30.06 or Magnum -7mm rem Mag/300 win mag-

[jaap888]

Hi there. Nowadays the BC's of hunting ammo is getting better every time, like the Hornady ELD X. So if you are shooting at a max distance of max 500/550 meters on a mountain goat is a magnum caliber really preferable to make those shots or is there not too much difference to shoot with my 30.06 and those high BC bullets. I know this gun and bullet and I like to shoot it. I'm a bit scared that when I go magnum it will reflect on my shot placement and so on.
Cheers Jaap

[slugslinger]

Jaap,

You are probably going to get many diverse responses to your posting, but that's part of the fun of BlaserBuds. There's nothing like having a rifle that you know well and are comfortable with, and a 30-06 is a great chambering. Unfortunately the 178g Hornady ELD-X is probably giving you quite a drop at 550-600 meters out of that rifle. If you went to a slightly lighter bullet, you would get a flatter trajectory. (125g or 150g Nosler Accubond for instance). You would have to check the energy at the longer ranges to see if it meets your needs.

You could get endless opinions about alternate rifle chamberings, and they of course depend on what you hunt. For the specific case you mentioned for mountain goats at fairly long range, there are clearly many candidates. One of my favorites would be the 6.5 PRC and you seem to like the Hornady ELD-X which comes in a 143g 6.5mm bullet. The 6.5 PRC has a muzzle velocity advantage over the 6.5x55 Swede and 6.5 Creedmoor.

There is certainly nothing wrong with the 300 Win Mag, 300 Weatherby Mag, 7mm Mag (or even the 7x61 S&H if you happen to have and old Schultz and Larsen rifle). Since you don't need super knock-down energy for a goat, I might lean toward the faster 6.5 and 7mm chamberings.

Just my thoughts and opinions - I'm sure you'll hear others!

Regards,

[stokesrj]

Mountain goats are phlegmatic and can soak up a lot of energy with little reaction. I once shot one with my 300 Weatherby using a 200 grain Nosler Partition from about 50 yards. I was trying to break both shoulders and drop him at the shot. Apparently I missed the shoulder bones because at the shot he calmly walked to the edge of a cliff and jumped off, falling almost 2000 feet to the ocean below. A 30-06 or 7mm RM or 300 Win Mag placed properly would have anchored him. At longer ranges the 300 Win Mag does perform better because of less wind drift and higher retained energy, so it does have a 150 yard greater range which comes at the expense of equally greater recoil and muzzle blast.
I think a 30-06 with the 178 ELD-X is more than enough gun especially since you have great confidence in your ability to shoot it well.

[Corjack]

Mountain goats are phlegmatic and can soak up a lot of energy with little reaction. I once shot one with my 300 Weatherby using a 200 grain Nosler Partition from about 50 yards. I was trying to break both shoulders and drop him at the shot. Apparently I missed the shoulder bones because at the shot he calmly walked to the edge of a cliff and jumped off, falling almost 2000 feet to the ocean below. A 30-06 or 7mm RM or 300 Win Mag placed properly would have anchored him. At longer ranges the 300 Win Mag does perform better because of less wind drift and higher retained energy, so it does have a 150 yard greater range which comes at the expense of equally greater recoil and muzzle blast.
I think a 30-06 with the 178 ELD-X is more than enough gun especially since you have great confidence in your ability to shoot it well.

I tende to agree with stokes. Under 600 yards is a chip shot for an accurate 30-06. Run with it.

Evidently stokes Geronimo goat wanted to make a great exit from life. He succeeded.

[MM]

