Best .30-06 hunting Cartridge, primarily for whitetail ?

[BigFatKen]

Alabama deer

Now I'm not saying that our deer are small, but we got eight of them last year. It was a cull year and we took mostly old does. My wife and I have finally just eaten all of the steaks and have only some ground meat left.

The 150 gr bullet maximizes energy at ranges up to ~280 yards. Beyond that 180 to 200 gr pointed boat tail carry their energy best. Some rifles are picky about their ammo. I had a Remington that could not shoot into a 2" hole at 100 yards with Rem ammo. I switched to Federal Premium ammo and it shot 3/4 MOA at 100 yards.

The 165 gr mensioned often above is a good compromise. All in all, a rifle will shoot better with a heavier bullet if no other tuning is done.

 

[islandphish]

benelli12 "Heavy bullets=less walking"

I don't get this. Are you saying that heavy bullets mean that you would have to track your deer less? Cuz i dont think that the terminal performance is as good with a 220 as a 150 in deer. those big bullets just punch through, while the lighter ones blow up and create massive trauma.

 

[uk roe hunter]

150 is good

I use 150gr hot cores and they are great. I shot a roe buck about 3 weeks ago with my ,243 win with 87 gr spitzer and it made a real mess and still ran. when i get them with the .30-06 with 150s they are normally DRT.

steve

 

[garymc]

180 grain

Winchester SuperX 180 grain Power Point. I hunt from a tree stand in Missouri. Heavy slug to avoid deflection by twigs/branches that might not be visible in scope. Twice I have found pencil sized or smaller limbs clipped by my bullet. 50 yards is a long shot for me, but twice in 30 years I have shot deer at 100 or so yards. My last deer I shot twice in rapid succession, first shot through the heart, second through a lung. It ran 75 yards straight uphill. I guess we have tough deer here.

 

[hank327]

I have always found Hornady factory ammo to be very accurate in my rifles. I would try Hornady's 150 grain Interlock, I bet you will be pleased in it's performance.