The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Looking for a bullet suggestion for my 30-06 for deer sized game.

Keith Rogan · February 26, 2001, 12:32 PM

Those 180 grainers may not be "overkill", they may be underkill. The heavier bullets are designed to expand on big animals like elk and moose and they often fail miserably on deer, particularly on rib hits where they don't encounter enough resistance to open up at all. They can act like a FMJ and just poke a .30 caliber hole through the animal which can run for miles before dying. I've seen this a bunch of times here because people always want to use heavy bullets in fear of running into bears, but they can be miserable choices on deer.

I would go with something like a Nosler Partition in 150 or 165 grain which you can pick up in the Federal "premium" line of ammo. I'm suspicious of the "Ballistic Tip" style of bullets because I'm always afraid they'll do a lot of damage on a marginal hit but leave no exit wound - no exit wound, no blood trail.
At any rate, all the 150 and 165 grain bullets are designed for deer - I would use one of those.

February 26, 2001, 12:32 PM	#3
Keith Rogan Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 1999 Location: Kodiak, Alaska Posts: 1,014	Those 180 grainers may not be "overkill", they may be underkill. The heavier bullets are designed to expand on big animals like elk and moose and they often fail miserably on deer, particularly on rib hits where they don't encounter enough resistance to open up at all. They can act like a FMJ and just poke a .30 caliber hole through the animal which can run for miles before dying. I've seen this a bunch of times here because people always want to use heavy bullets in fear of running into bears, but they can be miserable choices on deer. I would go with something like a Nosler Partition in 150 or 165 grain which you can pick up in the Federal "premium" line of ammo. I'm suspicious of the "Ballistic Tip" style of bullets because I'm always afraid they'll do a lot of damage on a marginal hit but leave no exit wound - no exit wound, no blood trail. At any rate, all the 150 and 165 grain bullets are designed for deer - I would use one of those. __________________ Keith