billrquimby Report post Posted October 25, 2006 Don't worry about grain weight. Use the load your .30/06 shoots best. A .22/250 has enough "knock down power" for a little deer that weighs only 80-100 pounds. As with any game, it's bullet placement, bullet placement, bullet placement. Bill Quimby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ruffcountry Report post Posted October 26, 2006 my 06 is a tack driver with 165 btsp hornady lite mag Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
audsley Report post Posted October 26, 2006 I was about to say shoot whatever you and the rifle shoot best, but I see it's already been said. I started out using 150 gr ammo after having read that the '06 was designed around the 150 grain cartridge and that calibers tend to perform best with the bullet weights they were designed to. Might have been pure bunk, but that's what I read and took to heart. Later I read that 170 gr. bullets had also been part of the development process for the '06 at some point. Actually, I think they designed it shooting 150 grs but ended up issuing 170 gr to the troops when the rifle was finally introduced. Over the years I noticed that long range shooters tend to favor heavier bullets. I also discovered the concept of ballistic coefficiency which theoretically measures how well a bullet remains stable in flight, retains velocity and energy and bucks wind if there is any. Looking through tables in reloading manuals, I noticed the longer, heavier nosler-type bullets had the highest ballistic coefficients within the various bullet diameters. That influenced me to change to a heavier bullet. When I last hunted with an '06, I was using 165 gr. nosler ballistic tips from Federal (Premium) and handloads shooting 168 Sierra Gameking hollow point boattails. Both were very accurate. All things being equal, heavier bullets will increase recoil. That is another consideration. I'd say anything between 150 and 180 is just fine for Coues, but try to keep the recoil where it doesn't affect your accuracy. It's always been my understanding that 30 caliber rounds lighter than 150 grs aren't as accurate on the average as those in the 150-180 range. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
