Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Bullet suggestion for extra large Canadian Whitetails?

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....

Some of those Canadian whitetails are blockbusters,for sure....but not really enough bigger to justify some of the armament I have seen brought up there to chase them..

I always liked the Partition as a blend of good expansion and reliable penetration from any reasonable angle.Anyone who thinks they can't be used very successfully to 500-600 yards is sniffing white powder.

My last whitetail up there came blasting from a willow swamp at dark across an open field,catching me completely flat-footed....he was quite a sight with that big rack,blowing steam and plowing snow.....a 270 and 130 Partition had sufficient brick wall effect,and he never twitched, killed in mid stride.

I used an Accubond on my biggest-bodied deer ever up there;it did OK but quit where a Nosler Partition would have kept trucking.They might be good but I'll take the Partition myself any day.

Big Canadian whitetails tend to be nocturnal,show unexpectedly and don't dally in open areas, always intent on eating ground.Unless you luck out,there is not a lot of time for shots;consequently I like something with a flat trajectory allowing point blank holds to 300 yards.You will likely not have a chance to be very deliberate,and employ your LRF,which should be done before anything shows.A 165 gr bullet from a 30/06 started 2900 fps,zeroed properly, is only down about 5" at 300 yards;about 16" at 400,but most chances will come under that....you have time to aim and shoot...not always but often enough.

With big Canadian whitetails, you snooze, you lose.

For "Big Canadian Whitetails(smilely) any good bullet from 150 to 165 grains..NOTHING more!!

Bobin NH, How high do you end up @ 100 yards for the 5" low @ 300 yards? I reload for a 30-06 and get 2900 fps with a 165 grain bullet with H-4350. I completely agree with you about moments to shoot and that is why I don't have a Ballistic turret or a range finder out. The range finder is put away after I get general distances to trees to help judge distance once a the KING shows up.
You have to be able to get that gun up and shoot with smooth function. Excellent description of hunting in the swamp ridges and open grass of Manitoba. Relaxation to pure adrenaline in seconds!
Thanks Buckfever1

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.

A slip of the tongue on my part. I personally have never loaded that light for any of my 06's. I was thinking why not just use a 308 win but maybe the OP doesn't own a 308 so he makes due. That's commendable as well, sometimes I think it was easier when I only had one rifle....

130 TTSX driven as fast as possible

a 165 pt worked great on 1 and a165 bt was the same on another. both had really huge body. cant do better than nosler. that said a 3rd, droped drt with a 3030 loaded with leaverlution 160. 30 cal. is just made for deer.

Selmer, I get it. When you hunt in MN and never see anything over 200lbs. Those 300# thick beauties are quite a sight dark antlers and all. The added problem of hunting in the swamp it is very brushy and of course wet. If you don't put them down in the open it is tough to find them. I think the 165 grn bonded bullet like an Accubond is what I will end up with at 2900 fps. OK Selmer I will let it go. Buckfever1

I don't think you can pick a bullet that can b depended on to leave a blood trail.. That seems to be dependent on luck and/or bullet placement. I say that after seeing deer killed with 338s and 300 Magnums that left no blood trail.
If I wanted to increase the odds of the deer not going far, I'd use something like a Nosler Partition and shoot with the vertical crosshair resting on the edge of the front leg and the horizontal crosshair 2/3 of the way up the body. The works fine from the couch, but in the field things often are not that neat. even then, I think the Nosler Partition gives you the best odds, all possibilities considered.

Royce

buckfever,

I've slayed a few Canadian whitetails. And have done so with everything from 100 grains to 180 grains - cup/core, bonded and mono's - from 60 yards to 380 yards. All the same result.

The bullets mentioned above are all excellent choices. Get something that shoots well for you and go bag a biggun'...

Robert, I know you've experienced this because we've had a laugh or two about this; in many instances that I've hunted a camp in Canada there's the first-timer and he's inevitably toting a 300 mag of some flavor � rationalizing that they need bigger because "the deer are a lot bigger in Canada".

Skane..but those deer ARE bigger in Canada...lol...thinking most/some people "overgun" south of Canada also

True. True.

The 200 pound+ bucks and boars I've shot with the 165 Gameking (spitzer) have been absolutely hammered. I can't imagine the results would be different in Canada.

If you can do it with a .270, it can be done with anything.

buckfever, I wasn't trying to sharply criticize, I'm sorry that it may have come off that way. I'm simply trying to say that sometimes we think about it too much, myself included - nothing guarantees a zero tracking job. And yes, I've killed a couple mulies over 300#, haven't had to track any of them, but not in the swamps you speak of. I understand there is a difference. I had a buddy that wanted what you're looking for. He went with a .338/.378 Wby. that I helped him with load development. He shoots a big buck every fall, some are DRT, others he has to track a short ways. The tracking and/or DRT are not a result of the perfect bullet combination, they are the result of perfect, not always intentional, bullet placement. Your choice of a 165 gr. bonded @ 2900 fps will do the job very well. Good luck and good hunting!

Exactamundo....

My 30/06 likes the 180 Sierra best (marginally better than the Hornady and Nosler Partition)and the Hornady in the 150 ...so that would be the best for me. Or the simple Blue box federals....

To quote an outdoor writer - They are not elephants

Having said that I've killed a pile with my 25/06

Put it this way- I've seen a variety of the bigger specimens of Canadian deer, both WT and MD, and I've yet to meet one that I felt couldn't be handled neatly with a .243 and a good bullet.

Pick a decent bullet for your .30-06 and kill a big deer. It's overkill, after all.