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

[huntingbaldguy]

I live and hunt in Western WA for both blacktail and elk.  I didn't kill an elk last year but i got a deer with a 150gr out of my 06.  I was told i should load 180gr for elk, and i did, but since i got the deer with my hunting partner, he shot the only 3+ point elk we saw.  My question is, what grain bullets should i load for both, as i am not real fond of re zero'ing for both grains depending on season.  Is 150gr ok for elk?  With good shot placement will it drop without running too far?  That's all i want, and i really don't want to load a bigger bullet than i have to.  What bullet would you recommend?  I shot the deer with a 150gr Sierra GameKing Spitzer and it dropped immediately.  Should i bump it up to a 165gr if i want to stick with it for elk?  Also i like the Sierra's but any suggestions are welcome.  I know a lot of people use the Barnes TSX.  The rifle is a Tikka T3 Lite, 1:11 twist.

[RadSav]

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.  Because of that I like bullets similar to Hot-Cor, Deep Curl, Inter-Lock, Core-Lokt, SST and Partition from the '06.  That Speer Deep Curl should be about as good an elk bullet for the '06 as you are going to find, IMO.  Though I've seen a bunch of elk absolutely flattened with factory Core-Lokt and Inter-Lock bullets.

I like the 150 out of the 308, but prefer the 165 from a 30-06.  I'm sure there will be eight pages of "You're Wrong!  'X' is the best" posts before end of the day. Leaving you completely confused.

[lhrbull]

federal premium 165gr boattails

[chester]

I've seen a lot of elk killed with 180gr core lokt out of an 06' over the years.most of those gentlemen have switched to accubonds as of late.

[Curly]

165

[RadSav]

This guys reports are always fun to read.  I think he does post best performances a little light on animal weight, But he's always entertaining.  http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.30-06+Springfield.html

[huntingbaldguy]

So are any of those bullets too much for a deer?  Am i going to ruin a great deal of meat i guess is what i'm asking unless i take a neck shot?

[Curly]

You'll ruin more meat with the 150gr than the heavier ones.  Speed is what hurts you for ruining meat and the lighter bullet will be speedier.

[RadSav]

So are any of those bullets too much for a deer?  Am i going to ruin a great deal of meat i guess is what i'm asking unless i take a neck shot?

Probably damage less meat with the heavier bullet.  But shoot a deer behind the shoulder or in the front part of the shoulder and there isn't usually too much meat loss anyway.  Shooting them is the arse is where you loose all the meat   I don't consider any hunting bullet out of the '06 to be a real meat grinder.  Velocities just aren't that high.  It's really almost the perfect balanced hunting round.

[jackelope]

You should  shoot whatever bullets shoot the best out of your rifle and are designed to retain lots of their weight and not splatter. If your rifle shoots the 150's good, they will kill elk. If a guy can kill an elk with a .243 or a .270 he can kill an elk with a 150 grain .30-06 as long as it's a quality bullet and it hits the right place. With that said, I shoot .30 cal 180 grain accubonds out of my .300 and it does fine with deer. I've never killed an elk with it.

[huntingbaldguy]

This guys reports are always fun to read.  I think he does post best performances a little light on animal weight, But he's always entertaining.  http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.30-06+Springfield.html

Great info, thank you.

[trophyhunt]

Yup, just shoot them in the lungs behind the shoulder and you'll be just fine. I used to hunt with 180grn out of my-06.  When I rifle hunt deer or elk now, it's with my .300, no problems. With 190 grn burger

[Maligator]

Big fan of the 180 gr Accubonds myself! I use them for elk and whitetails. I know Blacktails are smaller than their cousins but I agree that if you shoot em in the boiler maker there should be minimal meat loss.

Key point mentioned earlier is to find what bullet your rifle shoots most accurately and buy a bunch of them 

[bobcat]

Bullet weight isn't really that important, anything from 150 to 180 grain is good in the 30/06. Certainly you should be able to find a bullet that will work well for both deer and elk. The 150 grain Sierra Gameking would not be my choice for elk, and that's not because of the weight, but just that it's not the type of bullet that's made to stay together. Go with a Barnes, then I would choose the 150 grain for sure. Or in a bonded bullet, the 150 grain weight should work fine as well. Bump up to a 165 and that would be even better. I would choose 180 grain bullets if you're going with the cheap stuff, like Remington Core Lokts or Winchester Power Points.


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[Skillet]

The 180gr Nosler Partition killed a lot of stuff out of Grandad's 30-06... I like the 165 Accubond for it myself and my gun really likes that bullet.  Even at 2800 FPS MV, you still have enough velocity at 500 yards to be within Nosler's window of "Optimum performance" for bullet expansion.

So, it matters what range you're looking at doing your hunting.  99% of shots under 300, maybe reaching out to 400 under optimal conditions?  165 Accubond gets my vote.  Beyond that range, I like RadSav's list of non-bonded bullets.