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Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

C

Cfl Mike

Private
Minuteman
May 26, 2011
69
0
37
The Land of Nod
Alright guys, I got my reloading stuff setup, all I need to do is start messing with bullet and powder loads. So I am looking for higher bullets, and their primary use is going to be for shooting 600 yard targets and the occasional 200 yarder.

Also sorry if there is are a crap load of other threads like this, feel free to point me in the right direction.

Anyways heres the bullets I was looking at:
Berger VLD Boat tails 185-200 Gr
Berger Hybrids boat tails 185-200 Gr (worth it? These guys are way more expensive)
Hornady "Match" AMP Jackets 178-200 Gr.
Serria Match King (or w/e) 180-200 Gr. (not so much)

Anyways, what do you guys think about those guys? I will be happy for any suggestions pertaining to this.
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

I would say 178 to 185gr would be best. Keep recoil down.

178 amax would work great to 600 yards. But if they dont shoot well, then look at the others you have mentioned. Somewhere around 180-185gr.

I'm currently using 185's vld's and tested them so far on paper at 310 yards and getting 1" groups. I have no problems hit steel at 600 yards.
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

check out German salazers writing he uses the 30-06 allot
Lapua makes a good 185 accurate if not high BC
Sierra makes a great 190 bullet
Berger 185 LRBT
BIB's makes an excellent 187 but it is a flatbase and hard to get sometimes.

Trevor
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

Yea I shot the AMaxs already, I like them, but I got to shoot the AMP Jackets, personally I think those are way better than the AMaxes. I will take a look into the Lapua rounds too thanks.

I think 178gr is a little light for 600yds? I mean I know it will get to the target and accurately too, just would think you would want to go a little heavier.

Thanks for the link too I will check them out.

Also price isnt an issue with me, so I dont mind spending a little more on a better made bullet.
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

You didn't say what twist rate your barrel is. If 1:12, go with the Berger 175 LRBT, if 1:10, go with the Berger 185 LRBT. No hybrids or VLD's. Seat them .010-.020 off the lands and go kick some butt. Forget the rest.
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

In my humble opinion, a .300 mag is not ever going to be much fun off of the bench (without a heavy gun and/or a compensator), expensive to shoot and short-lived barrel. The purpose of a long action is to use heavy bullets and still have powder for long range use. Otherwise, use 175s and stay with the .308. Lots of options and load advice. Love my 30-06 for deer and the .308 for just shootin'...
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

For those ranges don't rule out the 168 grain offerings from Sierra and Nosler. You really don't need those heavy weights for the mid ranges. JMHO
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Leaddog</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You didn't say what twist rate your barrel is. If 1:12, go with the Berger 175 LRBT, if 1:10, go with the Berger 185 LRBT. No hybrids or VLD's. Seat them .010-.020 off the lands and go kick some butt. Forget the rest. </div></div>

LOL I was going to post my twist rate but of course now that I am going to I freaking cant remember (of course).

Anyways, Im interested here, why do you say no hybrids or VLDs?
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

I have found the AMAX easier to work with although I love both the amax and vld bullets. Both are really great BC bullets and fly very well. The AMAX has always magazine fed for me were the VLDs are frequently too long. Both make great hunting rounds, unlike the Sierra MK (dont get me wrong I LOVE SMKs and so do the animals as the frequently live to tell about it!) Hybrids are great if you plan on shooting past subsonic range as they are supposed to break the barrier without tumbling issues. Hope that helps.
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cfl Mike</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Leaddog</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You didn't say what twist rate your barrel is. If 1:12, go with the Berger 175 LRBT, if 1:10, go with the Berger 185 LRBT. No hybrids or VLD's. Seat them .010-.020 off the lands and go kick some butt. Forget the rest. </div></div>

LOL I was going to post my twist rate but of course now that I am going to I freaking cant remember (of course).

Anyways, Im interested here, why do you say no hybrids or VLDs? </div></div>

Your twist rate determines what weight bullet will work best. With a cleaning rod and a patch it's easy to find out.

