.30-06 Ammo.. 165gr or 180gr?

[cornfedkiller]

Whats everyone's opinion on these two different weights for .30-06 ammo? Getting my rifle ready for a mule deer hunt this fall, and I'm torn between these two weights. I was planning on going with 180 for a little extra weight so that if I wanted to use the gun for elk or something bigger than deer in the future, I wouldn't have to switch. I am getting a custom dial from Leupold, so I want to just pick 1 and stick with it.

With that said, I was at Scheels the other day to pick up some ammo and the largest they had was 165gr, so I grabbed a couple boxes of that so I could at least shoot it some.

Should I just stick with the 165 and call it good, or should I bump up to 180 before I get my turret ordered?

 

[black dawg]

any particular bullet in mind?

 

[Stid2677]

I run 180s in both my 06s. I hand load and use 180 Nosler Accubonds, I also use turrets on both. Depending on the bullet, the distance difference on the end of the dial will not be that much. I have had great results with the terminal ballistics of the 180s and hunt where bigger game might be an issue so I prefer the 180s. You could also get a dial made for the 180s and then place small paint dots on the dial to match the lighter load. Since you plan on a turret anyway not really an issue until you get out past 600 yards or so.

 

[cornfedkiller]

any particular bullet in mind?

No. Grabbed a box of winchesters, federal vital shoks, and federal power shoks. Planned to shoot a few groups with each and see what my gun liked best.

The remington core-loks get good reviews too, so maybe try those if I'm not happy with any of the above.

I run 180s in both my 06s. I hand load and use 180 Nosler Accubonds, I also use turrets on both. Depending on the bullet, the distance difference on the end of the dial will not be that much. I have had great results with the terminal ballistics of the 180s and hunt where bigger game might be an issue so I prefer the 180s. You could also get a dial made for the 180s and then place small paint dots on the dial to match the lighter load. Since you plan on a turret anyway not really an issue until you get out past 600 yards or so.

I just looked at the Noslers a little and man those things get good reviews! I'll keep all my brass and maybe pick up some of those nosler bullets in a 180gr and reload with those.

 

[black dawg]

Hard to beat a 180 accubond.

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

Another accubond user. I shoot 165 because I’m a little guy shooting a lightweight rifle.

 

[rileybassman]

I shoot 180 AB and 168 TTSX - note the mono metal (barnes) bullets retain almost all their weight - so they act like a bigger bullet.

You will have 0 issues with either for elk - the one I killed this year was with a 168 ttsx - bang, flop. Shot placement trumps in this case.

I handload and the 168 TTSXs are 2930-2950 fps and the 180 ABs are 2875-2900.

I would just go with the one that is more accurate or decide if you want better expansion at lower speeds (ABs) etc...

 

[DangerRanger]

Whichever works in your gun. I prefer heavier bullets if I can.


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[WJS23]

180 trophy bonded tips haven’t let me down yet... get a box of 180s and a box of 165s and see what shoots the best

 

[mtmuley]

Hard to beat a 180 accubond.

Yep. mtmuley

 

[cornfedkiller]

Sorry for all the newbie questions - I'm more of an archery guy than rifles.

If I'm going to reload with Nosler Accubonds, what are the pros and cons of 165 vs 180?

On Noslers website, it lists the 165 with a B.C. of .475 and the 180 has a B.C. of .507. 165 muzzle velocity is 2832 and 180 is 2812 fps.

165 probably has less recoil - is it noticeable?

I assume 180 is less affected by wind?

Thanks again guys!

 

[Rs3003]

180 gr. Accubond. I shoot federals vital. My Browning A Bolt loves them. Great knockdown power.

 

[HawkCreek]

I shoot 165g NBT's in my (first) .30-06 simply because that was the first box of factory stuff that shot under and an inch in my rifle. Once I tried those I never shot anything else through it except for stuff people randomly gave me. One shot stop with complete pass through on broadside shots on mule deer, never tried it for anything bigger.
My other .30-06 is a lever action so it gets 180 grain round nose bullets just because though it feeds spitzers just fine.

 

[Runningwater]

I generally prefer the heaviest bullet my gun will shoot accurately. If its just mule deer I'd simply use whatever your rifle likes the best. If something bigger like elk were on the menu (or if you'll be in grizzly or brown country) I'd prefer the heavier bullet. Really splitting hairs though, with a similar quality bullet the weight difference won't make much noticeable difference on the receiving end. If you think recoil is an issue to you, the 165 will (all other things being equal) produce a little less of it.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I’ve used 180 partitions with no issues for years.

 

[claybreaker]

Whichever works in your gun. I prefer heavier bullets if I can.

>>>>>>> THIS!! <<<<<<<

Let your gun tell you if you don't reload.

 

[rileybassman]

Sorry for all the newbie questions - I'm more of an archery guy than rifles.

If I'm going to reload with Nosler Accubonds, what are the pros and cons of 165 vs 180?

On Noslers website, it lists the 165 with a B.C. of .475 and the 180 has a B.C. of .507. 165 muzzle velocity is 2832 and 180 is 2812 fps.

165 probably has less recoil - is it noticeable?

I assume 180 is less affected by wind?

Thanks again guys!

Honestly pretty negligible - 180s kick a little harder, hit a little harder, buck the wind a little better... but it's all splitting hairs... that said, I'd opt for the 180 in a cup and core and a 150-168 in copper.

 

[fatbacks]

My Forbes likes the Barnes 150 Gr. TTSX. Consistently groups at .75” @100yds. Pushes them out of the barrel at 3090 FPS. Recoil isn’t too bad - rifle/scope weighs in at 6lbs 3oz.

I use this in Alaska for all game except coastal brown bears.



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[nemthunter]

I shoot the Berger 215 hybrid. Works good for me.

If you are stuck on 165 or 180 grain bullets. I would go for the 180 just for the extra thump if you plan to elk hunt later on. Also if 180 is the max you want to go take a look at Bergerss 180 Elite Hunter. Set turrets are a joke. IMHO that is. They are a lot of money just to be good at one temp and altitude and bullet.

 

[muddydogs]

Everyone I know that shoots a 30-06 shoots 165 to 168 grain bullet and have no issues taking elk. I shoot the 160 out of the 7mm Rem Mag without issues. Until I read this post I thought the 180 grain bullet in the 30-06 was about dead.