I was wondering if anyone here has loaded round nose bullets in .30-06? Mainly, I was looking for information as to whether using round nose bullets would require a change in charge strength due to the fact that there is more surface area in contact with the rifling (Higher pressures?).
Also, I would like to hear opinions and information on what are the advantages / disadvantages to using round nose vs spitzer bullets.
I am mainly considering using round nose bullets in a Remington Model 700 BDL with open sights for hunting Deer. Would there be any advantage to using this type bullet for the above mentioned application? Here in the Southern VA hills, (which are heavily wooded) it is extremely rare to get a shot at a Deer further away than 100 yards.
Seeing as how the hunting here is mainly short range, and I had problems with a scope last year (fogging up and extremely short range shots of less than 25 feet) I opted to remove my scope and try my luck with open sights this year. Since my new focus is on short range shots, I was just wondering if there is any advantage to switching to round nose for penetration and brush bucking ability. Also would be willing to consider lead cast bullets as well.
Any information, Load data, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I have been using Imperial 180 Rn and 56.5 gr.Surplus WC852 in my 3006 Ruger for years.
Got both on a deal, so cheap shooting.
I would think the Rn bullet gives a lttle more thump in heavy bush,though might not be as flat shooting. At the range sighted in for 100 yards gives my 165 gr.Spitzerup about two and a half inches high.
Hornady also has a good 30 cal 180 RN which I wil try once I run out of my present stock.
As far as sights go I use a williams peep on my 6.5x55 and 35 rem lever . It is quick to use , but find an aim point or a two powder scope works better on low light conditions. Last years deer was bought down with a snap shot using a 2x20 weaver scope that had a post. I was able to quickly get on target and clear any branches that might have ruined the day.
There is no real bush load. A heavy RN bullet may not be as affected as a long pointed one, tumbling on to the target when hitting a branch.I would think a blunt heavy bullet might give you the edge over a super speed light weight.

Where I hunt shoots are with in 75 yards in heavy cover , and bears might also be encountered . The big bore lever seems to suit the best and I have it covered with the 35 rem, 358BLR and the 45/70 Marlin Guide.
Check out a Aimpoint or some of the low power scope's used for shotguns etc. in the 2x or the 1.5X5 and this will help you see better for that quick snap shot that is required for heavy cover.
My .02 cents

Chevy,

I have been reading about this issue for years, some of it pure nonsense, and some of it pretty logical. Here's what my reading AND hunting tell me:

Round nose bullets and other shapes are probably equal in performance out to 150 yds., or so. That includes shooting in thick woods or the wide open spaces. The best strategy in thick cover is to do your darnedest to shoot through openings. All bullets can be deflected off target or broken up prior to hitting your target. Nothing will mow down brush reliably.

So far as your short range emphasis goes you gain an advantage in a couple of ways. First, the open sights are closer to the bore than a scope so your "apparent" trajectory is flatter. With full power '06 loads in 150 0r 180 grains, pointed or round nose, a 100 yd. zero should keep your bullet within 1 - 2" of your line of sight out to 150 yds. And that's a lot farther than you say you expect to be shooting.

Finally, whatever bullet you choose should do the job if you practice and try to pick a clear line of sight through the brush.

__________________
WyoStillhunter
"Hunt close, then get closer."

PS -- I should add that I have killed elk, deer, antelope, and groundhogs with my '06 using factory and handloads (that approximate factory). I have shot Rem. Core-Lokts, Win. PowerPoints, and other brands, round nose and pointed. In other calibers I have also used standard and premium bullets in factory loads.

I have never lost an animal because of poor bullet performance with any load that penetrated the heart/lung area. Period. (The only big game animal I have killed and failed to recover was the first whitetail I ever shot at in 1962. That was a doe at over 150 yds. with factory 30-30 ammo. I hit her too far back and was too inexperienced to work out the track after the blood trail gave out.

In general, I believe there is way too much emphasis on bullet type, velocity, trajectory, etc. and not nearly enough emphasis on marksmanship.

__________________
WyoStillhunter
"Hunt close, then get closer."

Fact
Practice/practice helps every time.
Marksmanship wins every time. being able to see through the brush and clear to hit the game will get the jobdone every time.
The range we are talking about here is 20 to 75 yards tops are we not ?. Not 150 yards
Bullets will deflect when hitting a branch.
A heavy slow bullet will when hitting a branch tumble and carry on to hit the target.( Short range)
I have missed two deer completely with a 180 gr. winchester pointed bullet At 30 yards. Never touched a hair.
Things changed when the bullet changed.
WHY WAS THE kRAG and 303 B so effective in the bush?
Why does the 6.5 160 gr long and thin bullet do so well?
WHY do the big bores like the 45/70 do so well on game with in the ranges we are talking here.

