fires. Before they finally blow up the gun. Nobody was hurt in the filming of that video, but it shines a light on things:

If you load your own, it's up to you to make sure you did it right. You can't blame someone else, and somone else can't blame themselves. If you load your own, you're much more concerned about the end product because it's going to be your gun, your hands, your eyes...

If you load your own you can shoot (usually) twice for each time you could have shot once. You can create a recipe better than what you can buy, using the best primer, best powder, best case, and best bullet for your gun. You can create recipes you can't find easily or at all on the shelf at your local store. So the reward of rare, better, AND cheaper more than outweighs the downside of buying equipment you can pay for in less than a year.
 
Try Remington Core-Loct 150-180 grain rounds. I like 150s for most deer, 165 for huge bucks weighing around 200 lbs, and think 180s are best for Elk-sized game. My son's Rem 700, 30-06, groups Core-Locts consistently 5/8" at 100 yards (Why the heck did I ever part with that rifle?).

Another good choice is Federal premiums, and Hornady premiums, but if your rifle likes Core-Locts, stick with them...they won't let you down by being too hard or too soft.

I used to like Winchester Power Points, but they're not as accurate in most of the rifles I've sighted-in for folks.
 
Picher, I tried the Core Lokt 165's and they worked very well. I would have tried the 150's as well but who shoots little deer :D
Thank you all for the suggestions!
 
My .30-06 prefers Winchester Super X 165 grain. Over any of the premium ammunition I've tried in it. Which includes Federal, Winchester and Hornady. Every rifle is different. But we all know that.
 
You will get many different answers on your post and all of the info will probably be helpful. Sometimes it boils down to personal preference. As far as deer hunting I have taken more deer with the 30.06 than any other caliber. For some reason I have always used 180 grain bullets and tried some 165's one time. The 180's might be more than whats needed, but most of my hunting is in thick dense woods with shots from 20 feet to maybe 80 yards if I am lucky. I must say if you do your job the 180's will put down deer like a sledge hammer. Try some good factory rounds, Federal Fusions are great, Hornady ammo and some of the others will also do just fine.

If you get set up reloading your own it will be a big plus.
 
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