Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Is a 30-06 too much gun for deer?

Let's see:
270 150 2850, 3006 150 2910, 280 150 2890, 308 150 2820, 708 140 2860, guess they are all too much for deer. My daughters 708 with 140 Hornadys @ 2300 will blow the hell out of a deers shoulder. More about the guy pulling the trigger and where hit, and with the proper bullet than anything. I personally have been using a 300 win with 150's @ 2800 and a 7wsm with 120 tsx's @3000. Ain't much either one can't kill. This year I have an 06 with 150 etip's that seems to shoot very well. It is 7 lbs all up so nothing too heavy. I seem to have better luck with 2 shot groups on the Mtn contour barrels as long as poi doesn't move around between groups. Never have had to shoot them 3 times in the same spot anyway. Usually one is enough and they fall out of the scope while pulling the trigger on the second, if needed.

Last I knew, within reason, If You feel that You have too much Gun, You can always load down.

Yepper, have had two 270's and found I wasn't happy without one in the house... this'll be my third!

The original question is one that I, too, have pondered. To my way of thinking, it depends on where you hunt and what your objective is.

Every year I shoot meat does in Texas out of box blinds. I don't believe anyone in his right mind would suggest you need an '06 for that. If fact you're almost surely better off with a .257 Bob, 7X57, etc. However, I also make an annual trek to northern Missouri in hopes of shooting a Booner (still haven't done it )and I tote a .30-06. After hunting up there for several years and having been fortunate enough to bag a couple of dandies, it is my opinion that the .30-06 is danged near perfect. Rutted up bucks that weigh over 200 pounds can soak up a lot of lead before giving up the ghost and I've come to realize that in this scenerio, there's no such thing as too much gun.

around here where the deer are about 150 lbs on the hoof for a "monster" yea, the 06 may be a bit much.
Especially loaded with 180gr TBBC at max vel...

great thing about the 06 is that you can taylor your loads and choose a good bullet for the size of game you are after.

For the smaller deer, a good 125-150gr at modest velocity will drop it easily with good shot placement, of course.

More than enough, but not "too much".

Well it's a subjective thing, on one hand its the standard by which all other cartridges are judged, For some its just to much recoil, but when its all said and done, its about perfect. And this is from a fellow who dose just about all his deer hunting with a 6.5 x 55 or 7 x 57. Its a good one, any good cup and core bullet will work well out of the 06 on deer and just about anything else. Also being once the Nations service cartridge, that don't hurt the issue either. My next barrel for my Blaser R-93 is going to be a .30-06.

There is no such thing as overkill - you can't kill an animal too much. I certainly don't think the 06 ruins any more meat than any other modern round. My daughter killed a small buck with a .223 last year and it was a mess. The 06 is a favorite because of it's ability to handle deer and elk equally well but it certainly isn't too much for deer. Seriously, a 25-06 shoots a 120 grain bullet at about the same speed as an 06 with a 150 grain bullet - you really think the extra 30 grains in the 06 bullet makes it too much gun? Certainly there are calibers that produce a little less recoil and kill deer just as well (7mm-08) so if recoil is what bothers you then you might consider a 7mm-08, but if recoil is not the issue, go forth and kill stuff with your 06.

A 30-06 can push a 150 close to 3100 fps... that's pretty fast. It IS a lot of gun for most deer... dunno about "too much", but it's certainly a LOT more than is needed, so it depends on your def of "too much" I guess.

With light cup and cores driven fast, you can certainly wreck some deer if you shoot them in the meat!

I killed a buck with a 150 Corelokt right behind the shoulder, and the bloodshot led me to mess with 7mm-08 for several years after that. Then, a couple years ago, circumstances led me to use my 30-06 for deer again- but with my elk load, a 180-gn Accubond. Very minimal bloodshot and that one I shot right through the onside shoulder.

If I was running factory C & C bullets, I'd shoot 180's and not sweat it too much. If you are going to run C & C's and shoot 150's then stay out of the shoulder IMHO.

I wonder what a 150 grain Partition started out at a shade over 3100 fps would do to Mr. Deer?

Ouchy?

I am of the opinion that the .30-06 is a little much for deer. That being said, I can see using one for "insurance" on a trophy hunt, where I thought the deer might run on the 250-300 pound side. That is a very special circumstance though, and for the most part, I think that cartridges more suited to whitetails are in line with the .257 ROberts, 300 savage, 7/08, and as bad as I hate to say it, I am beginning to believe that the perfect short action cartridge for deer is the .260. (That is if you handload)
The perfect long action cartridge for deer, in my opinion, is the .270 WCF. I hate to admit that too. More than either of them will certainly work, but isn't necessary. Less than either of them might work as well, but not necessarily....

IME given a nonspooked buck, a 22-250 will drop them within about 50 yards most of the time. A .300 Winchester will drop them within about 10 yards.

I also love the .270. Great for both the riverbottoms and hills.

However, like you also mentioned an '06 or a .300 mag will get it done with a little more punch.

Phooey!! Of course I'm a bit biased, but the 30-06 can be loaded with the 130 grain TSX at 2750 for the IDEAL deer rifle for close ups or smaller deer. In the West, the 165 Partition at the same velocity is used by a lot of savy hunters.

Wayne

Those .308/130 grain TSXs are neat! It'll be interesting to read the field reports on those suckers. No doubt they'll crunch deer with ease.

Brad: Hurrah! Come home to PAPA!

I think you can run an '06 as hard as you want and not get too much blood-shot meat;just use a tougher bullet.

HA!

Here are the 270 Win particulars:

Winchester M70 SS Fwt (got it sans stock from a forum member).
Aluminum Blind Trigger Bow from Post-64 Ranger... paint stripped and bead-blasted dull silver.
Talley Low Lwt's.
Leupold 6x36 LR.
McMillan Edge (blind magazine).
Uncle Mikes Mountain Sling.

Should come in right around 7lbs 2oz's with sling and four rounds.

I've always wanted a light M70 270. A 130 TTSX at 3,100 should work wonders on anything, antelope to elk.

It's certainly more than required.A 25-06 will easily take any deer at any range that most shooters have any business shooting.

Agree Bob.

Will add, if I lived back East and hunted Woodland Whitetails I'd use a 250 Savage, 257 Roberts, 260, 7-08, 308, etc... however, as Dober has often opined, "overkill is walking up on your dead quarry and beating it with your gun."

I typically use whatever elk rifle I have sorted-out and zeroed... in the past that has meant anything from the 270 or 308 to 338 WM.

It's certainly no crime to use a 30-06 on woodland whitetails and it's also a straightforward matter to handload any larger cartridge to lower velocities, turning a 30-06 into a 300 Savage or 338 WM into a 33 WCF (for instance)...

I would say that the ability to load a cartridge down has been more of a motivating factor for me than the ability to load one up. I have been through the redline reloading phase, but it didn't last long for me. I have always enjoyed making them shoot mild.