You read lots of stuff in the Gun Mags, and after forty years of hunting with an open mind you prove and disprove what has been written.We find that what our parents used was not all that far off in heavy cover , that the slow big chunks of lead does work just as well today as it did then.
The fella that got me started started off with a single shot a as a youth with a 44/40 Remington then adapted to the 303 B after WW1. After WW2 ,he used a 30/30.
Yes he is long gone now.We still have the 303 B mark one made in 1916 with some hard points from ww1.

Round nose and pointed bullets do have a different trajectory, the pointed being flatter after 100 yards on my .06.

You got to try things out your self, my friend . Can you see as well as when you were a young pup?

Actually, I can't see all that well without my glasses. This is another reason that I have removed the scope from my rifle. I feel much more comfortable shooting with open sights, because I find that when I try to look through the scope, the top of the lens on my glasses is cutting the sight picture in two, which really messes with my head! I can see well enough to shoot. Call me kooky, but I just feel better shooting with open sights. Developing a sight picture comes pretty natural to me, I guess it is just what I am used to.

Thanks for all the info! I will probably just stick to my spitzer bullets for now, but I may play with some round nose in the future

A favorite hunting area is woned by a friend's uncle...all he ever shoots is a Hornady 150gr. JRN reloaded over 58gr. of IMR4350. That's about 2900fps in his rifle, and probably over-drives that slug, but the small whitetail that live on his land seem to die just as well out tpo the 200yard that that same land offers shots.

Had a BSA 30-06 from just after WWI. Was proofed for 220gr. bullets; having other rifles suited for other bullets, decided to feed it what was stamped on the barrel (but no cordite). That 220gr. Hornady at a mostest 2450fps shoots through everything I've tried it on...nice benifit of haing an exit wound directly opposit the entrance wound, little bullet "wandering" even if you tag one of the big bones on entrance. There isn't a lack of penetration, and whatever got tagged with it cumpled up and died. Admit, the trajectory wasn't "string flat" but out to 2o0yards, it worked fine.

On the occasions I'd hunthis land with that rifle, would have two men out with opposit extreams of ammo...his would often NOT exit if the deer was shot at very close range...mine would always exit (and "waste energy" in his view).

You might have some one check and see how you are mounting your rifle. Is your thumb touching your face when you are sighting in on target? You might also be crimping up on the stock.You might need a little longer stock or a scope that has a bit more eye relief.
I too was having the scope touch my glasses, because I was creeping up the stock. I put a mark on the stock where my check should be to unlearn doing this.

Ribbonstone
See you found a bullet like the 200/220 RN at abot 2400 does a good job in the bush.
Some think that a bullet that passed through with an exit hole is wasted enery.
I think that an exit hole leaves a ggod blood trail in an animal like a bear/mooseand deer where in you do not want to a lot of time tracking an animal in heavy cover. I stay away from bullets that open up real quick and blowing off the far shoulder as with Winchester 180 silver tips.
Since going to the big heavy round nose bullets I have not lost an animal I have hit
I finshed the deer hunt last year with a 45/70 shot at a doe coming through some evergreens . One 458 hole in and out and one very dead deer ten yards past where it got hit.
I am sure that bullet took a little green on the way through
Hunting is not just for the kill and meat , but the joy is in a one shot kill and an animal down. Not in an animal shot and lost somewhere in dense cover.

Well now lets hear what every one else would like to say.
I gone on quite enough.
Happy.

A gunsmith I use frequently and think is a very competent firearms person is of the "small bullet moving fast" persuasion. Had me convinced on this principle for quite a while and the bores got smaller and the bullets got faster.

Several barrel burn-outs later and with, as you say, the off-shoulder being literally blown from the deer sized animals, decided to rethink the issue.

Having completed the circle, my thinking is now back to the common cartridges (only a couple of wildcats) of yesteryear and with moderately high loadings - nothing of the "golly-gee" variety. Have yet to take anything with the 45-70, but seriously plan to if the opportunity presents.

I'll leave all these Ultra Super Magnums to the younger breed and stick with proven performers.

__________________
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"Firearms only have two enemies - rust and politicans" author unknown

On that old BSA, it removed the scope that come with the rifle and mounted an old Lyman 48 apature rear...the 220gr. RN at 2400fps isn't a long range load, so the apature seemed more usited to that rifle (the stock height.drop was right for iron...sucked for scope use). PRetty deadly combination...are a lot of things velocity can do, but it doesn't seem to be able to replace bullet weight.

Have posted before in prasie of big-dumb-stupid bullets...ones that don't do "magic" trick, just plow ahead and slowly expand. Haven't found any sound reason to want a bullet to do anything else.