Bullets for 30-06
 

just recently got a new rifle, ran out of ammo sighting it in, need some good ammunition to deer hunt with, 180gr. is what i was using. thanks

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

I use the 150 grain power points... They are a really great bullet for deer..

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

What type of area are you hunting in? Long shots, brush? 180 gr seems a little heavy for me in my 06 for deer, I prefer the 150-165 gr Nosler partitons and Hornady's.

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

I use 165gr out of mine, but i only hunt whitetails. The 165's have the best downrange energy for a 06 and they shoot great out of mine.

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

I use 180 grain bullets out of my 30/06 for everything----elk, deer, black bear, antelope. With handloads I like the 180 grain Hornady interlock "spire point". This year on my elk hunt I used Federal's 180 grain Nolser partition. Years past I used factory loads from both Remington & Winchester.

To answer your question any of the big 3 factory ammo will work just fine on deer. If I had to pick--I'd go with 180 grain Winchester Power Points. I like the round nose for deer. CB

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

I am partial to the 165 grain bullets. I shoot the interbond and have taken both elk and deer with great result. If you just want a low cost bullet with a good BC the Speer BTSP is tough enough for deer and usually shoot well. The 165 bullets can actually shoot as flat as the 150s in many cases because they are capable of higher BCs. They fight the wind better also on long shots.

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

Here's another vote for 165's... They expand well in a deer, and give a little more penetrationover 150's, for those less than perfect shots.

DM

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

I use 150 grains most of the time. The .30-06 is a little overkill for the deer down here... therefore I use a smaller bullet.

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

Chris the best way to minimize damage is usually to slow the bullet down. If you do not reload, trying the 220 grain bullets or buying the reduced recoil loads will help to reduce meat loss.

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

165gr. Game kings, 50.9 IMR4350, Federal 210 primers. OAl 3.287

My 700 bdl LOVES this round! The rife has a Leupold VXIII 3.5X10X50mm, Glass bedding, and extensive trigger work. Three round groups out of this rifle arealmost alwaystouching at 100yds off of sand bags.

I almost feel guilty getting this much accuracy out of these inexpensive bullets. My Barnes triple shock are just as accurate, but I prefer the game kings for the shots I usually take in my area (almost always under 50 yds, closer to 20 yds, thick WI woods) I couldn't get the Barnes to expand at very close yardages.

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

cybersniper,
That's an interesting load, especially since the Federal 209 is a shotgun primer.

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

For 40 years i have used the 150 grain Sierra Game King and Pro-Hunter bullets in my .30-06 guns: They used to be called the Sierra BTSP and something else.i load them pretty hot, about 3,000 fps. They always exit when the deer is hit behind the shoulder. Sometimes the inside of the deer will look like it was hit with several heavy shot around the exit hole, these are bullet fragments.Have killed over 200 deer with those two 150 grain bullets: Over 90 percent of the animals were DRT.

Have experimented withnearly allof the so-called "premium bullets" but the accuracy that i demand was not there. Sierra bullets work for me and i will always use them.

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

Whoops, sorry to confuse you Keyshunter. That should be Federal 210. WI muzzleloader starts monday so my brain must be switching gears. Hopefully you didn't notice anything else "interesting" about the load.

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

Actually cybersniper.
I would expect that50.9 grain load, which is rather mild,to be a good shooting load with either the Pro-Hunter or Gameking. Also, because of the velocity, I would expect expansion to be very good without the bullet coming apart. Early on, I would push .30-06 loads to the listed max, and beyond, and what I usually (not always)got was reduced accuracy and bullets blowing apart. The wisdom of age has caused me to reduce my loads to below max, andhave gotten better accuracy,better performance with cup and core bullets, and no reductionin drts.

Falcon,
I, too, have been rather underwhelmed by the premium bullets, both in accuracy and action.I see no need for them for deer/black bear sized animals.But, if others want to use them, more power to them. The economy needs all the help it can get.

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

I couldn't agree more. Everytime I load too hot I lose the accuracy. The 50.9 is right in the middle of the sierra book and is supposed to push around 2600. The max is with H4350 is 54.1@ 2800.

I found the same with my muzzle loader. Several of my friends use 150 grain loads, and I have found 110 grains of loose triple 7 puts my accuracy right on the money. If I load to 150 I get the fliers.

Now if I could ever find a magic load for my .300 rem ultra mag I'd be a happy camper :) I haven't been able to surpass the accuracy of the factory remington loads like I can with my 30/06.

Oneshotkill1993, If you were looking for a 180 grain load, trya Sierra Matchking with 51.1 grains of H4350. This should also be a velocity of approx. 2600 and 2702 ft. lbs of energy. Your C.O.A.L. should be 3.305 if you are not using a guage. GOOD LUCK!!

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

a 165 grain bullet has the best ballistic coefficient for a 30 caliber rifle. (barnes x bullets excepted)

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

My savage likes the 110gr Hornady VMAX and the 200gr Accubonds

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

I am using 150Gr. Barnes TSX in both my .308 and NOW in my .30-06, there is in my honest opinion no need to use a heavier bullet for any Deer sized animal. If you don't reload I think Federal has a line of ammo that uses the Barnes TSX bullet those would be my second choice next to my reloads.

RE: Bullets for 30-06
 

Hornady's interlock is as good as it needs to be for deer.....

Cheap and deadly accurate and they work