30-06 question

DeerJerky

Six Pointer
Contributor
What is your favorite Bullet to load in a 30-06 for Deer Hunting?
Also, is it a standard .30 cal bullet or something different?
Never loaded for a 30-06 and now have the need to do so.
Thanks,
dj
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
165 Sierra Gameking is tough to beat, I prefer the boat tail version. I've also had good luck with the Barnes copper offerings in 150 or 165 grain TSX . Nosler was always the worst as far as accuracy for me, but they perform great in hunting deer.
I try to hang around the weight that a typical match bullet is for the caliber and twist, for 30-06 it's 167 grain HP boat tail. If you look at most of the match info and try to stay around that weight and style(except for the new long range bullets)it's fairly easy to get close to the ideal hunting round.
 

ABolt

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I love a 168 grain Barnes TTSX, which will plow through everything in North America.

That said, accuracy will vary from rifle to rifle, so experiment and find out what works best for yours...
 

45/70 hunter

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Technically not a deer bullet but dozens of deer would disagree.... a 150 gr Sierra BTHP Match King over a max charge of RL19. Crazy accurate out of four different 30/06's in the family. Most of the deer just dropped, the few that ran didn't make it 30 yards.
 

Homebrewale

Old Mossy Horns
My nephew loaded some Hornaday 165gr SST for me. I can't tell you what powder he used. They work pretty well.
 

kilerhamilton

Old Mossy Horns
Anything cooking out of a 30-06 is going to blister any north American game. Great Africa round to as I’ve never killed anything bigger than deer and haven’t been to Africa.
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
Depends on the gun and twist.
Most will shoot best with a 150 to 170 range but there are some that shoot with 180 to 200. Had a few older guns shot great up to 220 grn.

But for North America I would stick to 165 range short of the old semi auto and guns like the M1 Garand dont go over 150 is best.
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
150gr Hornady Interlock has always worked well for me.
Honestly probably any plain jane soft point bullet in 150-180grs will work well.
 

Going Coastal

Eight Pointer
I've used some of these bullets pictured at some point over the years to take deer, bear and caribou. They have all done their jobs well in
30.06 as well as in .308 and
.300WM.

20210323_140626.jpg

But I've grown too like the Sierra Game King 165 gr. HPBT the best.
 

surveyor

Old Mossy Horns
I'm kind of a Sierra Bullet slut, so I'm going to say, Sierra. Anything above 150 is overkill for Carolina cervid, but that hasn't stopped me from going with 165's, 180's or 200 just to see how they would do.

Biggest NC buck I ever kilt was with a reduced youth load and a 150 gr from a single shot 30-06. (I was rehabbing my shoulder at the time, so I went light duty.)
 

Buffet Trout

Twelve Pointer
All the cup and cores work well

180 gr power point anchors them quickly with a lot of blood to find them if they run
 

DaddyRat

Four Pointer
I have used 190 Sierra match kings, 180 grain ballistic tips, partitions and core lokts. 165 grain Interlocks and 150 grain ballistic tips and Sierra game kings. If I put it in the right spot, I have noticed no difference in lethal effect. 1/2 the deer have been bang flops. I have settled on the 165 interlock as my current load.
 

pcbuckhunter

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Right now we’re currently loading either the 150 gr or the 165 gr Nosler Accubond in the .30/06’s we’re loading for depending on the rifle.

In the past we’ve used the 150 gr, 165 gr, and 180 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips, the 165 gr BTSP Sierra Game Kings, the 150 gr BTSP Hornady Interlok, the 180 gr Sierra Pro Hunter, as well as the 165 gr Nosler Partition.

