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[fuzzybear]

I've got a box of 200 gr Accubond sitting on the shelf.
They are a bit long for the short cases I like to shoot. So I'm going to load them up for the '06.
On paper, I'm getting better numbers with the 180's but, I'm thinking they should be very effective as an Elk / Black bear load in the heavy timber we have in Wa. as they are up in the energy levels of the of the 338-06 with 225 gr Partitions.

The 30 cal 200 gr Accubond has a BC of .588 and a SD of .301
The 33 cal 225 gr Partition has a BC of .454 and a SD of .281

They both start out at 2600 fps. Which gives the 338-06 a 350 fpe advantage at the muzzle and 125 fpe at 200 yds.

The trajectory out to 200 yds is within 1/2". At 300 yds the 30-06 has a 1" advantage.

The paper stats are so close that I'm thinking the 200 gr Accubond in 30-06 is every bit as capable as the 225 gr Partition in 338-06.

Has anyone else tried this combo? What were your findings?

[147 Grain]

Good luck with loading the 200-gr. AccuBond!

Over on Nosler's Reloading Website at www.NoslerReloading.com they have been reporting outstanding results with this load.

Steve

[Captain_Obvious]

Haven't loaded the Accu-bond in my 30-06 yet. I have used 200 grain Noslers, good chronograph readings, anywhere from 2300 fps all the way up to 2520 fps depending on loads and powders. Might give the Accu-Bond a whirl.

[fuzzybear]

When you do. Let me know what your findings are. I don't know if it's worth the trouble. I just don't have anything else to load these in. Got rid of my 300wm several years back, before the Accubonds came to be.
I like the 220 gr Partitions in the '06 as a thumper. You can pack in a lot of RL 22, but they are a good 3/16" shorter than the 200 gr Accubonds.
As your aware of. What the paper says can be done and what can be done are sometimes different. Sometimes better and sometimes not quite as good. Only time will tell.
I'd like to find the powder VihtaVouri is making for the high energy rounds.

[Captain_Obvious]

Gave 5 samples a test spin. Got them from a friend who decided not to load them into his 300 Winchester Magnum.

I used H-4831 and got a minimum velocity of 2352 fps, and a maximum of 2565 fps MV. Accuracy was pretty good, a 3 shot group of about 1-1/4 inch and a two shot one about 1-1/2 inch at 100 yards.

[fuzzybear]

Capt O
After some more research. I think it would be best to leave those long 200gr Accubond to the 300 belted mags. The 220gr Partition does the job just fine.
Being shorter, I can pack a walloping load of RL22 and have the 180's at hand if the terrain changes.
For those open timber, high desert, prairie shots. The 300wsm with the 180's and 165's fills my needs.

[Captain_Obvious]

Fuzzybear, I'd definitely have to agree about those 220's. Figure if you're down in a creek bottom and shots are going to be close, you don't have to worry much about trajectory. We have some very nice, thick cedar thickets where the deer like to bed down, if someone thinks they can maneuver a big long 7 Mag rifle through that stuff, they're in for a miserable day. Even a 30-30 lever-action is tough in those cedars. Those branches manage to snag on everything.

I've got a little 7mm-08 with a 20 inch barrel that handles nice in thick scrub. Thinking of grabbing a Marlin 30-30 one of these days. 30-06, 7 Mag and 300 WBY handle the open pasture shooting. 243 in the valleys. Got it all covered.

[Captain_Obvious]

Hell, I wouldn't mind bagging on of those Blacktails, or a Roosevelt elk for that matter.

[fuzzybear]

Deer starts toward the middle of October. There's a week or two lull and then Elk. Black Bear runs during both.
If your interested. I'll check on NR fees.
A 7-08 with heavy bullets would be on the light end for the Roosevelt but, usable. I prefer a heavy 30 cal or better in a quick easy to handle rifle.

