Is the .30-06 a good long range caliber?

[3006savage]

I have worked up two loads for my 06 that would take elk at 600 with ease. One is the 200 grain accubond at 2720 fps and other is the 168 grain Etip at 2990 fps.

The 200 is still travelling at over 1900 fps and the KE is over 1600 lbs.

The 168 is travelling at 2000 fps and still delivers 1500 LBS KE.

Those numbers are at 2000 ft elevation my elk hunting is done at 9,200 + feet elevation so those ballistics are much higher where I hunt.

I still limit my shots to 500 because my marksmanship abilities are the limiting factor not the 06.

 

[roninflag]

3006 savage i agree with you. my rem 700 mtn rifle shoots 1/2 inch groups easily at 100 yards. with the 2.5-8 scope it is a very light rifle lighter than an adl. at 200 the groups are 4-5 inches so i consider it a 250-300 yard rifle . my 300 wm sendero has never shot a group as big as an inch. usually 1/2 inch or less. 2 inches at 200 , and ......... 6 inches at 600,..... my son-in- law and son shot it in a 1000 yard match each shot a 15 shot group you could cover with a sheet of notebook paper with 210 bergers. plenty of accuracy and power. but the rifle is heavier . the recoil is actually less be cause it has a vais. moose drool if you are on a quest to find the limits i think it will be fun . my experience is sporter weight rifles are slightly easier to carry but harder to get to shoot .

 

[M Rosslee]

Good day,


I am a South African and own the following calibres: .243 Winchester, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield and .338 Winchester Magnum.

I take all my rifles along on every hunt and I experience the most bizarre thing every year - I shoot my entire quarry with only the .30-06 Springfield.

It is a 22" standard barrel 1:10" twist and hoists a hefty 180gr bullet at 2600fps down range. To elegantly phrase a good friend of mine, "It flies like a brick and hits like a bus" - ringing true in respect of its trajectory and energy dump on target.

I am fortunate in that my 06 favours the Sierra Gameking 180gr projectile and at 2640fps slams a 1.5" group into the target at 200m.

I have shot blesbuck on our open plains at ranges between 200 and 300m with very good effect and have taken two gemsbuck at 250m and 200m. The performance on smaller game (springbuck, impala and blesbuck) is, as expected a pass-through every time and on larger game the projectile stops in the opposite shoulder to the entrance wound.

None of the animals reacted any differently as opposed to having been shot with a lighter, faster bullet and the expiry of all of the abovementioned animals was within 30m of their position at shooting.

I have loaded 150gr Sierra ProHunters at a muzzle velocity of 2900fps. These hit hard and penetrate sufficiently for medium-sized antelope such as impala, bushbuck and blesbuck at distances under 200m. On two occasions I exceeded 200m and both attempts were successful and the rounds found the vitals with good effect but I did have core and jacket separation due to a shoulder bone impact at 240m and the carcas was not in a good state when dealing with the meat afterwards.

I would not recommend the 150gr laods for large game (bluewildebeest, gemsbuck, eland or zebra) at ranges exceeding 150m as this could result in insufficient penetration due to the 150gr's low ballistic coefficient and relatively poor sectional density.

These are just my observations but thought they're worth a share.

 

[FEENIX]

I'd like to use mine for 500+ using the Berger VLD bullets. It's a stock Rem 700 ADL.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

I understand that this is an old thread and OP probably had moved on since then but the short answer to the subject title is not ideal but yes (500+ but within the limits of the ammo, chambering, and shooter), ... with the right "NUT" behind the trigger.

Check this out ...

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/308-30-06-1500-1760-a-123135/

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/nosler-190gr-ablr-30-06-a-145307/index2.html

 

[M Rosslee]

I suppose it's a combination of platform (length and twist), caliber, projectile form, BC and SD and velocity...

The ratio needs to be sound.

30-06 Springfield is an outstanding caliber but doesn't offer the inherent consistency in drop that the .308 Winchester does... emphasis on inherent.

I've seen some wild outcomes down range from .30-06 Springfield shooters.

 

[M Rosslee]

Also, the Berger VLD and Lapua Scenar alike are fantastic target shooting projectiles and penetrate paper sufficiently.

I have seen match bullets perform exceptionally well on game animals and I have seen catastrophic failures...

So that makes the odds of optimal performance pretty bleak... And as soon as there is a bit of doubt - I just remove my thoughts from dwelling down a specific path.

Reliable expanding projectiles for hunting and match bullets for match shooting at paper... There are many good hunting bullets with exceptional ballistic coefficients and forms - such as Hornady Interbonds ... (up to 300m) - further than that and we start dwelling along the thin line of ethical hunting distances and distinguishing animals and targets.

The Berger VLD Hunting in my experience is an explosive hollow point which is great for head and neck shots but if you're going to be shooting for venison, is best left in the cupboard and its box.

 

[FEENIX]

The Berger VLD Hunting in my experience is an explosive hollow point which is great for head and neck shots but if you're going to be shooting for venison, is best left in the cupboard and its box.

You will get varying results but most Berger VLD end-users are very happy esp. from Jeff (BROZ).

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/comparing-berger-210-vld-215-hybrid-88657/

I am nowhere near Jeff's accomplishment but I shot a MT bull elk at 931 yards in 2013 with 190 Berger VLD out my .300 Win Mag and a 4x4 MT muley buck at 425 yards last year with 215 Berger OTM out my .300 WSM with very minimal meat damage.

 

[M Rosslee]

913 yards...

Jeepers...

Half MOA at 900m is 45cm by 45cm... that's impressive shooting...

Was the impact on the shoulder and how was the penetration?

 

[FEENIX]

913 yards...

Jeepers...

Half MOA at 900m is 45cm by 45cm... that's impressive shooting...

Was the impact on the shoulder and how was the penetration?

Thanks but like I said, I am nowhere near most of the guys here. The ELR guys warms up at 1000 yards where it is my max ... at least at this time.

Here's Shawn Carlock's dad harvesting an elk at 1314 yards ...

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f122/my-dads-2010-1314-yard-elk-112838/

It was a front chest shot, it penetrated passed the vitals but no pass through. Did not recover the bullet but the organs, esp the lungs was all souped up.

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

Hitting and Killing are somewhat very different things in hunting circles... The 180-200 grain Bergers driven as fast as safe will easily hit an elk at 1000 with the right scope, weather conditions etc but unless you break it's backbone it will live awhile until the lungs collapse or heart stops. With a muzzle velocity around 2700 fps there should be more than enough velocity left at 1000 but I'd feel more comfortable at 800 or less. You just don't see many custom cut chambers done in the old warhorse /06... I wonder what a gunsmith face would look like when you mention you want a /06 chamber...bet he wouldn't even have a great reamer ready. One things for sure BRASS will forever be available because when you can't find it reloading as we all know it is over !!!

 

[cazador1022]

im tagging for later if anyone posts some good load data for 30-06.
108 gr gameking

 

[Shane Lindsey]

Figure you meant 180 gr GameKings so here you go.

Win brass
CCI 200
56.5 gr H4350
180 gr Game King
Avg was 2794. I think they got something going on as the bearing surface seems very short compared to other similar bullets.

 

[RMulhern]

Naw! That cartridge is old and worn out! I just keep this one around because it looks so good!!

Beanland06 by Sharps Man, on Flickr

 

[Shane Lindsey]

Definitely fun.