I have a 30 ought six. I know that it is maybe one of the most versatile guns out there, and I have HEARD that it can be used even on small game like Wild Turkey, and coyotes. I know that my 30 is not the best to use for these types of animals, but I don't have a ton of guns, and I can only use what I have. What kinds of rounds or bullet grains would be good to use for animals of this size if I can use the 30 ought six at all for these animals?

You can try the .22cal accelarotor rounds for the .30-06. I don't know how well they will group, but they sure are fast.

If you shoot a turkey in the body with almost any centerfire rifle, the results won't be pretty. If you can neck/head shoot one, it won't matter what wieght bullet you use. If you shoot a coyote with the '06 using big game weigh bullets, it will pack a heck of a punch and the bullet likely will be tough enough that it won't expand too much and damage the pelt. Hornady makes a 110 grain VMax and Speer makes a 100 grain plinker. Other than that, most 30 cal bullets will be for big game. I read an article about the Accelerator rounds (22 cal bullet in a 30 cal sabot - the guy that wrote it tried them in '06 and 30-30 and the 30-30 was more accurate than the '06, but the '06 was rolling at 4000 fps.

Are all of those different 30 ought six rounds?

Man, I shoot pretty well with my new gun with the practice that I've gotten so far, but hitting a turkey in the head seems like it would be pretty tough. I don't know if my aim is that good.

I shoot one in the azz end at about 150 yds with an 06 using 180s. Bullet came out his throat and didnt mess up any meat at all. Very clean kill. I will admit that luck played a major role in the shot.

dont chang ammo you still going to tear them up. Buy the time you site it in and change etc. you could buy a .22

They're not '06 rounds, per se. I don't think you can get Hornady ammo with the 110 Vmax bullet. Most of the ones I mentioned, the Vmax and Plinker, you'd have to reload. Remington does load the accelerator in factory rounds, but they may be hard to find. Stick with whatever your gun shoots the best and go hunt. One thing's for sure, you won't have a coyote run off if you hit him square. I shot a coyote with a 30-30 at just over 100 yards and that 150 grain round nose bullet went through both shoulders, left small holes in and out. It hit him hard enough that it moved him 45° the direction the bullet was going.

Just bought a nice Marlin model 80 for $62.00 on gunbroker .com.Real clean and accurate.

Yep, I just shoot whatever I am sighted in with. I shot a turkey at 180 yards with federal with the sierra game kings. I hit it right on the hip bone. It kinda sucks the guts clean out the other side. I just breast them out anyways. So I had no or very little damage to the meat. Now the tail was a little nasty but still mountable.

I appreciate all of the good advice here guys. I am mainly looking for ammo with the 30 ought six that won't blow up my game that is relatively SMALL. I wouldn't be asking these questions if I was talking about deer, hogs, elk, or black bears. Just for the smaller stuff. I imagine that most of you have several guns, while I don't. I only have one gun with a nice scope, so I like to use it and I haven't killed anything with it yet so I'm pretty eager. Thank s for the suggestions and all of the help though. Keep it coming!!

I know you have just one gun, but shooting "small game" with the gun, no matter which bullet you choose is going to do considerable damage. There really is no way around it. Use a full metal jacket bullet, no hollow point, or soft lead points. What kind of small game are you planning on shooting?

Please don't use FMJ bullets for anything but punching paper. I've seen first-hand what they don't do to coyotes and prairie dogs. Realize that varmint bullets are designed to perform on thin-skinned, light-bodied animals. They have thin jackets and hollow or plastic points. They expend all their energy when hitting the animal. Game bullets are designed to penetrate thicker skin, meat, and possibly bone without coming apart so they can deliver most of their energy to the animal's vital areas. That's why you see mushroomed bullets recovered from bigger game instead of a zillion fragments. Just figure out if you want to save coyote pelts or if you want to take the chance of ruining a turkey by body shooting it with (any) centerfire rifle. Shoot the most accurate load you can find or reload for your rifle and go hunt.

For small game you'd have to reload. Something in the 100 grain range(Hornady has an 86gr bullet) and slow it way down. The bad thing is usually the smaller the bullet the higher the velocity and you don't necessarily want that. If you could slow it down that maybe would work good on turkey and coyotes, but then you have to worry about accuracy. 130 grain factory load will blow a nice size hole in a coyote and I am sure it would do considerable damage to a turkey.

If you don't have access to reloading supplies it might be more beneficial to save up for say a used 25-06 or 243 for your small game work. Off the shelf ammo in both calibers will not destroy a turkey(I've shot most all my turkeys with a 243).