30/06, 48g. IMR 4895, Sierra 125g. SP. My book lists 2832 fps. At 100 yds it should have 1700 lbs. of energy and 1300 lbs at 200 . 2.3" high at 100 for a 200 yard zero.

No, NOT goood deer load. Need'um hevier bullit, kimo sabe!

I would use a bigger bullet, 150 grain or 165 grain, I am not familiar with how tough that 125 grain bullet is, if its lightly constructed it could blow up inside and not exit, which sometimes results and wam bam thank you mam drop in the tracks dead, but when they run off its hard to follow. I use a similar load with 165 sierra gamekings, many complain about the GKs falling apart but thats at higher velocities. I use IMR 4895 at 47.5 grains, work up to this load. With ballistic calculations, I think I get around 2700 give or take.

I would go with a heavier bullet. The real light 30 caliber bullets are designed for varmints. Also you should be able to get ALOT more speed. I get 2850 with a 180gr Partition out of my '06. I would recomend a 165gr Hornady Interlock moving at 2700 to 2800fps.

It well work just fine I have shot a lot of deer with an 125 serria at over 300 fps out of an o6. Just shoot them right and it well kill them dead. I wouldn't take texas heart shots with it but any good broad side shot will do.

I think its a good deer load. I would not shoot over 250 yards with it on deer but up to there I like that load. My dad hunted with the 06, 125 gr Sierra and 46 grs of 3031 for a long time. It's accurate too.

I hit a woodchuck once with that bullet at very long range out of my 30/06. I underestimated the distance and the bullet hit in front of the chuck and richoceted up and it the chuck square. It was an instant kill. I just felt like telling that story and it's not that relevant except that that bullet really hits hard. I would not discount it.

Redrider, I hesitate to give advice on this, since I mostly poke holes in paper. If I had to depend on my hunting skills to eat, I'd probably be eating a lot of potatoes.

If you're going after white-tails, a light bullet may be OK. You can tip over a white tail quite nicely with a little .243. Especially if you are going after a mulie, you'll probably do better with something a bit bigger.

Kind of the "universal" 30-06 recipe for deer is 57.5 grains H4350, under a 165 grain pill. This recipe seems to shoot well in almost all rifles. It should give you 2750 fps or more, and the ballistic coefficient on a 165 is a heck of a lot better than a 125. The net result is that the 165 trajectory is dang good, even though the bullet is a bit slower. This is not the hottest load, but it is close enough, and well-proved. It will work extremely well on any deer you meet.

Unless you are trying for elk, any of the common brands of bullets will work fine. I sort of lean toward the Hornady Interlock, and the Speer HotCor. Sierra also makes great bullets. My preference is to stay away from boat-tails... more expense, a reputation for coming apart too soon, and no difference that a deer will care about.

In any event, good luck, and enjoy the whole process of getting ready for fall.

No, it is not a good deer load.

A varmint bullet will kill a deer, sometimes, but why use a bullet not designed for the task when there are so many bullets designed for the task?

Nope, what you have there is a good coyote load, wrong brand of bullit and too light. Get some 150 grain Noslers.

personally i thought that the Sierra bullets were not that well suited for hunting. You probably are loading your guna little light i was trying to shoot 130 barnes x bullets and my book listed somewhere in the area of 3000 fps. Currently i am shooting 150 grain noslers at about 2800-2850 fps. go with a heavier bullet.

I think you should have a heavier bullet. I like the 150 grain. (Some people like 165 or 180 )Most light bullet are designed for more smaller usage like ground hogs, etc. You can get a great bullet in the 150 grain level: X Bullet, Failsafe, Partition, Interlock, Ballistic Tip, etc

Remember we want to harvest the animal cleanly. And you don't practice with hunting loads. You can shoot anything you want for practice.

Good Luck

Hcliff

You can easily push a 150gr big game bullet that fast. It may work, until you misplace that bullet just a bit (up on the shoulder or leg bone).

