I am trying to decide on a replacement load for my 30-06 for deer hunting in Michigan. Currently I shoot 180 gr. Winchester FailSafe and I am not completely satisfied with it. Don't get me wrong; the load is performing the way in which it was intended. It is a DEEP penetrating controlled expansion load. I believe that it would be more suited for heavier game, like elk. I don't believe that I am getting as much expansion as I hoped to, being compensated by the deep penetration, which is of little use to me. The deer that I am shooting, probably do not exceed 130 lbs, and majority of them are at distances under 150 yds, although a longer shot could present itself. I think that I want to change two things. One the weight of the bullet, from 180 gr to 165 gr, to promote more rapid expansion. Two, a bullet more suited for the game I normally hunt. I do still want a premium bullet, that can retain near 100% of it's weight. The load that I am considering is the Federal Premium 165 gr. Trophy Bonded Bear Claw. I do like the Swift A-Frame, but Remington only loads it in 180 gr. If you could shed some light on the subject or off any opinion/input, it would be much appreciated.

Thats a very good load, the 165 gr TBBC. in my .30-06 that's just about all I shoot. Another you should look at is the Nosler Partition. That would do well for what you want as well, another is one of the Hornaday loadings. Either the 165 or 180 gr will be just about perfection for those White Tails. It would be more of a question of which load shoots best in your rifle. I don't know if they are still around, but my rifle would shoot the 165 gr. Speer Nitrex load into nickle size groups at 200 yards. That's another load to look at if its still can be had. Now if you hanloaded i would just tell you to load a 180 gr Hornaday RN and around 58 gr. IMR-4350 and go deer hunting.

the 165gr. tbbc is awesome. i love those bullets. jack carter was a genius. hell, you could use that load for just about anything except the big bears.

I would think a 150gr rem corelokt would be near perfect for a factory deer load. I load 150gr partitions for mine. I like the partitions because they open fast and still penetrate so i can use it for a spare elk rifle. I think either would open up fast enough for deer.

I can't imagine spending the cash on premium bullets for a 30-06 to be used on whitetail deer... any decent 150-165 gr. "standard" bullets will do the trick. I like Speer HotCor's, Hdy. Interlocks's or Nosler Ballistic Tip's.

SeanD hit the nail on the head. Go to WalMart and spend $11.00 on a box of 150 grain or 165 grain Remington CoreLokt. If you can put the bullet in the vitals, you will have a dead deer. Now, don't get me wrong, I have hundreds and hundreds of premium bullets (Barnes, Noslers, Swift, NorthForks, GS Custom, etc.) sitting over my reloading bench, but they are just not necessary for an average sized deer.

I have very little deer hunting experience, but the last one I shot, I hit in the rib cage with a 130 grain Hornady SST out of my .270 at under 25 yards. The bullet did not exit, but the deer dropped in his tracks and did not take one step. The SST is not a premium bullet and can probably be compared to a Nosler Ballistic Tip.

My friend shot a huge 4x4 mule deer last year with his Pre-64 M70 30-06 using the Remington factory ammo with 150 grain Corelokts and his deer also went straight down with one shot.

If you are shooting factory 30-06 ammo at deer sized game the Corelokt is more bullet then you will ever need.

Tim

I agree brad, i only just settled on loading the partition seconds for everything cuz they are cheap. In factory ammo for deer, there is no sense in paying for anything other than the plain onld factory corelokts, in my opinion. And the 150's tend to open up on deer much faster than the 180 corlokts, 165 are probably somewhere in between although ive never used them. I dont think there is any need for the 180's for deer anyway, id go with 150's.

The most under rated deer load around is the 165gr corelokt in the standard factory loading.

MSP21-My experience with 30-06 and .308's-- above 100 deer--supports what some of the guys above say. I am really big on premium bullets-in some calibers on bigger game. In 7 Rem mag, in the conditions you describe, I do find it necessary to load Nosler partions, due to short range hunting. The .308 and 30-06 are absolutely excellent deer rounds and work really well with Remington corelocts @ 150 or 165 gr. Really--in these calibers--I have not seen any thing work better, as long as the hit is good. I really like the 165--have even killed bull elk with these. At least in Oregon, I would bet that these bullets have killed more deer than all the other brands put together. Whadda ya think? ..Chuck..

Standard bullets are all that are required for deer. In most cases, standards will work better than premiums, because premiums are designed to be tougher, for larger game and magnum speed.
Using premiums from a 30.06 on deer is an absolute waste of money, especially 130 pound deer.

Sean, I think your logic is completely sound. I generally deer hunt with premium's because our deer season is concurrent with elk season and I keep things simple by using one rifle/load for everything... my comment was directed at a "deer-only" load.

Regards,

Brad

Yeah, our seasons aren't at the same time, but i like to always have two of my rifles at camp on an elk hunt. I also really like to develope one load fot each rifle and leave it as is. Shooting multiple loads out of the same gun isnt my thing, so i think the partition in this case makes sense.

Don't know why you want a "premium" bullet. I've killed a lot of white tail deer using 165gr Rem cor lokt bullets. The deer looked very dead.

Both the Throphy Bonded and the SAF bullets will open faster and wider than your Fail Safe loads. The Nosler Partition will do as well or even better as far as opening fast and very close in retaining weight.
I prefer premiums, even for deer, in my .308. My current favorite is the 168 gr. XLC. But I hunt under specialized conditions and sometimes have to take less than ideal shots.
If I had standard hunting conditions, any decent Hornady, or Winchester load would be fine. I'm not as comfortable with the loads featuring the 150 gr. Rem Cor-Lok, or the Nosler Ballistic Tip. They are too fragile for my taste. E

I don't think you need a premium bullet but you can't go wrong with a premium load.

Hornady makes a Light Magnum load. It's flatter and loaded with their interlock and I think with the SST.

Federal also makes their High Energy load with a variety of bullets.

Any standared bullet is great for the size of deer your talking. Under factory loads the speed should be tame enough to hold well enough together with the 30/06.

My '06 realy only like the heavier bullets (180 gr.) in all the factory loads so I've stuck with them. Haven't worked up a handload for it but I'm going to try the 150 and 165 Hornady SST's this spring. My 308 really likes them and they do a good job on thin skinned game.

Deer are easy to kill, they are light boned and small and about any good factory non premium bullet works just fine...I like the Rem Corelokts, WW power points are great, any speer or Nosler works great as do the hornady interlocks. I've never been quit satisfied with the factory loaded or handloaded Sierras but they too work most of the time.

I also agree the BarnesX bullets and failsafes are better suited for larger game.