40 gr. 4064 under a Sierra 165 BTHP, 2400 fps out of my 24" bbl .30/06 Mauser. Deer hit with that load didn't behave differently than ones hit by the same bullet starting out 400fps faster. Most accurate load I ever fired in every '06 I owned, too. If your shoulder is riddled with arthritis like mine is, you'll appreciate the mild recoil too.
In truth though, recent years have found me leaning toward the .30/30-class of cartridges and discovered that low and behold they STILL kill deer with aplomb. Toning down an '06 (or bigger .30s) to .30/30 levels for relatively short range deer hunting makes perfect sense to me. Save the full throttle stuff for instances where you are likely to need to "reach out."
