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30/06 and the bullets used in Africa this year

JJHACK

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Rural Wa. State/ Ellisras South Africa
I have recovered and recorded a lot of information on the bullets used this season from my loaner 30/06 rifle.

First some of the facts and details regarding the loads and the gun used.

Rifle: Model 70 Winchester PacNor 23” barrel in standard 30/06 cartridge

Winchester Brass
Federal 210M primers
IMR4350 powder 58 grains
Chronographed at 2900 plus at 55deg F

Game shot by 6 different hunters six male one female

6 warthogs
12 impala
6 Kudu bulls
1 Kudu cow
5 Zebra
3 waterbuck
6 wildebeest
4 Red Hartebeest
4 Blesbok
2 Nyala
1 Steenbok
1 Gemsbok

51 total animals. One was not recovered, a Blue Wildebeest was lost although a confirmed hit with a short blood trail.

Shortest shot was a impala at about 40 feet, longest shots were a Zebra at a laser measured 237 yards, Blue Wildebeest at 198 yards, Kudu Bull at 225, and Impala at 177 yards all measured with my LRF 1200.

35 were shot with the Barnes TSX bullets. 7 were recovered
6 were shot with the Federal Fusion factory loads
6 were shot with Hornady Interbonds
4 were shot with the PMC factory loads

My unbiased assessment is as follows. However I must first say that I was admittedly very skeptical of the Barnes bullets based on my prior extensive experience with the original X bullet design. I must also admit to not being very impressed with the Fusions lack of velocity at only 2700plus fps. The PMC bullets were on hand and used to share the difference between factory cup and core bullets and premium handloads. The Interbonds were already a well known performer and had a lot of respect from me.

IMG_0009.JPG


IMG_0008.JPG



My rifle was zeroed with the X bullets and shooting hole touching groups at 100 meters. Prior to departure I shot a three shot group to foul the barrel. Upon arrival I shot a 2 shot group to prove the travel did not compromise the scope adjustments. There were 5 shots now through the barrel. Each hunter using this rifle also shot it before their hunt started. The Fusion, PMC, and Interbond bullets would shoot into about a 3+” group mixed POI's with the settings used for the TSX bullets.

The Federal Fusion Bullets: Underpowered for bigger game. The lack of velocity and the unpredictable bullet shapes left me unimpressed. Although they held together they under penetrated and fell short of my desired performance hopes. It’s an excellent inexpensive deer and smaller big game bullet but does not have the kind of killing power I expect with a 30/06 using other loads and bullets. A good choice for deer, impala, blesbok, but I would not likely choose them for anything bigger or even on the tough little warthog. I stopped using this bullet for further shooting on game based on the early limited performance on the recovered game and bullets. With the shallow penetration and oddly shaped mushrooms I was not confident to shoot game as tough as wildebeest, gemsbok and zebra with these bullets.

PMC Bullets: As can be expected with these bullets being Cup and Core design they will kill about like the Fusion bullets. If everything is perfect they work fine, but when something goes wrong they will not provide the edge I would like to see in my bullets. All of them failed to stay in one piece and all lost much if not all functional weight retention.

Hornady Interbonds: Work flawless and 100% predictable 4 out of the 6 were recovered and all had massive expansion with great weight retention. Another hunter used these bullets in his 30/06 AI and had identical performace and recovery percentages as my standard 30/06. The AI version was about 90fps faster at 3000fps. A better bullet would be difficult to choose. I have already posted dozens of pictures and text on these bullets in the past. This years experience is the same. It's a class act by Hornady and difficult to choose another bullet over this design.

