Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Heavy and slow

I'm putting this here, because I'm interested on how it affects deer hunting. I'm considering using 220gn semi-spitzers or RNs in my 30-06. Probably nosler partitions, but I could be persuaded to use another. Have any of you had success with these on whitetails, at 30-06 velocities?
I have begun to use 175gn round nose in my 7x57 @ 2400fps, when shots are under 150yds or so. Unfortunately they have been discontinued, but I have enough. I'm sure they were made for 7x57 velocities. On deer I try for double-lung shots. They work fine, and little meat is bloodshot.
I'm just wondering if I can be as successful with the 30-06? Thanks, captdavid

Not deer, but I have killed a lot of elk with the 220 gr RN, 30-06 here in Colorado. There are some that tout the 200gr PT, but I contend if you are throwing that 220 gr RN at 30-06 velocities (2600fps or so), it will perform just as well as the partition.

TO bust another myth,I have killed elk with it in the 300yard realm also.

Probably on deer,you will get a complete pass thru,unless you hit a few heavy knuckle bones

Sure they'll work. I'm just not sure why you'd want to? They probably won't have much expansion on a thin skinned deer.

One will likely get complete side to side or end to end penetration and may be able to eat right to the bullet hole.

Now some explosive 140 grain pill might be a different story.

I can't see bothering with the recoil. After loading, shooting and hunting with the 165 grain Hornady Interlock and Nosler partitions, I never saw the need for anything else in the 30-06 for deer hunting.

The reason I posted it here, is exactly, because I wanted to how it might perform on deer. My go-to load for everything I hunt is a 165gn, 100lb does to 200lb hogs to a 400lb elk cow, it's performed exceedingly well.
I have started using 175 gn RNs in my 7x57. I kill about twice as many hogs each year as I do deer. That big ole RN, which was probably designed for the 7x57, plows on through, destroys organs, and leaves almost no bloodshot meat. Yep, you can almost, eat right up to the hole.
I felt that the 200+ grainers might be too tough, that's why I'm asking. It'll be used primarily for pigs, but if I see a deer, I don't want to worry about penciling through and looking it. Captdavid

If you want to go 2400 fps in a 30-06 you should give the 180 grain Speer boat tail a look, not for the aerodynamics but for the construction. It's relatively soft so it should "set up" a bit even at modest impact speeds, and I really don't see it blowing up either.

If you do a quick momentum balance recoil comparison you'll see a 220 at 2400 is about like a 175 at 3000. Do you want that much back thrust?

No, recoil I don't care for. You know the last time I used 'store-bought' ammo, I shot 150s in a 308. They were pretty impressive. The only reason I didn't reload them, was they have a ballistic coefficient of a grape. If I can find some of them, in 180 they might work at 2400 or so. Anyone have experience with these? Captdavid

It takes not much of anything bc wise to get to 300 yards FWIW.

For less bloodshot, a mono bullet solves that.

Heavy bullets may recoil more but they are also slower and in there is a tradeoff... I don't like really fast recoil. I can take much more recoil as a slower shove.

I can take it all actually, but I prefer not to deal with the ultra fast rounds.... 378 wtby being the worst combo I've dealt with.

we talkin about women?

If I was wanting to go down to the 2400 fps range at short range do overlook the 170 gr bullets intended for the 30-30 should work great on soft skinned deer and hogs.

My go to is a 30-06 a 165 gr is heavy enough for whitetail beyond that your bruising your shoulder for nothing

I've tried the 170, they open to explosively, even at 2500fps. The 165 is my go-to load for my 30-06.
I'm looking for something that will expand adequately, yet not bloodshot meat.
Captdavid

I have never had 220gr not expand even at longer distances

Velocity is your problem, not bullet weight. Slow down a bit. Going heavier can do that, or loading down a bit. Soft, heavier bullets may still expand violently at full speed. Check manufactures' data for the velocity ranges bullets are designed for. Be prepared for smaller holes to lead to longer trailing opportunities.

If you really want to keep from messing up meat, keep your shots outa da meat. None of the three deer I took last season had serious meat damage. Two were broadside chest shots, one was spined from the front.

I see no need to use anything, but my 7x57. It is the perfect deer + hog gun using the 150 partitions or the 175 RNs. I'm just looking for an excuse to use my 30-06. Captdavid

Heavy and slow. I thought you were talking about me when I saw the topic.

Cappy: Big bullets are going to penetrate deeper. In this case you'll be penetrating more dirt on the far side of the animal. The deer just aren't wide enough for there to be a difference.

I once accidentally did the proverbial Texas Heart Shot on a sub-120lb doe. It went in at the 12 O'clock to the anus and exited between the shoulder blade, taking a few vertebrae with it when it left. She was only 10 feet or so in front of me. The 180 grain bullet emerged just as I put my rifle down to look at what I'd done. I still remember it flying out in what seemed like slow motion. It had been burrowing through for a quite some time. Now that's the kind of penetration you need to go end-to-end on a deer with 30-06.

I hope you're talking a shot through the width of the deer. If that's the case, I'd say stick with a 150-165 grainers, something like the Hornady Interlockt, and enjoy yourself. Deer are not that hard to kill.

BTW: At camp this year we all got mature bucks with our '06's in the 250+ lb range. They all died right there with no hassle with 150's or 165's and moderate loads at between 100 to 230 yards.

The 30-06 will clobber a deer with just about anything. The problem with 220-grain bullets is that even the standard ones were designed for massive animals at close range, so they may not open up enough to kill a deer quickly. A handloader can make them work in the 30-06 by pushing them fast, but recoil gets dramatic pretty quickly.

If you’re just looking for an excuse, then that’s your excuse. Use whatever you want. Any factory load will work, but I’d look for heavy slugs, low velocity, and cup-and-core bullets. A LOT of cheap factory 30-06 RN ammo is loaded below advertised velocities, so it’s already doing what you want, and it’s far cheaper than full-power premium ammo. Very few people understand this kind of ammo or have a use for it, so you can often find it at giveaway prices this time of year. Watch the clearance racks in big-box stores and gun shops for 180- and 220-grain RN ammo on close out. Same with RN bullets in those weights if you want to handload.

To handload a 30-06 for what you want to do here, I’d use a standard cup-and-core 180 RN and keep velocity to about 2,400 fps so recoil stays manageable. If your shots are within 150 yards, BC will not be an issue. Zero a couple of inches high at 100 and you'll be good to 200 with ease. Most 170-grain bullets were designed for the 30-30 and a realistic working muzzle velocity of around 2,300 fps. You turn the 30-06 into a 30-30 when you keep velocities to that range, but as you’ve seen you shouldn’t go faster.


Okie John