John Deer

I've killed elk and big black bear with my Remington 30-06 chambered in 180 grain remington core lokt ultra bonded. My father killed an elk last year atapprox. 400 yards using his 30-06 chambered in 165 grain remington core lokt ultra bonded. Either way you should be satisfied with the results.

txhunter58A

In my opinion, if you try and shoot beyond 400 yards, you are asking for trouble unless you are 1 in 100 that can REALLY shoot!

Also IMO, take the 30-06

That said, a new generation bullet in 165 to 180 grains should do you fine.

My personal choices:

First string: 180 grain nosler partition, Barnes MRX (which is a TSX with a plastic tip), or a trophy bonded tip bullet. All availabe in Federal premium ammo.

A close second string: 160-165 grain nosler partition, TSX, trophy bonded tip, or interbond.

The ballistics for the 180 gr nosler (at 2880 fps) and the 180 grain MRX can't be beat (even by a seven mag)

FG

killed my first elk with my brothers rem .270 @ 300 yards with a 150gr sierra boattail i believe it was. Been muzzleloading ever since then.

fishm@n

Don't take long shots! You are doing a dis-service to the animal by taking 400+ yd shots especially with those calibers. There is nothing worse than seeing a crippled elk wandering around after some jack@ss wounded it taking a long shot when they could have worked harder and got within reasonable range (under 300). I bowhunt elk now but have killed elk with 30.06 (always under 100yds) in the past and 165 or higher core locked bullet will kill elk dead. Work for your kill.

bob roberts

i agree with fish - unless you have a habit of practicing at 300 PLUS yards, avoid them and get closer. both your 270 (i've use 150gr partitions, federal loads them) and 06' (165 tbbc or 180gr partitions for me, federal loads these also)will cleanly take elk if you put the bullet behind the shoulder.

buy a few different boxes of ammo, shoot your gun with each to see which load your gun likes. then shoot some at 300 yards. if you can't put them inside 6-7 inches at 300 yards, don't take that shot in the field. don't make elk hunting harder than it actually is. put a decent bullet in the right place from a reasonabledistance and you'll have meat. good luck.

WWhunter

Back to the "Light Mag" bullets....I have also chronoed them. They clock nearlythe same speed as a .300 Win Mag with the same weight bullet (180). So close that I sold a new .300WM and kept my '06. The .300WM was a heavier rifle and since the Light Mags and the Federal Hi-Energy rounds give me nearly the same FPS in my '06 I was happy.

bsurplus2003

The guys that suggest 165 grain for your odd 6 are correct. I use the Federal Nosler ballistic tips they are the best true flying bullet that does a tremendous amount of damage and puts em down.

SILVERTIP-CO

I use Hornady Light Magnum ammo in my 30-06 and Hornady Heavy Magnum ammo in my 7mm Rem Mag, both for western long range big game hunting. Both are a bit pricey but you can't handload ammo this good.

Gary Olen sells the full line of Hornady Mag ammo at the cheapest prices I have seen at http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=145882

( no, I dont work for him )

txhunter58

Having just obtained a 30-06 I am curious how you felt the Hornady light magnum did on elk? As I understand it, they use the interlock bullet, which is basically their version on a core-lokt type bullet. I have used the 270 light magnum with the interlock and it seemed to me that the bullet would fragment if I hit anything substantial.

Therefore, I was wondering if the interbond might be a better choice (in their Custom line)

And at least on paper, the new TSX and trophy bonded tip bullets look superior to the interlock. However, the proof is in the puddin! If it works it works. Has the interlock worked well in all situations for you? TIA

Scott Gags

Txhunter the interbond not the interlock is the bullet used in the Light Mags. They also use the softpoint and SST. If you are elk hunting with the 06 I would use the 165 grain interbond. It has a max point blank range of 300 yards and delivers2000 LBS of KE at 400 yards at 9,000 ft elevation.(The elevationI hunt.)
The interbonds terminal performance is fantastic in my opinion. It expands quickly,creates a large mushroom and still retains 90% of it weight. Many premium 180 grain bullets only retain 65% of their weight. I believe the bullets final weight is every bit as important as its starting weight for maximum terminal performance.