The Barnes TSX bullet: Well this was the one that drove this project for me. Although I am very pleased with the performance. I am very happy with the results of so many deadly shots on big tough game animals. I’m still skeptical about some of what I have seen. The 7 recovered bullets look almost identical and have from what I can see 100% weight retention. Not a single petal was broken off and all expanded from the close range 40 yard shots to the longer near 250 yard shots. Some exits were massive and the blood was flowing freely. Others showed me a bore diameter hole and not a drop of blood from the exit. I’m stumped as to how these bullets exit with an exact bore diameter hole? Yet some others have a huge exit hole. I had about a 20% recovered bullet rate from these bullets. The lowest recovery percentage of any bullet I have ever used. Exits are the norm with the TSX. I had a bullet zip clean through the shoulders of a Big Zebra at 237 yards which included the vertebra and one scapula above the shoulders. This is enough mass that I have seen it stop a 270 grain Swift A frame from a 375HH plenty of times. Yet a 165 grain TSX from a 30/06 passed through. 4 zebra were shot with the 30/06. One needed a follow up shot, all 4 of the TSX bullets passed through these zebra. Only the one follow up shot was inside one of them. Zebra, Gemsbok, and Blue Wildebeest are about the best bullet stopping plains game we have. All three species were shot clean through with this bullet. Few provided a good blood trail often due to the bore diameter exit holes. Those that had good blood trails when recovered always had good exit holes too.

Here is an Impala with a noticeable exit hole but you can clearly see there is no blood flow.

IMG_2400.JPG


I have 4 other TSX bullets I could photo and post here. However they are identical to the first two in this photo. They would be difficult to tell apart had I not marked them before I left! The only oddball in the group is the one from the zebra. It was recovered inside the heart. It has a wrinkled petal which you can see in this photo. All the others are exactly the same.


The rifle was not cleaned, barrel swabbed out, or oiled during the entire trip. On my last evening I hunted hard for a warthog. I walked from 2:30 PM til dark about 6PM I was hunting alone and looking for a whopper warthog I had seen twice in the prior several weeks I had been hunting here. In the closing moments of light about 5:55 I saw what looked like a shooter. At 75 yards he was trotting parallel to the road I was on, and slightly quartering away from me through the bush. When the warthog cleared a bush and left me with a fleeting moment between bushes I leveled the upper crosshair and touched off the trigger when it was layed behind the last rib. It appeared as if I rolled him over but the muzzle flash was too bright. I walked to the spot and saw a spot of blood. Then there in the flashlight beam just ahead he layed dead. The blood flow was significant and the exit was through the opposite scapula.

Several times I tested the accuracy during the week with targets. Each time the bullets were into the 1” square “bullseye” on the target at 100 meters. With nearly 60 shots fired during this trip and no cleaning I trusted this rifle and bullet combination on the last moment shot at the warthog. There was simply no fouling problems with these TSX bullets and this PacNor barrel!

I would certainly feel a whole lot better if the exits looked like they had more consistency in size. However I have also come to another probably arguable conclusion with the TSX and the 30/06. I would much prefer to have a 30/06 with this bullet and a rangefinder then a 300mag of any make without a rangefinder. I feel 100% confident that these bullets will penetrate and shoot accurately as far as I would like to shoot. Say 400 yards or so. If you know the distance with the rangefinder hitting the target is not complicated or risky with low wind. These 165 grain TSX bullets in a 30/06 will out perform a 300 magnum with a standard cup and core bullet every time. Sure you can up weight with a 300 magnum and use the 180’s. However if the 30/06 killed 50 of 51 tough big game animals I’m not sure moving to the 300 mag is a practical choice if you want more power. I think moving to the 338 is much more logical. If shooting long range 450 yards plus is the reason then would I agree. However a rangefinder with a 30/06 is still a very do-able shot with these TSX bullets on a calm day.

So do I switch now from the Hornady Interbonds I love so much to the TSX bullets? …………..Wow talk about a tough choice! The TSX shoots a tiny bit better in Accuracy, the tips don’t deform, they seat very tight in the brass with the groves. They don’t have the 100% internal damage consistency that the Interbonds have, but they are close and I cannot explain why the exit holes are bore diameter on some of the game. I do have a photo coming of the exit on a zebra. It looks like the stallion was shot with a small broad head. It has 4 slices about ¼” long each. It’s a brilliant exit hole. Why don’t they all show this? Maybe 35 big animals under nearly identical conditions is still not enough information? I will say that If I only saw 10-12 of the best exits I would swear these were the best bullets on earth no question, hands down, end of story. I may yet agree to this statement. However there were those few that leave me wondering why a tiny little exit hole as if the bullet did not open or the petals all sheared off? ( no petals ever found inside) I will continue to use them until the first time I find one that is unopened inside an animal. If that does not happen I may not use anything else in this rifle. I think they make a better large big game, Elk, bear, zebra, wildebeest, gemsbok, eland, waterbuck, moose, etc bullet then the Interbond because the exits at least in theory should provide more blood flow. I think the interbonds will provide much more explosive impact and internal trauma on deer sized game like antelope, sheep, blesbok, impala, etc.

