Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting What is the best 30-06 bullet weight???

Thanks everyone for your advice I was just trying to figure out what type of bullet I should be shooting in the field for deer I do not care about bullet drop that much I can compensate again thanks everyone. I am also Hand reloading I am very precise with my decisions I am a huge perfectionist and read and watch articles and videos so don’t be concerned about me being dangerousLOL😀

Best bullet weight? I like the Partition for thick cover hunting, not because I want to shoot through brush but because that bullets tendency to penetrate deeply on animals makes it better for said animals that might not be at the perfect broadside shot angle. I have shot many deer with 180 grain bullets, Speer Hotcor's, Hornady Innerloks and Nosler Partitions mostly because back then I had to hunt both deer and elk mostly with the same rifle. In open country I used the 150 gr. Hotcor on Mule deer and Antelope a lot. The perfect bullet weight is the one suitable for the hunting your planning to do.

I agree. The only thing I would add is to site the rifle 2" high at 100 yards. You'll be good out to 300 yards. This what I've done with my 30/06. I however shoot 180 grains because that's what my gun likes & I mainly hunt elk here in Colorado. It's worked for me for 40+ years. Find the load your rifle likes & stick with it----factory or handloads. I personally use Winchester 180 "Power Points". Bob

You’re getting good advice. I would like to add that brush busting is largely a myth. Any of the bullet weight mentioned above will be defected by brush. Not only does this make it less likely you’ll hit where you’re aiming...but you can’t count on bullets to hit nose first and perform as designed. It’s not hard to test this. Build a a frame that supports various sized dowels and set it 10’ in front of your target. If you hit even a small diameter dowell, you are likely to miss your target entirely. Bullets do very strange things when they hit things and destabilize, both in front of game and inside of game.

I don't know which charts you were looking at but a 180 beats all 165/168's at all ranges. And as range increases the gap widens. I've used more 165's than anything else over the years and have no doubt they work. But there are no downsides to using the better high BC bullets in 175-180 gr in 30-06 as long as your rifle shoots them well. Mine shoots 180's well, but 165's exceptionally well. So that is what I use and why. If it shot 180's better that is the way I'd go.

Chase, where are you, and where will you be hunting?

? ? ? OK this makes me scratch my head. I USED to compare 150s, 165s, & 180s and I don’t remember that conclusion. ?
I’ll refresh my trajectories tomorrow night. Will be gone a lot tomorrow.

Curious.

Jerry

It ain't just you Jerry. Everytime he posts I scratch my head.

Welcome Chase! I grew up shooting those little East Texas whitetails with a 30-30. We even used the 150 as, in our family, the older guys said the 170 didn't open up fast enough. We were absolutely all about "meat" in those days (I'm 65) and shot game either in the head/neck or behind the shoulders, NOT through the shoulders! ha With hogs, it had to be head/neck junction, no behind the shoulders even. My dad, a WW2 vet who fought the Japanese, said the 30-06 "wasted too da--d much meat and is made for killing Japs". ha I used the 150 Remington CorLokt in the 30-06 later with no problems. Back in the late 70's, Federal began loading the Sierra 165 SBT in the old 30-06. I got a box and they shot exceptionally well ( even better than the 150s) in the old Mod 742 I was using. I found it to kill well, and still not bloodshot a lot of meat. I began handloading later in life ( about '78 I think) and really liked the Speer 165 BT. I also liked the Hornady 150 SP, which seemed to be accurate in every rifle I loaded for. Let me explain:

To gain experience, I would offer friends this deal; they would buy the dies, and provide 5 boxes of once fired brass ( for their caliber) and the bullet brand/weight, 100 primers and a pound of powder I suggested. Back then powder averaged about $13 a pound! I would work them up a safe but accurate load. Then I would load the remaining brass with the rifle zeroed to their specs ( some wanted a 100yd zero, but none over +2") but I got to keep the dies, the powder and any brass I used in the workup. I learned a lot and they killed a lot of deer/hogs ( .243, mostly 30-06,.308, 30-30, 7mm Mag, .270) I only suggested bullets that came 100 to a box, back then Nosler Solid Base bullets came 100/box but Hornady/Sierra/Speer were my favorites. I loved 150 partitions in my own 7mm Mag but the Hornady 139SP was my .280's favorite. Later on, when you are older, more experienced, you may offer a similar deal to friends/relatives if you have a good reputation. (At 13, your life is an open, blank book, be careful what you write! Have a ball dude!

Good point and a generous offer. I too started at 13. 43 years ago! Yikes! Talk about a reality check. You're a good man Steve.

I would add this too Chase: Some guys want "one load for one rifle". Others are like myself, I want to work up a load for every bullet weight for that one rifle, ha. Along the way, you kinda find out what is an 'accuracy load/one that seems to work in every rifle for that caliber. IMR 4350 (Or H4350) 58gr any 165 grain bullet, for example. many others are like that. Then you begin to learn about shooting accurately off a bench rest ( technique) then the rifle itself. I had a friend who made the above deal with me for his Model 99 Savage in .243. He gave the $ ( I had a young family and no money for fun!) I ordered the mounts and 4x scope and worked up a 100gr Speer BT for him. I could keep all shots in an egg at 100. He himself could not hit a 5 gal can at 100! I then had to teach him "how to shoot" accurately from a benchrest then hunting positions...thankfully, unlike most guys, he was teachable. He later got a super nice Belgium Browning .270 auto and piled them up! ha. So read, read read, ask questions, lots of old phartz like us will gladly help you!

I like 165s in guns that shoot them. I briefly owned a Mossberg Patriot 30-06 that liked 180s and nothing else. Also had a single shot Rossi that I used as a brush gun with 220gr round nose bullets. But if I had to pick one weight to use in my 06, I’d stick with 165s.

I did NOT forget...... I've been gone today and am TOO tired to do it tonight. Still plan to tho.

Jerry

I really like 165-168 grain flat base or boat tails, but have a 200 grain partition dialed in for Elk.

For at least twenty years only used a Hornady spire point 165 grain, then started changing just for the fun of load-workup and trying new bullets. ("new" not "better")

Chase- I have used the 30-06 to harvest deer , elk , and arctic wolf. the energy at various ranges also depends on bullet shape. a 155 scenar , a 168 berger , a 175 berger , a 200 eld-x are long for their respective weight and will carry their energy numbers further than other bullets of the same weight. . I use mostly 165, 167, and 168 grain bullets for most hunting. the 30-06 is awesome. ron

I like that.

I find the chambering conspicuously absent from my current range of rifles. May need to remedy that. Was always a fan of 165gr cup/core stuff in the chambering and like the same bullets in the 308, it's always been very effective.

Killed tons of whitetails for 25 years with 150 Ballistic tip. Preferred shot behind shoulder was my favorite but they worked for bad angles too.

+ 2. I like that.

I’ve shot more 150s than any others. BUT....

Every deer I’ve killed w/an 06 has been 165 HBTSP. You can Count on em.

Jerry

Me too, and he's supposed to be a retired teacher. WTF ?