The BT's are much less sensitive to seating depth than the VLD's and to a lessor extent, the Hybrids. It's easier and quicker to find your load with the BT's.
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

178 is fine for 600 yards. I have shot them to 1300 yards in a 308. The amax is a good bullet but the 178 bthp has a better Bc. Both use the AMP jacketing process.

The 208 amax would be a good choice too without breaking the bank. Hornady is also coming out with a 195 bullet this year as well.
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

I built my rifle around the 208gr Amax loaded to about 3.545" COAL. With the new 215 and 230gr Bergers out I'm tempted to try them but think that maybe they will be a tad too long for '06 but am interested to see if anyone else gives them a try.
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

For a 190gr bullet, the 1/12 twist works just fine in 98% of the world.

Personally, practice is the biggers help in shooting accurately so I would advise the 168's out to 600 yds, their price being lower which allows more practice.

Any of the 175's - 190's for out to 1K.

Question is, how often do you get to shoot out to 1K?
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

Yea theres a couple guys at my range that love Bergers, and they are reloading gurus. Although I liked the Hornady, when one of them was comparing bullet imperfections, he wasnt all that impressed with them. They said the Bergers always have the same weight and no imperfections on the bullet.

Though about the seating, I find it a little hard to believe I would have to worry about the Bergers fitting in my mag. The 180s will fit in my friends .308, so I dont see how 185-200gr would have a problem in a long stroke receiver, considering their the same bullet size.
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

Why not the Sierra 155 Palma's with the GI the magic 2900FPS mark should be easily obtainable.
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cfl Mike</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yea theres a couple guys at my range that love Bergers, and they are reloading gurus. Although I liked the Hornady, when one of them was comparing bullet imperfections, he wasnt all that impressed with them.
</div></div>

Good thing your "gurus" haven't told that to all my rifles LOL
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Rob01</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cfl Mike</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yea theres a couple guys at my range that love Bergers, and they are reloading gurus. Although I liked the Hornady, when one of them was comparing bullet imperfections, he wasnt all that impressed with them.
</div></div>

Good thing your "gurus" haven't told that to all my rifles LOL </div></div>

Well they didnt say anything about the new AMP Jacket Match ones, which are some of the ones I was asking about. Like I said I used some of the regular A-Max ones and liked them, but they werent anything to really brag about other than they looked cool.

I guess thats cool though if your rifle has a built in scale and some kind of visual machine that can inspect bullets for imperfections.
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

I had shot the pre AMP jacketed 178 AMAX to 1300 yards from a .308 without a problem. The problem with "gurus" is that they sometimes just look at the hypothetical and don't actual try the products to find that some of the hypotheticals don't transfer to real world use.
 
Re: Higher end bullets for 30cal (30-06)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Rob01</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I had shot the pre AMP jacketed 178 AMAX to 1300 yards from a .308 without a problem. The problem with "gurus" is that they sometimes just look at the hypothetical and don't actual try the products to find that some of the hypotheticals don't transfer to real world use.



</div></div>

They didnt say the non amp jackets didnt shoot nice, they just said, the bullet consistency wasnt what you would expect from a company like Hornady, or for the price of the bullets. The bullets had small imperfections in them as well as not all of them having the same weight at a higher number than expected.

They arent like those self proclaimed gurus, I just call them that, because they seem to be right all the time. I do know EXACTLY what you are talking about though. We have a bunch of self proclaimed "gurus" that say these 3 things all the time: 1. Get a 6mm BR (lol) 2. Get a Sightron (or however it is spelled lol); even a couple of them got Counter Snipers (LOLZ) 3. Dont try to learn anything off the internet (also how I learned to reload all my other rounds LOLZ).

Its funny because they will say that in any situation, and they always use those Rube Goldberg machines to aim (gun vise, bench rest, or whatever you want to call it) with those same setups. With those things its pretty much like working on a car or something with a trigger. Just turn a few knobs and stand back and pull the trigger lol, its not even really shooting, not they are bad shots though.

Anyways I think those are the guys you meant.
 
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