They do not have a similar POI or load to shoot well from my rifle. They are as incompatible with a single scope setting as possible. I will have to pick one and stick with it. So for now I’ll stay with the TSX. As far as I’m concerned the TSX does more with the available power of the 30/06 then the Interbond does. The much higher frequency of exits is a benefit to good blood trails. I know my weakness as a confirmed bullet recovery junky even though I know they should all exit.

I’m not sure you can make a mistake in choosing between the 165 grain AFrame, Interbond, Accubond, TSX, or Partition, The one that shoots best in your barrel and gets a minimum level of functional velocity should do fine. I guess having to choose between the 165 grain Interbond and the 165 grain TSX for me is actually a good problem to have.
 
JJHack, thanks for the concise comparison. I handload and hunt deer with Hornadys and they have proved their worth to me over a dozen times. Terminal performance is never a concern and they NEVER blow up or shed their cores (unlike some other overpriced brands people are constantly raving about -which shall go unnamed).
On the other hand, I started dinking around with the Barnes TSX bullet and was impressed with how accurate they were when tossed from my .30-06, 7mm Rem Mag and .375 H&H rifles. You are right... the original Barnes X bullet was so irratic accuracy-wise it could almost make a grown man cry. While I won't hesitate to use my Barnes TSX handloads for hunting, for now I will stick with the Hornadys. Dave
 
Good post, lots of useful info. I shoot a 06 for deer so this is very helpful.
 
Great info! I've been considering a plains game hunt in the next few years & was thinking about using a 300 win mag. Maybe i better just dust off the ole 06 instead. Actually getting ready to work-up a 150gr TSX load for my 06. I never cared for their x bullets & i've always been partial to Nosler Partitions. But thought i would give the TSX a try.
 
Awsome, its nice to see some detailed information and documented first hand experience on a subject other than what one persons opinion is because it happens to be what they use or how they think even though they have never had any experience. With info like this just goes to show that we really dont need todays ultra mags, super mags and ultra super mega blasters to tip over meat. I am as guilty as most in the quest for the ultimate caliber but maybee I should start carrying the old "06" again.
 
Thank you for the kind words in regard to this effort.

I have owned a few cartridges in my life, most when I was younger and needed the speed and "hype" so typical with youth. Much can be said for Americans with cars, boats, jetskis and motorcycles as well.

Somewhere about 1987 or so I realized that 99.9% of my game was shot under hunting conditions which put me well within 300 yards of the target. Even Wyoming pronghorns were shot in the 200-300 range. With the 300 Weatherby I was using for many years getting worn out from over 2500 rounds I was thinking of rebarreling it but eneded up just selling it and buying a then first original release of the new Model 70 SS classic in 30/06.

I chose the 30/06 because the ammo is available everyplace on earth where ammo is sold. It's actually the same bullet that the 300 mag uses, and the only real differenece I could see was about 50 yards in point blank range(PBR). Since my real hunting conditions put me inside 300 yards 99% of the time and 100% inside 400 yards why burn 80 grains of powder and deal with massive recoil and a much needed 26" barrel?

There certainly are applications for that rifle but they are specialty applications not typical of a "daily driver" so to speak. Then I also have to consider the amount of people who will use this rifle. I have kids 10 yers old and 60 year old ladies use it as a loaner rifle. Not many will squeeze of 80 grains of powder accurately from that 300 mag more then one time!

