Elk Hunting Ammo Recommendations for 30-06

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  • Ballstater98

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    Dad is going on a once-in-a-lifetime elk hunt next year in Colorado with a buddy on his property. He will be using a friend's Remington BDL 30-06. The shot will be approximately 100-350 yards. Anyone have a suggestion/experience with a type of ammunition that could be recommended? Price is not a factor as he is realistically going to need 2 boxes maximum to sight it in and hunt.
     

    AGarbers

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    150, 165, or 180 grain bullets designed for maximum penetration through bone and still keep its mass. When I lived in Colorado, the general rule of thumb was 180-grain Speer Grand Slam bullets for elk.
     

    srad

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    Here you go... 150 is the new 180; added benefit of flatter trajectory.
    https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2010/9/24/a-new-ruling-for-the-30-06-sprg/

    And this is a heck of a fun read What Three Dozen Elk Cartridges Taught Me - Gun Digest

    Good luck to your dad!! I've been out twice to CO for elk, came home elk-less but experience and memories were worth it.
    Based on what the terrain at his buddy's property is like, if uphills are involved tell your dad to start upping his physical game early. Don't wait till August :-)
     

    sugarcreekbrass

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    My FIL has always used a .270 with a lot of success. When my wife and stepson were drawn for cow tags, we took his rifle and borrowed a cousins. One used 150 gr and the other used 130 gr. I compared ballistics and energy from the two. I didn't see much difference between the two on paper. Maybe the extra 20 gr will do more in the field. We never saw any elk; too many hunters. I would think any quality bullet in the 150+ gr would work for the -06.
     

    Ballstater98

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    I appreciate all the advice and encouragment. His buddy boasts an 80% success rate on his property. Dad will be retiring next summer, so this is a do I it while I'm still able adventure. They will be set out on horseback, but yes, he realizes his daily 1/2 mile walk with his pug is not going to cut it. He has asked for my advice on ammo brands, but I do not own a 30-06...yet...and they change all the time. Google-fu can only do so much. He hunts, but we are talking pheasant, deer, dove... With his military training, he is good with a rifle, he just wants the best experience. One shot. One harvest.
     

    Dirty Steve

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    I have killed elk with both the 180 gr. Nosler Partion and 180 gr Berger VLD in 30-06 at those ranges and well beyond. As with anything, shot placement is key. Most premium bullets will be fine as long as they shoot well in your (his) particular gun. Elk are not as hard to kill as everyone makes them out to be if you do your part and put the bullet where it is supposed to go.

    Dirty Steve
     

    BigMatt

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    From what I have gathered while researching elk hunting, shot placement is the key. With a 30-06, shoot whatever bullet is most accurate in your rifle.

    My 1949 era Winchester Model 70 loves S&B 180 Grain SPCE. I can put 3 shots into 1" at 100 yards with the old girl. This is with an old Bausch and Lomb 4x scope and my shooting bag for a rest.

    They also make nicely cut out holes in the paper.

    rW2suIB.jpg
     

    roscott

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    I just went through all this with my dad prior to our successful elk hunt this past October.

    Nosler Ballistic tipped bullets are great.

    Avoid Nosler Partitions for sure. It is a fine round and has killed lots of elk, but the tips are extremely soft: soft enough to be misshapen with a fingernail, or smashed to the side in a pocket. We got decent groups when the rounds were kept perfect, but groups opened up by as much as 1-3 MOA if the tips got damaged.

    Remington 180gr core-lokt is decent ammo, and grouped well, but has poor reviews regarding performance on tissue. We discounted it for that reason.

    Federal Trophy Copper 180gr grouped very nicely from my dads 700 BDL as well as my M70 featherweight, and has a nice BC (0.523). We selected that, and it worked beautifully. Didn't have to track a bit.

    As mentioned, shot placement above all, so make sure he is comfortable with whatever load he selects, and can shoot a good group with it. You stated an expected 100-350 yard range. If that is really to be the acceptable range, he MUST shoot those distances in advance. Good luck to him!!
     

    dtkw

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    I hunted an elk with my Remmy 700 BDL in 30-06 in CO decades ago. The bullet I used was a factory load 180 gr . Don't remember what it was called. But it did the job fine at even 600 plus yards.
     

    oldpink

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    I get very good groups (1 MOA) from my Ruger M77 .30-06 with my handloads launching the superb 165 grain Barnes TTSX.
    The bullets also have the sharp plastic tip that resists deformation and provides terrific ballistic performance, which goes nicely with the solid copper construction.
    These bullet totally sidestep the issue of conventional bullets having a core/jacket separation that could compromise performance, while expanding into a sharp-edged X-shape.
    Since you're after elk, you might be better served by upping the weight to the 180 grain TTSX.
    Please post pics and give a story once your dad has gone on his hunt!
     
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    two70

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    I get very good groups (1 MOA) from my Ruger M77 .30-06 with my handloads launching the superb 165 grain Barnes TTSX.
    The bullets also have the sharp plastic tip that resists deformation and provides terrific ballistic performance, which goes nicely with the solid copper construction.
    These bullet totally sidestep the issue of conventional bullets having a core/jacket separation that could compromise performance, while expanding into a sharp-edged X-shape.
    Since you're after elk, you might be better served by upping the weight to the 180 grain TTSX.
    Please post pics and give a story once your dad has gone on his hunt!

    I don't think the step up in weight is really necessary with the X-bullet but it certainly won't hurt anything and if it is more accurate or inspires more confidence then it is worthwhile. I'm doing a plains game hunt in South Africa in 2018 and will be working up handloads for my .300 WSM and .325 WSM with TTSXs and X-bullets from 150-200 grains. My species list includes several elk sized animals and may extend up to eland which can approach and/or exceed 1600 lbs but I have no problem using 150 and 160 grain TTSXs in these calibers for any of them. I'll simply use whatever weight shoots the most accurately in each rifle.
     

    42769vette

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    Lucky bastard.
    I bet that particular venison was excellent...or so I've been told that elk is.

    Its the best meat I have ever had bar none. From my elk we brought roughly 400LBS of meat home. We put it in the chest freezer in the garage, and the Freezer died. We made it though about 100 lbs of the best meat I have ever had, and the coyotes got the rest. Lucky? Yes, and NO.
     

    oldpink

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    Its the best meat I have ever had bar none. From my elk we brought roughly 400LBS of meat home. We put it in the chest freezer in the garage, and the Freezer died. We made it though about 100 lbs of the best meat I have ever had, and the coyotes got the rest. Lucky? Yes, and NO.

    Too bad you didn't have any friends with a bunch of extra freezer space to help you at the time.
    My chest freezer crapped out right before Christmas two years ago, and I'm just glad that I had the $400 on hand to get its replacement, plus there was so much old stuff (much of which was old anyway) that acted as a giant ice cube to keep the good food in it frozen long enough for the Lowe's guys to come out and replace it.
     

    42769vette

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    Too bad you didn't have any friends with a bunch of extra freezer space to help you at the time.
    My chest freezer crapped out right before Christmas two years ago, and I'm just glad that I had the $400 on hand to get its replacement, plus there was so much old stuff (much of which was old anyway) that acted as a giant ice cube to keep the good food in it frozen long enough for the Lowe's guys to come out and replace it.


    We had another freezer, but we didnt know it went out until we were past the point of it mattering.
     
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