.30-06 factory ammunition suggestions

BRACES of Bristol - Sauer 100 XTA Stainless Package
N

njc110381

Well-Known Member
Hi all.

I've just got myself a .30-06 and for the amount I'll use it I can't really be bothered to home load for it straight away. Could you please point me towards some decent factory rounds? I'll be shooting mainly roe and fallow with it, with the odd munty and red thrown in now and again.

There are so many choices and I know the first answer is to find out what the gun likes, but I'm just after some suggestions of good performers on deer so I can narrow down what to try first. I'm tempted to try Prvi because it's cheap and the brass is ok, and also Winchester Super X 180gr as it was a favourite of mine in my 6.5x55 years ago.

I'm leaning towards 180gr rather than faster, lighter bullets as I'm a firm believer that high velocity is a key cause of excessive meat damage. Being new to the calibre though I'm not sure what to expect, so I'd appreciate your thoughts.
 
Some say that the .30-06 in 165 grain is the ideal for the UK.

Certainly now that I own a .30-06 I've no wish to "re create" it as a less ballistically efficient version of the .270 WCF by firing 150 grain bullets through it!

Others reckon that 180 grain with the right bullet construction is also a good all around load.

If you are restricted to factory then maybe, yes, 165 grain.
 
Not sure if they have it in 30-06 but Hornady American Whitetail 150g Interlock has been an excellent performer for me, 5 shots one hole type accuracy. I shoot a Tikka t3x chambered in .308 Win and it has dropped any Sika I've shot this season on the spot without any excessive meat damage.

edited - I looked it up, they make it up to 180g


I've also heard of people using Hornady SST with good terminal performance however the meat damage can be quite bad. Not all the time though
 
I feed mine on Sako factory ammo, 180 grain Super Hammerhead.
It drops anything I manage to hit with it, neither blowing small stuff apart nor failing to exit the big stuff.
Before that I used RWS Evolution, the cup & core version not the lead-free, in 184 grain - I only stopped using it when I couldn't get hold of it in a hurry when my stocks ran low. Again, it worked on large & small and was a good reliable round.
Not much to choose between the two in all honesty, both are/were very effective, grouped well for me & my kit, weren't ridiculously expensive.

I have a home-load which has 168 grain Nosler BT's, but I found them a bit too frangible for my taste - they are a very accurate round, but the results on deer didn't make me feel too happy, the first Muntjac I hit with that combo was practically blown apart.

My 30-06 is a custom build with a long barrel, I get (near as makes no odds) 3000fps MV using the 168grain bullets, I think Accubonds might work better but can't be bothered to reload them at the minute.

Good luck
 
Thanks guys. I'll have a look and see what's available locally. I may still home load it, but for running in the gun and getting a basic zero I often just shoot some cheaper end factory ammo to get the brass. Prvi for example is about £90/100 - brass is going to be over half that unless I scrounge once fired so by the time I've bought the brass and loaded it I may as well just buy the first 100 and home load after that.
 
I am very impressed with Sako 180gr performance in my 30.06. Sub moa on targets, one-and-done on all quarry shot so far. These are Barnes ttsx tipped. They are imported by GMK and, last time I visited the shop, Rifleman had some on their shelves. [none showing up on web search today] I know Bluefoxglade can order in if out of stock.

Sako_30.06_180gr.webp
 
Firstly welcome to gods calibre. I use 165gr rws DK on everything from driven boar abroad to munties and everything in between. Fantastic round and stuff falls over. I’ve some once fired brass if you mr interested as I don’t home load.
 
Judging by the comments it might be controversial but my sauer 100 xt classic in 30.06 i use 150gr Sako super hammerheads (good BC) sub MOA at 100 yrds zero and it makes a nice clean kill with tolerable wound channel. I used to use Winchester Extreme point 150gr but once i had 3 misfires in a box of 20 so it has been classed as 'shite'
Never tried 165 or 180gr so i can not comment on those. i have 3 rifles my .223 use Sako gamehead 55gr (1.:12 twist), 243 same in 90gr both rifles tikka, and the sauer in 30.06.
 
I started off with 150gr Feds which where accurate but I found to be a little destructive on smaller deer. I also found that due to recoil, I suffered sometimes with losing the sight picture for the shot reaction.

In the last month, moved to the Sako 123gr Gameheads, which are equally as accurate but appear to be far less damaging on the handful of animals Ive processed. In my mind the sight picture has improved too.
 
In My Mauser M12 I use RWS 184 grain exclusively not the lead free version ;) .

I normally reload and bought the dies with the rifle but tried the RWS ,also bought at the same time , as I could not wait to try my new rifle out ! and never bothered to change -- 5p size group at 100 yards off a bench.

I stock up when I can by checking in advance with gunshops as few stock RWS for some reason (perhaps because many cheaper options are available ?)
 
FISH BOY said:
I started off with 150gr Feds which where accurate but I found to be a little destructive on smaller deer. I also found that due to recoil, I suffered sometimes with losing the sight picture for the shot reaction.

In the last month, moved to the Sako 123gr Gameheads, which are equally as accurate but appear to be far less damaging on the handful of animals Ive processed. In my mind the sight picture has improved too.
Click to expand...


Good to hear this FISH - BOY I purchased 100 rounds of Sako 123 grain recently I have taken only 12 deer with them since September but I am happy so far with the results.
Like yourself I like having a good sight picture of the shot.

Regards,
Glendine.
 
Before I started reloading I used Hornady 150gr interlocks and some Privvy 150gr and 180gr.
Both brands did the job.

I now reload 165gr Hornady and used the same load for around 8 years.
I like the interlocks.
 
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