Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Why not 130 gr?

I was perusing the reloading room today, wondering what I could relaod and test in my plain ol' 30-06, for the up and coming deer season here in NC. <P>(This is my first Common rifle cartridge I have owned)<P>I happened upon some 130 gr 30 cal bullets. I started wondering if I could use them for deer? After a moment of reflection and KNOWING (how I came to KNOW this I could not tell you) that you are suppose to use 150 grain or 165 grain bullets in this caliber for deer as a MINIMUM, I began to question the norm. (per usual) I asked myself "why" is 150 or bigger the Norm for Deer? <P>The 243 has been a reputed deer killer for some time and after a bit of research, I discovered that the 100 gr 243 is pushed at approximately the same velocity as the 130 gr 30 cal.(at least in my book) The advantage the 30 has is a bit more diameter, and, the 130, a bit more weight. So after this brief analysis I thought I'd apply the boot heel of question to the seat of knowledge and see what falls out!<BR>Is the 130 gr bullet in 30 good enough?<BR>What say you and why?

A good friend of mine had a 30.06. He had to have a neck operation which made recoil a no-no plus he never really handled recoil well anyway...so his son loaded him some 130gr uncoated X bullets in order to reduce recoil. It worked fine, don't know if he ever shot anything with them or not! He subsequently lost the rifle in a house fire and now uses a .260.<P>Mike

i don't own a 30 caliber gun, so my answer is purely speculative...<P>it is my belief that the light bullets in 308 diameter (light being less than 150 grains) are designed more for varmints, less for deer.

Ready on the right<P>thanks! [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] that was exactly the well thought out very informative highly intellectual answer I was looking for! [img]images/icons/crazy.gif" border="0[/img] <P>I had to re read it a couple of times, I thought I missed something! <P>You always did have a good sense of humor!

I've seen and/or used 125g or lighter on deer. They are better than a 243, but the light bullets don't penetrate real well, so limit yourself to the 243 type shots and you will be OK. the deer will fall a little faster.

The 130's in an 06 will work on deer if you lung them. The bullets that I have used are too lightly constructed to work well on shots where you might need penetration especially if you try to drive them fast. I use them in my pickup gun for opportunity shots at hogs. I hate hogs and am not particularly intrested in whether or not I kill him right there. I just want to punish them and let them die later.<BR>BCR

If you want to shoot a 130 gr bullet, use a 270 Win. the 130 gr 30 cal are Varmint bullets, and not designed for Deer size animals.

I once had an urge to built a short barreled 30-06 bolt carbine and try the Sierra 135gr spitzers that they make for single shot pistols. Never found a candidate barreled action, but did lop the bbl on an 8x57 M98 to 20".<BR>This rifle is handy and accurate, either with 150gr Sierras and even more so with Hornady 125gr spire points. Took a buck with that bullet last fall, complete penetration at slightly less than 100yds.<BR>BTW, know a feller with one of those short bbl Ruger #1 internationals in 30-06. Forget exactly which bullet it is, but he loads one of the lighter offerings and is happy as a clam with the rig. If not mistaken those are 18 and half inch or twenty inch bbls.

blammer,<P>I asked Big Stick about this same question once. Use the 130gr. XBT that barnes makes and you will be able to take any shot you want as penetration will not be a problem. I've heard of a lot of people using "light for caliber" X's and getting the same results as with a heavier bullet, but with a higher velocity and flatter trajectory, if that interests you. Anyway, I've got a guy reloading the 130gr. XBT's for my '06 for this coming up deer season. Can't wait to get a batch and try them out...........GH

I've seen with my own eyes what Barnes X bullets can do. If an itty-bitty 75gr. .25 caliber bullet can zing right through a 300+lbs. black bear, I'm sure a 130gr Barnes X out of a 30.06 would have no trouble on deer. It seems like a no-brainer to me. I'm plannning on giving those 130gr X's a try myself in the relatively near future.

I've used a 140 XBT in a 30-06 on mule deer with great results. I don't know that there would be much difference between that and the 130's. I do know that the X bullets of ANY weight are not made to be varmint bullets and are made to penetrate while retaining weight.

A 130gr X bullet would certainly work on deer but all other brands of 30cal 130gr that I know of,are designed for varmints and would make a poor choice on deer.IMHO<BR>Good luck...Littlebit

Hey blammer, Thanks I think????????<P>I always got busted for run on sentances and comma splices in English Composition. I just like to type it on up there any ole way!<P>Littlebit hit the nail on the head, the X bullet is the notable exception!<P>The Single shot pistol bullets could be loaded to about 2200-2400 and would be within their design specs.<P>Mike

This is a repeat, but the 130 makes a fine .270 bullet. If you want a fine 30-06 bullet then use the 165's. I use them from crows to deer. The 165's will actually give you flatter range (300 yards and beyond) than the liter bullets so why use them? <BR>The 165 is the optumin for the 06 as is the 130 is for the .270. It is all in sectional density and that is where reloaders learn their advantage. 06 out.

Sectional density,has NOTHING to do with downrange performance. BC certainly does,projectile integrity certainly does and velocity is the determining factor. SD is moot.<P>Case in point,the 30-'06: Assuming a real world velocity of 3200fps,for the 130gr XBT(BC.374)and a 200yd zero. It is -18.19" low at 400yds and -65.34" low at 600yds. The aforementioned 165gr Partition(BC .410)launched at 2900fps,sighted in at the EXACT same distance,drops -21.8" at the 400yd mark and -77.0" at the 600yd line.<P>Look,before you leap........<P><BR>(My bad,forgot to include the 165's muzzle velocity)

Big stick, do you reload? Sectional density is directly related to bullistic coefecient. A round that has a lousy sectional density also has a lousy bullistic coefient.

In 1997 I shot a 190lb Mule Deer With an 11 point rack running at 80yds high in the short ribs with a 130gr speer Hollow point. That Deer fell like he had been hit with Thor's hammer. I think they work great. My two cents. REDMAN [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img]

Longest kill I ever made on a whitetail was with a 130 gr out of a 308.It was my do it all load for many years.I dont own a 30 cal now.

Most 130 grain .308 bullets are not made for deer hunting. If the deer are small and you limit yourself to chest shots, they can work, but they also offer much greater chances of wounding/losing an animal. Barnes-X bullets are an exception.<P>I've killed 4 whitetails with 125 grain Barnes-X bullets from my .308 at 2875-2900 chrono'd fps. Bullet performance was perfect - expansion was quite rapid and penetration was unbelievable for a 125 grainer. That solid copper construction works.<P>Any Barnes-X from 125-150 grains should work very well on deer if accuarte in your rifle.<P>BigIron

Boogy Creek Ranger,<P>Whether you like hogs or not, every animal deserves a humane death. What kind of b#ll**** poor attitude do you have anyway?!