RE: 30 06 cartridges
 

ive always liked sierra game kings( 165gr soft point boat tail or 168gr hollow point boat tail) ballistic tips(165 gr..or 168gr winchester ballistic silvertip) or for a good cheap bullet i really like winchester 165gr power points. i killed 3 with them and none took a step. i do not like corelokts..so many guys love them...but i for one do not and wont shoot them at anything other then groundhogs.

got ALOT of choices out there....shot placement is key as with anything...

RE: 30 06 cartridges
 

I reccomend staying away from ballistic tips of any kind. They have a nasty tendancy to turn to shapnel. Which, contrary topopular belief, is not what a good big game bullet is supposed to do.

RE: 30 06 cartridges
 

Everybody has their opinion but the NBT has never failed me and has accounted for the most deer sized game i have shot in regards to bullets.I will continue to use it and notch my tag on our large bodied deer. I don't shoot them in the shoulder on broadside, ribs only and never had one not pass through. I have taken a number with the 1/4 high lung out the opposite shoulder this has resulted in a DRT occurance, though the opposite shoulder is pretty messy. 50 or less is the result for yards after the hit and the blood trail is blind man worthy.

RE: 30 06 cartridges
 

I'd check into Hornady. I was at the range last week shooting Interbonds, SST's, and Soft Point Boat Tails, all165 grain. Got good, and consistent, groups from all of them. Added bonus: the price is pretty good on them.

I've found better accuracy with Hornady in my particular rifle, but I don't have any tales of on-game performance. From what I've read, however, there are few, if any, complaints from those who've drawn blood with 'em.

Good Luck!

FC

RE: 30 06 cartridges
 

When i shot factory bullets i had very good luck with plain jane 150gr Win power points, Federal classicsandHornady interlocs. Once i started reloading i decided i wanted to go lighter. I've been loading and shooting the Hornady 130gr Spire point in my 30.06 for about 12yrs and i've killed countless deer with that bullet from close up out to 300yds. I've only had a couple that ran after the shot and they didn't go 30yds and fell within sight. I'vealso only had two instances where the bullet didn't exit and they were shoulder shots and i found the bulletlodged in the skin on the far side and in a nice mushroom. Lots of factory offerings out thereand if i still shot factory bullets it would probably beHornady's.

RE: 30 06 cartridges
 

Last year I shot a doe that field dressed at 80 LBS -- a smallish doe -- with a .30-06 loaded with 180 grain bullets at 25 yards. That doe was able to run 20 yards before dropping. When I picked the doe up to move her a bit to field dress her there was a loud sucking noise as air sucked in through the two holes in her chest. When I had her field dressed I saw two quarter sized holes on either side of the inside of her rib cage, lined up with the vitals. It was an awful and deadly wound, but that deer still moved 20 yards after that hit. Don't count on any deer dropping in its tracks after being shot. Put your bullet in the right place and the animal will die, but you may need to follow them to find them.

That being said, choose a bullet that will expand properly on deer. I think most 150 grain bullets in .308 diameter are intended to be used for deer, so choose some 150 grain commercial loads. While 180 grain bullets will work, they probably won't consistently expand properly on soft targets like deer; they are intended for elk. I used 180 grain bullets because I was field trialing my rifle set-up for my 2006 elk hunt. The big hole in the deer was probably a result of a rib bone being taken out rather than expansion of the 180 grain bullet, at least that is my theory.

A specific commercial load is liable to shoot differently in different rifles, so what works in my rifles may give poor accuracy in your rifle. Select about three different suitable (using 150 grain bullets) commercial loads and find out how accurately they shoot. If one of them shoots up to your standard, you are good to go. If you can't find a cartridge that suits you, try using 165 grain bullets -- probably a little harder than 150 grain bullets but still likely to work on deer. If you can't find the accuracy you want, you may need to have a gunsmith do some "accurizing" of your rifle. Maybe the trigger is too heavy (often manufacturers sell rifles with heavy triggers to avoid law suits for guns firing unexpectedly in the hands of dumba$$e$ who shouldn't be in possession of firearms in the first place). Maybe the fore end of the stock presses too hard on the barrel. Maybe the action is not properly square with the barrel -- this a mass produced mechanical product and such things happen.

I suggest trying Remington CoreLokt ammo to start with. These are inexpensive rounds, widely sold,and they will kill deer. If they happen to be accurate in your rifle, you are lucky. But do try several different commercial rounds to find most accurate load. I find some ammo shoots 3" groups or worse out of my .25-06 while my preferred ammo shoots 1.25" groups out of the same rifle. The only difference is the ammo, accuracy difference must be the ammo. And I'm not saying the 3" ammo is BAD ammo, just my rifle doesn't shoot it well -- a matter of tuning the load to the mechanical harmonic frequency of the rifle. Handloaders do this, consciously or unconsciously, when they tune loads to shoot accurately in their rifles.

RE: 30 06 cartridges
 

There are alot of ways to say it but bullet proformance is not usally stated to make them bleed. Terminal proformance is by static shock to the nervous system and the wound channel it creates . The wound channel causes the bleeding you are talking about. With todays bullets just about any will cause that. I really dont like the NBT either , I have seen to many not preform like they were stated. Whitetail deer are really not that tough to bring down , Just practice shooting for that one shot you may have.

RE: 30 06 cartridges
 

Here are the loads that I use in my savage 111 30-06. They are all handloaded

main deer loads
150gr Hornady IB
150gr Barnes XLC

both using 61grs of H414 (iam pretty sure but will have to double check, having a brain fart right now)
speed is 3000fps at muzzle.
I have them sighted in 2 inches high at 100yrds which puts me close to 7inches low at 300yards.

Ialso have some Hornady SST loaded in 165g forvarmits etc.....

I have hadvery very very good luck with my 150 Hornady IB.and as always the Barnes alway work well.I also used the Barnes last year moose hunting .