| Equipment & Gear > Guns and Ammo |
| 30-06 and light loads |
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| jackelope:
first let me preface this by saying...i don't own lots of guns, nor do i know a whole ton about bullets/loads/ballistics, etc. i shoot factory loads out of a totally stock factory gun. i wish kind of that i had a flatter shooting caliber, but i don't so here's my question. i've seen some bullets(hand loads i think) in the 125 grain range built for the '06. is there any benefit to using these, and if so, is there a factory 125 grain bullet that anybody knows of? i guess i wonder if it's too light for deer sized game, but i also wonder if it would be flatter shooting at longer ranges. anybody who is a bullet/ballistics guru have an answer for me? i pretty much just use 165 grain plain jane bullets ike core locks but this past year i used the hornadylight magnum 165 grain's. ate my tag so not sure the result on a deer, but they shoot pretty good. just not sure out to distances of 300 yards or so. |
| bobcat:
That the 30-06 is not flat shooting is, in my opinion, a common misconception. The ballistic coefficient of the bullet, and the muzzle velocity is what determines how "flat" it will shoot. If you're not familiar with the term "ballistic coefficient," it is just basically a mathematical representation of how aerodymanic a bullet is, with the longer a bullet is in relation to its diameter, the higher the BC will be. A 125 grain bullet in 30 caliber is very short and will have a very low BC. The muzzle velocity will be quite a bit higher than a 165 grain bullet, but the 125 will lose that velocity much quicker. Also the lower BC bullets will drift more in the wind. The 165 grain is just about the ideal weight in a 30-06, in my opinion, and there's nothing wrong with the 180's either. I would not go lighter than 150 grain in a 30-06, for hunting purposes, and I would only go that light if I wanted to reduce recoil. The 30-06 loaded with a 150-180 grain bullet is easily capable of shooting out to 400 yards. You might be surprised if you play around with a ballistic calculator to find that there is very little difference between the 30-06, and other cartridges that are "known" for being flat shooting, like the 7mm Rem. Mag and the 270, ESPECIALLY if you're only talking about shooting to 300 yards. Out to 300 yards, almost all modern cartridges shoot virtually the same. |
| Ray:
It doesn't look like 125 grain has the best long range trajectory according to this But then again the 125 grain was zeroed in at a shorter range too. I seem to think 150 and 165 grain shoot best for me. I'm about as much a ballistics expert as some dude working at a grocery store though :P |
| bobcat:
Yeah, but that isn't a fair comparison because those are the "managed recoil" loads. Muzzle velocity is only 2660 fps, when a full power load with a 125 grain bullet should be well over 3100 fps. |
| Ray:
I think you're right but not all of those were managed recoil. You can take your pick here for example http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/choose_specific_loads.aspx?c1=30&c2=&c3= Probably a better example |
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