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> Grain choice 30.06
Grain choice 30.06
@ 12:38 pm (GMT) |
Thierry De ChalainHi.I just inherited a 10 years old Mannlicher 30.06. The rifle has only be fired with Springfield 180 grains bullets since new. I was told that it is not recommended to change from 180 to some other lower grain bullets. Can anyone with some knowledge on the matter confirm that? Also, would you recommend having the barrel replaced at some point? (like soon?) Cheers |
Replies
@ 04:46 pm (GMT) |
Alvaro Piqueras Alonso-LambertiRe: Grain choice 30.06Thierry, I guess that your rifle twist should be 1:10, so you can use lighter bullets without problems. Maybe less than 150 gr will give you more than desirable jump to the lands. If your rifle can shoot 180, it can shoot lighter.You have to study the conditions of your barrel to know if it need to be replaced. If it´s in well conditions, it can serve you well another 10 years! |
@ 04:50 pm (GMT) |
Joshua MayfieldRe: Grain choice 30.06Thierry,One of the great strengths of the .30-06 is the versatility in loads that it provides. The only reason I could think of not to try lighter bullets would be if the intended target (type of game) called for a 180 gr. bullet or larger. There is a fantastic article on the '06 in the Knowledgebase section of this website that provides a ton of information about loads across the normal load spectrum in this caliber, which I consider to be 110 gr. through 220 gr. Personally I do like to stay in the comfortable middle ground for general shooting with the '06. Dropping down in weight to 168 and 150 gr. projectiles can be done easily, safely, and using many of the same powders that make great loads with 180 gr. bullets. 150 gr. bullets in particular are easy to find in most parts of the world. Another plus with 150 gr. bullets is the wealth of information available about shooting at that weight. Commercial loads are also abundant at that weight. Just as a point of curiosity, what is the barrel length on your Mannlicher? |
@ 01:20 am (GMT) |
Mike DavisRe: Grain choice 30.06why fix what isnt broken??? if the barrel still shoots straight why on earth would you want to change it????if you are getting inchish groups at 100 yards it will kill any deer you can hold steady on to the range most fellas are comfortable to shoot to. as for projectile weight..... factory ammo USUALLY comes in 150 or 180grn for the 06...SOME rifles prefer one over the other and shoot better groups accordingly. my mates BSA Majestic will shoot nice tight groups with 180s but still does good enough with 150 factory fodder and not too shabby with 123grn hand loads..good enough to decapitate goats at 50 yards.... |
@ 04:39 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: Grain choice 30.06Hi Thiery. There is no safety or wear issues when changing bullets in your rifle. You can go up or down in bullet weights. I think it may a mis-communication that has been passed on. Perhaps the gun store told the first owner that the twist rate was best suited tgo 180 grain bullets. But as other posters have pointed out, the 1:10 twist rate can manage a wide range of bullet weights.Spend some time with the rifle and see how it shoots. The older Mannlicher rifles were much better than the new designs which at times cannot be made to shoot at all due to a combination of the action design and a poor choice of synthetic stock materials- plus the occasional dud barrel. Diagnosis can be very difficult if all three variables are at play. You may find this to be a very good all around rifle that handles a variety of bullet weights. |
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@ 09:37 am (GMT) |
Joshua MayfieldRe: Grain choice 30.06Just a question born out of idle curiosity - have any of you guys seen, or do you know of someone making .30-06s in any twist rate other than 1:10? |
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@ 07:37 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: Grain choice 30.06I haven't seen any deviation Josh. |
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@ 10:11 am (GMT) |
Thierry De ChalainRe: Grain choice 30.06Wow! Thanks for the replies guys.One of my mates uses 123 gr. bullets with his 30.06. Taking into account that we hunt medium sized game (Rusa deer), would you think thats a good choice then? |
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@ 10:12 am (GMT) |
Thierry De ChalainRe: Grain choice 30.06Joshua, Im not sure about the length, I'll have a look and let you know. |
