30/06 165s

[gordon baxter]

Wondering a good bullet for elk and moose. I will be loading with imr 4350 at 56-57 gr. using 165 gr bullets. Or should i load some 180s.

[BILLY D.]

If'n it were me I'd load 180's. Moose and Elk both can soak up a lot of punishment. Both are strong willed.

I seen my son in law shoot a Moose and a perfect shot placement as I seen it through Binoculars. I went in one side and out the other. We tracked it almost 200 yards, and it was bleeding profusely. I forgot to mention, keep shooting as long as can make good hits.

He used a 165 Fail Safe. He is one to admire the shot so to speak and did not get a second shot off. It was not even close to being DRT. We could as easily lost the moose as easily as we found it.

I'd probably go with a Partition if I had my druthers. And stalk as close as you can.

Best wishes, Bill

[Dom]

I agree with Billy, and would load 180s, they are a good match for 30-06 and large game animals. One could even go easily with 200 grainers. Partitions have a proven reputation, another excellent bullet is the Swift A Frame, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

[L. Cooper]

Moose can be big. I vote for 180 grain Partitions as a minimum.

I think the 200 grain Nosler Partition is a very overlooked bullet in .30 caliber. Moose are often shot at relatively short range. Think about it.

[mrmiskin]

My 30/06 gets its best groups with the 180's just throwing that in there. i agree with everyone else the bigger the better for bullwinkle

[Dan Morris]

180 Hornadys give me excellent groups in my 06...
Dan

[Rev]

I would use:

220's for moose
180's for elk
165's for mule deer
150-165 for whitetail

I might add that my actual experience is limited to whitetails. I prefer 165's in the '06 for general use. The Sierra 165 expands readily, makes a huge exit, and nails whitetails on the spot with any kind of decent hit.

For a 600 lb.elk or a 1500 lb. moose using an '06, a Nosler partition would be in order for me.

Rev

[Cossack]

The 150 gr Barnes TSX or TTSX will give you the accuracy and awesome terminal performance it's noted for to cover all of the applications cited. It will also give you flatter trajectory and greater kinetic energy than a conventional 165 gr bullet.
I practice with Horanday but hunt only with Barnes.....19 consecutive one-shots kills is why.

[PJgunner]

Other than personal preference, I see no need for a premium bullet when using a 30-06. For one thing, deer don't wear kevlar. Bullet weights suitable for elk and moose using conventional cup and core bullets start with the 180 gr. bullets and go up to the 220 gr. bullets.
Now I hunt elk with something a tad more powerful than the 30-06; a .300 Win. mag. with 200 gr. Speer Hot-core bullets at 2930 FPS from my rifle's 26" barrel. If I were to use the 30-06 for elk, I might use a 180 gr. Sierra Pro-hunter, which just happens to be my choice for Mule Deer in the 06. I also might use a 180 gr. Nosler partition, but that would depend upon the condition where I'd be hunting. The area I usually hunt elk is quite wide open and shots are on the long side which is why I prefer the .300 mag. However, if I drew an area where shots would be mostly much shorter range and possibly mainly going away type shots, then the Nosler might be my choice.
I've never shot a moose and probably never will. Just too darned old and it's gotten priced well out of what my pension will allow. I think, based on what I've read that my choice of rifle would be my .35 Whelen and 250 gr. Speer Hot-cores.
With that said, I think I would stick with the 200 gr. Speer Hot-cores in a 30-06. According to friends who do hunt moose every year who use the 06, that's their bullet of choice. They see no need for premium bullets and I'll go with what they say based on their experience.
I'll just add that if I'm using a conventional cup and core bullet, I'll try for the heart/lung shot slightly behind the shoulder. If I'm using a "premium" bullet, I'll try to punch it through the shoulder to hit the heart and lung area. Seccondary fragments from broken bone can go a long way toward bringing a big animal like an elk or moose to bag.
All the above is just MHO.
Paul B.

[PaulS]

I tend to be a big bullet fan. The 3006 is enough cartridge for the big animals without reservation. From a 24" barrel the 180 grain partition would be a minimum - borderline bullet in my opinion. I would opt for a 200 grain premium grade bullet for moose because sometimes they do wear Kevlar. I watched my brother hit a mudpack on a shoulder shot on a moose and the result was a very upset, very BIG animal. While he was coming at us he took 1 more shot from my brothers 300 mag and two from my 3006.
All three shots were fatal and he dropped less than twenty yards from us.
I was using 180 grain partitions and my brother was shooting his 180 grain bullets. That was the last time we loaded 180 grain bullets for moose.
So, find out if the moose in your area wear Kevlar before your hunt or just choose the largest premium bullet you can shoot well.

[Esox357]

Barnes TSX or Nosler Partition. Esox357.

[Larryjk]

For moose I would definitely go with no less than a 180 grain premium bullet. The Fail Safe has a tendency to plink right on through without opening up much. The last moose I shot was in 2000 and I used a 35 Whelen with 225 grain Barnes. First two shots went on through without much indicated distress on the mooses part. The third shot got the off shoulder and he went down on his side. I ran up and put a finishing shot right behind the head in the spine. End of moose. The impact point of the first three shots could easily be covered by your hand, right behind the left front leg. (Shots meant for the heart). The heart was mush from more than one hit. They can take a lot of killing. He was not totally unaware. He saw me and started to trot to his left, slightly quartering away. After the first shot he jumped a fence a little over 4 feet high with little effort. About two steps on the other side was when No. 2 hit him. He was headed toward a beaver pond and I didn't want him in there. I figured on shooting until I would have to stop to reload. I had one left in the magaine when it was over. Yes, I would use a lead core premium bullet of controlled expansion persuasion.

[dakotah]

I use 180 grain Hornady's in my 30-06 for deer. If I were limited to a 30-06 for elk (I am not) I would go to the 180 grain Nosler Partition. They shoot to the same point of impact and they both shoot great.
If I were to go after Moose and I have not, I would do some penetration testing to see if perhaps a 200 grain bullet might penetrate better. -- I love Partitions for big game.

BTW, My brother in law used 165 grain Sierras in his 300 Win Mag and followed the wounded elk all day and eventually lost it. But then I don't like Sierras for bug game unless it is much heavier than normal diameter weight etc. than other bullets. T o me they are comparable to ballistic tips.

[Rocky Raab]

The Sierra Game King is a fine bullet - until you stick it into a magnum and shoot game with it at close range. It was never designed for that, but people keep using it that way - and then condemning the bullet.

At 2800 fps muzzle speed or less, and standard bullet will work fine on elk. If you must have magnum smash, you also must invest in bullets that will withstand that smash.

The 30-06 will work on elk at standard velocities of 2800 fps (most .30-cal bullets are designed for that exact cartridge and speed) with bullets from 150 to 220 grains. The classic is the 180, but the 165 is 99% as good. Pick the one your rifle likes best and hunt with confidence.

That said, the Nosler Partition is NEVER a poor choice.

[dakotah]

The game king is a fine bullet?? For coyotes perhaps. I shot a white tail doe in the shoulder using a Game King 165 grain bullet from a 30-06 (not a magnum) and the bullet did not penetrate the shoulder. It blew up. I had to reshoot the wounded doe. If you want to recommend that type of performance -- well I don't know what to say.