One Gun Hunter

[cwitherow]

Hello everyone,

Currently, I have a Tikka T3 in 30-06 with a brand new leupold scope (vortex broke one too many times). I am looking at making this my "do everything" gun, or at least until I expand my collection

I am asking for peoples opinions on best bullet selection for everything from Antelope to Elk. Is it more fun to switch per species, or should I find something and stick with it? I currently have 150gr Accubonds and 165gr Trophy Copper. Both shoot well. I like the idea of copper, but not a requirement.

Thanks all,

 

[TOGIE]

personally, switching bullets is not fun. during the stress of hunting season, combined with working full time during the week and hunting 3-4 day weekends almost every other weekend and often multiple weekends in a row throughout the fall between mid september and december, going to the range do re sight in for another species hunt is stressful, especially when you live somewhere where public land shooting isn't super close and you have to go find a range - meaning you then have to pay for it, deal with lots of people and time slots and having an allotted amount of time to shoot also leads to stress and more problems if you're struggling to dial it in. this is my situation, i did it one season before elk season after antelope and it wasn't fun. one trip to the range to re dial in for 180 grain bullets turned into at least 4 trips, as the bullet had never been tried in my gun before and it got messy.

people consistently kill elk with just about every caliber and bullet you can think of. I don't think twice about it anymore. I run 165 grain ballistic tips in my 30-06 all season: antelope, deer, elk. shoot it where it matters and no reason to over think it.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Hello everyone,

Currently, I have a Tikka T3 in 30-06 with a brand new leupold scope (vortex broke one too many times). I am looking at making this my "do everything" gun, or at least until I expand my collection

I am asking for peoples opinions on best bullet selection for everything from Antelope to Elk. Is it more fun to switch per species, or should I find something and stick with it? I currently have 150gr Accubonds and 165gr Trophy Copper. Both shoot well. I like the idea of copper, but not a requirement.

Thanks all,

Go lighter with copper as you retain the weight and can push them faster. Both my .308Win and 300WSM shoot 150gn TTSX well. Out of the .308 it was bullet enough to drop a 975 lbs wild zebra and a 550lb Sable, and out of the WSM a 650lb Kudu buck. Out of the .308 it also cleanly took a 110lb pronghorn. The 150gn TTSX is a viable do-all bullet for .308 caliber rifles in my book - but their 165gn would be a great choice too.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Copper 165's in an 06 will kill anything in North America you have a tag for, except for the big bears.

 

[406LIFE]

The oft quoted "beware the man with one gun, he knows how to use it" is overused because its true. I currently use one gun, one bullet for all my hunting. If you want to you, do the same. If you want to play with other combos of calibers/bullets, do that. Your style of hunting will show you which to choose.

I'd also tell you to forget the rest, and go with the copper.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Copper 165's in an 06 will kill anything in North America you have a tag for, except for the big bears.

It’ll kill the big bears too, just maybe not as fast as you need

 

[MThuntr]

165 accubonds or 150 grain coppers (many options)...actually just about anything in 165 grains will do the necessary work

 

[HighDesertSage]

Sell that POS and get a 338 Lapua! Those little 180 grainers will bounce off an elk's shoulder.

 

[Muskeez]

My Tikka .30-06 likes the 165 grn Partitions and Accubonds.

 

[rideold]

I hunt with 168gr Barnes factory loads in my 30-06 (Remington 700). It is the only bolt action rifle that I own. Seems to do fine but then again I'm not a great shot....or a great hunter

 

[GlockZ]

I’ve only used one bullet in my -06, and that’s the Barnes 168gr TTSX. I feel the 165-168 grain bullet is ideal for the caliber, a “do all” of you will, therefore no need to change because the game species does.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

Put me in the pick one and learn it camp.

 

[fishing4sanity]

My opinion is find a bullet that you like the performance of and one that your gun likes accuracy wise, buy a whole bunch of 'em and use the same thing for practice and hunting whatever you have a tag for.

 

[ShadowFast1]

Re-Establishing zero every time you changed to a new load would be the pits. HOWEVER, If one were going to try to do a "Do All" rifle, a .30 caliber might be one of the best options. A 110 grain varmint bullet at 3400~ fps should smack a coyote like a thunderbolt. Then you could move up to a big 200+ grain monolithic for crushing bone on some dangerous game. If you get in the mood to reach out and bang some steel a high BC 168 or 175 would be the ticket.

I need to get my .30-06 Ruger No. 1 back out in the field soon.

 

[AggieOutlaw]

Find a 160-170 gr bullet that shoots well and shoot it

 

[Brian in Montana]

Accubonds are mighty good bullets, but I think a bullet that seems to get overlooked a lot is the Federal Trophy Bonded Tip. The 165grn TBT has become my sort of "do it all" general-purpose bullet in my .308. If you're trying stuff out, give that one a try. Your -06 might really like it, and you might too.

 

[mtmuley]

Put me in the pick one and learn it camp.

Yep. Even though my learned one has a bit more horsepower than most. mtmuley

 

[Tikka06]

I have considered going copper in my 06. I started out with the 165gr trophy grade Accubond factory load and it was very accurate so I bought a pile of it, knowing it could handle whatever game I would be persuing. I really hate to change but will probably give the 150gr TTSX’s and Etip/trophy copper a shot just to see how it fares. I have no doubts about either the Accubond or the TTSX performance on game, but have never shot an Etip through anything.

 

[Tikka06]

Accubonds are mighty good bullets, but I think a bullet that seems to get overlooked a lot is the Federal Trophy Bonded Tip. The 165grn TBT has become my sort of "do it all" general-purpose bullet in my .308. If you're trying stuff out, give that one a try. Your -06 might really like it, and you might too.

. I am sitting on a pile of 06 federal premium 180gr TBT I got in a trade but can’t make myself dig into it to see how they fly. I will someday I guess. I’m sure they would do just fine.

 

[std7mag]

I wouldn't hesitate to run a 165gr Ballistic Tip for everything.
I've yet to recover one. Meaning they hold together fairly well.