Best .30-06 Factory Load for Deer?

[Double Drops]

What is everyone's favorite factory (non-handload) load for whitetails in a 30-06? I know to pick which one shoots the best; I'm just curious to see what has performed the best on whitetails for you in .30-06.

[bacardisteve]

Haven't used a 30-06 on deer in about 10 years but back then I was shooting a savage 110 with open sights and loaded with 180gr corelokt. Never had a deer go more than a few steps with that combo.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

150 gr. Remington Core-lokt. Any style of bullet point will do.

S/S

[Rifleman1776]

150 gr. Nosler ballistic tip loaded down to aprox. .308 velocities. Have killed deer as close as 10 yards with perfect expansion and no meat destruction. Dropped where he stood. Longer shots same results. It and the Nosler partition are the perfect bullets, IMHO.

[Kreyzhorse]

150 gr. Remington Core-lokt. Any style of bullet point will do.

+1.

Core Lokt isn't boutique ammo but it flat out works. I've used it with success for a lot of years. The price is also cheaper than some of the higher end ammo. If your gun shoots it well, it is a great ammo to start with.

[arch308]

+2 on the Rem Core-Lokt. Very reliable and inexpensive. If I didn't reload I would use the 150g. Can't go wrong with them if your gun likes them.

[jmr40]

About anything you put into the chamber of a 30-06 will work just fine. You don't need anything heavier than 150 gr or more expensive than the cheapest stuff that shoots well in your gun.

But there is nothing wrong with shooting heavier bullets or premium bullets if you wish.

[dahermit]

I'm just curious to see what has performed the best on whitetails for you in .30-06.

I have yet to seen any 150 grain soft-point that would not give 100% penetration on a Whitetail deer. If they are soft-points, they all will expand. Therefore, it is not logically an issue of "performance" on Whitetails, it needs just be an issue of accuracy. In short, if one lined up 100 deer for each factory round offered, and shot them to see which "performed best", there would be hundreds of dead dear lying there and still no one would know...but it is fun to speculate about isn't it?
I am hoping that someone will post about if you choose the "wrong" 30-06 round the bullet can, being to lightly constructed, "blow-up" and perform badly, so that I can post about all the deer I took with my 6MM Rem. and a Hornady 87 grain Varmint bullet.

[Cowboy_mo]

Buy a box of 150 grain Remington Corelokts, a box of 150 grain Federal (regular blue box soft points) and a box of 150 grain Winchester regular soft points.

Go to the range and see which one your rifle prefers for accuracy. That is the one you should buy from then on. Oh, you might also try a box of Federal Fusion 150 grain. IF your rifle likes them, I guarantee your shoulder will love them

I have killed deer using each of these (depending on what the current rifle favored) and you can generally find reasonably priced at Walmart, your local farm store, or BassPro or Cabela's. Most are usually available in my area for less than $20 a box.

Save your brass and you can sell it to a handloader to help pay for the replacement box.

[std7mag]

I used the Federal Premium 165gr. Nosler Balistic Tip.
My old Savage 110 loved that round, got the best groups with it.
I used to shoot golf balls out to 300 meters. (more interesting that punching holes in paper).

Never had a deer take more than a couple of steps when hit by one.

[BoogieMan]

Federal premium 165 Sierra BT Game King. Works so well I dont even know how to track a deer. I have never used more than 1 shot.
I fire them from a Remington 7600, seeing as I dont need the fast subsequent shots I am thinking of going to a bolt gun.

[alaskabushman]

Remington Core-Lokt! Federal Fusion is a good buy as well but not as established as the Core-Lokt.

[Doyle]

Use whatever shoots best in your rifle. Deer are thin skinned and long range is not generally a factor so go for accuracy.

[Jack O'Conner]

I typically hunt with a 30-30 carbine within the hardwood forests of Pennsylvania and western Maryland. My son-in-law hunts same country with his 30-06 pump action rifle loaded with Remington Managed Recoil ammo. Both rifles kill deer quite well, indeed.

Jack

[upstate81]

Winchester Super X also works very well. I use the 180 grainers on the whitetails on my farm.

[steveNChunter]

150 gr Federal Fusion is what I fed my Savage 110 .30-06 until I sold it. It was the most accurate of the several brands I had tried and I love the way those Fusion bullets perform in all the cartridges I've used them in. I reload now but I'm thinking about trying some Speer Deepcurls since they are pretty much just a flat-base version of the Fusion bullet. Sadly, you cant buy the Fusion bullets as a component

[jackpine]

I don't get picky, whatever they have 5 boxes of and a soft point bullet

[458winshooter]

Winchester Super-X 150's will be what I take with me this fall with my 742 Remington.

[natman]

Buy a box of 150 grain Remington Corelokts, a box of 150 grain Federal (regular blue box soft points) and a box of 150 grain Winchester regular soft points.

Go to the range and see which one your rifle prefers for accuracy. That is the one you should buy from then on. Oh, you might also try a box of Federal Fusion 150 grain.

+1. All the factories design their 150 grain 30-06 loads for deer and they're pretty good at it. My 30-06 loves Winchester PowerPoints, my 308 prefers Remington CoreLokt. Both work great on deer.

[BIGR]

Federal Fusions in 180 Grain.

[BuckRub]

When (about 20 yrs ago) before I started reloading the 30-06 it was Remington 150 grain Core Loks were my choice. Rifle liked them and they flat out worked. Now I shoot 165 grain Hornady SSTs (Handloads).

[northeast_hunter]

Federal premium 165 Sierra BT Game King is a great round, but really the 30-06 is such a popular caliber that you can't really go wrong with most factory rounds. The 165's work well in the 7600 and model 70.

[mxsailor803]

Pretty much whatever you can find will work. Anything in the 150gr range will work just fine.

[reynolds357]

Its really hard to find a 06 load that wont perform well on deer. My pick of factory loads? Winchester Supreme 168 ballistic silvertip.

[sc928porsche]

150 grain expanding will do. Your choice. Unless things have changed recently, deer are not armored. I don't shoot factory ammo because I reload, but I really don't see why you need to spend a lot of $$ on special ammo when some Remington core-lok't will do. I wonder how many deer have been harvested with the core-lok't and the old silvertips over the years? Sometimes, it it ain't broke, don't fix it.