What type of .30-06 ammunition to use for deer hunting?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

39 minutes ago, Padre86 said:

 

A "tack driver" sounds nice on paper, but as others have implied, it's not necessary for hunting, especially at the distances a hunter will realistically encounter in the northeast.  And no, that's not embracing mediocrity.  Rather it's all about practicality.  I want a caliber/rifle setup which is accurate and powerful enough to mortally wound a deer at 200 yards.  

 

 

In your opinion. I am not even coming close to talking about a long range rig. I want to know that when I put my crosshairs on a target the bullet is going to hit that spot. with my 30-30 it is about 50-75 yards. I am suggesting knowing what the limit is for a rig. I know that when I take it into the woods. That was my still hunting gun and I knew what I had to do when carrying it. I was illustrating that I felt that in a still hunting gun the need for precision may actually be as or more important than an open woods or field gun. I have had the thread a needle on more than one occasion when the possibility to get closer or wait for a better shot was not there. 

[Buckmaster7600]

In your opinion. I am not even coming close to talking about a long range rig. I want to know that when I put my crosshairs on a target the bullet is going to hit that spot. with my 30-30 it is about 50-75 yards. I am suggesting knowing what the limit is for a rig. I know that when I take it into the woods. That was my still hunting gun and I knew what I had to do when carrying it. I was illustrating that I felt that in a still hunting gun the need for precision may actually be as or more important than an open woods or field gun. I have had the thread a needle on more than one occasion when the possibility to get closer or wait for a better shot was not there. 

If that was the case why wouldn't you have used a 223, it wouldn't need as big of a hole.


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[Culvercreek hunt club]

7 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

 

If that was the case why wouldn't you have used a 223, it wouldn't need as big of a hole.


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I am not in any way diminishing the need for terminal ballistics. If anything I tend to overgun. I just get a tad uneasy when terms like MOD Minute of deer and hitting a paperplate is good enough get tossed around (not by you two). I just don't think accuracy and terminall ballistics are mutually exclusive. 

Edited November 8, 2016 by Culvercreek hunt club

[Padre86]

28 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

I am not in any way diminishing the need for terminal ballistics. If anything I tend to overgun. I just get a tad uneasy when terms like MOD Minute of deer and hitting a paperplate is good enough get tossed around (not by you two). I just don't think accuracy and terminall ballistics are mutually exclusive. 

You're right that terminal ballistics and accuracy don't have to be mutually exclusive (quite often they go hand in hand with one another).

And accuracy is important, but there is a point beyond which you're just fretting over stuff that is trivial.  Minute of deer is a bit open-ended for my tastes as well.   My criteria for a solid hunting rifle is this: If your rifle is consistently shooting 1-2 MOA at 100, you're in very good shape.  If you're shooting anywhere from 2-4 MOA at 100, you're still more than capable of taking deer at distances which are realistic for the northeast...you just need to be good on your fundamentals (shot placement, natural point of aim, trigger pull, ect.).

Any talk of getting sub-MOA out of a hunting rifle or trying to keyhole your shots (which is what I think of when I hear the phrase "tack driver") isn't going yield much in the grand scheme of things.  If you want to wring that kind of performance out of your hunting rifle, more power to you.  I just don't think you're getting much added benefit from that, at least not for hunting in the northeast.

 

 

Edited November 8, 2016 by Padre86

[eagle rider]

7 hours ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

I think you better check that math again. 

 

http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/Basic+Rifle+Accuracy+and+Ballistics.html

 

sorry to be the bubble burster.....

[suffolk1921a]

On 10/27/2011 at 3:44 PM, Pygmy said:

A deer is not a big challenge to bullet construction, not nearly as much as big heavy boned animals like elk.

Any factory load that groups well in your rifle will perform well on deer from point blank to 300 yards, or probably farther.

If I were shooting factory loads in a 30-06, I would buy the cheapest ones that I could find in 150, 165, or 180 grains that group well in my rifle. Sight them in about 2-3 inches high at 100 yards. Hold dead center on the ribcage anywhere from 20 to 250 yards and squeeze the trigger..Dead deer. That's all there is to it.

I would try Remington green corelocts first.. Chances are you won't have to go any farther.

I agree, save your money and start with Rem Corelokts, $15-$17 a box. Started at 180 (good) 160 (better) found out my Mossburg atr likes 150 gr PSPs.

[shawnhu]

http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/Basic+Rifle+Accuracy+and+Ballistics.html
 
sorry to be the bubble burster.....

Linking an article that is titled terminal ballistics with a bunch of junk in there that talks about human error and human condition versus the true potential of a rifle at a range isn't a realistic discussion about rifle performance and accuracy.

I'm with Bob, check your math again.


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[eagle rider]

okay, all the tables say I'm wrong on this.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/Basic+Rifle+Accuracy+and+Ballistics.html
 
sorry to be the bubble burster.....

I dont care what articles you post a 2" group at 100 is not growing to 8" at 200

[Pygmy]

No tables involved, my rifles that shoot 2" groups at 100 shoot  appx 4" groups at 200 > That is from my experience shooting them, rather than going by any tables... Same with trajectories and drop...The results I get from shooting actual groups  may be different than  what the tables read...

For instance, my pet load for my .280, zeroed 4" high at 100, prints 4" high at 200, 4" low at 300, and a foot low at 400..

I know that it does that from shooting groups at those ranges..

All I care is that I can hold mid ribcage out to 300 yards and be in the kill zone, and for an extreme range shot (for me) I can hold on the backline or just above and be in the kill zone. What could be simpler, as long as you are relatively adept at judging range...

