so 30-06, what grain bullet for deer and elk

[huntingbaldguy]

The gamekings i bought are the HPBT, not soft point.  I've heard good things about them.  For deer i won't need 400 yard accuracy, i'd say 200-300 at the most.  Last year i shot my deer at 80 yards straight through the chest and out the bum.  Deer did a back flip and died a couple feet from where it was shot.  Bullet didn't fragment at all and i never found it.  It was a 150 gr soft point gameking.

For elk, the area i hunt we saw elk at 600 yards last year, we just couldn't tell how many points, if any.  Spotting scope would have helped probably, but didn't have one, and even if i did i probably wouldn't have taken a 600 yard shot because i've never practiced out to those distances.  This year though, i plan to have that spotting scope and at least bdc numbers out to 600 yards with practice out to 3 or 400. 

[RadSav]

For elk, the area i hunt we saw elk at 600 yards last year, we just couldn't tell how many points, if any.  Spotting scope would have helped probably, but didn't have one, and even if i did i probably wouldn't have taken a 600 yard shot because i've never practiced out to those distances.

That's a really long shot!  You should probably feel pretty good about trying to get closer.  The average hunter has a hard time with anything past 300 yards.  For them 600 yards might as well be over 1/3rd of a mile!

I have seen the '06 take down a mature bull at just over 700 yards using some late 80's 180 grain Federal Premium ammo.  It wasn't a Partition bullet and I was thinking it was a Sierra bullet of some sort.  The hunter was an ex girlfriends father who had been a military sniper.  He was a very good shot and the bull only made it a couple steps before going down.  So it is definitely more than capable in the right hands.

[huntingbaldguy]

We tried to get closer to that group but it was through some nasty terrain and we think someone else was coming from another direction too that spooked them.  That was the first day in 20+ mph winds and torrential downpour for the first few hours until we finally said, ok well we are getting back to the truck and finding some cover to hunt because if i was an elk i wouldn't be in the open in this garbage.  Ended up seeing some cows running away from a gunshot later that day then got his elk the following morning bright and early.

I have shot an AR at 350 yards though, so i have a bit of distance shooting experience, but not with my 06.

[drysideshooter]

I have shot a lot of Barnes 168 TTSX's and have been extremely happy with them.  The most recent one that I recovered was from a 175yd shot on a large wild boar. Animal went straight down. Bullet retained 100% of its weight. 

I am a big 06 fan and own a few. The 168TTSX over 4064 shoot well out of most of them and are a good all around load in my opinion.  I have one rifle that shoots 180 SST's better but that bullet hasn't performed as well on game for me. 

[Jingles]

I shoot the 180 Sierra SPT Boat tails out my 06 and figure I have everything from WT to Elk and bears covers plus get better groupings than with the 165's PLus the 180 has a better trajectory than the 165's. Sounds like you reload so check your Sierra reload manual.
180 gr SPT BT
58.5 gr IMR 4350
Fed 215 primers

[lokidog]

Of the four 30-06's I have owned, 165/168 grain bullets were the most accurate.      

[wildcat23]

All depends on shot placement both my brothers use 06 with 180gr. and killed both elk (one at 416 yards one shot) and deer. My dad killed a deer with his 300 win. mag. did less damage then a 243.

[Bofire]

  I would be willing to bet, of course it cannot be proven, BUT a 30/06 with a 180 grain soft point has probably killed one of every animal on this earth.
Carl

[KFhunter]

This

[GEARHEAD]

165 GR HORNADY SUPERFORMANCE

[bear hunter]

I love just the cheap 180 Winchester or the Remington cor-lok ammo. I have killed Deer, Bears, and Elk with no problems out to 200 yards. They either dropped or ran 20 yards and died. That's what I like.

[Caretaker]

I have owned several 30.06's over the years, all have liked the 165 to 180 grains really well, specifically the Barnes.  I reloaded some 200 gr accubonds that consistently hit clays at 230 yds.

[lhrbull]

165 gr boattails

[Stein]

I like the 165-168 grain bullets for the '06.  That gun doesn't have the magnum velocity for good Barnes or hard bonded bullets unless you are pretty close as the 165 grain bullet usually drops below 2,600fps inside of 200 yards. 

I use the 168 TSX, Barnes told me it would reliably open at 1800 fps which gives me more than adequate range for me (400 yards is still 1900 fps).

I would load the 180 for elk, but my rifle just shoots the 168 far better.  Overall, it is a solid choice as a single bullet for everything.  You get great penetration, reliable expansion and don't have to worry about chunks of lead in your meat.  Most of the time you will pass through elk although last year I shot one at 80 yards and it was buried against the far hide after going through two ribs and the liver.

If I didn't have the money to shoot TSX, more elk have been killed with off the shelf Core-Lokt than you can imagine.

[MadMooner]

There is a metric chit ton of good bullets out there in .308 from 150-200 grains that will all do the trick on anything you care to shoot in NA.

I just picked up a 30-06, my first in quite a while. I am going to start with the 155 Scenars and if that rifle makes the trip, will likely use them for deer and elk this year.