I agree with most here that your load is little light for an 06 on deer. A 165gr Sierra GameKing at a little less than max from your 06 would probably be ideal. It's extremely accurate, and on deer will have good terminal performance. The 150gr GameKing will also do well, but I think then you have to be careful not to push it too fast.

FWIW

That's what I shot my deer with last year was a 165g. Sierra Gameking (HPBT). Loaded at one grain below max. It seemed like a bit much though for just a little ol' deer, I will probably use an SPT next time. You are right though, very accurate, three shots touching at 100yds. I want to recover a bullet from my deer, thinking of a Ballistic Tip maybe.

Also I have a 5 year old boy that will be hunting when the time is right. I was thinking this could be a light recoil load and still be deadly. But like most posts, 1/2 the people say, "no way", while others say, "used it for years, works great". But if you ask 10 different people, you get 10 different answers, its interesting to see the full spectrum of ideas though.

Thanks to all for your input.

Just keep in mind that that light of bullet will lose speed and energy in a hurry. I believe the load will work fine for closer shots, but I would limit my distance.

Sierras are "ok" for der sized animals and below, but that 120gr is waaaay soft. Go with a 150 minimum or a 165. jorge

I guess I forgot to say that I got the whole idea of a "youth load" from www.hodgdon.com They list three different youth loads for the 30-06:

H4895, 40.5g, 125 Nos. BT, 2615 fps
H4895, 39g., 130 Hdy. SSP, 2544 fps
H4895, 39g., 135 Sie. SP???, 2495 fps (135's are not listed for 30 cal on www.sierra.com)

Range report: Just got back from the shooting pit, we were shooting a piece of mild steel plate, 5 inches square at about 100 paces. I had two loads for the 06 with me. Both loads had 48g. of IMR 4895 (starting load), one batch had 125 Sie. SP, the other batch had 125 Rem SP. The performance was quite different, the Rem's almost went through the plate, and the Sierra's just left a little crater on the surface.

Conclusion: If I was going deer hunting with a "light load" it would definately NOT be with the 125 Sierra's. The Rem SP's look like a much tougher bullet. Sierra's for predators and Remmington's for deer

What do you all think of Hogdgon's "youth loads" for deer?

With all due respect shooting bullets into a steel plate does not seem that relvant to killing a deer! Now if you missed the plate with one bullet and hit it with another then ok.

I am not defending Sierra 125's over other brands it's just that the Sierra does kill deer just fine and it's GameKing rated.

Now that we know you're looking for a "youth" load:

Sierra's 30cal 135gr bullet (Pro-Hunter) is designed for use in 30cal handguns. You'll have to determine what the max velocity on that is, probably 2500fps. You should be able to load your 06 down safely to this level. I can attest that this load is extremely comfortable for me and with some tweaking should be good for MOA. Check the books, I bet you'll find SR 4759 is the powder of choice. Just watch out for high pressures created by a half-full case.

Hey Savage 99, (with due respect of course)It showed, to me at least, that one bullet (Sierra) looked like it kinda blew up on the surface while the other bullet (Rem)looked like it did a much better job on penetrating. I mean its not ballistic gel or wet paper, but it did show a difference to me.

I looked again on sierra.com and did indeed find the 135 SSP.

Can I be 35y/o and still shoot "youth loads"??? LOL Or do I have to be macho and shoot full power loads that are loud and pack a wallop to my shoulder??? When I go deer hunting for real I always use full strength loads. I like a little softer for practice.

[ 03-27-2003, 04:52: Message edited by: redrider ]

Red,
I will start by saying that it would not be my first choice, I like heavy bullets. I hunted with a good friend for years in Vermont and the only load I knew him to use was a 125 grain bullet in a 308. He killed many large deer and I think they were all one shot kills. I will go on to say he was a very good shot and one of the best deer trackers in the area. Bryan