Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting your deer bullets?

I want to limit this to your primary deer bullet. Let's not get sidetracked into deer/elk, deer/elephant or whatever. I hunt deer with a 7x57 using 150 Partitions @ 2700fps, a 280 using 150 Ballistic Tips @ 2900fps and a 30-06 with 165 Ballistic Tips @ 2850fps. My primary deer gun is the 7x57, my shots are seldom over 150yds. This year I'm going to use 175 round nose @ 2400fps. I use the 280 As backup or when shots might be over 200yds. The 06 is my backup, backup or loaner. I have not seen the need for bondeds or monos, but that's just me. What do you use and why if you choose to share. Captdavid

I like 150gr Nosler Ballistic Tips 3100fps out of my 7mag and 165 or 168gr Nosler Ballistic Tips 3000fps out of my 30-06.

Sierra GameKings are what I've used the most, never had a bad experience but deer are easy targets for the most part.
They normally are very accurate which leads to confidence in taking shots, performance on game has always been stellar. If I want a tougher bullet the partition is my choice.

Whitetails (northern and southern ) 87 grain Hornady HotCor
Savage 99 250-3000

Mule Deer - 154 grain Hornady Interlock 7x57

165 gr ballistic tips out of a 30-06 behind Imr 4350.

Whatever Federal stuff into their cheap Blue box ammo.

243 W 100 gr Partition
25-06 AI 100 gr TTSX
270 W's, 150 gr Partitions
7 Mauser 175 gr SGS or Partition
280 AI 175 gr Partition
30-30's 170 gr Partition
30-06 150 and 200 gr Partition
300 Win Mag's 200 gr Partition
300 H&H's 200 and 220 gr Partitions
303 British 215 gr Woodleigh
338-06 210 gr Partition
338 Win Mag 250 gr SAF
348 Win 250 gr Barnes FNSP
358 Win 200 gr TTSX
358 Norma 250 gr Partition
9.3x62mm 320 gr Woodleigh
375 H&H 300 gr SAF
375 AI 270 gr TSX
38-55 WCF 265 gr cast lead
40-65 Sharps 416 gr cast lead
400 Whelen 400 gr Woodleighs
416 Taylor 400 gr Partitions
45-70 Sharps 530 gr paper patch
45-70 1886 505 gr cast lead
45-110 Sharps 530 gr paper patch
458 Win 500 gr Woodleigh
50-90 Sharps 705 gr paper patch
50-110 WCF '86 Turnbull 680 gr cast lead
505 Gibbs 600 gr Woodleigh
500 Nitro 570 gr TSX
577 Nitro 750 gr TSX

I use these rifles large to small to hunt deer, it's great practice for larger game being familiar with differing weapons, these loads will give maximum penetration on any game animal you may pick to hunt with any cartridge listed.

Plus, I've never developed enough talent to shout down a deer and command him to stop running and turn broadsided.

Mostly Ballistic tips mostly. AccuBonds out of 270 Weatherby Mag.

This is what's loaded at the moment.

223 Rem. - 75gr. Hornady BTHP
220 Swift - 55gr. Hornady SP
257 Roberts - 100gr. NBT / 115gr. NPT
6.5x55mm - 120gr. NBT / 130gr.NAB
7mm RM - 150gr. NBT / 154gr. Hornady SP
30-30 WCF - 170gr. Rem. CLKT / 170gr. Hornady FP
308 WCF - 150gr. Nosler SB & NAB,/150gr. Speer old version GS
30-06 - 165gr. Hornady SP /165gr. Rem. CLKT /165gr. NBT
338 WM - 200gr. NBT / 225gr. Hornady SP
348 WCF - 200gr. Hornady 200gr. FP
35 Rem. - 200gr. Rem. CLKT
35 Whelen - 200gr. Hornady SP / 225gr. NBT
9.3x62mm - 232gr. Norma / 270gr. Speer Semi-Spitzer
375 WCF - 220gr. Hornady FP
375 H&H - 235gr. Speer Semi-Spitzer
405 WCF - 300gr. Hornady FP & SP
45-70 - 300gr. NPT /Hornady HP & 350gr.Hornady FP

All of these have worked on deer (and a few other things as well).

StarchedCover

I prefer a bonded bullet just in case the buck of a lifetime offers me a less than desirable shot.I might need the penetration on a bad angle.I mostly shoot Accubonds.

If it's a "buck of a lifetime" situation that implies the angle is so diagonally steep that you wouldn't ordinarily take the shot, why not just crack his pelvis and be done with it?

Starched and gunner, to me that's incredible, not saying I don't believe you I'm just amazed. Captdavid

.308 165gr federal fusion
30/30 170gr federal fusion or federal blue box
300 Savage 180gr rem core-lokt

Don't need premium bonded or mono bullets for penetration when you throw enough weight at them!

.223AI--55gr TTSX
.22-250--62gr TTSX
7mm-08--140gr Accubond
.300Savage-130gr TTSX
.308W--130gr TTSX
.308W--150gr NBT
.338Fed--185gr TTSX



.30-06--Don't know yet..Probably NBT's. May even use a partition, just to find out what all the fuss is about.

.257 Roberts- 100 gr. Ballistic Tip
.257 Wby- 100 gr. TTSX
.270 WSM- 130 gr. Nosler E-Tip
.280 Rem.- 140 gr. Nosler Accubond
.300 Wby- 165 gr. TTSX
.50 muzzleloader- 270 gr. Thor

7x57 with 120 gr Barnes TTSX
270 with 130 gr Hornady Interlocks

As to why? I think that is all the lead you need to kill a whitetail.

donsm70

I mostly shoot Sierra's or Nosler BTBT.. Have used Horn. and Partitions, and Accubonds.. But for deer it is the first two..

Use them in everything from my
.22-250 though my 340.. For the .30-30 I mostly use factory, same with the .300 Savage.. In the 45-70 I use Horn. 350 gr.

I recently started using 165 grain Accubonds in my .308 and I have been pleased so far. I have some 150 grain Barnes TTSX but I have not shot a deer with one yet.

I had been using 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips out of my .30-06. I was not satisfied with the penetration so I switched to 165 grain Ballistic Tips in my .308 and .30-06. After a couple bad experiences, I decided that I was done with Ballistic Tips and I switched to the Accubonds.

12 ga. - 3" Breneke Magnum Crush 1 1/2" oz. slug
.50 muzzle loader - 295 gr. Power Belt HP with three 777 50/50 pellets
30-06 - 180 gr. Rem. Core-lokt
300 Blackout - 110 gr. Barnes TTSX

7x57 & 7mm-08 154 gr. RN