125 Grain 30/06 load well suited to deer?

[31pointer]

I have a friend who believes a 125 grain hollow point bullet in his 30/06 is great for deer hunting. However, I disagree, if shooting a 30-06 why not just get a 150 or 165 grain bullet? In my opinion a 125 grain bullet would be best if used on varmits, small game, etc.
Give me your opinion Thanks

[deerslayer223]

I agree the 125 in the 06 is a varmit Bullet. They do make some premium 130's though that would be fine on deer!

[darylc]

I can't think of any situationi in which you would use a hollow point in an '06 for deer, of any bullet weight. I knew a guy once who shot deer with 120gr hollow point in his 7mm Mag. Sure it killed them but it wasn't a pretty sight.

You're right on. The 150gr is a good choice, as is the 165 or even 180. It's hard to beat 150gr spitzer in an '06. Tell you buddy to save the 125 grs for woodchucks, you would have to have a real hate for deer to shoot them with that.

Daryl

[jp4]

Well daryl, you better tell Sierra that their hollow point gameking bullets shouldn't be used for deer. Thousands of hunters have used them for years to bag a bunch of deer.

The 125/130 grain bullets are for fast kills on yotes or other pests, not deer. I've heard of a light weight Barnes X bullet, IIRC it's a 135?¿ Because it wouldn't disintegrate like other light bullets, it would be fine for deer.

[HighDesertWolf]

A friend of mines grandfather loads the sierra 125 grain spt pro-hunter in his 30-06 he loads them on the lighter side around 2700 fps. His reason is he suffered from a shoulder injury and cant handle alot of recoil. his loads compared to my sierra 165 grain BTHP game king loads in my 308 win I really cant see any difference in deer killing performance or that his lighter bullet tears up more meat meat then my 308 load. My preference is heavier bullets based on some of my own theories and preferences for rifles. But I am having a hard time understanding why you guys dont think a 125 grain bullet is suitable for deer. What about 130 grain soft points in a 270 they arent much different and tons of deer have been killed with a 130 grain in a 270.
I know generally lighter bullets are for varmints but a 125 grain bullet with the right design should be fine for deer. Now if the packaged is labelled as a varmint bullet then I wouldnt use it on deer because its designed to frag on impact.

[DM]

But I am having a hard time understanding why you guys dont think a 125 grain bullet is suitable for deer. What about 130 grain soft points in a 270 they arent much different and tons of deer have been killed with a 130 grain in a 270.

It's all about construction and diameter.. The 130 .270 bullet is a big game bullet, the 125's in 30 cal. at 06 V are too explosive for general use on big game. That's why the other poster said they worked, but they were loaded to a "lower" V, which kept them from being so explosive!!!

To have a bullet work properly on big game, it has to be built for "that" job, and then kept in the V range it was built for!! If the bullets falls below the intended V, it will not expand well, if it's pushed faster than it's intended V, it will become explosive.

"If" a 30 cal. 150 grain intended for the 30-30 is used in a 300 Wby.., it becomes explosive, but at 30-30 V, it works pretty good. Use the same bullet in a 30 Herrett, and it will barely expand.

It's all about chooseing the right bullet for the V your cartridge will push it, and what purpose it will be used on!!

You just can't say that a 130 grain works in a .270, so it should work in a 30 cal. too!!!

For deer in a 30-06, i prefer a good 150 or 165 grain bullet. Those bullets are built for deer sized game animials..

Drilling Man

[darylc]

I didn't say they wouldn't kill a deer, I said it wasn't a pretty sight and I still maintain it is not a good logical choice for a deer bullet, especially in an '06 sized gun.

I do like Sierra spitzers for deer. A lot of people are down on them because the jacket peels off. While that is true the core retains a lot of its original mass and the jacket just cuts another hole. Sierra bullets are good accurate bullets and on deer sized game and they offer good penetration and clean kills.

That said, I still would never use a hollow point bullet in a high speed round like an '06 just because it will kill a deer. I killed a deer with my .17 Remington with a 25gr hollowpoint many years ago but I was young and foolish and I certainly will never attempt it again. Deer deserve more respect, they aren't varmints.

Daryl

[Colt1911]

I have used both 125 grain ballistic tips and 125 grain Rem core-lokts in my 30-06 for deer. The ballistic tip is basically a hollow point and I have only used it to take one doe, that was a neck shot so probably not the best way to judge the bullet. The effects were devastating though. Used the 125 Rem core-lokt on two doe, one neck and one through the chest. Both passed through and dropped them in their tracks. Damage was nowhere near that of the ballistic tips. I have not used Barnes 130 grain X bullets in the 06 yet, but it looks like a good one for deer. It"™s a long bullet and is made to stay together on impact, that"™s next on my list.
For my money though, the best all around deer load in the 06 is in the 150 or 165 grain bullet class.

[James B]

Its a sectional density thing when you compare a 130 grain 30 caliber bullet to a 130 grain 270 bullet. A deer bullet should have a sectional density of at least 210. The 270 130 grain is well over that where the 30 caliber is less than that. 188 for the 30 caliber bullet and 242 for the 270 bullet. The 150 grain 30 caliber has about the same SD. as the 130 grain 270 bullet. Thus those two weights are amoung the most effective in their respective calibers for deer. Bigger game would tend to requre a higher SD yet. Say the 150 for the 277 and 180 for the 30 caliber. Its true that Sectional density is not the all important factor but its important and a good begining when picking bullet weights. The only 130 grain bullet I would use in the 30-06 is the Barnes 130 X bullet. In hand guns with less velocity the 125 and 130's work pretty well. However in rifles they are intended for varmit hunting.

[HighDesertWolf]

James B and DM, I see much clearer now, thanks for explaining what i was missing.