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@ 04:35 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: Grain choice 30.06Hi Thierry, the mention of a 123gr bullet bothers me somewhat. This bullet weight is normally not available in .30 caliber and instead is usually made in either .311" or .312" to be used in the Russian cartridges 7.62x39 and 7.62x54. If the bullet is soft, it will likely swage down OK but chamber pressures will be very high because the case neck is forced against the chamber wall and has no room to release the bullet. So it may pay to double check this. If the bullets are .311 / .312", please do not use them in your .30-06.The only 123gr .30 caliber bullet I know of is the Sako Gamehead, a fully frangible bullet, extremely violent, well matched to the fast killing of lighter framed deer with Rusa being an upper limit. The 130 .30 caliber bullet weight is OK for Rusa but this is a tough species of deer and I would prefer a bit more bullet weight. Most 130 grain bullets (like the Sako Gamehead) are very soft and designed for the lightest of animals. I would prefer a 165grbullet in the .30-06 driven very fast. However, much depends on bullet construction. I suggest you study the knowledge base for more info. |
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@ 06:29 pm (GMT) |
Mike DavisRe: Grain choice 30.06they were Taipan soft points....we couldnt find speer 130s at the time and they were nearest I could find ... |
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@ 10:43 pm (GMT) |
Mike DavisRe: Grain choice 30.06oops my bad...they were 125 grn flat nose Taipans..sorry for any confusion good catch Nathan. and for Rusa I would have though waaay too light. we loaded those rounds with wallabies/goats in mind, next to no recoil and sure to expand to the extreme. |
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@ 11:07 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: Grain choice 30.06No worries Mike.Personally I don't like using this bullet weight / construction on tough deer either. But there are guys who utilize and swear by light / soft .30 cal bullets with meat saver shots (behind the shoulder). As another example, in New Caledonia, it is not uncommon to use the .243 in this manner (meat saver or neck shots) at close to moderate ranges. I have to be a bit mindful of saying that "you cannot use this bullet for X game animal" because of such examples. But in my own experience, there is always the potential for shallow penetration, especially if round ball joints are hit in lieu of the meat saver shot. On Rusa, the 165gr bullet weight strikes the balance in the .30-06, obtaining relatively high impact velocities for wide wounding while having a measure of SD / weight etc for penetration. Of the light bullets, the exceptions to the above are the Barnes and GS homogenous designs. |
@ 01:12 am (GMT) |
Ian GouldRe: Grain choice 30.06I read in some USA discussion groups where the author thought the 130 grainers were great for whitetail, dropping them in their tracks. So I was thinking about them for fallow, and tried them out on roos. I found the Hornady 130 held together OK but didn't exit the chest of a big roo. Heart shot, the roo went about 100m before dropping.I like a bullet that exits (blood trail). And I'd stick to one weight bullet so you don't have to worry about different point of impacts. Even though it might start off slower, a 165 will be flatter shooting. When I use up my stock of 150's I'll be going for 165's - like Nathan says it looks like a good balance b/w velocity, flat shooting, & penetration. |
@ 02:21 am (GMT) |
jason shoots in red bandsRe: Grain choice 30.06are kangaroos hard to put down? with an animal like a deer you could take out a fore leg and heart/lungs in one shot. but skippy doesn't run on its fore leg, therefore no stopping the dead run. (more thinking out loud, we don't have kangaroos, im not sure) |
@ 02:38 am (GMT) |
Bob MavinRe: Grain choice 30.06G'day IanI use 165gn SST or 165gn Sierra Game Kings in my 30-06, I find them good on most Australian Deer up to Red's. Cheers Bob |
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@ 06:15 am (GMT) |
Ian GouldRe: Grain choice 30.06roos aren't hard to kill. Professional meat shooters use 222s or 223s and head shoot them (code of conduct requires head shot and so do meat processors). I've been with farmers who shoot smaller ones with 22LR, but I think that's too light.The roo I shot (property has permits) was the biggest I could find. A big eastern grey roo can stand about 6ft tall, but they are still fairly light in the chest. Headshots are recommended and IMHO any centrefire 22 will do the trick. |
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@ 05:30 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: Grain choice 30.06I don't think much of the .22LR on roos either. You can sneak in and get one shot and hopefully make it count but after that, the mob are off and its all long shots. A .22 centerfire is much better.We have wallaby in New Zealand, the south island being the home of the .22-243 Middlestead. |
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