Just curious if you guys have heard the same we hear around here about 180's. Some guys love them, some guys are afraid of them it seems. When you say you use 180's in a 308 300 savage or a 30-06 or a similar cartridge they roll there eyes and say what are you using those for? They will blow a deer or a black bear into 3125 pieces of exactly the same size and shape! They will go through M-1 abrams tanks, schools coal mines or any other big building. Lol

I like them in my '06, especially the round nose ones. I save the 150's for my 308s.

Me thinks the opposite.

Them hyper fast smaller pills cause more blood shot meat IMO.

huh?

I always shoot what groups best in the gun I'm using. If it shoots 180's better than 150's, 165's or 168's, then that's what I'm hunting with. I never put to much thought into what the bullet would do to Tanks, Schools, Mines or Buildings. A good quality 180 gr bullet is not going to blow anything to pieces. They work well on Deer, Elk, and Black Bear. JMO.

There is a lot of superstition and mythology that just ain't so when it comes to hunting.

I've shot a few whitetails in years gone by with 180 NPT's and the long-discontinued Remington Extended Range. Totally unnecessary but totally effective.

Wouldn't choose them now, but wouldn't worry about it if they were all I had.

I’ve killed more white tails with 30-06 180 grain bullets than maybe all other loads combined - that in close to 60 years of deer hunting.
They almost always go through the deer killing the deer fairly fast with out a lot of blood shot meat. I have only recovered one 180 grain bullet from a 30-06. I believe it was a interlock, but I may have still been shooting Remington CL’s. I have the bullet somewhere. It had expended well and obviously penetrated well. The buck was angling away at full speed the bullet took out a major bone in the back left hip traveled the length of the buck and the bullet rested under the skin on the shoulder. The buck didn’t need a second bullet.
Anymore I take a different rifle every year. But none do better than a 180 grain bullet from an ‘06.

My 308 likes sierra 180 grain roundnose the best. It shoots ragged hole groups

I grew up hunting deer in south Arkansas where the deer are small, and just about everyone used heavy for caliber bullets. The only guys that didn’t use heavy for caliber were the guys that shot .270’s, and my dad with his .243. Even then, he used 100 gr. bullets which where the heaviest you could get then. Even living in Alaska now, most people I know are going heavier bullets in their rifles. Of course a grizzly bear is more intimidating than anything in the wilds of S. AR.

My boy has a Weatherby Vangard in 300wm

First load I built up was 69gr 4350 and a 180gr Sierra. Powder charge is at rhe bottom of my old manuals but it grouped very well and no need to mess with it imo...

He pancaked 2 whitetails with it this year. I wasn't there for the buck but I was for the doe. She sprayed blood 5ft out both sides for 25 yards. Not sure how she ran like that with no front shoulders.

Next time he should neck shoot the does... we lost a lot of burger out of those fronts.

shot my moose this past Sept with a 180 gr bullet zipping out at 3350 fps from my 300 RUM

350 yard guillotine execution ! No wasted meat

bullet used ?

180 gr Bonded Polymer Tip from Mead Industries, fandamntastic bullet !

Mead 180 gr Bullets

.....

I use 150’s for the little deer we have here. If I hunted in bet country, I’d go 180’s

I’ve been shooting 180’s for years and the only thing I like better in a .30 is a 200gr.

BS for sure.180's tend to run slower than150'sinan.06. Velocity in a C&C bullet will destroy more meat the lighter bullet . I use a 180 gr Partition for elk or a220 gr Sierra RN .Both work for deer too. Start talking about magnum velocities using C&C bullets and it is a differt story

I toyed with the 180 Hornady bullets. For me it is as others stated. Run them heavier, and they will run slower resulting in less blood shot meat. The 150 grain should work as well if you keep the speeds down. I am working on a load right now using Hornady 150 Interlock bullets at 2700 fps. (30-06) That should do all I need it to for deer. If somebody asked me about deer bullets in an 06 and I knew they liked to push them hard, I would tell them to use 180's

The only bullet I like more than a 0.308" 180 grain jacketed bullet for my 30-06 is a 0.308" 200 grain jacketed bullet.

I've killed quite a few whitetails with 180gr speer BTSP out of my .308. I like them because they tend to anchor game where it stands, and if they do run they don't go far. It is not overkill by any means. I've had a lot more meat damage from lighter bullets pushed at higher velocities.

