[JASmith]

The 30-06 has a large margin for deer, which means that one does not need the heaviest bullets to be successful.

The posts so far suggest the heavier bullets because their velocities are lower, meaning less blow up and reduced meat damage.

You can get the reduced velocity and make your first couple of years worth of shooting more comfortable by going with one of the factory reduced recoil loads. Hornady offers the "Custom Lite" and Remington the "Managed Recoil." (MidwayUSA: Low Recoil | 30-06 Springfield | Rifle Ammo | Ammo)

These loads use 125 grain SST or CoreLockt bullets with a muzzle velocity of 2660 to 2700 fps. This makes them a tad more capable than the classic deer-harvesting .257 Roberts.

Then, as you become more comfortable with your rifle, you can start using heavier loads and bullets. On the other hand, you just might really like those reduced recoil loads!

 

[raptor45]

I agree with Kevinbear. White tails just don't take all that much killing and shot placement is everything, every time.

I've killed a ton or two with a .257 Roberts and a 110 grain Partition and I've never had one run far and I've never lost one either.

If you are going to use a .30-06 for white tails there is nothing wrong at all with staying in the 125-150 grain soft point arena. If you plan to hunt larger animals then you have a rifle that will do all you need and more with a heavier and more specifically designed bullet.

One nice thing about shooting smaller bullets, and if you're somewhat new to hunting with a rifle you should appreciate, is that for the most part there is a reduction in recoil. A 160 grainer in a .30-06 can kick like a brand new mule and although I'm not particularly recoil sensitive in any hunting situation, when I use that stuff at the range and particularly from a shooting bench, I do notice that it will kick the snot out of me. Lighter loads with smaller bullets don't dish out much.

 

[back country]

LilysDad - One version of the Sierra 165 gr .308 is named "165 HPBT Gameking" and is one of the toughest bullets around - Hornady used to make a very similar bullet

 

[JonP]

Ive taken a number of whitetail using Cor Lokt with 30-06, 308, 30-30 and one with a 357mag Black Hawk. Never needed the fancy $50/box stuff to do it.

Try either 150 or 165gr, use what shoots best and never mind the gunstore commandos.

 

[Kevinbear]

Your best bet would be to try a couple of different manufacturers low powered rounds, chances are one of them will be plenty accurate enough to kill deer and not make a mess of them.
Here's another one.
Hornady Custom Lite Ammo 30-06 Springfield 125 Grain SST Box of 20

 

[langenc]

Pick the Core-lokts-if little Texas deer 150s are plenty--bigger or Alaska (without Grizzly) do the 165s.

I was lucky to hunt moose in AK in 1967. 180 gr Win Silvertips (actually aluminum) in the 180 grains were very good. Natives will use 180s for moose-150s for caribou and if going for both will select 165s.

Pick one and stick with it. Then you wont have to worry what the gun is sighted in for..

 

[alaska682]

Head shot or DL Shot if its a nice buck, ive never been a big fan of the light weight bullets, i like the slow and heavy. I dont mind tracking. I dont really use 30 cals, i like the 338's and 375's, but the 30's are plently for everything in NA, they are just too common for my taste.

the fastest deer drop ive had was back in 96 just after i got my 338WM... a bit over kill on a whitetail but i wanted to see how well it worked... even if it was not legal to use a rifle in NY back then... ooops, LOL. I NEVER had a deer drop that fast and no meat damage, it was a DL shot and it was like a 175 pound target tipping over. Pulled the trigger, the boom was gone enough to hear the "whump" make the 160 yard trip back to my ears, and he just tipped over like the grim reaper touched him. If i still lived back east id love to see how fast my 375HH would drop a whitetail.

 

[Lucky Ned]

In the 80's and 90's I shot three dozen head of Whitetails, Muleys, and black bear with the 180g core Lokt hand loaded in a .30-06. Always one shot kills with a decent shot. I thought it was the best ten cent bullet going, based on performance. It always did the job. For antelope, I preferred the 150g, in the same caliber, and got the same results.

 

[gator-1]

I agree with Tman. I would add Sierra GameKing SPBT 165g. to the home load mix. I have had good luck Win 165 silver tips along with the Rem corelocks and Fed power-shok.

I shoot Ruger but a couple of friends of mine shoot the Rem 700 and it is a fine gun. Good luck and great shooting.

On a different note I saw at Wal mart today there is a recall on some Win 22 ammo. The mm-22 stuff. said 2 lots may have been double charged. If you have been lucky enough to find some you might check the recall list.

 

[REDTAIL]

Remember it's not what you use that destroys the Meat.? But it's Shot Placement. Put your shots in the one kill zone,? And you will save the meat with no problems. If you want a Spine or a Neck shot will put you Deer down Fast with no meat loss.

 

[longrangebob]

Think Barnes TSX -- then you are good to go even if a large toothed critter decides it wants you too, we are not always top of the food chain or the dominat predator LRB

 

[WillyB71]

Velocity and fragmenting bullets are what cause excess "blood shot" meat. Heavier bullet = Slower with factory loads. In any decently placed shot, heavier, slower, sturdy bullets will damage less meat while still killing effectively. A 180 gr bullet of sturdy design will be a good compromise for range, penetration, and less meat damage with your '06. You will get nearly 100% passthroughs.

