Advice On Ammunition Selection 30-06

[danguzorek]

Hello thanks in advance for any help.
My name is Dan and i am new to rifle shooting will be doing range shooting only not hunting. have always been a handgun guy. I just picked up a savage 111fxps3 30-06 with the simmons scope i know this scope is not very good but hoping it will do until i can get a better one. My aim is to start shooting and then eventually reloading one i become proficient in the shooting. My question is I'm not sure what grain of bullet i should pick. My range has a 75 and 100 yard ranges hoping to be able to shoot the 100 if the scope and my lack of experience will cooperate. Thanks for any input you guys have

The salesman at bass pro sold me some 30-06 Remington corelokt 220 grain(this seems large to me after seeing all the options available) i understand the better ammo will be more accurate and cost more, looking for something reasonably priced cant yet afford $50 a box for ammo to shoot right now any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks i know I'm asking for alot just looking for a starting point to fill some free time, Thanks for reading.

Dan

[Smokey262]

Do yourself a favor and go buy the cheapest 150 or 165 grain stuff Walmart sells. Should be less than $20 a box

[dcloco]

I am with Smokey on this.

About the only reason to shoot 220 gr....if you are hunting Yetti or rhino.

150 to 180's are just about perfect in 30/06's.

PS - save YOUR brass to reload for YOUR rifle.

[Hammer]

.

Back in the days of yore when dinosaurs roamed the earth...

My first experience with the 30-caliber was using Sierra 220-grain roundnoses in a 308 Winchester...

Worked great on 25 yard shots on groundhogs.



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[Axtell3]

I belive the 30-06 was designed around a 168 grain bullet. 165's work best in mine so far.

[rjtfroggy]

Welcome Dan.
Until you get used to shooting the 06 I would recommend shooting some 150gr. reduced recoil from remington (helps to avoid flinching, save the brass). Once you have mastered the recoil you can use anything from 110gr on up, that's one of the nice things of the 06 the variety of ammo for it. Look into buying the bulk ammo for now you can buy 100 rounds for a $100 or less, if you can find some place that sells surplus ammo I'm sure you can get it for much less.
there are draw backs to everything and the draw back to factory ammo is the fact that pinpoint accuracy is not going to be there, unless you spend a lot more for match grade ammo.
IMO (probably worth less than .02) until you reload and until you are used to shooting your new rifle buy the cheapest you can find and save the brass except for military surplus, shoot often and shoot safe.

[wbm]

Until you get used to shooting the 06 I would recommend shooting some 150gr. reduced recoil from Remington (helps to avoid flinching, save the brass).

+1!

[tammons]

Bass pro shops Salesmens Sheesh,
Either you got a prick or someone that did not know what they were doing.

220 gr is a no go to start with.
That is the ammo you want to use if you are going after a bear or moose some huge animal.

As above get some reduced loads in the 125 gr area.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=353369

[Hammer]

.

Now what you got against 220's on groundhogs ?

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[Balljoint]

Started shooting 30/06 in the Sixty's with an 03 Springfield that i payed get this $10 that's right TEN DOLLARS and still packed in grease, over the years shot out the Mil. barrel re barreled with a Douglas 1/10 twist 26 inch barrel, have shot 100 to 1000 yards with this rifle mostly 168 to 180 Match Kings never anything heavier.
I was lucky to have a source for FA Match ammo still have half an ammo can of FA60 Match maybe the best Mil. match ever.

[dcloco]

The original 30/06's were designed to shoot 178-180 gr bullets - as that is what the machine guns used as well.

Later on, the twist rate was slowed down to use 150's/160's.

My 2nd year of production Remington 721 in 30/06, dearly loves a diet of 180 gr bullets. Shoots the 150's and 160's as well, but 178/180 are 1/2 moa groups.

[Kentucky Fisherman]

Shooting your 06 from the bench is gonna pound your shoulder regardless, but as others have mentioned there is absolutely no reason to target shoot with a 220 grain bullet (unless you're practicing for a moose hunt). Go to Wal-Mart and buy 150 grain factory loads from any of the reputable makers. I think Winchester used to make a less costly round that came to be called "white box" loads. Save the brass!

One of my other main recommendations for a newbie '06 target shooter is that you spring for one of the PAST strap-on recoil pads. You can pick one up from Midway online or any of several other online shooting supply houses. It will last a lifetime and it will go a long way toward keeping you from developing a nasty flinch (especially with those 220 grain bullets). If you don't want to buy a PAST pad, find some heavy foam rubber or some carpet padding and make a recoil pad with that and some duct tape. When you're sitting at a bench all hunkered up to your rifle and leaning forward a little, your body can't roll with the recoil and your shoulder is gonna take a beating. Don't worry about looking like a sissy, just take my advice and use some kind of recoil pad. And quit buying your shooting gear at BassPro, cause they're horribly overpriced. I window shop there and buy some fishing supplies from time to time, but their shooting supplies, and especially their guns, are for the most part insanely expensive compared to other chains and local dealers.

[Uncle Jack]

Okay, I'll jump on the 150grn bandwagon too.....plenty of accuracy and less recoil. If you don't want to wrap a bundle of carpet padding around the rifle, you might look into a slip on Limbsaver recoil pad. I think they are around $35.

As suggested, go buy the cheapest WalMart name brand ammo and continue to buy the same stuff. When you get to reloading it will help if all the brass is the same headstamp. Brands differ in internal volume and that will effect the accuracy when reloading.

Most important.....just get out and shoot it.

uj

[tammons]

The difference in recoil from the 125gr managed recoil ammo I listed to the factory 220 gr ammo
is about 10# or about like a 243 vs 22# for the 220 gr full load.

Best thing you can do is buy a past pad for the range, and if that is not enough get a limbsaver pad too.

I have shot some heavy recoil loads, 275 grain 375 ruger, 338, 50 beowulf etc on a bench on bags with that combo no problems.

Think I usually lasted about 20-25 rounds with the 375 ruger, before I had enough. About 30 with the 338.

Never even felt the 375 ruger when I was hunting. The 338 has a 19" barrel and its snappy.

[Eric in NC]

Bench technique is important too - sit upright rather than leaning into the stock. That, good hearing protection, and the pad(s) mentioned will make a big difference in fatigue from the bench.

220 grain 30-06 with a Tupperware stock and factory hockey puck pad will certainly get your attention from a bench (but should be fine standing up).

[Hammer]

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If you start with the 220-grain load in the 30-caliber there is less to work up to when you go for the 458 African with 500-grainers or the 585 Nyati with 750-grainers.



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[danguzorek]

Thanks guys for all the advice and so quickly. Im gonna take the advice most all of you gave get som 150 grain or so and start there.
I appriciate all your help.

Dan

[Baryngyl]

.

Back in the days of yore when dinosaurs roamed the earth...

My first experience with the 30-caliber was using Sierra 220-grain roundnoses in a 308 Winchester...

Worked great on 25 yard shots on groundhogs.



I imagine that looks about the same as when my sister talked me into shooting a snowshoe rabbit with a 100 Gr 243 load, all we found was it's ears attached to the top of it's scalp and one back leg.

Michael Grace

[BobT]

For what it's worth I have found that most rifles will shoot very well with the Federal blue box stuff and it is usually the cheapest around here. I can buy 2 boxes of the Federal in .300 Winchester magnum for about the same price as one box of Remington or Winchester. Even at that reloading is still the way to go if you want to shoot a bunch.

Bob

[danguzorek]

Cool thanks i found some winchester in a black box 150 grain 18.00 a box at wallyworld so picked a couple boxes up try to hit the range this weekend hopefully.

Dan