Factory loads for hunting, what is your favorite?

[Galpster]

I have an odd 6 Remington Model 700. I have it at the gunsmith for trigger work, glasbed, lug and other stuff. I want to shoot the most accurate factory round available and have only shot the Remington 150 grain Corelokt out of this rifle. It is a nail driver at 25 yards, floats a little at 100. Like 2 inch MOA. That is why it is at the gunsmith.

So what do other 0dd 6 shooters use and why?

[chrisb]

I shoot remington Core Lokt 180gr from my 06. I get good groupings and have had excellent results in the field with it.

[Bofire]

I like that cheap blue box Federal ammo. As long as I am commenting I think for North America the "premium" ammo is a big hype that sucks in many shooters every year, and does nothing but cost money.
Carl

[Huntbear]

I have been a federal ammo fan for years.  Very accurate, and you can get a plethora of premium bullets in the expensive stuff.  It also seems to be very consistent, shot to shot.  

[C-Money]

Federal Classic, use to be a silver and blue box, now I think its all blue. Good stuff.

[Galpster]

Bofire, I agree with you that the expensive stuff is all hype. Just thought because I have no real experience to back it up.

[jackelope]

i always used federal vital shocks loaded with 165 barnes triple shocks in my browning a-bolt 30-06 and it shot pretty well.
I also don't think bullet quality is hype but thats just me. the triple shocks don't grenade when they hit and don't do near as much meat damage.
corelokts shoot well for enough people that they can't be bad...i just never tried them. i'd be more concerned about what they do when they hit something rather than how well they shoot in hunting situations. most bullets will shoot well enough for most hunters in hunting situations. contrary to my sig line, you don't need a 1/2" rifle to kill a deer or elk.

[Buckmark]

I handload for my model 70 30-06, 165 grain X pills have worked the best for me, but in store bought ammo i found the federal vital shock  running the 165 sierra game kings worked the best for me. close to my loads.
I have not tried the factory loads with the Barnes bullets yet but i should.
Get a few different boxes of different brands and weights and see what your gun likes and then buy a gross of it..

[Galpster]

Jackelop, Wanna go out some time and do some comparing, shooting? We seem to know some of the same people and live relatively close. The Corelokt bullets are great for mushrooming and they stay together. My father has shot them as long as I can remember and that is why I have always shot them. He also used the smaller grain, 150, for elk, deer, and everything else. I have seen him drop elk at 400 yds with 150 grain corelokt. Why do people use real heavy grain bullets?

[jackelope]

we can go shoot anytime but i don't have the a-bolt anymore.
Drew shoots core lokts in his RUM with great results too. I am now shooting hand loaded 180 accubonds in my 300 win mag.
i'll see if i have any  -06 ammo left...if i do it's all yours.

[GoldTip]

When the only gun I hunted with was a 700bdl in 30-06 the only ammo that went through it was 180gr core lokts.  Shot well and made animals dead.  I haven't killed a critter with that gun for 15 years probably.

I will disagree that premium bullets are a waste on NA animals.  For the broadside shot at 300 yards or less on a deer/elk/bear/antelope, then yes I will concede they are probably not needed.  It's when the shot is not so perfectly angled, or is a bit further out there, or maybe even very very close.  Thats where the premium bullets pay off.

[Galpster]

Has anyone tried shooting 150,165,200 grain to see if there is a difference in accuracy? Or is it all about impact?

[WDFW-SUX]

There are so many variables with bullets..One of the major things with heavier bullets is the bullet length relative to the twist rate of you rifle.  The other is the ballistic coefficient of the particular bullet you are using.  

If the twist rate is too quick or too slow accuracy will suffer thats why some rifles shoot heavier bullets and other shoot lighter bullets best.  

The ballistic coefficient is how efficiently the bullets travels down range IE a round nose bullet is not going to fly as well as a polymer tip bullet...

This is the reason custom rifles exist..people want to have specialized performance so they have a rifle built for exactly what they are up too. 

There are truly a million and one factors in accuracy and its really best to just see what your particular rifle like to eat.

[Buckmark]

Like WDFW-SUX said, a million and one factors, and every rifle is different in one way or another, even the same manufacture.
I have used the 125, 150 and 165 grain and found my gun hated the 125, was good to go with the 150's and equal to the 150 with 165's so i personaly opted for the 165's. The 125's i hoped to use for yotes but that did not work out.
Every shooter can be alittle different also.
I gave a box of my handloads to a person i know with a remmy.
We both went shooting together using my loads, my groups with the model 70 were smaller than his with the remmy, bullet or gun or shooter? We never swapped guns to see if the groups changed.

[WDFW-SUX]

Even two rifles of the same manufacture can be totally different..If the bolt face or the lugs are not square or just different than the other rifle you can have completely different results between the two guns.

Land groove geometry and rate of twist...straightness of the action,stock contact with barrel, smoothness of the bore, barrel manufacture process, Ogive shape can all change things alot also...

Then there is the skill of the shooter.

It never ends...