Reeder Custom Guns - 30-06 Load For Elk

What would you consider to be a good load/bullet for the .30-06 for a Colorado elk hunt.

I've dispatched like size animals with a .45 ACP, but anything behind the ear will sign off easily. Point is they have heavy bones. The shoulder bones in particular would seem to deform a less than premium bullet.

I know lots of people have no question at all using a .270 with 130 gr. bullets. Not me brother. I like the idea of 200 gr.+ with the old 06'. Old outfitter Keith thought the 06' with 220 gr. was too light for some circumstances. But that was long ago with sketchy bullets and we have more powerful propellants making the .30-06 the full equal of the old .300 H&H of yore.

I am sure some premium 180 gr. driven up close to 3000 fps would be fine. But I'd just have to start looking at 200 gr. first. I once saw a display of some 50 animals in a museum in Lincoln, NE. A fantastic display donated by a Doctor who traveled abroad hunting. They also had his rifle he used to take all the animals including Buffalo and Elephant. It was a .300 Weatherby MKV wearing a Weatherby 4X fixed scope! They also had the factory ammo boxes he used. 180 gr. for almost everything except 220 gr. for the "Big" stuff. Not sure where that line was drawn. Obviously it was a case of a true "Hunter", a man with ONE gun, who knew how and when to use it. I found the display very inspiring and educational. I hope it is still there. The basement was filled with THOUSANDS of firearms and Indian artifacts and old cars! Worth a visit.

Good Luck with the decision. You need to be confident and put your focus elsewhere after making a sound choice. Alcorn likes Swift products and I see they do have a very good field proving. Some of these newfangled all brass things are interesting but I like some lead in my bullet, at least a little.

I had very good luck with H4350, and would use any of the premium bonded core bullets in the 165-180 grain range.

Hodgdon has a great on line reloading app I use a lot

165-180 gr will suite just fine. I have not noticed a difference in performance between the 2 weights. Just make sure it shoots accurately as shots can be long.

Google it and you will find a good Elk 06' article about modern lead-less bullets of 150 gr. on Elk. A big driver is range and trajectory, they DO deliver with just over 3000 fps for a 150 gr. typically.

I'm still a little old school, and living where I do 200 yds. is a very long shot. I cannot imagine something twice that distance. But I know it's the norm other places.

is the Nosler Accubonds in a variety of calibers. They expand at longer ranges and hold together well at close. They are not perfect, nor is there a free lunch here. But those bullets have proven themselves time and again over different game and ranges.

safaris and took 12 animals with them and all but one was taken with one shot and that was my fault with bad bullet placement. That is all the animals except the Cape Buffalo which was taken with the 500 grain .458 caliber Hornady DGX bullet.

Will run a solid 2700 fps using Reloader 22, a 180 only 100 fps more. Unheard of performance from the ancient ctg. Showing 3100-3300+ ft. Lbs pushing on those premium slugs., 180-220 grs.

The 150-165’s blister out proportionally faster! There is a line there somewhere for me. What do I know, I hear some guys hunt Elk with .25-06 and .243s.

Sort of like the 9mm in handguns, the old .30-06 has never had it better.

Who was on his first elk hunt and on an extreme budget. He had a Mark X Mauser with a bad scope. Once it was replaced with a reliable scope, I loaded 165 Barnes XTC for him. The triple shock was the second gen for Barnes and had a different nose and hollow point design.

Zeroed at 250 yards, grouped well.
Long story short, He was the only one to get an elk. He was Happy, happy, happy. Bullet wasn't recovered, but did what it was supposed to do.

Personally, I've used a 338 win for elk. But I would suggest, a premium bullet for the 06.

The Nosler AB is my first choice as it has good B.C. holds together well, and still expands at lower velocities. I've not had any trouble with Barnes X Triple Shock, but the original X was a bit different story. Don't discount the Hornady interbond too.

Just make sure you put the bullet in the cardiovascular plumbing, not the wastewater plumbing

That bullet with 54.0 gr of IMR4350 and you go a great elk load. I used that load for years with a 180 Hornady interlock. Never had a deer take a second shot.

so I am not the best person to ask. Colleen has taken a couple with her 300 Win. mag and i have seen them take 2 or 3 rounds behind the shoulder and run off. The main thing is bullet placement. I would think a point of shoulder shot on a bull elk with a 200 grain bullet would be fine but not really sure the '06 is the best way to go. A big bull elk, especially one in rut can and will take a lot of killing. My advice, for what it's worth is go with the biggest caliber you can shoot well and practice a LOT for that point of shoulder shot, and use the heaviest bullet your gun can shoot accurately.

the no lead bullets. Every year we have guys complain about those Barnes bullets punching holes thru the animal like an ice pick. If they don't hit a big bone they don't expand, plain and simple. If you don't live in a commie state, forget the Barnes bullets completely.I don't even like to carry them in our gun shop as they have so much of a failure to expand. JUNK bullets. Stay with a bonded bullet.

4350 powder for deer elk and bear. With one load I always know where it shoots. Elk are tough. Sometimes the premium bullets punch right through and the elk show no hit effect if you miss a bone. A lot of guys around MT still use the core-loktt bullets. They do plenty of damage going in but rarely pass thru

You can not get a 180 gr to 3000, can you? HOGDON RELOAD DATA has a 180 grain bullet @ 2500 t0 2700. My load for 150 SST/ 61 H4350/ fed 215 just gives 3089 with full case. Likely will never hunt a large critter like elk, but a 200 should be good as would a good 180 gr. If you know of a powder that can speed up a 180 gr please share. Again is this a comment not a complaint

You'd be hard pressed to beat that in a 22" barrel, 24" adds some but it's splitting hairs. I've not tried some of the new powders out there testing myself, but rest assured Hornady has and that's likely a benchmark.

Still, 160 fps under 3,000 with an old 06' 180 gr. is pretty impressive! Almost 3200 ft. lbs energy, right up there with the old .300 H&H.

The Hornady GMX is an outstanding bullet design and there are others. Elk are not made of titanium.

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