Deer load 30-06 edition with a special situation

[horsemen61]

Hey everyone,


Ok I am trying to finalize a deer load for a Rem 721 chambered in 30-06 what I am down to is either

150 grain Gameking or

180 grain Accubond/Hornady BTSP

*HERE is the Special Situation I need this deer to drop as fast as possible yes I know it won’t be a bang flop every time I’m located about 20 minutes from the Kansas line on the Missouri side Northeast of Joplin surrounded by Ag land think corn and Soybeans I have 80 acres to use and I need this deer to stay on said 80 acres yes I know I need to make a good shot


So Which Bullet Would you use as Far as powder I have access to several so would you want to use also any load recipes would be helpful

A) Fast and Flat

or

B) sledgehammer

Thank you for reading

 

[jmr40]

In my experience and based on what I've read a fast rapidly expanding bullet tends to put deer down faster. Heavier, slower bullets will give better penetration needed to reach the vitals of game larger than deer. But most any 150 gr bullet at 30-06 speeds will penetrate enough on a deer.

 

[.38 Special]

I personally like to try breaking both shoulders, so almost always go heavy-for-caliber. It's a reliable shot, but it does waste meat. If I have no way to get that pretty broadside shot, then I will try to get one shoulder along with vitals.

With the 150, I'd stick with lung shots. Those are usually reliable as well, but not as fast - and do not interfere with the critter's ability to run like hell for a while.

 

[troy fairweather]

I'd go 180 I've had 150s fail in some weird ways, enuff to put me off for a while using the 3006. Mental thing I guess.

 

[AJC1]

If you miss and hit a shoulder instead of a good lung shot which would you rather have. What about a quartering shot. I'd take the 180....

 

[27hand]

I voted 180 yet use both 150s and 180s.

I just ordered 200 Hornady Interlocks i#3031 n 150.
I use these in my old parts gun. A National Ordnance 1903A3. I've only shot it to 200 yards but it came in sub minute.

I do not use the 180 Accubonds in my 06 but do use them in my .300 win mag. Elk went down at 180.

The pump 06 gets 180 gr Barnes TTSX over I 4064

Now, shot placement, as you know, is key and either bullet will suffice.

Good luck.

Which bullet does your gun like better?

What ranges will you shoot?

Will you wait for a great presentation?

All good questions.

 

[.308 Norma]

I couldn't vote because I'm right in the middle. I've killed more mule deer than I can easily remember, at ranges from 20 yards to 500 yards+ with a Ruger 77 30-06 using Hdy 165gr BTSPs over charges of IMR4350 that kicked the bullets out at just over 2800fps.
No, they weren't all "bang-flops," but most of them were. And I only recovered one bullet. If I could ever find that bullet again, I'd take a picture of it and send the picture to Hornady - it would make for some good advertising as perfectly "mushroomed" as it is.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Hey everyone,


Ok I am trying to finalize a deer load for a Rem 721 chambered in 30-06 what I am down to is either

150 grain Gameking or

180 grain Accubond/Hornady BTSP

*HERE is the Special Situation I need this deer to drop as fast as possible yes I know it won’t be a bang flop every time I’m located about 20 minutes from the Kansas line on the Missouri side Northeast of Joplin surrounded by Ag land think corn and Soybeans I have 80 acres to use and I need this deer to stay on said 80 acres yes I know I need to make a good shot


So Which Bullet Would you use as Far as powder I have access to several so would you want to use also any load recipes would be helpful

A) Fast and Flat

or

B) sledgehammer

Thank you for reading

I also hunt with a Remington 721 and here is a lineup of the bullets my 721 likes.

left to right: Speer 130gr Hot-Cor; Speer 150gr Core-Lokt, Speer 170gr Hot-Cor; Quality Cast 173gr LFN-GC-HiTek coated; Sierra 180gr BT-MK-HP. Now, keep in mind I’m hunting Florida Whitetail not some of your northern monster bucks.

The 130gr is great for close range from a stand. Expands quickly and hits hard. Not so great over 100yds. Not enough penetration. Good shock bullets though. The 170gr is good out to 300yds but I almost never get a shot that far. Not sure I’d chance it these days given how bad my eyesight is now. I save them for the .300Savage Remington 760 pump.

The 173gr is a sledgehammer, like you say, but not for over 100yds. I can’t drive them fast enough in that rifle. The Sierras are not for hunting. The Speer 150gr is my do anything, drop anything bullet. If I really want to staple a deer to the ground and I don’t know how far I’m going to have to place the bullet that’s what I use. For a load, take this with a salt lick: I use 49.7gr of IMR 4064. It gets me pretty close to 2500fps and that’s about all that soft point can take. It’s enough. Your GK’s will take more speed if needed. That’s where I’d start: IMR 4064 and the 150gr Sierra. Depends on what your rifle likes. Mine is pretty forgiving.
Edit: Sorry, brain fart. The 150gr is a Remington.

