If you want a blow em up load, switch to 150 grainers at as high possible velocity. 150 grain standard .308 cal softpoints are quite frangible at higher Mv. You will sacrifice the front half of the deer too. Even here there is no guarantee that the deer will not run with lung or heart shots.
If you truly want to anchor your game( bang/flop) with certainty, use the neck or shoulder/spinal shot. Your very accurate established 180 grain load with good bullet placement is all you need.
May I question you on switching from a 6.5x55 to an 06 for more punch? You do not need more punch for a deer. Did you buy it for bigger game like moose and elk? Just wondering.
Good luck

The only "bang/flop" loads I have ever used were out of magnums w/ good expanding bullets at high velocities.

W/ the 30-06 you will have a hard time finding a load that will drop them on a "Behind the Shoulder" shot. I have taken dozens of deer sized game w/ the 30-06 and the best loads were good expanding 150 grners at around 3000 fps. After a "Behind the Shoulder" hit w/ a good expander (NBT, SST, etc.) they will not make it very far at all if any.

I would suggest a top of the shoulder shot if you want to drop them. If you clip the bottom of the back bone, it will drop em' every time and you will not lose much meat(tips of the shoulders).

Good Luck!

Reloader

Shot placement is what it is all about. I have shot dozens of deer with an 06 and dozens more with other cailbers. They will all make a deer flop with the right shot placement. I like high front shoulder shots with a any 150 165 or 180 gr bullet should do it out of your 06.

Last year I use a nosler j4 168gr match bullet out of my 308 the deer I shot with that hardly moved. But they were front shoulder shots. A good shot at the base of the shoulder and neck works well so do center neck shots. Head shots work but I have shot several deer over the years that have come by the stand with the lower jaw shot off.

I normaly do not take head shots I have killed some deer with them but then I like them close and not of trophy quality as a head shot with a high power rifle a lot of times turns the head into mush.

Good luck bust both shoulders and they stay where you hit them almost all the time.

Funny I'm going the opposite direction, from 30-06 to 308 and next to 6.5x55. Try 165gn SSTs with 56.5gn IMR4350. Then for elk you can change to 165 Interbond. They should shoot the same. The guys above are right. To assure the 'flop' you've got to impact the spine/brain. my $.02, capt david

firstshot:



I got that type of performance out of my Remington 742 in 30-06 with a load of 47.2 grains of IMR 4320 behind a 180 grain Ballistic Tip. This load produced only 2470 fps, but the only animals that went any distance were animals that were already run (or running) hard when I shot them.



The bulk of my shooting was at under 100 yds, so if you shoot farther, you may want to add a few fps. Just be careful you don't crank it up too much - you don't want to ruin too much meat.



ps: Don't worry about sub-MOA accuracy. It isn't necessary when shooting hair at 100 yds.

u want bang flop?

here it is.

.300 w.m. w/ 180 gr n.p. or .300 wthby 200 gr. n.p. and shoot them high in the neck. they can't hit the ground fast enough. dead before they hit the ground.

i have tested the above loads and have used it effectively on 300+ pound saskat' deer. works well on anything if u can place the shot surgically.

made the fastest moose kill in a guides 25 year career by the above technique at 230 yds, (they have a big neck) w/ a .340 wthby 250 gr. n.p..

good luck, go to the range.

Looking for a "Bang/Flop" drop em in their tracks load for 30-06. I definitely know the importance of shot placement, and also know there is nothing that can do this all the time, but would like to be able to do it most of the time.

I'm partially color blind (red/green) so needless to say unless I've got a blood trail that looks like spring run off, I have a hard time tracking. I've never lost a deer so far, but I have had to get help tracking on a number of occasions. I also just recently moved up from 6.5x55 to a 30-06 BAR so I could pack a little more punch and have a quick second shot if I need it.

I'm currently reloading 180Grn Game Kings and getting excellent accuracy out of this BAR with groups consistently between 1/2"-3/4"CTC at 100Yds. The only other bullet I've tried so far is the Nosler 180Grn Ballistic Tips and they didn't shoot as well as the GK's.

I'm open to any all suggestions from factory ammo, to pet hand loads, to shot placement etc.

Thanks for your help.

firstshot

I've shot deer with .260 Rem (160 and 125 grains), 7mm-08 (140 grains), .308 (180 grains), .30-06 (180 grains), and 9.3x62 (286 grains). I've had deer drop in their tracks when hit with each one of them, and the others fell within 5 to 25 yards from where they were hit.

I tend to favor heavy-for-caliber controlled expansion bullets for reliable penetration, and the Nosler Partition (or the Woodleigh SP), in protected point version if available, is almost always where I start (and usually end) when developing a hunting load.

That plus shot placement is the key, in my opinion, and I always shoot for the top of the heart or the arteries above the heart. Yes, you lose a bit of the front shoulders, but you're guaranteed not to lose the deer. This has worked well on African animals as well, from impala to eland to Cape buffalo.

My favorite "bang/flop" .30-06 deer load is based on the 150 gr. Hornady Inter-Loct in Winchester cases with IMR 4350 powder for 2900-3000 fps. I've used this load on a bunch of Texas whitetails, as well as mule deer here in Oregon with fantastic results. If you want a "bang/flop" .30-06 load for deer, this is about the best I've used...........

AD

First I'm surprised you couldn't get the BT's to shoot well. Maybe they are 'good enough', even if the GameKings are slightly better?

For quick kills, as others have mentioned, nothing beats a shot to the spinal column.

Second best is to break major bones, preferably (and most easily) the front shoulder/leg bones. A double shoulder shot will put any whitetail down right there! A single shoulder shot will slow them down a lot, so they can't get far before bleeding out.

Try a lighter bullet for greater tissue damage too. I have used 165 NBT's and gotten pass throughs (about 2900 fps muzzle) on all but the directly facing shots.

Maybe you could take a kid along for experience and as a spotter???

I have used speer round nose 180 grn. hot cores and 57 Grains of IMR 4350 powder for years on deer. They always exit and leave a large hole.