I'm a fan of the 30/06, although I really believe that the 338/06 is the finest cartridge ever built for big game * hunting* today. So my opinions are not biased to push the 30/06 on anyone. It is a workhorse that will provide all you ask of it when you do your part. It's limitations are in blood trails which the 338 diameter bullets help greatly to solve.

In any case if you shoot a faster rifle in 308 diameter then this post will also assit you with projectile choices. There is nothing wrong with the bigger 30 caliber shells, they just don't fit my range limitations, my need for ammo anyplace I might be, and the loaner requirements for so many different kinds of people who will use it.

Today a 30/06 is faster then the original 300HH magnum. combine that with the bonded bullet and TSX bullet technology and you have a very succsessful combination. There were 51 animals, many big tough species killed with my old and boring pathetic slow 30/06 this year. That cartridge is 100 years old this year, and still going strong.

* The 338/06* is a far more efficient cartridge then the 30/06 shooting a 210 grain bullet as fast as the 30/06 shoots a 180 grain bullet. It's just as flat shooting and will work excellent to 300 plus yards. I consider shots over 300 yards "shooting" and shots under 300 yards "hunting". Guess we gotta draw that line somplace. For me 300 yards and beyond is a hella long shot on big game with the extreme risk of loss. I've said for years there are about 1000 things that can happen when you shoot over 300 yards and only one is good........Feel lucky? I have shot 5" groups at 440 yards- (1/4 mile). Should be fine for big game right? ........Wrong, the bench is much different then the field! The rest used, the wind, and mostly the heart rate excitment and stress at the moment you squeeze the trigger all make that a bad idea! I have done it and might d it again. However I would have to be in a situation that gave me a very high degree of confidence. It will never be an expected situation where I have little concern over the risks. More open areas like antelope and cariboo come to mind. Elk and bears are far less likely targets. Elk too tough, and bears change your perspective on recreational hunting when your searching chest high berry fields looking for blood. Seems when something might fight back ( and win)the effort to find them when they run off is greatly reduced for most folks I've met.

We each have to put our head on a pillow at night and replay the mistakes we make in the field when an animal is lost. I like my sleep and absolutely hate the idea of a lost or wounded animal because a greedy attempt was made to make that long shot. It's not my cup of tea, However your mileage may vary.
 
I hear what you're saying, JJH. I rarely feel compromised when I hunt with the 06 because it really can do nearly everything. I've heard that fast-stepping, long range magnum calibers are not required or advised for medium-sized game in Africa before -and as your tests show- it is a correct summation.
Still, indulge me for a minute if don't mind... we hunt Blacktail deer out here on the coast of Caifornia. To call them elusive would be laughable -we call them "brush and forest ghosts." You could be the best stillhunter or stalker in the world and it still wouldn't matter... these bucks are absolute masters of observation and simply WILL NOT allow anything to get within 300 yards of its core area. So, we are forced to edit the term "spot and stalk" with spot and shoot... all the way up to a 1/4 mile because it's the only way to get one. Some call this unsporting, while we say it is the difference between totally wasting one's time and getting a buck. These situations are what flat shooting magnum calibers were made for and are absolutely required.
Truth be told, I've only lost one animal in my life -and it was a simple, short range (150 yard) standing still, broadside shot. (Trailed him for a few hundred yards and only found a few drops of blood, then he stopped bleeding -no more trail.) This little screwup convinced me that I sucked as a shooter and I vowed never to shoot at another deer until I made myself into a half decent shot. So far, I haven't regretted pulling the trigger on any of my long shots -YET.
While I agree with you about the viability of the .30-06, there are simply times where I would be wasting my time without my longer range rifle that I have trained myself to shoot accurately with. Dave
 
Good post, as you certainly read in my post the 300 magnums have a place for those who have a special purpose. They are far from all around but do provide a great enhancement to those specialty purposes. There is a 50 yard PBR difference over practical hunting ranges.