Look half way down in the list of topics and you will see Long Range Shooting (Hunting) Questions. I asked almost the identical question for my upcoming goat hunt and received some excellent advice. I have a 30-06 barrel and also I picked up a 300Wthby barrel for my K95. At this point I think I am going to use my 30-06 and plan to get within 300 yards of the goat. My load is the 165grn. Partitiobn at 2745 FPS so sighted in at 225 yards: at 100 yards +2.6,
500 yards -47
600 yards -83.2
Same bullet but from a 300 Wthby 3185 FPS 250 yard zero:
100 yards +2.3
500 yards -31.8
600 yards -57.6
190 grain Accubond Long Range 300 Whtby 3100 FPS 270 yard zero:
100 yards +2.6
500 yards -26.5
600 yards -48
All these scenarios give me a reasonable PBR out to 300 yards. Regardless of load or cartridge at 600 yards I am going to need a range finder , adjustable turrets, bipod or some other rest. Now throw in the wind and it is a game changer Kestrel wind meter and a whole lot of experience reading the wind. Without the equipment is guessing for a 48" drop any easier than guessing for an 83" drop? If you have all the equipment and you know your clicks and you have the time to make adjustments I think the 30-06 will do it just as well. The 300 magnums do deliver more energy but in this case do you need it?
I am practicing shooting at distance because it will make the short shots easier but at this point I hope to get as close as I can ( I enjoy that way better than taking a long shot. It is hunting not shooting after all) but I feel better being prepared. I am working out with a trainer lifting weights and walking so I have the strength and stamina to get close.

[jaap888]

Thanks a lot for those very helpful comments. Cheers Armand

[deerhunter338mag]

If you going to run with the 30 06 then load up some 178 ELD-X. Shoot them out to 800m, reason.. will be a more accurate speed to calculate at the range you are thinking of taking the shot. Validate the speed through a ballistic program like Shooter to get an accurate speed, then you will see what type of energy the projectile is going to give you out of the 30 06. From a 100m to 800m you will be able to see if it's enough energy to drop the game your after if your a bit off the engine room. Misses are something you should consider on them extended shots where wind will play a big part in it

[Blasernovice]

Go to a 7mm Rem mag, the BC of the 162-168gr projectiles is way better than the .30cal. You need to be using a 200gr 30 cal to equal it
I have used a 7mm mag a lot hunting tahr, chamois and deer in the mountains out to the ranges you mention.
Wind is the biggest variable in the mountains and a high BC projectile will reduce wind drift and make a killing shot a lot easier to make.

[MD Driver]

In the FWIW column....at SCI this year in Reno, there were ads, posters, etc for the 6.5 PRC. I think they've discovered something they really like. As a Creedmoor shooter, it was pretty gratifying to see that bullet make such an impression in their world, albeit with a little more afterburner from the PRC. Sure, you're talking plains game, and not Cape Buffalo.

Between the M03s and R8s, I have barrels for just about all of them, but really, really enjoy shooting the Creedmoor. I've never seen a round so consistently shoot so accurately. With the .300 Win Mag, sometimes it seems like I'm just containing a beast through some parameters. Mileages, as always.

You're asking some good questions, good luck with your decision!

[jaap888]

I worked out perfectly with my 30.06 this year in NZ. In the right conditions long distance shots out till 750m no problem at all.

[stokesrj]

Glad to hear it worked out for you so well. Tell us more about it, what bullet and load did you use and more about how they worked.

[jaap888]

Well because of my trip to NZ and the period that I would like to stay there (3,5 weeks) it was not an option to bring my own bullets with me because I cannot take that much ammo with me. Last Year I experienced that my turrets on my scope where not consistent so I changed that for a Swarovski X5 5x25. Super happy with that scope light transmission and the turrets, top quality so I eliminated one inconsistent element. I went for the standard ammo of Hornady ELD X 178gr. It grouped very good at the 100m and so I did put them through a chrono. I used a standard 30.06 Blaser barrel lenght, I think it's 58 cm, with a DPT moderator. Came out that the velocity advertised on the box 2750fps with and without the moderator it was approximately 100fps too optimistic approx 2650fps. I did put this info in my AB app and shot out till 700m. The conclusion was that I had to adjust the velocity in the app to 2685 fps and after this correction I was within the 5cm range on my horizontal line that I drew. So i was very happy. I did have my concerns about the ELD X bullets that they might be too "soft" but It worked. I still prefer, after I saw how the bullets came out, a more solid one but so far so good. So I shot a nice Tahr and a Chammy and a nice red deer and a whole bunch of goats because they consider them almost as vermin overthere.

[jaap888]

And a photo of 2 bullets ELDX shot at a reddeer at 200m and 220m, 60% rest weight.

[sav338]

Very nice, congratulations and thanks for sharing. I hope you share the hunting story as well.cheers

[mchughcb]

The X5 is one of the more popular scopes in NZ. Nicely done in the Red.