Yeah, learned that when I was 12. Maybe you should inform the OP..

This is that whole Bigger/Badder vs. Smaller/Faster thing. It's Keith vs. O'Connor. I remember this argument as a kid in the barbershop in the 60's. I doubt we're going to get a consensus.

Me? I started with 180 grain 30-06 back in Regan's 1st term, and I thought it was a miracle pill. I'd been used to 12 GA slug loads previously, and 180 grain 30-06 loads were a boon if not for the reduced recoil alone. 20 years later, guys on shooters.com got me to try 165 grain loads on whitetail and I became a 165-grain snob for the next 20 years. However, I was loading 150 grain REM PSPCL for my sons, and they were just as good on whitetails. At the same time, I was shooting 200 grainers out of my 35 Whelen and I could not find them doing any better job on deer. All it did was make my shoulder ache more.

About 5 years ago, I received a free lifetime supply of 150 grain Hornady IL SP in a deal. I let them sit until last year, and finally decided to switch from 165 grain to 150 grain for my main 30-06 load. I did not get a chance to blood it this season, but I am quite confident of my success in the coming years.

Killed my biggest whitetail buck with a Hornady 180gr. RN, this was back in 1974 when most hunters shooting a .30 cal. were shooting 180's. I've since gone to 165gr. Sierra Game Kings, they anchor deer with authority.

Way back in the last century around 1988, I bought my first ever .30'06. I scored about 400 Nosler Solid Base 180 grain a few weeks later and worked up a load. Killed my biggest bull elk, one of my best W/T bucks, and a number of coyotes using that prescription. As a matter of fact, I can't recall killing anything with my '06 that hasn't been with a 180 grain bullet.

I guess if you wanted one load for deer and elk, the 180s would be the way to go, for me, the 165s seem to be the best compromise for SD and BC.

Normally I use 165's from my 30-06, and they've done well for me on bear, elk, antelope & mule deer.

Last fall I tried the 180 gr Berger Elite Hunter handloaded to 2730 fps. One shot drop on a muley buck at 350 yards. No exit. Did have to finish the buck with another shot when I got up to him. High shoulder shot dropped him instantly, but didn't kill him. I felt bad about that.

No problem with 180's and the 30-06, pretty much a classic combination.

Regards, Guy

I think the 200 might even perform better longer range?

I don’t shoot that far, but I like the 180 and 200 and 165.

Angus + 1. RZ.

Might look at ballistic tables.Take two bullets, same configuration, but a heavy one and light one. See which has more retained velocity at 400 yards or so

I'm still pissed off at Remington for dropping the 180 gr round nose CoreLokt load for the 300 Savage.
I use 165s in my .308, but would go to 180s before 150s.

Of course, I also use 170s in my 30/30.

My dad, grandpa, myself, and several others I know have always used the 180 Partition or Core-lokt (300 savage) . The majority of our elk and deer have been taken with the 180 Partition. In the last few years I switched to a lightweight 280 AI and feel undergunned with the 160 AB, but that's just me.

I've never used 180's but, loaded up some .30-06 with 180 gr. Interlocks and H380 awhile back, and will probably hunt this Fall with them.

I would like to find a 30 cal. 180 gr. round nose bullet . Are there any at all for reloading? My dad seemed to like them with his 300 sav.

Another 180 fan here. Used Hornady spire and RN, Nosler part, corelokt RN. You should be able to get Hornady in the RN for reloading but the spire points also always performed well for me for deer and bear.

About any hunting bullet from 150-220 will work great from a 30-06. I know this is Earth shattering/break through info….but ya heard it hear first!

Just found some 220 RN this year. We'll be loading them soon and see how they shoot. 180s have always been my go to for 30-06. Always fun to try something new.

In my experience180s are better for saving meat than lighter bullets. And they kill the deer. I shoot 180s. I load 165s in my sons 06. And they tear up more meat. But they shoot small groups in his rifle. The only reason I see for using lighter is for less recoil or if the rifle is more accurate with the lighter bullets.

I have so many Nosler partitions in 338 ,308 , 270 , 257 bullets given to me in many different grains , but my favorite bullet is still just a 165 gr. 308 caliber Nosler Partition bullet for my 30-06 or my 300 Win.mag or my 300 WSM. all 3 cartridges shoot this bullet very well .