[Buckmaster7600]

The thing about accuracy is its all subjective. A 1" group is great at 100yds but I would guess that over 95% of hunters have never shot their rifles at targets beyond 200yds. Who cares if your rifle should shoot a 4" group at 400 when most hunters have no clue where it will hit when it gets there.


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[Pygmy]

Perhaps I missed something..I am NOT a math whiz despite working as an engineering tech for quite a few years..

However, just speaking from my own experience and that of some of my buddies, I have NEVER seen a rifle that grouped within 2 inches at 100 yards and then fanned them out at 8" at 200 yards..

Is this really a common phenomenon ?   How many posters here who have done a fair amount of shooting from the bench from say, 100 to 300 yards have seen this kind of performance..?. In my  experience, I have seen many rifles that grouped 2" at 100 and perhaps from 2" to 4" at 200 and maybe as wide as 8" to 10" at 300, but I never recall a rifle that grouped  2" at 100 and 8" at 200...

Perhaps I have just led a sheltered life...

Edited November 9, 2016 by Pygmy

[shawnhu]

Perhaps I missed something..I am NOT a math whiz despite working as an engineering tech for quite a few years..
However, just speaking from my own experience and that of some of my buddies, I have NEVER seen a rifle that grouped within 2 inches at 100 yards and then fanned them out at 8" at 200 yards..
Is this really a common phenomenon ?   How many posters here who have done a fair amount of shooting from the bench from say, 100 to 300 yards have seen this kind of performance..?. In my  experience, I have seen many rifles that grouped 2" at 100 and perhaps from 2" to 4" at 200 and maybe as wide as 8" to 10" at 300, but I never recall a rifle that grouped  2" at 100 and 8" at 200...
Perhaps I have just led a sheltered life...

Only happens when you take human error into account or if the wind likes to play games only when the shooter is shooting a different distance from before.

I suppose this could be true if the shooter was playing with his scope while shooting 300 yards trying to get it to hit a specific mark.

Either way, it's physically impossible for a consistent rifle to shoot 1 MOA at 100 yards and then go to 2-4 MOA at 300 yards. 1 MOA is 1 MOA is 1 MOA.


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[Padre86]

Getting perhaps slightly off topic, but here is a good video from the NSSF talking about MOA: 

 

[JRod 8G8H]

I've done fine with 150 federal fusion. It crushes WNY deer and is also economical.. Deer drop like a sack of potatoes. No tracking.. I've done enough of that during bow season throughout the years

[Don_C]

This year I went with the new Winchester Deer Season XP 150 grain because they are incredibly accurate in my rifle. Opening weekend I shot a doe at 85 yards. At the shot she kicked up her rear and staggered off, I knew the shot was good. After 15 minutes I climbed down and took a look.  There was snow on the ground and only one very small drop of blood at the site of the shot, no blood trail in the snow whatsoever. When I found it 50 yards away it was still alive and had to be finished off. 

This is the "exit" wound, (front leg removed).  "Exit" is a bit misleading. There was no break in the off side hide at all.  This damage was all under the hide and destroyed a ton of meat on both sides, I could fit my fist and forearm through that hole.  These are very accurate in my Browning, but I won't be using them again. 

 

 

 

[eagle rider]

They are very accurate in my BAR as well. I wanted to get a chance with them this year. But had no shooter bucks and no doe tags that is extensive damage. Was that from the second shot? I know Winchester says they are designed to shed a lot of energy rapidly. That is more than I expected to see.


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[Don_C]

That was all from the first shot, entered on right side. In this pic you can see the entrance of the second shot entering further back on its left. There was no exit whatsoever with the second shot.

All initial marketing releases and "reviews" sounded great to me too, but real world reviews, now that people are trying them, are beginning to tell a different story. Lesson learned for me, I'm sticking with the simple, proven options that have been around forever, no need to get fancy with a 30-06. 

[Five Seasons]

when I bought my rifle I did a bunch of research on loads. Overall consensus seems to be that you should shoot what your gun likes and every gun, even the same make/model is different.

I then found that most recommend a 165 or preferably 180 grain bullet for black bear, and as countless posters have mentioned, a 150 being just fine for white tails. I didn't want to deal with different loads and accuracy for the 2 types of animals I wanted to hunt and the 165 was my choice, and really not because 95% of my use will be deer, but because I will make a trip once a year for bear until I kill one haha.

I bought a box of expensivish hornady superformance sst 165's. I sighted in my gun at 100 and was shooting 2 to 3" groups off a rest not a sled. I'm a perfectionist, but honestly for my guns intended use, I was happy with that. I didn't feel a need to try another round.

If you want to see the result, you check out the carnage in the harvest thread.

Edited December 6, 2016 by Belo

[Gizmo285]

I use a 30/06 and have taken 3 deer in the last three years with it. I am a meat hunter and I sure wouldn't take the shot if I had to shoot it in the hind quarters. I'd let it walk because the good meat will be wasted and thats what I sit in the woods for. Luckily the last three were taken broadside with bullet placement just behind the front leg. Instant kills and not a lot of meat wastage,.

[eagle rider]

With the Win Deer Season XP?


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[wolc123]

15 hours ago, Gizmo285 said:

I use a 30/06 and have taken 3 deer in the last three years with it. I am a meat hunter and I sure wouldn't take the shot if I had to shoot it in the hind quarters. I'd let it walk because the good meat will be wasted and thats what I sit in the woods for. Luckily the last three were taken broadside with bullet placement just behind the front leg. Instant kills and not a lot of meat wastage,.

If you put it in the right spot, and the deer is properly positioned, you can thread one thru the hind quarters into the heart and neck and have minimal meat damage.  I have only heard of that happening one time however, so the odds are against you.      

[Gizmo285]

Remington 165 grain sp bought at Dicks for $19.99