flatlander73

Hey Guys-In youropinion, is there any reason why I should use a 30.06, 150 gr load instead of a 165? I hunt mostly in forest/clear cut area so I'm going to have to shoot thru some brush from time to time.

The last two years, my buddys been droping em with his .243.. While I've been using these 165gr/game rounds somebody gave me and doing alot of tracking. Haven't lost one yet but I sit there scatching my head when I finally find em with barn doors blown thru their lungs??? Am I using the wrong load. Could the slower 150 pack a little more punch

appreciate the help

bigcountry

Well, a few things I would like to add

1.) Don't shoot thru brush. Unpredictable things can happen. Quit doing that
2.) 150gr should be faster, not slower with all things being equal
3.) Bullet construction is more important speed

I use 165's in my 06 and 308. Because they are the most accurate bullet I reload for. I also use Sierra Gamekings and Bullistic tips which expand easier.

If your hitting them thru the lungs and doing alot of tracking, check out the wound. If its a nice exit and lots of trauma to the vital organs, then its not your bullets or speed or shot placment. A 243 sure won't down a deer faster than an 06. A bullet doesn't do anything magical. It causes trauma and shot to the vital organs, and after that blood loss.

flatlander73

thanks for the help. when I say shoot thru bush, I mean theres a change a twig could alter its tra.ectory. The woods being.....well woods. no body purposfully shoots thru bush, unless they wanna miss..

RugerM77.270

The 165's are great I would go for one of the better constructed bullets though.BigCountry mentioned the gamekings or the core lokts. Look at where your friends are shooting their deer too a few inchs can make a world of difference. And no there is no magic bullet.

I read of two vets in Africa that did an experiment while thinning out a buffalo herd. They used a 338(small for buffalo)and made note to see which one died on the spot and which ran. They found that even with a small bullet if you hit an animal at the instant its heart beats its blood preasure will spike bursting all the blood vessels in the brain causing instant death. Just something to think on about the 243 dropping them.

flatlander73

Thanks for the wisdom.....

270 bdl

I always had good luck with 180's. Never had to track one hit with them.

NBDeerHunter

I currently use 3 different loads for my 30-06. here is the list
150gr hornady Interbonds
165gr sierra gamekings
150gr barnestriple X

the 150 grain bullets are doing about 2900 - 2950 fps at muzzle. the 165 gr is about 150 ftps slower

all 3 work really really well on deer and I am sure that a deer has noidea which onehit it

kingvjack

I shoot 150 gr core locks. I just shoot whatever flies well at about 150 yards. Cause thats my rifle shot. Rather have em at 10 yards though. so between 5 and 150 yards I know I'll kill a deer quicklike.

mouthcaller

Flatlander

I've hunted with the '06 and a .270 exclusively for over 20 years and have taken a lot of deer with both. Here are my thoughts, free and worth every penny:

1. Firstly,lighter bullets shoot faster, so the 150s will be faster than 165, 165s faster than 180s, etc.

2. Match the bullet weightto theexpected range. If your shotsare expected to becloser rather thanlonger gowith the 165s.Use150s ifa longer shotismorelikelythan a closer one.

3. The nice thingabout the '06 is that either bullet will work atany reasonable range. The 150swill work at shorter range just as well. Shot placement remains the most important factor in success.

4. You don't need super premium bullets (noslerpartitions,bearclaws, etc.) at 30-06 velocities. The standardfactory bullets workjust fine for deer. Whitetail deer aren't that big (compared to moose and elk). You onlyneedto penetrate 2 inches of skin/ribs to get into the lungs/heart.Using both the '06 and 270 through the years I have never, I repeat never, failed to get complete pass throughs on every deer I have taken.


Edit: Craig Bottington, a noted gun writer that I enjoy reading, loves the 30-06 and has written that, if he were restricted to using only one gun, it would be the 06. He feels that the a 165 gr boattail bullet provides the best compromise in trajectory and energy, particularily at longer ranges. This is what I am shooting now, Federal Fusion 165 gr.

I should also tell you that I lost a really good deer last year, partly because I was using the wrong bullet (180 gr). Most of my hunting has been woods and short range shots, so I was using the 180s. In late season I started hunting a large corn field and had a shot at a very large 10-pointer. I didn't have a rangefinder and guessed the range at 225-250 yards. I held a little high of center and let it fly. At the shot the deer jump-kicked but started running right at me. I watched him run about 100 yards, thinking he would go down, but he didn't. I pumped two more shots at him running but didn't touch him (scope was on 9 power). After a while we started tracking him on a good blood trail. We tracked him through rough stuff or 4 hours over 1.5 miles when the blood ran out. I recreated the shot and found that I had mis-estimated the range - it was closer to 275 and I think that I just creased him under the chest cavity without significantly damaging the lungs/heart. That miss still haunts me to this day. For this reason I have switched to 165 gr boattail bullets,which shoot flatter than the 180s, should the opportunity present itself again. I also bought a good rangefinder.

Good luck

Mouthcaller

Zoomer

I like other posters here have taken many deer with the 30 caliber rounds (-06 and 308 Win.) My favorite is the Nosler ballistic tips in 168 Gr. I also have used the 150's with great success. I have loaded all sorts of partitions, accubonds, Speers, Sierras, Hornady's etc., and have (with my friends help) droppedclose to 40 deer with these rounds. They all work....exceedingly well. Shot placement as others have said is a much more critical element in the equation. 168 BT's seem to do it just a little better than most.......