I plan on using a 150 grain soft point bullet out my 30.06 this year. what type of on game performance have you got out of this bullet weight and style?
Well, depends on what type of bullet. With 150gr Sierra Prohunters, they do great on big deer, but don't seem to do the damage on smaller 80lb cull deer. With 150gr Sierra Gamekings, they almost work flawlessly at 2600fps or less. 150gr nosler partition, 150gr coreloks, 150gr Speer,etc, etc. There is alot of softpoints out there. Some made for elk, some for deer. etc.
I have had good luck with the 150 sierra game kings and the 150 hornady intelocks on deer with my 308 and 06, but i like to use 165 nosler BT's in my 06 for deer loaded to about 2800 fps, they are very accurate and I get awesome terminal performance on deer.
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I've had good results on deer with Bulk Winchester 150 PSP bullets. I loaded them to around 2850-2900 fps. Usually complete penetration on broadside shots. By the size of the exit wounds I'd say they expanded well.
It really does depend on the bullet you pick, and the velocity you load it to, and even the anticipated range of the shots you anticipate taking. Generally speaking though the 150s will do fine on deer sized game.
Depends on the size and durability of the game you plan on putting that 150 grainer into --- for deer almost anything will work as you can knock them over with a stick. For larger more durable animals like elk or moose a bit more serious bullet (both weight and construction) would be a favorable asset.
You can kill anything anywhere under "just so" circumstances with a 22 LR. But with that "old refrain" now quoted and out of the way, for elk I would recommend Nosler Partitions at 180 grains as a minimum and go up in size and quality from there. Like the 22LR, CoreLokt's and other soft point/thin jacket/non-partitioned bullets can do it, but I would hardly call it "top notch" equipment, especially if you are new at the "bigger than deer" game. Remote/away from home big game hunting is expensive. Even "expensive" bullets/ammo is cheap in the big picture.
My $.02, your call.
Good Luck and Good Hunting,
EKM
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Ok, Elkampmaster, you have brought up a point I got to ask about. Would you hunt elk or moose with 270win? You might say sure. And which bullet would you use? You would probably say 150gr, maybe 160gr. Ok, a 270win shoots a 150gr bullet at a max of 3000fps if you running very hot. And nobody can argue, that they have taken a thier share of elk and Moose. Why is it everyone thinks with a gun shooting a .308" bullet, they have to have 180gr min?
BTW, my answer to some of those questions would be no, instead of yes; however, that is just me.
As to, "Why is it everyone thinks with a gun shooting a .308" bullet, they have to have 180gr min? ", I cannot speak for others nor have any interest in trying. For me personally, it has to do with personal experience relative to penetration and killing power (not just foot pounds eneregy).
The initial discussion centered on the suitablity of 150gr soft point 30-06 bullets with no mention of what game was being pursued. Since everyone automatically defaults to deer, I talked about something else (bigger). Again, my $.02 and as always on a forum, "do as you please" ultimately reigns supreme. My opine merely reflects what I have seen consistently "bring home the bacon" versus various tracking jobs I've had the misfortune to be involved with.
Good Luck and Good Hunting,
EKM
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Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Showtime!
Good judgment comes from bad experience! Learn from the mistakes of others; you' ll never live long enough to make them all yourself!
A 150 grain bullet coming out of a 06 would be fine for deer,antelope and black bear and I would draw the line there. The sectional density is simply not high enough for reliable penetration on bigger animals and the starting velocity is not enough to give good results at extended ranges. You could use a 150 grain failsafe coming out of a 300 win mag driven at higher velocity on elk ..some people do because of the recoil factor and the fact the bullet sheds very little weight . I still prefer using a high sectional density bullet. Now in a 7 Rem mag or STW or something along those lines a 150 grain partition/premium bullets will work on bigger game because you have same or close to the same sectional density as a 180 grain 30 caliber and plenty of velocity to take advantage of it at extended ranges.
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Listen guys, I am there with you. I have never used a 150gr bullet on either big game animal either. Yes, its always been a 180gr nosler Partition on both. Once I used a 200gr swift A-Frame. But a guy who is an advid elk hunter, and only uses a 270win posed this question to me. So I thought about it for a while. And so on my next trip out west, I plan on taking a 308Win with a 165gr barnes bullet. Instead of my 300Win mag or 300RUM.
150 grain soft point