 

[AJC1]

I couldn't vote because I'm right in the middle. I've killed more mule deer than I can easily remember, at ranges from 20 yards to 500 yards+ with a Ruger 77 30-06 using Hdy 165gr BTSPs over charges of IMR4350 that kicked the bullets out at just over 2800fps.
No, they weren't all "bang-flops," but most of them were. And I only recovered one bullet. If I could ever find that bullet again, I'd take a picture of it and send the picture to Hornady - it would make for some good advertising as perfectly "mushroomed" as it is.

I would have chosen the 165 game king if that was available but it's not. The 165 Speer grand slam would have been second choice. The 160 class bullets just seem right in 308/ 30-06

 

[Random 8]

I hunt in similar situations. Public near private, small acreages, high pressure public (the meat locker where I hunt does in the swamp). I have long favored a 150 SP in .308 and .300 Savage and a CNS shot. I usually take the high neck/brainstem on high confidence shots, low neck just above the shoulder line if distance increases and/or the "slam dunk" nature of the shot is less certain on a very small target. A hit with a 150 SP to the heavy neck muscle just above the shoulder will anchor a whitetail DRT near 100%. Little good meat is impacted. You lose some of the gristly stuff in the neck muscle, and a quartering towards shot angle will impact shoulder roast. A .30-06 will do similar. I would (and do) actually step the velocity down just a tad to quiet any concerns of bullet blow up if heavy bone is hit. I have a 30-06 spare camp rifle, and my standard load is 47-IMR4064 pushing a Speer HC 150 which is also (not coincidentally) my standard M1 Garand load (substitute a 150 FMJBT or 155 HPBT in the M1). The 2 deer shot with this load were hammered. You don't need lightning bolts with a 150 SP moving relatively fast. My ranges tend to run short, generally under 100. There are a few powerline/pipleline cuts I hunt, and there I use a .280 145 GS stepping right along. Also a deer hammer.

I've never used Sierra bullets for hunting, but I'm sure they'll do what soft points do. I have killed deer with Hor IL, Speer HC, Speer SPBT, Win PP and Rem Core-lokt .308-150gr. They all seem to work similarly, with my preference running to the Speer HC and Hor IL. Those two seem to hold up a little better when shot angles get interesting and heavy bone or muscle is hit. On a good CNS or double lung hit, I can't tell the difference between those and "softer"soft points. I have experimented with the Hornady SST, and found them to not like exiting even on clean lung hits. The SPs listed above tend to pass through for me when launched in the 2600fps range, leaving extremely good and short blood trails where applicable (deer shot in some sort of body cavity angle).

 

[Ru4real]

I make head shots at less than 100 yards in situations when I need the game DRT or not get up from bedded.

However, if you don’t feel comfortable making those type of shots, don’t.

 

[MWC1974]

Speaking from lots of personal experience with both bullet weights in 30-06; 180s have ALWAYS equaled bang-flop, even out to 200 yards. 150s have ALWAYS resulted in tracking, sometimes a 20 yard track and other times a 100 yard track.

by the way, the 200 yard “bang-flop” with a 180 grain was a broadside shot that clipped the back of the lungs and the front of the liver. When I’m in doubt, I take 180s with me in the field.

 

[Duster340]

My parcel is only 11 acres. I use 150 gr Hornady SPs. High shoulder shots are the way to go. 10 for 10 DRT. Through and through. While I give up a bit of meat, the instant kill is key in my scenario.

 

[.308 Norma]

The 160 class bullets just seem right in 308/ 30-06

Sierra 165gr HPBTs are actually what I'm running in my .308 Norma Mag for mule deer and pronghorns right now - if I ever draw another pronghorn tag, that is. But I've had nothing but the so called "bang-flops" on mule deer with them. However, I've only had my .308 Norma Mag for about 12 years - I used my 30-06 with Hdy 165gr BTSPs for mule deer and the occasional pronghorn for twice that long.

 

[AJC1]

Sierra 165gr HPBTs are actually what I'm running in my .308 Norma Mag for mule deer and pronghorns (if I ever draw another pronghorn tag) right now. I've had nothing but the so called "bang-flops" on mule deer with them. However, I've only had my .308 Norma Mag for about 12 years - I used my 30-06 for mule deer and the occasional pronghorn for twice that long.

I make that statement while doing research on the 130 ttsx but is that really the same???

