Black Bear CO 30-06

[OzarkOaks]

Hello,

I am new here to Rockslide, and this is my first post. This is an awesome place to share ideas and read up on gear. I am excited to join!

So here is the scoop on this post. I reload for a 30-06. Its my deer rifle and in the ozark's deer are 150 pounds on average. I run a 165 grain Speer BTSP and I get exit wounds routinely using that bullet. Game hit past a 100 yards and exit wounds are pretty small. Its a pretty soft bullet. I am a little concerned that it may be too soft for black bear.

I am looking to develop a black bear load for a Colorado backpack hunt. The biggest animal I have shot with a rifle is a whitetail, so I haven't really ever needed a really tough bullet.

Has anybody shot any bears running a 30-06 with a 165 grain partition?

If anybody has any feedback on the 165 partition versus the 180 grain partition at 30-06 velocities I am all ears. I haven't done any killing with a partition, but hear they are great on large tough game.

Happy Holidays!

 

[PathFinder]

Black bears are not tough, giant, hard to kill animals. They're thin skinned, not particularly big boned, and die fast. That Speer will be fine.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[roosiebull]

don't overthink it. bear are actually pretty soft, the main thing with them is make sure you make a good double lung shot.... they die easy unless you don't hit them well, then they turn into about the toughest critter there is.

i have shot a couple with partitions (270 though) and it was very effective. i like partitions period, and if your rifle likes them, they are never a bad choice.

i have recently been shooting accubonds and like them too. there are several trains of thought on this, and every group has good success with the bullets they shoot. i know some guys who love soft match bullets on bear... they kill well. i have always liked the tougher bullets, but that's because of my experience with them leading to confidence.

again, don't overthink it, bear aren't hard to shoot through

 

[OzarkOaks]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I've used 200g partitions for lots of different animals, black bear, moose, caribou, elk. I'm sure others will have different opinions but over the years I've really found the 200g partition to really be the sweet spot out of my 30-06. That being said, I'm sure your 165 would be fine too.

 

[Laramie]

I agree with the posts above about your current bullet. Ballistically, I think you are shooting the best weight bullet currently. The 165 is the sweet spot in a 30-06. If you want to switch to a different bullet, partitions are great as long as your gun shoots them accurately. I prefer the Hornady Interbonds but they are apples to apples- an expanding bullet designed to penetrate deeply.

 

[OzarkOaks]

I've used 200g partitions for lots of different animals, black bear, moose, caribou, elk. I'm sure others will have different opinions but over the years I've really found the 200g partition to really be the sweet spot out of my 30-06. That being said, I'm sure your 165 would be fine too.

Its interesting you bring up the 200 grain partition. The purpose of the bear hunt is to give me an opportunity to scout for elk / fly fish and get some intel on how a 30-06 does on big game. The 165 grain and 180 grain partition still has enough velocity to deliver some shocking power under a 100 yards if driven at max loads. I am personally kinda leaning towards the 180 for black bear so that I can see how it does on that weight animal, and then decide if I want to use the load for elk. I've been thinking hard about the 200 grain and I am wondering if the tradeoff for velocity in exchange for sectional density is the way to go.

My question to you in regards to the 200 grain at 2550 fps? Do you feel that at that speed that bullet delivers shock and wider then caliber wound channels? Does the 200 grain exit elk on broadside shots? Quartering shot? Did you do some killing with 180 grain partition and move to the 200 grain because you were not satisfied with penetration?

Thanks for replying!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Its interesting you bring up the 200 grain partition. The purpose of the bear hunt is to give me an opportunity to scout for elk / fly fish and get some intel on how a 30-06 does on big game. The 165 grain and 180 grain partition still has enough velocity to deliver some shocking power under a 100 yards if driven at max loads. I am personally kinda leaning towards the 180 for black bear so that I can see how it does on that weight animal, and then decide if I want to use the load for elk. I've been thinking hard about the 200 grain and I am wondering if the tradeoff for velocity in exchange for sectional density is the way to go.

My question to you in regards to the 200 grain at 2550 fps? Do you feel that at that speed that bullet delivers shock and wider then caliber wound channels? Does the 200 grain exit elk on broadside shots? Quartering shot? Did you do some killing with 180 grain partition and move to the 200 grain because you were not satisfied with penetration?

Thanks for replying!

