Hunting Ammo

[ridgewalker]

I used a .300 Win Mag for years until I got tired of hauling it around. I am in my mid 60s and less weight helps. I mostly handloaded 180 gr Nosler Partitions and killed everything I hit out to over 400 yards. Great cartridge if you can handle the weight and recoil.

I started using the 30-06 again after maybe 15 years absent and dropped back to 165 gr Nosler Partitions and Sierra HPBT. Both dropped elk, deer and bear with no problem.

I would suggest if you don't handload that you buy a box of several brands in the weight you want to shoot (I suggest 165 in 30-06 and 180 in .300 WM with premium bullets from my experience). Then try each out and see which shoots best in your rifles.

On deer the bullet quality really doesn't matter much. They go down pretty easily if you do your part, but on elk go with premium bullets, ie, Nosler Partition, A-Square, Accubond, etc. You need the best penetration in case you have to take a quartering shot or hit a heavy bone.

FYI, I now carry a Kimber 84 in .308 loaded with 165 gr premium bullets. It weighs less than 6 1/2 lbs loaded and with a Leupold 2-7x scope.

Hope my experience helps answer some of your questions?