30-06 220 Grain Bullets

[Longwalker]

I don't have any personal experience with the 220 grain bullet in the .30-06, but i do have a reasonable amount of experience with the 7x57 and 175 gr. bullet. As far as I can determine, they are a scaled version of each other. About the same velocity, sectional density, ballistic coefficient and trajectory. Just a little difference in bullet diameter and weight.
The 7x57 / 175 gr load has worked with perfect satisfaction for me while hunting moose, elk, whitetail deer, and wolf. Good penetration, reasonable expansion, and quick kills from 10-250 yards.
I have a few boxes of Winchester factory loads in 30-06 loaded with the 220 grain silver tip bullets. I like they way they look, and they shoot accurately enough for my hunting. Although the silvertip is one of my least favourite of the old-time cup and core bullet designs because of the limits of the jacket design, the heavier weight makes up for any deficiency. I may just load my rifle with them next season and go tip over a moose. I know they will work OK, and it seems like the right thing to do. Can't think of any reason not to use them or a similar bullet for kudu or gemsbok or zebra if the range is not too long.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I don't have any personal experience with the 220 grain bullet in the .30-06, but i do have a reasonable amount of experience with the 7x57 and 175 gr. bullet. As far as I can determine, they are a scaled version of each other. About the same velocity, sectional density, ballistic coefficient and trajectory. Just a little difference in bullet diameter and weight.
The 7x57 / 175 gr load has worked with perfect satisfaction for me while hunting moose, elk, whitetail deer, and wolf. Good penetration, reasonable expansion, and quick kills from 10-250 yards.
I have a few boxes of Winchester factory loads in 30-06 loaded with the 220 grain silver tip bullets. I like they way they look, and they shoot accurately enough for my hunting. Although the silvertip is one of my least favourite of the old-time cup and core bullet designs because of the limits of the jacket design, the heavier weight makes up for any deficiency. I may just load my rifle with them next season and go tip over a moose. I know they will work OK, and it seems like the right thing to do. Can't think of any reason not to use them or a similar bullet for kudu or gemsbok or zebra if the range is not too long.

The pre 1954 Winchester Silver Tip bullets featured a jacket which was made from a mixture of copper, nickel and zinc. These were remarkably good soft point bullets for the time. Even in heavy recoiling magazine rifles ( such as the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum ), their noses would not deform ( as opposed to all other soft point bullets of this era, which frequently led to feeding problems in magazine rifles ). The problem occurred when Winchester ( in an attempt to reduce manufacturing costs ) replaced this alloy jacketing with an aluminum jacketing. These came to pieces all too often.

 

[shark_za]

I have shot quite a few things with my load of 220gr Hornady RN and S365 at about 2400fps.
I dont see meat damage even with shoulder shots, all other loads do more damage with the same placement.
I hunt predominantly in the Limpopo Bushveld where 150m is a very long shot but if I was going to Namibia or the E-Cape where shots are longer I would load up with 180gr at a little more pace.
But then again their Kudus are also the smaller more fragile type.

 

[spike.t]

I am a massive admirer of 220 Gr bullets in a .30-06 Springfield. Throughout my many years of hunting in Africa ( beginning in 1974 ), the 220 Gr Remington Core Lokt soft point ( fired from a .30-06 Springfield ) has been my go to choice for Kudu and eland. Within 200 to 250 yards, they are accurate enough. And I’ve never found them lacking even on the largest eland bulls.

Recently, I’ve grown very fond of the 220 Gr Sako Hammerhead soft point. With Remington having gone bankrupt ( again ), I think that I’ll use 220 Gr Sako Hammerheads in a .30-06 Springfield for the plains game in my upcoming next Safari.

What I have for mine...

 

[Flint]

Brilliant!
Long-for-calibre bullets penetrate like a spear!

 

[Flint]

220 gr works great for African plains game. Big or small...

And for me. As a meat hunter. For boiler room shots. Among many other very well made bullets. Rhino Solid Shank. Rivets hugely larger than calibre. Retains petals very well.
Suggest visiting the website for personal verification.
I personally put two 300gr 375 Solid Shank bullets into a 25 litre container with fine dry sand. Had a witness. After well washed scaled 297 and 298 grains. Although here mushroomed. Not petteled as in a bodily wound. This was an experience. Never expected.