As far as Blacktails go, you probably did not know that I live in Wa. state when I'm home in the USA. I have my share of experience with them right here in my own "backyard"
 
I like my .358 win for those reasons. It shoots flat enough for 250 yard shots, and if I can come close on the estimation, I can hold over for 300 yards. Of course, I load mine to modern pressure levels in a strong bolt action - not a Win 88 lever or Win 100 semi-auto. I won't give out the loads I use, but they are right on the heels of a .35 Whelen with a 225 gr or 200 gr bullet!
 
I think to make this comparison accurate we can only count the game shot well. Poorly hit game cannot be classed for game reaction when the shots were not typical heart lung placement.

I had two hunters this year that made some very non-traditional shots which dropped a number of animals in their tracks with spine shots. These would not be considered a logical or normal shot placement by anyone. When a shot description is explianed moments before the trigger is pulled and the impact is 30 plus inches from the described location but the animal still falls in it's tracks how can one complain about the way it turned out?

In one case the comment was made,....... wow how did the bullet hit way over there? The frequency of these bizzare spine shots was so high that I took the rifle twice during this hunt and rechecked it in private. Just to be certain that it was not the gun or scope. Using the same target both times I had four shots into the one inch square in the middle at 120 meters.

I had never seen so many shots fired in a single hunt that were so far from the intended aimpoint and yet still dropped the game in it's tracks. At one point in this trip a hunter had hit 8 of ten animals in the spine all unintentional. The phrase "better lucky then good" comes to mind in this situation! The other two shots were a rear leg and a gut shot.

I would need to discount all those for a realistic vision of what the solid well placed shots provided.

On average a heart or lung shot animal was down within 100 yards. On average blood was not found anywhere near the impact site but was starting to flow within 20 yards and usually lasted to 80 yards or to the animal when found less then 100-120 yards. Game that went further lost the blood trail after that in many cases, or provided a drop here and there to confirm I was following the proper set of tracks.

30 calber holes are about the minimum diameter to allow a decent blood trail. Even they are often marginal. Rifles 338 and bigger are a noticable improvement. 375 and over is the minimum for which you can expect something to follow (blood or chunks)the whole way to the game.

I saw several animals stunned and stagger with the bonded bullets(interbond) only a couple with the TSX had any visual impact from the bullet. I saw most of the TSX hit game react as if missed and just run or trot away. Those hit with the TSX that collapsed were all CNS hits.

The impalas hit with the Federal Fusion bullets were knocked silly but never fell from impact. They all died quickly and without a problem. The Fusion bullet would be a top choice for a factory load on most deer species in my opinion.

No animal well hit with any bullet traveled very far. The difference is that some hit poorly with the X bullets still crumpled with damage to the spine. That one Fusion bullet that stopped short of the spine in the waterbuck would have been outright knocked down had the TSX been used instead. The Fusion bullet was just shy of hitting the spine and the X bullet would certainly have drilled right though.

I shot a warthog on my last day steeply quartering away. This would be about like shooting a deer size animal in the USA, only far tougher skin and muscle mass. I would not have taken that shot with a PMC cup and core bullet, or a Fusion bullet. The Interbond I would have expected to be under the skin near the shoulder. I had a TSX in the chamber and it went clean through and exited after breaking the front leg at the base of the scapula.

Those TSX bullets make a 100 year old 30/06 work like a 300 magnum using a factory load. That warthog went ten feet from where he was hit. There was no blood trail but the hog was covered in blood on both sides where he was laying. Below are some photos I've already uploaded and have available. The 30/06 in the photo's is my SS rifle although it's been Roguard treated so it looks blued now.

IMG_2515.JPG

Blue Wildebeest, 80 yard shot with TSX

IMG_2489.JPG

Kudu Bull 120 yard shot with TSX

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Zebra 125 yards with TSX

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Warthog TSX bullet 75-80 yards


IMG_2459.JPG

Kudu 125 yards TSX bullet

The Photos may start to get repetitve after these. Same game and bullets different hunters and limited different ranges. All shots from 50-250 yards or so.
 
Once again great pictures, and fantastic dialog! More pictures will be great!

Have you used any Accubonds yet or had any hunters use them, if so what is your take on them? I've used them in 7mm flavor in both a 280 and 7RM. I'm pretty much sold on them as my 'bullet' in that caliber.

