A friend of mine got drawn in for an elk tag in Oklahoma. He wants to use a 30/06. Should he go 165 grain or 180 grain bullet.

[Flatbed]

A friend of mine got drawn in for an elk tag in Oklahoma. He wants to use a 30/06. Should he go 165 grain or 180 grain bullet.

[DSMbirddog]

180 grain bullet and I would get a premium bullet at that. I'm sure those tags are hard to come by so I wouldn't pinch pennies.

[huntfishtrap]

I would say whichever one's more accurate, either weight will do the job as long as it's a premium bullet.

[Buckshott00]

Go with the 180 Grain it will do good work on an elk. Just make sure he is used to shooting them first. If he was lucky enough to get a tag then he should get comfortable with the ammo he will be using. Accuracy and shot placement is going to be more important that bullet size and kinetic energy. I would still say the 180 grain will get it done a bit better.

Just stay mindful of the velocity differences. I actually usually go with 200 or even 220 but you might start to mind the difference in trajectory as he will be losing a couple hundred fps.

Summary: Be Mindful of the shot distance,
practice with whichever he thinks will give him the best accuracy and shot placement at those distances
put the animal down as quickly and humanely as possible

[6phunter]

previous post has it right,the 30.06 is adequate. in either grain. the bullet type is more critical, REMMINTON CORE LOKS ARE MY FAVORITE, RETAIN ENERGY,DEVASTATING PENETRATION .

[JM]

Like huntfishtrap said,
Shoot them both and see which one shoots better. Both the 165gr and 180gr will kill an elk without a problem.

[Flatbed]

Thanks yall. We were thinking along the same lines. He has till mid December to pratice up. In Oklahoma it is a once in a lifetime draw. Once you draw you never get another chance, so I am sure he is not going to blow it.

[blake g]

my dad use to use 180 grns in the wyoming mountains. but i dont know if theres any size difference in the average size of bulls because of what there habitat is or there food diet.

[duckdog07]

180gr swift scirocco or something from Nosler you will have no issues,better advice is to start walking even if you're in olympic athelete shape start a good exercise program prior to such a hunt