Whats yalls favorite bullets for reloading the 30-06 for whitetail? And what grain?

I've been using factory Winchester Supreme Elite XP3 in 180 grains lately, just now getting into reloading . . .looks like its gonna be pretty fun!

165gr Rem Core Lokt. I've tried just about all of them and that one works as well or better for me. YMMV

165 gr. Nosler Partition

150gr Nosler Ballistic Tips, launched in the 3000fps neighborhood

Than again, I'm using a 1-12 barrel, cut with just a chambering reamer (no throater) and IT prefers that bullet and any longer would tend to jam into the lands (at Mag length, I'm within .040 of the lands with the 150's)

For deer, plain jane 150 gn cup an core behind the shoulder. Speer, Sierra, Hornady. Doesnt matter. Which ever one shoots the best in your rifle. 150's are plenty for deer and you can get a good bit more velocity from them then 165's.

For Elk I like 180 grainers.

distance?
i love RN bullets in bolt guns.. 180, 200, 220.. don't care..

i am also a fan of sierra gamekings

and hornady sst 165s

i also like -.025 to -.03 off the lands .. but the ssts load short, 3.2" on the groove

and a lee factory crimp

I run 150 grn Accubonds over 57 grns of I4350 at just over 2900 fps

How big are the whitetails you hunt? For the smaller 100-150 pound range anything from 150gr up in just about any bullet should be fine. If you are hunting some of those 200 pound plus brutes, I would go up to 180's but again, virtually anything that is accurate in your rifle will work.

150-180gr Nosler BT.
150's are just fine for deer, but I'd use the 180's if I planned to use the same load for elk.

Just about any bullet you can buy ranging from 125 to 200 grains will kill a whitetail from a .30-06, but the 150-180's are probably the most practical. The one you pick will largely depend on your anticipated shooting distance, but more importantly, on how it shoots in your rifle.

I use almost exclusively 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips in my .30's for deer, although I'm going to try some 150 Accubonds this year. I use the 150 weight in a slick spitzer because where I hunt there is opportunity for some rather longish shots and the trajectory advantage of the 150 over the 180 is useful. But just about anybody's 150 spitzer will do fine, as will their 165's or 180's.

By and large, the faster 150's usually give you a bit quicker kills on whitetails than do the heavier (and thus slower) bullets. Fortunately, there is no one "right" answer to your question and very few "wrong" ones.

I don't much hunt whitetails. But, when I do, if I'm using a .30 I choose the same .30 ammo I use on moose. That's Nosler Partition bullets in either 180 or 200 grain weights.

Why? "Cause I know the trajectory of those two very well and thus can hit the game in the right place with them.

My preferred rifle for whitetails is a pre-'64 Model 70 FW in .270 Winchester, using 130 grain Hornady FB spitzers. Kills them DRT, and reliably puts the first 3 shots from a cold barrel 1" high at 200 yards, in a 1-1/2" group.

I use 150's for everything--this included moose. Told many times 150 too light and the real funny part of that many telling me that were using 130's in a .270. Remington , Winchester bulk packed, Speer , Hornady--standard bullets--don't see the need for a premium.

There is no doubt 150s will work fine in a .30 for moose. I wouldn't debate that for a moment.

As I've said here many times, my first moose was killed with 139 grain bullets from a 7x57, and both shots completely penetrated the animal.

My point was not to suggest that heavy bullets are required for moose...simply that I prefer to use bullets that travel on trajectories I am familiar with.

I originally used 200 grain Noslers in my '06 because the area was commonly populated with grizzlies and I wanted bullets which would penetrate and break big thick bones, just in case.

Same bullets work well on moose, elk, muleys and, for that matter, on whitetails. So I see no need to use something lighter or different.

Shoot 200 gr Accubonds and have no doubts



very accurate in all the 30-06's I load for

As stated any bullet in the 150-180 grain range and no need for premiums. I would say shoot what your rifle likes best. I prefer 165's for the ole 06 if I can get them to shoot good as I have found 150's tend to expand very rapidly and 165's hold together a bit better.

quote:

Whats yalls favorite bullets for reloading the 30-06 for whitetail?

One would be very hard pressed to find a better bullet than a 165 Grain flat base interlock.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

quote:

Whats yalls favorite bullets for reloading the 30-06 for whitetail?

One would be very hard pressed to find a better bullet than a 165 Grain flat base interlock.

Unless you have a rifle like my old 760 that shows a marked improvement in accuracy with a boat tailed version. Well at least with 180 grain Interlocks.

for WHITE TAIL ... 150 gr SIERRA SPBT 52 GRS IMR 4064 WLR PRIMER

Whichever bullet shoots best in your particular rifle. It allows you to test a lot of bullets and get some practice time in. My Highwall likes 165 Sierra HPBT GameKings. My converted Mauser 180 CoreLokts. Just shoot it. If you hit the deer properly, it will die quickly. I don't care how big they are, they are not tough.

About any 150-165 bullet that your rifle likes. Mine has done well with a 150 Hornady interloc pushed with 52 grains fo IMR4064. I have killed several 200 lb+ bucks with this and none have gone more than 30 yards. It is a hammer on WT. I like 165's too, shooting them this year just because I have some, just backed off the charge weight about a grain.