30cal bullet

[JWLeastcoast]

Reloading for my 30-06. Waiting to test Nosler 168gr BT H4350 powder. Was wondering if anyone had any other preferred bullets they like for whitetail.

Thanks

 

[wind gypsy]

If not shooting long distances, anything that shoots well and expands. 30/06 is a lot of gun for whitetails with modern bullets so about anything works.

 

[young7.3]

I’ve just tested some hand loads of Hornady 165 Interbonds with H4350. This group was at 100 with 54 grains of powder. I dont have any experience with how they perform yet but they seem to shoot good and have good weight consistency from bullet to bullet.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JWLeastcoast]

If not shooting long distances, anything that shoots well and expands. 30/06 is a lot of gun for whitetails with modern bullets so about anything works.

It is a bit much fun I will admit. I grew up shooting a 7mm-08 and that’s killed every deer I’ve shot without a problem. Went looking for a left handed gun and realized I’ve never hunted with a long action.

 

[Laramie]

165 grain Hornady Interbond is my bullet of choice for all big game with a 30-06. From antelope to elk they are a fantastic choice imo.

 

[JWLeastcoast]

165 grain Hornady Interbond is my bullet of choice for all big game with a 30-06. From antelope to elk they are a fantastic choice imo.

Alot of people use soft points becuase they say they do better against small twigs here in the Blue ridge. But for whitetail I like a bullet the expands alot yeilding high energy transfer. A friend of mine loves the SST 180gr Superformance.

 

[Djacker]

I've used a 210 nosler ablr and berger 215 hybrids with good results. Shot 4 deer from 10-200 yards last year with the 215 hybrid. All 4 dropped instantly. Both might be a little heavy for a 30-06, but neither bullet have let me down.

 

[OXN939]

Alot of people use soft points becuase they say they do better against small twigs here in the Blue ridge. But for whitetail I like a bullet the expands alot yeilding high energy transfer. A friend of mine loves the SST 180gr Superformance.

150 TTSX.

 

[wildwilderness]

If all you are doing is white tail I’d go light bullet, less recoil light loads, such a pleasure to shoot. Any 150 gr big game bullet will do in a ‘06.

 

[6mm Remington]

H4350 should be an excellent powder for that bullet. IMR4350 would also be a great one. You should have no trouble getting the 168 gr. Ballistic Tip to shoot very well in your rifle. The bullet will also perform nicely on deer sized game. I prefer the 165 gr. Accubond in my 30-06. It's a nice sleek bullet that is bonded core and it penetrates and retains weight very well. If it were me I'd work a load up for the 165 gr. Accubond and know that if you get a chance to hunt elk or moose, it would work just as well on those animals as it will a deer. Best of luck.

 

[Wilderlife]

I've never shot a white tail deer but they're comparable in size to the fallow deer we have over here. I've shot a couple of hundred of the.

In my experience shooting fallow with both .308 and .300WM, I would go with a slightly tougher bullet than you think you need, for the sake of trying to limit expansion and minimise meat loss.

I've shot stacks with a 130gn HP out of .308 and it drops the deer superbly but it creates enormous wounds. The 150gn Sierra Pro Hunter and Speer Hot Core are betters choices.

I shot a few with a 150gn Woodleigh PPSN and they were the best bullets by far. Fairly heavily constructed, predictable and reliable performance, not too much meat damage, but plenty of penetration if you need to shoot something bigger.

Currently using 180gn Woodleigh PPSN in my .300WM. Big wounds but not a stack of blown up meat as you'd expect. This bullet is made for bigger animals. I also shot a heap with 150gn Interlocks out of this rifle and again, great for culling and the like but far too much meat damage.

What I'm saying is, a .30cal rifle is a fairly big thing to use on deer of this size, so it would pay to use a bullet with a little more controlled expansion. This is of course provided you aren't shooting at fairly long distance.

 

[Southern Heritage]

I’m shooting 168 vid Bergar Best bullet I’ve found so far

 

[mcseal2]

The Ballistic Tips you are using will be fine at 30-06 speeds. I'd personally pick the 165 Accubond for hunting, and then I'd have a load I'd not hesitate to use on anything up to elk size if a hunt came up.

