Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 30-06 bullets for Pa. woods deer ?

The last whitetails I shot there were with Horn. 150s and Sierra 165 gr. hpbt... Did a great job.. In those days thought the 06 was all I would ever use... It still does a fine job..

What county are you hunting in.. My last trips were to Clearfield and Indiana..

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THIS

The one time I hunted deer in Pennsyvania I took .280 Remington with 139-grain Hornady Interlocks. It didn't work, because I never saw a legal deer to shoot.

Lebanon baloney over ham, even in Montana.

Have a great time. We will have many guns and bullets in our lifetime, but very few life long buddies.

True that.
Lebanon
Sausage
Camo
In clarion county.

Huh. I may the last hunter in PA who still wears Woolrich (and MD, and WV, and...).



(Pic taken in MD. The big orange vest req'd in PA covers most of it.)

Load up Partitions in 150, 165 and 180 grain.

Let your rifle decide.

Looking through my stash of stuff, I came across 4 box's of Winchester 180 gr power point round noser's and 6 box's of 150 gr spire point's.
Can't shoot kickers yet after back fusion. Asked today, after just 7 weeks out, he said no.
So I'll load some 168 gr ttsx's to go along with my partitions, and factory ammo, and be ready to test when doc says I can.
Not sure I'm going this year, but next for sure !
He and I chat several times a week, and always bring up times long ago.
Camp, has been updated to modern, but the hills around are still the same to some degree.
The old times still come back in our minds, when we were young.......
Last time I was home, we sat in the same tree stand, I with a buck tag, and an 06, and he with a doe tag, and a 44 mag pistol.
The doe was taken first when a small herd came past, shot from high up, almost straight down, through the head !
He make a great shot.
Shortly later a smallish 8 point came out of the pines.
My turn !
He was turning back to the pines, hesitated, and a 180 gr round nose caught him in the the laat rib on the right, and was found just under the skin on the front left shoulder. DRT.
Was a good morning some years ago...

Thanks for the memory rant....

I get the feeling it ain't the deer your after. You already have everything you need. Have fun.

Sucks getting old.....

I was already loading the 150 gr Hornady spires in the 300 Savage when I bought my son a 30-06. Those Hornady's work well in either gun.

Scrapple or sausage, either one
Either beer
Woolrich
Lebanon bologna

And gnoahhh, you're not the last one wearing Woolrich, I'm out there too.

Dale

I agree with many of the other posts, any 150 is fine for deer from a 30-06, but those that don't shatter or break up will be better if you like venison. I have had excellent results with the old simple Remington Core-Lokts and Winchester Power Points for many years and in many deer kills.

One that was really outstanding (I don't know if they are still made) is the 150 grain Hornady Round Nose. I once killed 5 deer with 5 shots (from a 308 Auto at about 165 yards) with this bullet, and every one dropped at the shot, or within about 2 seconds after. All had exits about 2" around. I killed others in other states and seasons, and I never had any complaints at all, and the accuracy was FAR better then what many might have guessed. In fact at 100 yards the groups were as good as many I shot with dedicated "target bullets".

But with a 30-06 it is pretty hard to find a load that won't work well on whitetails.

Better than THE alternative.
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I never saw the need for a Round Nose in any rifle/cartridge I've ever hunted. * tube magazine ONLY reason *
Never bought a box of round nose bullets and not going to. (buy a box)
No bullets are brush busters ! Old Wives Tale.


308 or 30-06 150 spire points or 165 BTSP and NO failures in 46 yrs. of deer hunting.


Jerry

I use round nose a lot for elk. Mostly 220 gr./06 Normally shots are close. Less than 50 yards and I found over the years, the 220 gr traveling at about 2450 give me better penetration, stay together doing it and with less meat loss vs the 165's or even 180 Spire points at 2700-2900 fps. Especially the BT's. I don't use them as brush busters , never thought they were.
In more open country I use 180 gr Nosler partitions, but on a occasion because that is what I had in the gun, I have dropped a few elk in the 300yard range or so.

I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot a deer with any bullet.

If larger game were on the table I would only use 150-200 grain bullets. I would want an Accubond/Partition/stout bullet if 150 grain. 165 and above I would be comfortable with the velocity for a cup and core.

Long story short 165 Accubond and either H4350 or INR4350.

Never thought of them as brush busters, just great mushrooming, and penetrators.
I think I've got a bunch of 150 gr round noser's.
I'm gonna go look around.
No round noser's, but I was surprised what I have.
L - R
Hornady 150 gr spfb
Nosler 150 gr Accubond
Barnes 150 gr tsx
Barnes 165 gr tsx
Barnes 168 gr ttsx
Nosler 165 gr solid base
Nosler 180 gr partition
Nosler 180 gr protected point partition

My experience with the 30-06 on whitetails in PA started in 2010. Since then I've probably taken close to 20 deer using the 150gr Sierra Gameking handloaded at 2850/2900fps. One year I tried 180gr Gamekings and shot a buck in the thick stuff at less than 20yds. He trotted off like nothing happened and my brother shot him again 100 yards above me. There were 2 holes less than 2 inches apart. That particular bullet did not expand well and I went back to the 150s as they always did the job and made holes that leaked on both sides. This year I mixed it up a bit and used a .270 Win and 130gr Gamekings with equally fine results. Anyway, that is my personal experience and, as already said, most any weight 30cal bullet will get the job done.

More importantly, enjoy your time at camp and the camaraderie amongst friends. Nothing quite like deer camp here in PA. Due to callous greed and conflicting personalities, the third generation deer camp and property I have been a part of since I could walk is being sold. This was the last season before being locked out. I am at a loss and it really stings...I have no idea where to hunt next season. So, meet up with your friend and get out there, for no one knows what the future may hold.

I've learned to like 180s in .30-06. I load them with 58.5 gr. of H4831. They aren't fast but they're good to over 300 yds. I use 180 Speer RN for hogs and 180 SST on deer. But sometimes the intended game isn't seen and the secondary target species shows up. Either load works fine for hog or deer. I was having large hogs leave with no blood trail if I used what was a very accurate load 56 grains of IMR4350 and a 155 Scenar. One that was hit high through the ribs ended up dead on my neighbors place 500 yards away.

The only thing IMHO that will really make a difference in terms of whether they drop right away or not is whether you load round nose vs Spitzer. A 150 roundnose or flat nose 30-30 bullet loaded to 2800-2900 will drop them where they stand. Most spitzers won't, regardless of weight.

TX

I’ve had plenty DRT (drop right there) with ‘pointy’ bullets.
That’s where speed is involved.

I read from GWs in the 70s that the 243/6mm cartridges had a HIGH % rate
of DRT.

Jerry