We’ve used a variety of powders over the years. IMR 4350, W760, H4831, RL 15, and H4350 all worked well for us.
 

stiab

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
The deer in my avatar I shot with a .30-06 broadside in the lungs at 45 yards with a 150 grain Corelokt. The bullet did not exit, but stopped under the opposite hide. I sought the advice of some long time PA deer hunters who use .30-06, and they said the best results on larger deer in the woods (not long range shooting) come from using a round nose 180 grain. That is what I have used ever since, and always had a pass thru, giving two holes and a better blood trail, if needed.
 

shotgunner

Ten Pointer
I did a ton of research on this last year. Some via the internet but mostly talking with guys that have shot the '06 for years. I have narrowed my choices down to 3 bullets and hope to find one the gun really likes. I will be working with: Nosler Partition, Sierra Game King boat tail soft point, and the Hornady Interlock. All 150 grain. It will shoot the Hornady Whitetail 150 gr Interlock factory loads under an inch at 100 so I can always just load those if need be. But as we can see after the last year options are a good thing to have. I think all 3 of these bullets will be fine for deer hunting. I also will put the Remington Core Lokt in this category as a great hunting bullet I just chose the other 3 to try first.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
One bullet that I have loaded that worked very well since my Abolt likes a very close to the lands bullet was the 168 grain .30 cal Hornady Amax. I can't remember if I even killed a deer with it but I do remember it being a very accurate bullet, and it should perform well on deer sized animals.
 

DeerJerky

Six Pointer
Contributor
How about the Berger 30cal VLD Hunting bullets. The listed B.C. is crazy on them. Has anyone had any luck with them?
dj
 

FireDuck401

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
How about the Berger 30cal VLD Hunting bullets. The listed B.C. is crazy on them. Has anyone had any luck with them?
dj

I shoot 168 Berger VLD in my 300wsm.
Shoot 140 Berger’s in my 6.5.


I like them but they can be tough to get to shoot, finicky about seating depth.
I would check the Berger Classic Hunter out too.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
How about the Berger 30cal VLD Hunting bullets. The listed B.C. is crazy on them. Has anyone had any luck with them?
dj
I'm not sure about using them in a 30-06 case due to the shape and the ogive, and they are too darn expensive to experiment with. I've not had the luck that others have with the Sierra 168 grain Matchking for hunting, but for accuracy they are tough to beat and affordable to target shoot with. They've been around a long, long time and have won a lot of matches.
 

ellwoodjake

Twelve Pointer
Another vote for Sierra MK. It may not have the terminal effects of some of the ballistic tips and such, but a deer with 2 holes from an ACCURATE round ain't going far, and/or won't be hard to track
 

Guybo

Eight Pointer
Lots of good feedback and input already but i'll add my thoughts. When i first started using a 30.06 and before handloading i shot a factory 150gr soft point and it didn't really matter the name on the box they all killed deer fast. When i first started handloading i loaded a Sierra 150gr Pro Hunter and killed deer with those for years. A friend of mine asked me one day had i ever considered shooting a lighter bullet for deer and he convinced me to give it a try. After hunting one season with a 130gr bullet in my 30.06 i was a believer and never loaded a bullet over 130grs for deer the entire time i hunted with that rifle.

I killed deer with the plain ole Hornady 130gr Spire point, Sierra 125gr Pro Hunter and the Nosler 125gr BT and had equal results with all three when it came to on game performance. I also had great results with the Barnes 130gr TSX and killed several deer with those as well. I never got the chance to try the Nosler 125gr Accubond in the 30.06 but my brother uses those in his .308 and they hammer deer so i have no doubt that they would be as equally effective from a 30.06. That 125gr Accubond would probably be my bullet of choice for deer from a 30.06 if i still hunted with one.

This is all of course just my opinion based on the results i've had over the years with the lighter bullets. If i were going after something bigger than deer i would no doubt shoot a heaver bullet but for deer only and for a handloader, i'll take the lighter bullet everytime. Mike
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
Guybo has loosened my gears a bit from the past!
When I lived in Idaho, I loaded my '06 with the 135 gr Nosler (no longer made) since I could get them nearly free.
They worked VERY well on mule deer and antelope.
 
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