I shot an impala, warthot, and bushbuck, and my wife shot a blue wildebeest with them last summer when we went to RSA.

The impala, and warthog where quartering toward shots, with the 280, full pass through, as I would have expected on the impala, but the warthog damn near facing directly at me, and the exit was at the point of the hip, breaking the shoulder and traversing most of the lengh of the hog... Both where about 75 yard shots and both ran maybe 25-30 yards.

The bushbuck was a broadside shot, and as expected complete pass through, never got out of his bed.

The wildebeeste was shot from about 125 yards, quartering away, bullet was found lodged under the hide on the off side shoulder. The bullet entered about at the third to last rib, still broke the off side shoulder and was found just under the hide. Recoverd bullet weighed right at 115gr (160g to start)

I also shot a mule deer with them two years ago, but that was with a 140gr Accubond, the shot was broadside, and was found lodged under the hide on the off side. He didn't go more than 20 yards. Recovered weight was right at 100gr. It appeared that the bullet blew up after hitting a rib on the way out, as there was a huge crater just under the hide, and the bullet was found lodged in the center. The shot was from about 90 yards give or take, and I would have expected a complete pass through, the only thing I can figure is the bullet had completely mushroomed, and when it contacted the rib on the way out the large mushroom broke up.

I shot a little better than average body sized bull in CO last year. This was with my 7mm and the 160's again. After all the great luck we had with them in RSA I figured I'd give them a try during elk season. Anyway the shot was no more than 65-70 yards, I hit the bull a little high in the ribs the first shot, blew straight threw, I knew he was hit pretty good as he hunched up and turned slightly toward us. I shot again, this time entering about just behind the shoulder and the bullet was found lodged in the sirloin steak on the opposite side... That one made him nose dive.

And the last animal was a cow elk in CO two years ago. One shot from 330 yards, with my 280 again and 160gr accubonds, she was facing uphill looking over her shoulder, the shot severed the spin, and exited...

I am completely sold on those Accubonds, the seem to perform almost exacly like a Partition, and shoot like a house a-fire in every rifle I've tried them in so far. As soon as they come out with a 6.5mm and a 358 cal I'm going to switch to them in every rifle I have.

I'm really excited to try them this fall out of my 338-06, Nosler came out with a 200gr version a couple months ago, and they shoot great! I'd like to give the TSX's a try some time but for now I can't justify it...
 
Well folks, I still do not have an answer to this that can be confirmed. However I did make an interesting find. I was under the mistaken impression that a hard monolithic bullet would not get deformed in the magazine of my rifle. Especially the puny little 30/06.

Today I was cleaning up a few odds and ends from my reloading gear and setting up to reload some ammo this week. While removing empty brass and unused shells from my leather shell holders that we used in Africa I had one that contained 5 rounds.

One was an empty and four were still loaded and ready to go. I recognized this 5 pack of shells as the ones I used on my last day. They were also the same 5 pack of shells my last hunter had with her. The one that was used was the shell I killed the warthog with. The other 4 were in that gun a couple weeks. The ones in the botttom of that magazine were not used during that time. The magazine would be topped off with new ammo as they were shot. Since the Model 70 holds 5 in the magazine the bottom 3-4 shells were not used for long periods. With this find I noticed something very interesting.

Look at this photo of the tips of these bullets:

Barnes_tips.jpg


Gotta wonder what effect this flat tip has on the ability to open up after impact? What if it had been closed up even more, as if from a magnum level recoil? Maybe this has something to do with the unusual bore sized exits. Maybe these flat tips, or closed tips don't open the same?

I'll be honest I never expected a Barnes bullet to get a deformed tip from recoil in the magazine of a little 30/06 rifle. Imagine what they might look like with a 375HH or any weatherby cartridge.

My very strong suggestion is to be very careful and certain that you cycle the bottom cases up and out of the rifle frequently. Don't let a bullets nose get pounded in the magazine over time. Although I have nothing to prove that this will effect the ability to open up it is certainly a suspect issue at this point.
 
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