You can kill dinosaurs with 180gr bullets out of the 30-06, using a full case of RL26 at 2950 fps.

That’s my opinion of the Hornady 165gr Interlock as well

I use 150, 165, 180, 200 and 220 grain bullets in various 30 calibers I own.

In my Savage M99 in 300 savage, my Mauser 30-06 scout and my M1 Garand I use 150s. Used mostly for der and antelope
In my wife's 30-06 Mauser I used 165. Partitions for elk, Interlocks for deer and antelope.
In my 303 Brit, (tight bore and yes I use .308"s) my Remington M81 300 savage, my AR10 type 308, my Browning m95 in 30-06 and my Mossberg MVP in 308 I use 180s Used for all game up to elk.
In my Mauser 300 H&H I use 200s. Used for all game up to elk.

In the above 30-06 M95 Browning and in my M1 Garand I also re-zero some times for use with 220 grain RN bullets for hunting elk in timber. especially where we have a LOT of grizzlies.

That's the way I like to load my ammo, but in the last few years I have run out of all my 165s 180s and 220s.
I do have some ammo loaded with them, but for any component bullets I don't have even one left.

180’s were the deer hunting standard in our and most northern WI. deer camps growing up hunting in the 60’s. Complete penetration and their supposedly better resistance to brush deflection was the reasoning back in those days. We never lost a deer hit anywhere when the guys used that Remington round nose Core-Lokt with that big, faster opening exposed lead tip. It is still my favorite bullet for deer out of my .300 Savage, but alas, no longer available factory loaded in that cartridge. That same 180 was the preferred load for the Benoit tracking guys back then too, before they went to pointed bullets later on.

I agree. I’m running 2900 FPS with 180 partitions into tiny little groups from my 24” 30-06. What more can you ask for out of the old girl!!!

My load in my 30-06 with 180 grains Nosler A/B Go 2850 fps. This load works well on everything I've used it on.

1 bear
a few deer
a cow elk

About 35 years ago I went from 165's to 180's in my .30-06 loads. We were hunting blacktail deer, mule deer, elk and bear. Occasionlly elk and deer at the same time.

The 165's were damaging more meat on the deer than we liked, we were running them at 2850 or so. A friend convinced me to go to 180's at about 2750 depending on rifle. Generally, Partitions for elk and mule/whitetail deer. I/L's or Core Lokts for blacktails. It saves a bit of sight in time and trajectories out to 300 yards are quite close. I try not to take a first shot on anything past 300 yards so it makes little difference.

I have kept one 180 NPT in an elk on a left front shoulder to right ham shot. It missed exiting by about 1.5". As a result, I occasionlly think of going to 200's and have purchased some to fool with.

You will never regret going to the 200gr partition. One hell of an excellent bullet for both deer and elk, when shot out of a 30-06. They fly surprisingly flat for their weight, hit hard, don't produce a lot of blood shot meat and penetrate deep. The last bull I shot with one went from stem to stern. The bull damn near walked right up to me, got within 15 yards and all I had was a frontal shot. I took it before he even knew what happened. He went over backwards and then just laid there. I've been impressed by the 200gr performance. I've managed to find 180's in elk I've shot with 300 magnums, the reason I made the switch to the 200.

I have three bolt action 30-06s. One gets 180gr Partitions, one gets 168gr TTSXs, and one gets 180gr Accubonds. I haven’t had deer, elk, or coyotes go real far with any of them.

I have 6 30-06's and they all get 200gr Nosler partitions.

I've shot deer with various .30 cal bullets over the years from .308's and .30-06's. I mostly used 150 gr, 165 gr and 168 gr ballistic tips, accubonds, partitions, and btsp Hornady bullets. Because I had bowhunted back in the day, I always tried to aim for lungs, when possible. I had good results with ballistic tips, better results with accubonds and partitions. I had some DRT with 150 accubonds and 165 partitions from a .30-06. I also had some tracking jobs on deer where the deer was facing me head-on with 150 accubonds.

This fall, the area I hunted in had bear in season during deer season. So, I moved up to 180 gr ballistic tips in .308 Win carbines because they shot well, and I was hunting a fairly thick area where shots over 100 yards would be rare. No bear were seen, but my son and I each shot smaller bodied deer at close range. The deer did not go anywhere, but small deer usually don't go anywhere. We'll be sticking with the 180's for now.

But, will they get full penetration through a coyote? Even at odd angles?