My go to meat-preserving deer rifle is a .358 Winchester with 250 gr Speer Hot Cores loaded down to 2000 fps. Not a long range load, but out to 200 yds it works well for me.

 

[hoffbill]

Any good hunting bullet appropriate for deer sized game using 30 06 will kill **** out of a whitetail if the shot is properly placed. A poor shot with any bullet can be a very unpleasant experience for hunter and animal alike. As many here have said, that are a multitude of quality hunting bullets available from all the major manufacturers. Do homework on their web sites, pick one that matches the situations you are likely to be working in, zero the sights, practice until confident, (from field shooting positions, not sandbags only, and you are likely to have the outcome you desire. Good luck. A little of that always helps too.

 

[pac man]

30.06

shoot behind the shoulder and no meat gets ruined. 150 grain Rem core lokt bullets are great at ANY range between 20 and 300. anything past 300 and I dont shoot. I can hit targets to 1000 with my modifed mil dot rem 700 cdl 30.06 but wounding animals is not cool and i never shoot past 300. its not worth it. I hunt in Nevada and south dakota so long shots present all the time. just get closer and know where youre shoooting. heavy bullets dont work better in thick cover they just break more branches and deflect off target.

 

[preventec47]

Varmint loads for deer.
Over the years in an attempt to preserve the shoulders, If the shot was real close I would
go for the head or base of the skull and if a little longer I would target the ribs
well back of the shoulders and below the spine so as to not disrupt the backstrap meat.

Believe it or not, I have taken to using varmint loads and do not always get exits
on the lung shots meaning essentially a grenade went off inside the
ribs. Basically I realized that lung shots are basically like shooting sponges filled with
mostly air and not even fluid and I did not want small pass through shots requiring much
tracking as the deer could run long distances before expiring.

My varmint bullets effectively remove the lungs and about a dozen deer have not taken
more than just a few steps if any at all.

 

[dogjaw]

Another one for any of the plain jane hunting bullets. Hornady Interlock, Remington, Federal, Winchester, Speer, etc. I'm a lung shooter. Unless you use something like a 45-70 (which will drop a deer in it's tracks with a lung shot), deer will go 20 - 40 yards. That's not much to "track". I've shot 2 deer with an 06 that didn't hit a bone. The 165 gr. bullets went between the ribs. One was @ 75 yards with a Hornady Interlock bullet, one @ 130 yards with a Core-Lokt. Results were the same, 20 yards with mush for lungs.
As far as bullet weight, I like a bullet heavier than 150 because of accuracy in MY rifle. My rifle loves heavier bullets, but isn't worth spit with 150's. Pick any conventional hunting load that is accurate with your rifle. Long story short, I witnessed another rifle that shot an 8" group with 150's, and 1-3/4" with 180's. The next rifle shot them fine.

 

[redhawk500]

I don't have 30-06 hunting experience but back when I used factory .308 Winchester exclusively, I used 180 grain Remington Core-Lokt bullets. Basically if picking a less damaging bullet I would use a 165 grain Barnes X bullet or a 180 grain soft point spitzer at low velocity, if I handloaded. If not, these two factory rounds:
Barnes VOR-TX Ammunition 30-06 Springfield 168 Grain Tipped Triple-Shock X Bullet Boat Tail 2800 fps I used this basic load in a 308 Win at 2900 fps, XLC bullet, for whitetail deer and elk, full penetation and not much meat damage.
Remington Express Ammunition 30-06 Springfield 180 Grain Core-Lokt Pointed Soft Point 2700 fps I used the same bullet in 308 Winchester and killed a half dozen or so white tails and mule deer before getting into handloading. Velocity was a bit lower, 2620 fps nominal.

 

[gwtx]

+1 on the 165 SGK's. I don't hunt for meat, I shoot hogs for revenge, but I try to make quick kills. I reload now, but have shot the corelok's before, and have never read anything bad about them. I accidentally hit a "T" post with a .243 SGK, and it made a perfectly round 3/8" hole, and kept on going. The pigs seldom run over 40-50 yds no matter where they're hit with the .308 165 SGK.
Good luck with your new rifle, and please kill as many pigs as you can along with the whitetails. Gary

 

[lefteyedom]

My 30-06 hunting rifle where 20" barreled Mauser and a left handed savage 110,
both liked 165gr game kings.
1. Deer, with proper bullet placement are no difficult kill,
2. What every bullet provides you the best accuracy in the 165-180 (short of full metal jacket non expanding target bullets) is the bullet you should use.

The shot with the "least meat loss" is a shot at the base of the skull,
While every effective when successful, is horribly cruel death if slightly off smart and blows the deers jaw off. Leading to a long painful suffering death of the animal.
Make the shot that dispatches the animal cleanly.
Then you can eat right up to the hole!

 

[shootall]

I have used several bullets and have yet found any that kill deer better than 150 Core lokt or Winchester power point. They are cost effective allowing practice with the bullet you hunt with. I have yet to recover a bullet as they pass thru. They go in 30 cal and come out the size of a quarter down to the size of a dime depending on what they hit. We hunt with dogs so we seldom get a good standing shot our goal is to stop the deer . We get hits all over the front of a deer and meat damage is a problem from shot placement at times . But a shot just behind the shoulder in the middle top to bottom seems to do little damage to the eating part .