Optimun Bullet weight for 500 yards

[Tyler Kemp]

I'd say 200 grain Accubond, good BC for good energy.

 

[3006savage]

For the most part I agree with you, but I think it depends on the bullet/load/rifle combination and shot placement.

If you were to shoot a 150 E-Tip with a BC of .469 @ 1000 elev, with an MV of 2900 fps, @ 500 yds down range the bullet would have a velocity of about 2000 and a momentum of 42 lbft, which "should be plenty to penetrate and exit the boiler room with good expansion. E-Tips expand @ 1800 fps. Based on some shots on elk at LR some guys in here have taken, 40 lbft of momentum "seems" to be enough to penetrate an elk.


With a 26 inch barrel and some good load development you could probably get an MV of close to 3000 or more and at an elevation of 5000' or higher where you are more likely to encounter elk the down range velocotiy and momentum increase to about 2180 and 46 lbft, which should be plenty to kill an elk with a well placed shot.

Would I choose a 30.06 and a 150 gr bullet? @ 500 yds. No.

-MR

Just to add to Montana's post above the bullets penetration potential is a function of Retained Weight, Frontal Area, and of course Velocity. The article below quantifies the penetration of several bullets of the same weight and also quantifies the volume of the wound cavity.

Shooting Illustrated's Guns and Hunting.com

The impact velocity of a 180 grain Accubond and 150 grain Etip would be very similar at 500 yards with retained weight would also being very similar. I would expect their terminal performance to be similar.

That being said I am using a 200 grain accubond for my elk hunt this fall. The ballistics at 500 look like this when zeroed at 250.

yds drop-- fps- KE lbs/mom drift @ 10 MPH

500 39.2 1986 1751 56 ----16.2 --- 1,000 ft elev

500 37.7 2062 1888 59 -----13.9 --- 5,000 ft elev

With a MV of 2684 its not the flattest but the velocities at 500 are great for a 200 grain bullet and wind drift is very good. I am loading 53.5 grains RL17 with an OAL of 3.41. The rifle is a 22" barrel factory Savage 116.

 

[liltank]

I'm going out a limb here, but my choice would be a 175 BTHP. Kill anything you throw it at out to 500+. With an 06' you will be able to drop anything in North America with this bullet. My suggestion would be the Nosler Custom Comp .505 BC. or the Sierra 175 .495 or the Hornady A-Max .496 BC. All 3 of these will work wonders.

Have Fun,
Tank

 

[silvertip-co]

165/168 is the optimal calibre bullet wt for 30. ( that's a capital period )

500 yrds isnt even long range for a 30-06. I do suppose that heavier VLD's like 180 or 190or 220something would work at 1k with less drop.

 

[J E Custom]

165/168 is the optimal calibre bullet wt for 30. ( that's a capital period

500 yrds isnt even long range for a 30-06. I do suppose that heavier VLD's like 180 or 190or 220something would work at 1k with less drop.

+1 To me the word "Optimum" means the best performance a calibre can produce.

If you look at the ballistics for = Velocity, Energy, Trajectory at the maximum distance,using
the same zero they will show you the Optimum bullet weight,

You may chose to use a lighter or heaver bullets depending on use and accuracy but it
would not be at the optimum overall performance.

When I start a project rifle this is the sequence I use to decide what is optimum for the
intended use.

1= Purpose, target or hunting.
2= If it is target ,what type of match and distance.
3= If it is hunting , what type of game and the distance the person will be hunting.( If the
person is not comfortable with a distance there is no reason to build a rifle to fill this need.)
4= Once intended use is established then cartridges that will perform at optimum will
be selected.Of these the person will chose based on preference,recoil,action desired, weight
and other reasons which would be there preferred chambering.even the donner rifle/action
has to be looked at if it is applicable.
5= When all of this has been decided and a load selected as a "Starting point" the build
begins .
6= When finished load testing begins with the selected bullet weight and style.

In your case you already had the cartridge,intended use,maximum distance you wanted to
hunt/shoot so the optimum bullet weight @ 500 yards would be the 160 to 170gr class of
bullets because of downrange velocity and energy.

The lighter bullet in your calibre will have a flatter trajectory but less energy, a heaver bullet
will have more drop at the distance you chose and less velocity and energy. And at 500yards
the wind bucking ability is insignificant.

So when I use the term optimum It is just that. I may chose to go above or below but that is where I start.

Normally I will chose to go a little heaver that optimum if I do change bullet weights but that is
rare.

At extreme distances heavy bullets are best as long as you can get velocities high enough to
stay supersonic at the extended distance. so look at all aspects of performance and compare
apples to apples and don't change the parameter's to make a round look better. IE: if you
compare performance use the same zero,you can always change it after the selection is made
to suit your needs or preferences.

I hope this will help you decide which bullet is best for your needs.

J E CUSTOM