Deer Hunting ammo

[Steveo1]

Hey guys Im going deer hunting in the fall and I was wondering about a good grain to use as well as make of bullet. I'm got a Browning x-bolt 30-06. I got some cheap remmington soft tip about 150gr. Was wondering about the Hornady brand or any other. Any suggestions?

[Dadirk]

Are you reloading or shooting factory ammo. with that how far do you plan on shooting, are you looking for MOA or just center mass shooting on your game. If you are limiting yourself to 100 to 250 yds then decent quality factory stuff in the 150 grain range will work just fine. If you want to reach out further then some of the better factory stuff in the 150 grain will work. Fusion, Hornady, Nosler custom. If you are reloading then tailor a round to your needs. Just remember what works for other may not work for you, and one thing I have always said is spend the money buy decent factory cause the cheap stuff has very minimal q control.

[fordtruckin]

Hornady Interbonds are a pretty decent round in about 165gr that will do fine for deer. Their Interlockts aren't half bad either. Good premium ammo for quite a bit less than some of the other stuff out there..Federal/Fusion/Remington/Winchester...

[CaberTosser]

Finding what shoots better in your rifle is important, as each one might exhibit a preference in bullet weight and type. 150's will be plenty, as tons of deer and elk fall to 130 and 140 grain bullets from .270 Winchesters. I use 165 Hornady Interbonds and SST's in my .30-06, as they shot best out of it compared to the 180 Federals loaded with Partions and some other test ammo's I tried out in it. A .270 WSM I had preferred cheap Federal Fusions to some pricey 'premium' cartridges like Winchester Ballistic SilverTip and XP3 for instance. Tons of game has fallen to Federal Blue Box soft point or Winchester Super-X, so don't discount those because they don't have such fancy packaging (even though they just changed the packaging recently).

Some guys I hunt with swear by Nosler Partitions and don't try other types, even if it's possible some other types might shoot better in their rifle; they're happy as clams with 'minute of deer' accuracy and good bullet performance. I want good bullet performance and the ability to know with confidence exactly where the shots going to hit.

Some want bullets that expand rapidly and dump all their energy into the animal; other want an exit hole for an additional channel for blood loss. I personally think failures have more influence on a hunters ammo choices than successes do.

[Redneck Renagade]

Hornady SST's in 165 gr. I've found that's what works the best out of my rifle but those are hand loads. You should be able to find them in factory ammo

[Big Daddy Badger]

I usually just use Winny 150 powerpoints/silvertips or roll up some 150 Gamekings.

Thats more than enough bullet for deer.

[MadMarty911]

Originally Posted by Redneck Renagade

Hornady SST's in 165 gr. I've found that's what works the best out of my rifle but those are hand loads. You should be able to find them in factory ammo

+1

My savage FCP-k in .308 loved those SST's! Dropped anything i pointed and clicked at too!

[Lonnie]

Originally Posted by Redneck Renagade

Hornady SST's in 165 gr. I've found that's what works the best out of my rifle but those are hand loads. You should be able to find them in factory ammo

x2 165gr seems to be a nice balanced wieght for the 30-06 shoots reasonably flat & has good smacking power when it hits, deer, elk, and moose.

[alpining]

Originally Posted by Steveo1

Hey guys Im going deer hunting in the fall and I was wondering about a good grain to use as well as make of bullet. I'm got a Browning x-bolt 30-06. I got some cheap remmington soft tip about 150gr. Was wondering about the Hornady brand or any other. Any suggestions?

Personally I'm a fan of premium hunting bullets for the more reliable expansion (generally quicker, cleaner kills), but those modest 150gr SP you have will work just fine for deer. But if you want to, get whatever mid or high-end hunting bullets your local shop has (selection might be limited) in a 140-165gr.

If you're shooting within 200m, any factory ammo should be sufficiently accurate. Go by the old pie plate rule: If you can consistently group inside a pie plate at the range you want to shoot, it's good enough. The only bullets you shouldn't use are FMJ and match hollow point.

Most decent rifles and basic ammunition have sufficient accuracy for medium range hunting. Since I started hunting in AB, I haven't shot anything beyond 50m I'm thinking about switching to irons

[Dudes2010]

Thin skinned game like a deer does not require a "super Bullet" especially when hunting with a .30 cal bullet.
Those remingtons will do just fine, even if you hit shoulder bone first. Although if you are going to use that 30-06 on larger game like Elk or moose you will want a heavy duty bonded bullet that will hold together especially if you hit bone first........
I suggest a Barnes TSX, Nosler Accubond or the new Federal Premium Trophy Bonded Tip. They all will be excellent choices for large game. 165 or 180 grn.....whatever your rifle likes more!
Cheers!

[Andrzej]

I am reloading for my 3 30-06 and we all use same reloads as all rifles shoot them well enough for hunting.

We are shooting 150 gr Barnes TTSX for everything and Hornady 150 SST for plinking.

If you not reloading than you could get Hornady Superformance in 150 GMX (premium monolithic bullet) for 40$/ box for meat hunting
and Hornady Superformance 150 SST for plinking.
They should shoot to the same POI or very close due to very close BC.

I don't want to eat lead stuffed venison thus those choices.
Some don't think that this is a problem...

[ShawnM]

It's actually hard to buy bad hunting ammo for the .30-06 if you just stick with the big three. (Winchester, Federal, Remington) Certainly you can get Nosler and other premium manufacturers but anything by the big three that is actually LABELED as a hunting round would work just fine for deer.

[Thunder/FX]

Ive not seen a 3006 that didn't like Hornady factory ammo with 165gr SST.
They will do it all for you and they are priced right and easy to find.