I'd work up the load with the Accubond and then try the 165 Ballistic Tip with the same load. In most calibers/weights the BC between the two is identical, and in my experience they shoot the same if that's the case. If that works in your rifle then you can shoot the Accubond to hunt, and practice with the cheaper Ballistic Tip. I've done that with several rifles over the years. A few like the .277 140gr are not the same BC and this doesn't work.

The Accubond opens very quick on impact but holds together better than the Ballistic Tip. I think Nosler toughened up the Ballistic Tip some over the years as bigger cases pushing more powder got popular. I have not seen one fail recently. I still feel like the Accubond is the better bullet, just never seen one not perform well. I have seen Ballistic Tips blow up on bone on high velocity impacts when I was in my teens from 7mm and 300 magnums. When the Accubond came out I switched to it and stuck with it.

 

[JWLeastcoast]

The Ballistic Tips you are using will be fine at 30-06 speeds. I'd personally pick the 165 Accubond for hunting, and then I'd have a load I'd not hesitate to use on anything up to elk size if a hunt came up.

I'd work up the load with the Accubond and then try the 165 Ballistic Tip with the same load. In most calibers/weights the BC between the two is identical, and in my experience they shoot the same if that's the case. If that works in your rifle then you can shoot the Accubond to hunt, and practice with the cheaper Ballistic Tip. I've done that with several rifles over the years. A few like the .277 140gr are not the same BC and this doesn't work.

The Accubond opens very quick on impact but holds together better than the Ballistic Tip. I think Nosler toughened up the Ballistic Tip some over the years as bigger cases pushing more powder got popular. I have not seen one fail recently. I still feel like the Accubond is the better bullet, just never seen one not perform well. I have seen Ballistic Tips blow up on bone on high velocity impacts when I was in my teens from 7mm and 300 magnums. When the Accubond came out I switched to it and stuck with it.

Will have to give it a try, thanks for the advice!

 

[Glendon Mullins]

Man if you can find any, and i know this will be the most boring of all mentioned, but the simple old Remington Core Locts are straight hammers on deer here in the east

 

[JWLeastcoast]

Man if you can find any, and i know this will be the most boring of all mentioned, but the simple old Remington Core Locts are straight hammers on deer here in the east

Dude, I shot one with the 150gr at 80 on an opposite ridge thanksgiving evening last year. I thought it was a clean miss. I couldn’t here any running with my ears ringing. But that’s mainly because she collapsed. Very leathal round. I’m just concerned with the bullet face affecting trajectory at distances past 200.

 

[Haney]

I have a 30-06 I use for whitetails with mild/reduced loads . I load the Hornady FTX 160 grain bullet . It is designed for tube-fed 30-30s so I load at 30-30 velocity with H4895 . H4895 can be reduced to 60% of maximum charge so it is plenty safe at 30-30 levels . I also use the 125 grain Sierra Pro Hunter at a reduced level . The 160 Hornady has a long tail so it takes up the void in the case nicely and is very accurate.

 

[Sekora]

I have not reloaded for my 30-06, so I can not state any pros or cons of different bullets in that caliber. However, I have shot quite a few whitetails with mine prior to doing my own butchering. Mine shoots the 180 grain core loct fantastic and every deer I shot with it dropped in its tracks. I can not comment on the meat damage since I did not process my own at that time. I mostly agree with mcseal on his post comparing the Nosler BT's and AB's with my experience reloading for other calibers. I am a Nosler fan. However, I like to work my loads up with the BT, then try the AB. They have always performed the same for me on paper, and the BT's are cheaper. I prefer the AB's for hunting in a heavier bullet. I like the 180's, but whitetails are easy to kill. Go with what shoots best in your rifle. Any bullet placed in the right spot is going to result in a dead deer.

 

[N2TRKYS]

165 grain Accubonds or Partitions with a max load of IMR4350 of H4350 is awesome in the 30-06.

 

[Rich M]

I've got a load of 4350 under a Sierra pro hunter 150 gr that'll shoot 1 to 1.25 inch at 250 yards w model 70 06. Gun likes it and it knocks the deer down drt most of the time. Think I've tracked 2 or 3, but usually walk up to them.

Hope you find the sweet spot and a load you like.