OT 30-06 Cartridges

Ridgeland Dog

Redshirt
Jan 16, 2008
88
19
8
I'm needing some 30-06 cartridges. What do you recommend? How about Remington Core Lokt 180 grain PSP?

Thanks
 

PapaDawg

Senior
Nov 19, 2014
827
767
93
I use Remington Core Lokt 150 gr. That is all you need for a whitetail buck.
 

Uncle Ruckus

All-American
Apr 1, 2011
15,460
6,993
113
Really depends on how far you shoot. I use federal trophy bonded tip. Watch the videos on them. Impressive ****.
 

ronpolk

All-American
May 6, 2009
9,440
5,432
113
I use Hornady 180 sst. The 180 grain may be a little more than you need but I hardly ever have to trail a deer. They typically hit the ground pretty quick.
 

KurtRambis4

Redshirt
Aug 30, 2006
15,926
0
36
In that case,

most anything you'll find at Walmart or Bass Pro should be fine.

ETA: Case in point, you got 4 different answers from 4 different folks
 
Last edited:

ShrubDog

Redshirt
Apr 13, 2008
5,307
3
38
You can never go wrong with core lokts. I have had good results with Winchester Deer Season XP 150g
 

cowbell88

All-Conference
Jan 11, 2009
3,383
1,135
113
I have had great results from a Hornady Custom 165 gr BTSP out of my A-bolt.
 
Aug 25, 2012
785
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I've had good luck with Core-Lokt and Hornady Superformance, both in 150gr. For whitetail deer 150gr. is plenty. For hogs, especially large ones, you may need 180 gr. but I don't have much experience with that.
 

aTotal360

Heisman
Nov 12, 2009
22,642
16,627
113
I'm a big fan of Core Lokt. There is certainly ammo out there with better ballistics, but when you want to put 2 holes in your target, Core Lokt is tough to be. Not to mention is available anywhere ammo is sold. For the average whitetail hunter, its the best over the counter ammo you can reliably find.
 

Dawgbite

Heisman
Nov 1, 2011
10,034
11,521
113
There is no magic recommendations for ammo. Different guns like different ammo. I have three identical Ruger No 1s and two shoot a hot reload that I have loaded for years in one inch groups all day at 100 yds. The third gun is lucky to put them in a 8 inch circle at 100 yds. After experimenting with a lot of different loads both reloads and factory I found that it would shoot factory silver box Winchester Super X in the same hole at a 100.
Shoot as many different ammo's as you can under identical situations until you find what's best for your gun. A lot of times gun shops or ranges will have partial boxes of ammo from sight ins or fellow hunters will have partial boxes that their gun didn't like, ask. As a rule, the slower the bullet, the more forgiving it will be to an imperfect barrel such as my third No. 1.
For those wanting to know why I have three identical guns, one I have had for years, one is my sons, and one was a bargain while pawn shopping one day. I probably found out why it was a bargain but I found an ammo it likes and hunt with it regularly.
 

NTDawg

Senior
Mar 2, 2012
2,274
947
113
This is the right answer. Some guns will shoot most bullets but rarely do they shoot everything. In my gun 30-06 model 700 it shoots the **** out of Hornady Light Mag SST, which they don't make anymore. Lucky for me I bought several boxes before the quit making them. On the other hand My son's gun doesn't shoot ballistic tips well and they dont do well dropping deer but he had good success with Horandy BTSP. Not the answer you want but it takes time to find out what performs in your gun.
 

msu86

Redshirt
Sep 17, 2015
245
0
0
My Browning 300 mag was stolen from my truck the night before Thanksgiving. I found a quick good deal on a used A bolt 30-06 so this is my 1st year shooting it at all. My dad had some 20-30 year old corelokts that I started out using to make sure gun was sighted in...it shot about a 3-4" group so I switched to Honady sst 150 grains and it shoots great. I really dont think the problems was the brand as much as it was how old the powder was in those old Core lokts.
 

Dawgbite

Heisman
Nov 1, 2011
10,034
11,521
113
I have never been a fan of Core Locts. In my experience they don't open enough in soft tissue and do not leave a good blood trail but they have been around a long time so they must do something right. I have experimented with several ballistic tips and they seem to have a small window speed wise that they perform optimally. I load Sierra Game king hollow points for hunting and Sierra Match King HP for punching paper, they aren't the newest thing on the market but they work for me in most circumstances. I try other things from time to time but always end up back with the Sierra's.
 
Nov 14, 2010
830
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My son shoots a 30-06 and I have found 168 grain Nolsers to be a great combination of speed (distance) and knockdown. He shot a doe in the shoulder last week and I cannot explain the damage done to her.....he has shot 2 deer this season no trailing has been required. Fonnd these at Van's.....
hard to believe a box of rifle cartridges are now $50 a box by the way.
 

Joe Schmedlap

Redshirt
Aug 11, 2010
1,334
33
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180 grain Remington Core-Lokts will put any whitetail down. 150, 165, 180 grain...all are fine in 30-06 rifles for white tail hunting. My favorite is the 165 grain PSP when hunting open fields but for woods hunting, I love the 180 grain SP. The Remington green box core-lokt line is an oldie but a goodie and is priced fair. You can spend twice the money on ammo, but why? You won't get twice the performance. Good luck!
 

houstonutsack

Redshirt
Sep 23, 2012
158
8
18
Go to ballisticstudies.com to see actual different bullet performance on game animals. Especially great site for reloaders-the only way to go!
 

aTotal360

Heisman
Nov 12, 2009
22,642
16,627
113
Let's face it. A .30-06 isn't know for it's ballistics. It's a great for shooting hogs and deer at less than 300 yards. Not saying it can't do anything past that, but it's not an accurate round by any stretch.
 

garndawg

Redshirt
Jan 8, 2008
202
0
11
I use Remington Core Lokt 150 gr. That is all you need for a whitetail buck.

I've got a Remington 760 that shoots these better than I can...just rebuilt a Rem 700 for my dad with a stock action and barrel that puts three of these into the same hole at 100 yards.

And you can't beat 'em for $16/box after the rebate...
 

aTotal360

Heisman
Nov 12, 2009
22,642
16,627
113
This is the right answer. That's why I recommended Rem CL. You can get it everywhere and it will kill the hell out of a whitetail at 150 yards all day long. Hogs too.
 
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