Vanity for Rifle Ammunition Question

Me ^ | today | Me

[onona]

Hey Freepers:

So I decided to get back into hunting after 30 years and bought an oldie but a goodie Remington 740 30-06 autoloader.

First question: Is there really a difference between ammo between manufacturers ?

Second question: What is the difference between 150 grain, 180 grain, 200 grain etc. ?

I love gun talk on FR and totally appreciate your feedback. Your knowledge packs a wallop.

Y'all are the best !

Have a great weekend !

[Navy Patriot]

First, for one rifle, 30 caliber offers the best wide range projectile performance, and the '06 case, although larger in capacity than necessary, offers a large selection of high quality factory ammunition, so good choice.

The Remington 740 is a competent rifle and will do the job, but first make sure it's in top notch condition with a competent gunsmith, then do a little practice at the range, Use a good quality new manufacture 180 grain ammo to get comfortable with the rifle and see if you need to do any custom fitting to yourself, and work out your sighting method.

Now decide what game you wish to hunt, and that will dictate the projectile type, weight and propellant load. Then sight the rifle in using the exact ammo you will hunt with.

Good hunting!

[CurlyDave]

I use 180 grain all the time for every situation.

While you might only “need” 150 grain for a deer, 180 grains will put a deer down. It will also be just about perfect for bear, elk, feral pig and cougar. It will also kill coyote just fine.

As a practical matter the sighting differences, between 150 grain and 180 are very small. I don’t shoot anything over 300 yards anyway, most shots are 100 yards or less, and this is in the west. In the eastern states even closer is normal.

If I don’t change bullet weight, I don’t have to go through a lengthy sight-in process every time I hunt for a different species. I just check the sighting with a few shots before each hunt. And if a bear or cougar shows up on a deer hunt, I am ready.

Just try a few different brands to see which does best in your rifle. Mine likes Remington, which is a shame since Winchester is more common in my area.

[and so?]

OK, first off, as a long time owner of a 740, first thing you do is take it to the range to make sure it operates correctly...some 740's have issues.

Most do not, but enough do that many hunters WILL NOT USE ONE...mine's fine

Next thing, every rife performs differently with different ammo; you'll have to experiment to find out which one is best.

Accuracy is paramount...if your best results are with a 180 grain Hornady boat tail (not likely with that rifle) at your likely kill range, that's what you use.

ONE SHOT ONE KILL.

Hit a whitetail in the right spot with 150 grain, it's going down.

Accuracy.

All that being said, I normally use a .270 Win on whitetal, but will sometimes take a .308 out for grins.

[c-b 1]

Be sure to put several boxes through your rifle before going hunting with it. I once HAD a Remmington 740 30.06, it was accurate, but it would only occasional feed a full magazine without jambing, I bought a new Remmington magazzine, it didn't help, the rifle found a new home.

I hope yours performs better than mine did.

[ChildOfThe60s]

150 grain is 75% alcohol.

180 grain is 90% alcohol.

200 grain would be 100% alcohol.

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Now you’re talking

[steveshoveler]

You need to be careful with that one.

30-06 is an old cartridge and originally used powders which do not have the power that modern powders do. Loaded with the powders it originated with, 30-06 ammo will not harm an M1, which is the main thing which uses 30-06 ammo these days. Loaded with modern powders, the 06 is halfway between a 308 (or an 06 loaded with the older powder), and a 300 WinMag. That will destroy an M1 and it might damage the old Remington semiauto, it would depend on when the 740 was made and what it was designed for.

As to ammo loaded for a 308 or an 06 with the older powders, the 150 grain bullets will go subsonic and become inaccurate after about 600 yards; the 165 and 180 grain bullets won't. Very little actual killing of game animals in the US is at ranges over 200 yards so for most people the range limit of the 150 grain ammo is not a problem and for the older rifle you'd definitely be better off with the lighter bullets since there'd be less chance of damaging the rifle.

My own preference would be to use the 740 for plinking and get something more modern for hunting, which normally would be something in one of the WSM calibers.

[TYVets]

Punching holes in paper at 100 yards will tell you what your rifle likes. Plan on making more than one trip to the range if you are serious about it.

Reloaders who shoot a lot have an expression "Every rifle is a mystery unto it's self". Using factory loads the brand, bullet weight and type of bullet that works best in my 740 may not shoot well in yours.

A general guideline as to bullet weights and type:

125 gr Remington pointed soft point for coyotes.

150 gr Remington pointed soft point Core-Lokt for deer and antelope

165 gr if you are hunting 200 lbs deer and 800 lbs elk at the same time.

180 gr Federal or Remington Brand ammo with Nosler Partition bullets for elk.

220 gr for moose.

Study the sight in charts after you decide what brand and bullet you are going to use. With the exception of the 220 gr loads, sighted in with a scope for 200 yards is good way to go.

Some trips to the range and a clean chamber will tell you a lot about your semi-auto rifle.

[Charles Martel]

I agree, it's probably a good idea to look for .30-06 ammo in the M2 Ball ammo pressure range for that Remington. I know Hornady makes a Garand load for paper-punching, but I'm not sure that the A-Max projectiles would be reliable for hunting.

Hornady might have a similar powder load in one of its other -06 offerings; can't hurt to drop them an e-mail (mention the 740, the ammo manufacturers should have specific recommendations for that one).

And regarding that 740, make sure that a gunsmith takes a close look at it. Issues abound with the 740-742-7400 rifles, including rusty chambers, fractured bolts and badly worn receivers. Here is some discussion of the problems. If it's in good shape and you baby it, you should be okay.

[onona]

You all are the best. I knew I could count on y’all to help me out. Many thanks !!

And I keep learning !!

Who knew 200 grain was 100 Proof ??

Thanks again. I’ll keep you posted :)

[steveshoveler]

Within my experience there’s no such thing as babying a hunting rifle. Best is to use the 740 for plinking and buy a more modern rifle for hunting. If you want a semiauto there’s that BAR in 270WSM which gives you knockdown power and global reach with recoil no worse than a heavy 308 load.

[steveshoveler]

Should have included you on that last post, once again, within my experience there’s no such thing as babying a hunting rifle. Best is to use the 740 for plinking and buy a more modern rifle for hunting. If you want a semiauto there’s that BAR in 270WSM which gives you knockdown power and global reach with recoil no worse than a heavy 308 load.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/SearchResults.aspx

[steveshoveler]

better url

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=252896174