 

[Bfh_auto]

My sister-in-law uses 150s and H380.
I've they don't always bang flop. But they are always dead within 50 yards.
Her load is going 3100 with the Chrono at 10 feet.

 

[horsemen61]

This is What I’ve Loaded so Far as always Use at your own risk! Lemme know what you think?

9/21/22

50 -30-06


L-To R

10/ 150 grain Sierra SBT
(52.0 grains IMR 4064)
New Win Brass
CCI LRP Control Load

10/ 180 grain Hornady BTSP
(57.0 grains H4350)
New Win Brass
CCI LRP

05/ 180 grain Nosler Accubond
(57.0 grains H4350)
New Win Brass
CCI LRP

05/ 180 grain Nosler Accubond
(60.0 grains H4831SC)
New Win Brass
CCI LRP Black mark on case

10/ 180 grain Hornady BTSP
(60.0 grains H4831SC)
New Win Brass
CCI LRP Black mark on case

10/ 150 Sierra SBT
(60.0 grains H4350)
New Win Brass
CCI LRP Black line on case head

 

[Laphroaig]

I couldn't vote because I'm right in the middle. I've killed more mule deer than I can easily remember, at ranges from 20 yards to 500 yards+ with a Ruger 77 30-06 using Hdy 165gr BTSPs over charges of IMR4350 that kicked the bullets out at just over 2800fps.
No, they weren't all "bang-flops," but most of them were. And I only recovered one bullet. If I could ever find that bullet again, I'd take a picture of it and send the picture to Hornady - it would make for some good advertising as perfectly "mushroomed" as it is.

Here's a Hornady 165 recovered from a black bear. 30-06 with IMR 4895.

 

[Varminterror]

I’ve found I get far more “bang-flops” from fast 6mm’s like 6 creed and 243win than I ever have from .30-06. Food for thought.

In the .30-06, a poly tipped 150 which expands violently at the midline will anchor game faster than conventional soft points. The Accubond, or conventional soft points WILL penetrate farther, but also will NOT dump as much energy as quickly, and game WILL travel farther. The whole paradigm of “breaking down deer” with shoulder shots to anchor quickly is backwards thinking, and causes unnecessary meat damage. Rapid expansion bullets placed only on “soft stuff,” running through rib cage into heart and lungs will put a stagger and fall on deer more reliably.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Every deer I’ve shot with my 30-06 using my pet hunting load of 165 gr Sierra Gameking JSP over IMR4350 has died in the spot they stood in when hit. All shots under 100 yds.

The only one that ran off was when I used the 165 gr Sierra Gameking JHP and she ran about 30 yards with a big gaping hole on the exit side.

Needless to say, I prefer the JSP…

 

[FROGO207]

I have had extremly good results with 130 grain Grand Slams in 270. Although I have not done as much hunting with a 30-06 the bullet of choice I always used was the CorLokt 180 grain. I never had a shot over 100 YDS where I hunt now. The trouble is I only have about 200 of them left and REM may not sell them to the public in the future.

 

[.308 Norma]

I make that statement while doing research on the 130 ttsx but is that really the same???

No, not really "the same." That was my point. You wrote, "The 160 class bullets just seem right in 308/ 30-06." And what I'm saying is, "160 class bullets just seem right" (to me anyway) for 30 caliber magnums as well. At least they've worked well for me on mule deer ever since I started using a 30 caliber magnum for mule deer 12 years ago.

 

[Hugger-4641]

178eldx. I haven't lost a deer, haven't had to track one more than about 30yds since I started using them about 7or 8yrs ago.

 

[KansasTrapper77]

I’ve found I get far more “bang-flops” from fast 6mm’s like 6 creed and 243win than I ever have from .30-06. Food for thought.

In the .30-06, a poly tipped 150 which expands violently at the midline will anchor game faster than conventional soft points. The Accubond, or conventional soft points WILL penetrate farther, but also will NOT dump as much energy as quickly, and game WILL travel farther. The whole paradigm of “breaking down deer” with shoulder shots to anchor quickly is backwards thinking, and causes unnecessary meat damage. Rapid expansion bullets placed only on “soft stuff,” running through rib cage into heart and lungs will put a stagger and fall on deer more reliably.

I was gunna say something on this like. You want bang flop? Try a Hornady 150gr SST. Might be some meat loss but they seriously dump all the energy in the animal.

 

[lordpaxman]

If you go with Nosler, use the BTs, not the Accubonds. I prefer the 150 BT, it’s for light skinned game like deer.

HERE is the Special Situation I need this deer to drop as fast as possible

A head shot will do that, if it’s humane, if you can do your part. Sounds like it might be one of those “monster buck” situations and you might not want to damage a wall hanger.