One Useable 30-06
Key Takeaways
Transcript
Kim’s .30-06 Rifle for Hunting in Africa
Hi folks, welcome to Africa! We’re shooting this video from our lodge, and we just finished a video on my two-rifle battery for Africa. Now, I want to talk about what my wife carries and why—because we’ve had people asking.
Kim’s Hunting Rifle: .30-06 Winchester
This is Kim’s .30-06 that she brought for plains game. With the right ammo and good shot placement, a .30-06 is more than capable of taking down any plains game animal—including eland, which can weigh up to 1,600 lbs. If you double-lung them and take out both lungs, a .30-06 will get the job done.
This particular rifle is a controlled-round-feed Winchester, made in the 1990s. I had it put in a custom stock and mounted a Weaver Grand Slam scope on it. Believe it or not, I have three or four of these scopes. While they aren’t the same quality as a Leupold, and they don’t have as much eye relief, they are good, solid scopes.
Ammunition: Buffalo Bore 180-Grain Sierra Pro-Hunter
Ammo: Buffalo Bore Item 40C
Bullet: 180-grain Sierra Pro-Hunter
Velocity: 2,800 fps (Max for this bullet in .30-06)
I know some people will question why we use a non-premium bullet, but at .30-06 and .308 velocities, this bullet is excellent. If you loaded it into a .300 Win Mag and shot game at close range, it would blow up. But at these speeds, it’s accurate, reliable, and effective—plus, it’s an affordable bullet that performs well in properly set-up rifles.
Effectiveness for North American Game
Kim and I have both used this load to take elk, deer, and black bear in North America. It works perfectly for those species. If I were hunting Alaskan brown bears (1,200-1,400 lbs), I’d switch to a premium bullet and a heavier grain weight. But for interior grizzlies, I’d still use this.
Moose? No problem. Even a 1,700-lb moose isn’t as tough as an 800-lb Rocky Mountain elk. The .30-06 with this load will drop them just fine.
Final Thoughts
This is Kim’s rifle, she shoots it well, and she uses it a lot. Since we’ve had questions about it, I just wanted to take a moment to show it to you.
Hope you enjoyed the video—have a great day and God bless!
