Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Absolute best 30-06 Deer loads

Federal 165gr. Sierra GameKing works well for me.

Has anyone tried......I have all 3 loaded over 58 grains of
IMR 4350.

1 150 grain Speer Mag tips
2 180 grain Speer Mag tips
3 178 grain Hornady A tips

58 gr RL22, 200 gr speer HC, 2700ish

The 150, 165, and 180gr bullets are the most popular loads for the 30-06. Of those weight, I have three loads for the 150gr:
56gr H414
47gr H4895
57gr IMR4350

All sub MOA with the IMR being my favorite. I tend to load Barnes a little different (see below).

But my database has a couple of more unlisted weights:
110gr Speer on top of 56gr Varget. Could I use it to kill deer in our parts? Yes. Would I? No, too many other options. Javelina? Oh hell yea.

130gr Barnes TSX or TTSX on top of 55grs of Varget. Could I use it to kill deer in our parts? Yes. Would I? Absolutely.

I also load 180gr eTip on top of 52grs of 4350 for Elk. A lot of folks think this is a light load for the 180gr, but the length of that bullet creates a lot of pressure.

Loads I'd like to try include:
50grs of IMR4064 behind 165gr non-Barnes
52grs of IMR4064 behind 150gr non-Barnes
58grs of H4831 behind 165gr non-Barnes

The Non-Barnes bullet thing:
In short, when I use a Barnes bullet over any load I developed without using a Barnes bullet, it does not give me the same performance. I called Barnes, spoke with a John(?) and he agreed. Because of their make up they shoot a little different. I've only ever loaded the 130gr TSX and TTSX for the 30-06, but I do load the TSX, TTSX, and VG's in a lot of other calibers. I believe this is the frustration a lot of people who reload have with Barnes. (again YMMV)

Happy Hunting

165 grain Partition and enough 4350 to tighten the groups up. Been working for me forevef. (It'll work on bigger stuff too, but why bother when Nosler makes 180 and 200 bullets for elk and the like?)

my model 70 loves that hand load and it was the first load I ever had loaded when I started as a kid and its the only one i've ever used in that rifle.

But i have to say the absolute best deer load for the 30-06 is....... Get a 270WCF hhaha sorry guys but I had to

That's what an buddy thought also before he went brown bear hunting in alaska with one. After a "good shot" at about 100 yards, and a very scarry tracking job in thick alders, he lost his bear and was left with an extreemly disappointing hunting experience. This, dispite his hunting buddies insisting he was undergunned.- I love the '06 for just about anything, but the big bears are not an appropriate target in my opinion.

I'd have to agree with selmer, I've used the nosler solid base (old style before the ballistic tips) boat tail bullets, that I found at a yard sale, over 57 grains of IMR-4350 and get excellent results. I shoot a sporterized m1917 enfield and with this load I consistantly shoot into 1/2 M.O.A. I've killed deer with these same bullets out of my 300 win mag running around 3150 fps with devistating results. Last deer was shot at 70 yards and I was surprized at how fast it went down and also surprized with the minimal amount of blood shot meat. Why don't they make these bullets anymore? Are the accubonds better?

59 grains of IMR 4350 powder and a 150 Nosler partition

Beat me to the punch. I run a military action 98 Mauser, and the Federal Premium 165 gr. Sierra Game King BTSP has consistently been a very accurate, hard hitting deer stopper for me.

This year I'm shooting 180 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips powered by 58.0 grains of WC852 for 2700 fps. very accurate and I think it will produce dead deer.

Seriously what is it with you dragging up old threads?

gophergunner,

Yeah, WaterMan "beat you to the punch" with his 165 Sierra load by seven years! He hasn't even logged onto the Campfire since August of 2015. :-)

I didn't even realize that. Guess I should learn to check the time lines.

To reiterate what I posted 8 years ago 😊, the 165 Gameking BTSP is my favorite but I wouldn't be so arrogant as to claim it's the best.

55.5 grains H414 with Hornady 165 BTSP kills everything I hit with it big and small. Deer will hit the ground half the time the other half they will make it 20-30 yards, if that.