Hello,

I started using the 200g bullets because I had moved to AK and wanted something with just a bit more stopping power, I found though that the 200g partitions were very accurate out of both my 30-06 rifles so I just didnt switch. It did not exit the elk I used them on which I shot at about 340yds. I've used the 180s a lot as well.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

You don't need 180 grain bullets for elk from the 30-06. The only real advantage to heavier bullets in the 30-06 is bucking the wind at long distances. Just don't shoot too splashy a bullet on elk (like Hornady SST's, I've seen them only take one lung out) and they will die. Partitions, A-Frames, TTSX, ETip, Hammer, and on and on and on the list goes. Some guys like lots of energy dumped with match style bullets (go see the .223 for deer, elk, bear, etc thread to get your brain churning on this stuff). Others like a bullet that will hold together and weigh nearly what it did when it left the muzzle. Some don't want lead in their meat. There's a balance to be struck with bullets, but you should remember that Jack O'Connor liked 130 grain projectiles from a .270 for everything he hunted. Those bullets were usually soft by today's standards, and killed very well.

 

[Dioni A]

For very many years my favorite load to run on everything was a 30-06 with 180 grain acubbond. You could kill pretty much any animal on the planet with that set up. Honestly though what you have will work fine for bears. like everyone else has said they're not tough to kill if you put the bullet in the right spot. If you put it in the wrong spot you won't get much of a blood trail and they go into some nasty stuff.

 

[30338]

We've killed 7 or 8 CO black bears now and used anything from a 6.5x47 lapua up to a 30-06. Any bullet weight in 30-06 is going to kill any of our CO bears quite dead. I'd probably use a 155 Scenar in mine if using it again. But the 180 accubond has done great as well.

 

[452b264]

You don't need 180 grain bullets for elk from the 30-06. The only real advantage to heavier bullets in the 30-06 is bucking the wind at long distances. Just don't shoot too splashy a bullet on elk (like Hornady SST's, I've seen them only take one lung out) and they will die. Partitions, A-Frames, TTSX, ETip, Hammer, and on and on and on the list goes. Some guys like lots of energy dumped with match style bullets (go see the .223 for deer, elk, bear, etc thread to get your brain churning on this stuff). Others like a bullet that will hold together and weigh nearly what it did when it left the muzzle. Some don't want lead in their meat. There's a balance to be struck with bullets, but you should remember that Jack O'Connor liked 130 grain projectiles from a .270 for everything he hunted. Those bullets were usually soft by today's standards, and killed very well.

Jack used the 130 gr. Partition and H 4831 in his 270, it worked just as good then as does today.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Jack used the 130 gr. Partition and H 4831 in his 270, it worked just as good then as does today.

I was mistaken on his bullet choice then. I thought he was using cup and core.

 

[EdP]

I shot 2 bears in the spring of 2019 in Idaho with my 30-06 using 180 gr Sierra gamekings. Both were one shot kills at 150 yds. The bears went down and expired on the spot. The second bear was double lunged and the bullet broke the off side shoulder. I think that bullet performance confirms what others have said about what is needed for small to medium black bears.

While developing loads for the 30-06 I found that the 180 gr shot a bit tighter and just as flat at distance as the 165 due to a higher BC. Consequently I ended up developing a 180 gr load and a 165 gr load that shot to the same point of impact out to 500 yds. I used the 180 on elk and bear and used the 165 to practice with. Although the 180 gr GK performed well in all cases I plan to develop a load for 180 gr Accubonds, just because I think it is a better bullet. AB's are a bit pricey to use for practice so I will continue using the 165s for that purpose.

 

[OzarkOaks]

I appreciate all the feedback from everyone who has participated! It sounds like the 30-06 is going to do just fine on CO black bear.

Since I am using this black bear hunt to prepare for a future first time elk hunt, I am going to change up my load. The Speer bullet is definitely shedding some weight on whitetail. I haven't recovered one yet to see how much, but I suspect it's losing 35% or so of its weight thru flesh.

I shot a doe recently at 125 yards. She was facing me in a field. There were 5 of them and I turned the corner and they were all looking at me and they were all facing me dead on. I picked the biggest one and shot her low in the brisket. She ran 60 yards to the timberline and died. Autopsy revealed the bullet entered the lungs just above the heart. The bullet rapidly expanded. I'd say within the first inch the bullet had reached full expansion and as it progressed thru the lungs it started shedding its jacket. The bullet exited about half way down her body. There was a big difference in the amount of damage to the front of the lungs where the bullet entered versus the rear of the lungs. It was soupy up front, but the rear had some damage but wasn't soupy. I think the soupy area is where the bullet is shedding its weight and why it looks like that. I could be wrong, but that is my hunch. All in all it was a delayed but clean kill. I am not disappointed in the Speer BTSP for a deer load at all.

