Sling

I know there are a bunch of bullet threads out there already, but I would like to hear opinions a very specific topic. From what I have read, most .30-06 whitetail hunters are using 150, 165, or 180 grain bullets. My question is this:

Let's say your hunting area borders a swamp. The swamp is wet making tracking difficult, so you do not want a wounded deer to enter the swamp. Your maximum shot is 100 yards. Do you feel that a larger bullet will put a lung shot deer down faster? For the sake of arguement, let's say that all 3 bullets are pointed Core-Lokt bullets. Which one would you choose?

Hucklburry

I am shooting a 150 grain nosler handload at just over 2900 fps. At 40 yds it rolls a deer. I like it cause it shoots flat, doesn't kick as bad as the 180gr, and tears the deer up.

The larger bullet might be nice for a shoulder shot, bust thru the joint to keep em from running. In my limited experience, the 150 works fine.

--Jim

kry226

I would stay with the 150 gr also. The heavier bullets will expand slower, if at all, and in my opinion, transmit less energy into a light skinned animal like whitetail deer. The lighter bullet will expand and slow down faster, thus putting more energy into the deer, translating into knockdown power. I actually prefer the bullet to stay inside the animal, that way I know every bit of energy carried by that bullet was absorbed by the deer. Just my personal preference, yours may be different. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Tifford

I agree with the lighter two weights 150 and 165. I don't use the exact type that you have described. I use silver tip rem 165. I usually find the bullet just under the skin on the other side of the deer which is what you want. Put all the energy into the deer. A double lung shot or a heart shot will put it down fast and hard.

Tifford

Hold Steady

Sling

Thanks for the quick responses. I find this thread very interesting already and constant with what I have read on the other bullet threads. It is plain to see that hunters are much more confortable going smaller/faster with bullets today than they have been in the past, and I am guessing that it is due to all of the premium bullets available (do more with less).

I kind of picked Core-Lokts as an example, because I wanted to see if that was a factor. Meaning, if you were stuck using a bullet that was not considered a "premium" bullet, would hunters go back to using heavier bullets. I am wondering if it would have made a difference if I had said your choices were a pointed 150 grain, a pointed 165 grain, or a round-nose 180 grain Core-Lokt bullet? I was messing around on Remington's website and under the WT deer hunting ammo site and they use .30-06 180 soft-point Core-Lokts as an example, so I was wondering if hunters would pick that load over some of the other ones for short-range purposes.

Thanks for everyone's 2 cents.

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sour01

I have had great success with 150 grain Core Lokt. I considered going with a Nosler Partition---but have dropped deer from 75 to 250 yards with those Core-Lokts. So I decided---if it ain't broke---don't fix it.

Mykey

The heavier bullets are ok if thats what a person desires but i personally prefer the lighter bullets. I've been handloading a 130grn Hornady Spire Point in my 30.06 for years now with excellent results. I've killed deer from 20yds to 300yds and i haven't had any problems with this bullet at all. I can see a noticeable difference in the recoil of the 130grn compared to the heavier bullets in my .06. The lighter bullets also help to make my shots more accurate from the reduced recoil at long range shots. I think it's a matter of the location of the hit on the animal rather than the bullet itself. Most of the deer i've shot with this bullet never left the spot they were standing and the few that did didn't go 40yds.

SCBUCKHUNTER

I also use the 150 grain in my 06. But I shoot the Winchester Supreme Silver Ballistic Tip and have been very please with the performance.

Sling

All good info and we even have a bid to go to 130 grain bullets.

Lazyarcher brings up an interesting point about Nosler Partitions. I have not tried them, but others have echoed the same message that they are great performers in the 150 grain bullet, but do not expand enough for deer in the 180 bullet. This is where things can start getting complicated. Does a 180 grain soft-point Core-Lokt bullet perform the same as a 180 grain Partition or is the bullet constuction that much different?

Normally, pointed bullets do not expand as much as round-nose bullets, so will a 150 grain pointed bullet transfer more or less energy that a round-nose 180 grain? I think that majority of posts so far indicate that the 150 will still transfer more energy.