.30-06 Ammo Question?

Well 220 gr bullets are used for dangerous animals like brown bears, grizzlies and for moose at close range. Those heavy bullets drop quickly so are not good for long shots.

Thw 180 gr bullets are used for deer, elk, moose, hogs and large black bears. I'd say it's used the most by hunters.

The 165 gr bullet is a good do-all round. It will work for black bear, moose, elk, deer, antelope, hogs and are used for long shots.

The 150gr bullets are usually used for average size black bear, deer, antelope, average size hogs, mountain lions and wolves.

There is much more to this but that’s the basics.

The greater sectional density of the 180 grain bullets means they'll have deeper penetration on large game like moose and elk. For deer, hogs, and the like, you'll find some people prefer 150's, others 165's. My little brother, for instance, always used 150's until I loaded 165's for him, and now he won't go back. Certainly that still leaves plenty of uses for 150's, such as smaller deer and antelope.

All of them will do well for deer, and the 180 and 220's will be better for moose or elk.

You really should stock up most on the bullet weight and load your rifle shoots best.

You really ought to consider reloading your own ammo though, it probably won't save you money but you can shoot more for the same expenditure.

Doc Hudson

You can use the Military Surplus Ammo. There is nothing wrong with it. But as another person pointed out, sometimes it can have corrosive primers. In that event you will need to clean your rifle immediately when you get home from the range. I use Military Surplus 7.62 NATO, (.308 Winchester), in my rifle on the "Paper Punchin Days". But there are a couple of things you need to be aware of too. One, the Military Surplus is not going to produce the best over-all accuracy. Two, depending on the manufacturer it can be quite dirty. Lastly, as for cheap? Steel cased, Berdain Primed ammo. Its cheap because it can only be fired once. As for getting it? Check your local Gun Shows and On-Line. Good Luck!

You are better off determining what shoots well out of your gun. My brother's .30-06 didn't shoot under 3 in. groups @ 100 yards with anything but 180 gr. at max powder load. not the best gun ever. But if you are shooting mostly deer and an average twist rate .30-06 i would go with the 165 gr.

If you want cheap 30-06 ammo then look at this stuff......

http://www.samcoglobal.com/Ammo-30-06.html

I wouldn't use it for hunting but you surely could get a lot of trigger time in at the range with it!.....

* 150's for everything except for Large Bears, Moose, and Elk use the 220 grain.*

I use 180gr, but that is because that is what my rifle likes. Find what you are most accurate with and go with that

I use 180 grains on everything