165 Hornady Interlock w/ 54 grs of IMR 4350= DRT Whitetail or one that is leaving a good blood trail.
That's too light of a load...I usually run from 56 to 57 gr's of IMR 4350 and around 58.5 gr's of H4350 with the 165 sp interlocks....
That's a lighter load than you prefer to shoot, but not necessarily "too light" of a load. I also load 57 gr. of IMR 4350, but have loaded down to 52 gr. with good success for lighter recoiling loads. There are better powder choices for reduced loads, but it works.
buckfever1 - I've been reading your posts about shooting giant, armor-plated, indestructible Canadian whitetails for about two years now. You're thinking about it too hard. Put together a load with a good 165-180 gr. bullet and you will kill them if you put the bullet in the right place. 150 gr. would even work just fine from your .30-06. Put the bullet behind the shoulder and they'll die, it's really that simple. I would have zero qualms about taking my .243 with 100 gr. Nosler partitions after your great big whitetails. It's done the job on many, many big mule deer for me, and I know many have killed elk with lesser guns. Fret less, type less, sleep more, shoot more.
