Originally Posted by
gator59
I was going to buy me a 223 for my new yote adventures in sw Florida. But I did some research and found that Winchester makes a 110 grain 3006 bullet.
100 or 110grn bullets out of a .30-06 SEEM like a great idea in theory, but in application, they fall short. The ballistic coefficients of these stubby little 30cals are terrible, and they have to be loaded VERY conservatively otherwise they'll be over-spun (I had Speer 100grn "Plinkers" that looked like buckshot patterns at 10ft. MV of 3550fps).
I HAVE used 125grn Speer TNT's in a .30-06 (10yrs ago) for prairie dogs. I was right around 3100fps, and they were frankly too light for long range work, but they WERE a little nicer on coyote pelts than 150grn bullets.
Personally, after using several different "light for caliber/cartridge" bullets for coyotes over the last 20yrs, if I'm going to run a .30-06, I'm just going to use 150's either in a highly frangible design, or a fairly HARD design, and leave the lightweights alone. Why shoot a 30cal if you're just going to take the long range capabilities away? Pelt damage with a 150grn A-Max or SST running 2850fps was less for me than a 125grn TNT running 3200fps, and my down range trajectory is MUCH better with the heavier bullet.