The ground is wet and damp. Dress appropriately.
There is no shortage of berry vines and plants with thorns. Covering an area is slow moving. The ground is laced with fallen branches but it is usually wet enough that a stalk and find is relatively quiet. The umbrella of trees gives a sensation of being in some mysterious place. All of the forest sounds are trapped within the trees and that's all you hear. Every sound. It's quite the experience.

[Captain_Obvious]

What I could always do is take the scope off my 30-06 and put the rear sight back on. It does have a 22 inch barrel, but it only weighs 7-1/4 lbs without a scope. Then all I need is a good 180 grain bullet.

For the deer, I'd probably use the 243 or the 7mm-08. There's nothing like a good area to stalk a quarry, especially in thick cover where close encounters are the rule.

[fuzzybear]

A 30-06 throwing a heavy partition would be the ticket. Loaded hot without ejection problems.
A small power scope with good glass say, 1x or 2x works, if you can set the crosshairs quickly. I carry a 1x-4x 32 leupold VXII on my '06. Set on 1x. The glass helps brighten up the area.

I've also got an NEF single shot in 30/30 that I like for blacktail. I'm picking up another barrel in 45/70 for the Roosevelt. Either barrel will work for the Black Bear. It's just a matter of removing the fore stock and switching barrels.
I used the same set up with a 12ga 3-1/2" x-full barrel for turkey. I won't have $400 in the whole system with 3 barrels.
Load 150gr Hornady RN in the 30/30 barrel for deer. 350gr Hornady RN in the 45/70 barrel for Elk and 3-1/2" #4 X-full 12ga barrel for turkey.

The 1x-4x 32 scope gives me the option for longer shots with 180's or 165's in the '06. The 300wsm with 150 or 165gr Hornady interbonds or 180gr Accubonds works for the open terrain.

I also have another single shot scoped set up with changable barrels in 243win and 308 win.

Then there's the custom long barreled 270 wsm with 130's and 140's for any of the high desert shooting. Predators and such, along with a mulie or so.

[Captain_Obvious]

I could use the 3X9 scope that is on my 30-06, it's just that I might be faster to aim at close range through iron sights, all I have to do is put the rear sight back on and adjust it and it's good to go. 1X, that must be a very wide sight picture!

Last November Firearms deer season I set up in a pasture where some wheat had been planted, I sat in a bulldozer that had been left there for over a year. I had a doe only tag, and it's about 5:45 AM, still partly dark, and two deer walk by about 50 yards away. I had my 7 Mag, had three Core-Lokt 150's in the gun, and since my scope filters light, I could see cleanly through it, so I shot the bigger of the two. I could have just as well used a 30-30 right there in that open pasture. To this day, I still have that box of 150 grain Remington Core-Lokt, with a single round missing. Next year I'm invading the cedars. I'll get a nice little lever-action 30-30 to use for that.

[fuzzybear]

It's refreshing to hear that someone is interested in using a 30-30. It's an old round but, every bit as efficient as one of the super mags when it's used at it's potential. Same goes for the 300 savage. Both rounds still bring down their share of deer, around these woods.
I'm a big fan of the 30 cals. in these lower 48. Just need to pick the right one for the job at hand.

[Captain_Obvious]

NONYA, good herd management dictates that you should harvest does as well as bucks. It's called maintaining a good buck/doe ratio. That's why all these game ranches that feature trophy whitetail hunting yield so many Boone & Crocketts. Private landowners do it too. The Drury Ranch, owned by Mark Drury and family, holds many bucks that will score 170, 180, 190 or more Boone & Crockett points. Harvesting does is essential. My cousin in-law hunts over there and he also has his own land and they take 160 and 170 class bucks about every two years, with lots of 140's and even 150's in between. All bigger deer than you have shot, or will ever shoot, for that matter.

The 30-30 is just a load of fun to use, in general. With the right bullet, you can even go for varmint and furbearer, and where rifles are legal, you can do close-range turkey hunting with one. They're also just as easy to clean as a bolt-action rifle. I think I've read that it has downed more deer than any other modern rifle cartridge. Good number of black bear, mule deer, and elk, too.