I really want to see how my future elk load will fare on a bigger critter then I am able to hunt back in Missouri. Its a big reason I am going on a bear hunt first.

I have some time to prepare which is good considering reloading supplies are still hard to find.

I am actually thinking about building a dual load for two purposes after plugging some bullets into a ballistics program at 9k foot elevation. A long range load for shooting 300-500 yards using 168 grain Accubond LR. A black forest load using a 168 grain Barnes ttsx. I haven't ever built a dual load before so should learn something from the process. The 168 grain Accubond LR has the slightly more energy then a 180 grain partition at 500 yards. It has more 200 fps more speed, and is quite a bit flatter shooting. If it weren't for that I would probably just load up some 180 grain Partitions and be done. If I get short for time, or I can't get the two loads to shoot same POI then I am going to default to the 180 grain partition.

That would give me three loads to choose from to hunt with. 165 grain Speer BTSP. 168 Accubond LR, and 168 grain TTSX. Those bullets all excel in very different ways. The Speers are cheap and are great target fodder as well.

Thanks again for everybody who replied!

 

[EdP]

I hope you come back and let us know how your load development goes. Personally, I can't get any of the secant ogive bullets to shoot well out of my 30-06 and so have stuck with the standard tangent ogive ABs.

 

[OzarkOaks]

I hope you come back and let us know how your load development goes. Personally, I can't get any of the secant ogive bullets to shoot well out of my 30-06 and so have stuck with the standard tangent ogive ABs.

I will do that. I have not loaded either type of accubond. My Speer 165 grain BTSP load likes it 20 thou off the lands. That load shoots .3 MOA 5 shot groups. When I first loaded it at book COAL it would shoot right at an inch so seating it out really helped with accuracy.

I'm planning on loading some at the book COAL and then some at 20 thou off the lands COAL.

Do you have any learning experiences from developing your AB load that would be beneficial to me prior to load development?

If you would be willing to share that would be awesome!

 

[rclouse79]

Black bears are not tough, giant, hard to kill animals. They're thin skinned, not particularly big boned, and die fast. That Speer will be fine.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Based on my small sample size of experience, I would say they are fairly tough. The two I have shot have required a follow up shot even though the first was in the vital zone.

 

[carsonkeys]

You don't need 180 grain bullets for elk from the 30-06. The only real advantage to heavier bullets in the 30-06 is bucking the wind at long distances. Just don't shoot too splashy a bullet on elk (like Hornady SST's, I've seen them only take one lung out) and they will die. Partitions, A-Frames, TTSX, ETip, Hammer, and on and on and on the list goes. Some guys like lots of energy dumped with match style bullets (go see the .223 for deer, elk, bear, etc thread to get your brain churning on this stuff). Others like a bullet that will hold together and weigh nearly what it did when it left the muzzle. Some don't want lead in their meat. There's a balance to be struck with bullets, but you should remember that Jack O'Connor liked 130 grain projectiles from a .270 for everything he hunted. Those bullets were usually soft by today's standards, and killed very well.

Another interesting point about O'Connor, I read at Sheep Show last year that his wife's elephant gun was a 30-06...

 

[EdP]

I've got a load for ABs in my .270 but not for my 30-06 yet. Since you are already playing around with seating depth I don't think I would be telling you anything you don't already know, but here is what I do for any load development after bullet selection. Use a reliable source (loading manual or on-line publication from bullet or powder mfg) to pick a powder and starting load. I tend to start near the middle of the load range. My preference is to ladder test for bullet seating depth first then powder charge loading at ,005, .010. .015,.020 off the lands. Many, maybe most, do it in the opposite order but pressures go up fast as you approach the lands so I prefer to get the seating depth first. After deciding on seating depth I ladder test powder charge going up a grain CORRECTION 1/2 GRAIN at a time. All shooting is 5 shots at 100 yds over a chrono. The best shooting loads always have good data (small SD and spread). The best load doesn't always have the best data but it won't be far off, and a load with bad data never gives a great group. When shooting I use an old fashioned egg timer and wait 3 min between shots. If I can't get a shot off in a reasonable time after chambering I pull the cartridge and let it cool before shooting it.