30-06 for deer and elk: 165 or 180 grain bullets?

[bobcat]

He was asking for deer AND elk.

[high country]

you know in places like ak and mt, they have found their animals to die regularly with 22 centerfires.....heck, the natives in the village kill a ton of stuff with rimfires.

[BOWHUNTER45]

My answer is...you'll get at least four pages of opinions.

I can't believe it went 2 pages so far. What could the difference possibly be when shooting a deer between a 165 grn bullet and a 180. Especially when you can kill the same deer regularly with a bullet half that size out of a .243. It's more about bullet quality and what your gun shoots better than 165 or 180 grains. This thread would be much more meaningfull to me if we were talking about which bullet brand to use than the weight difference for a deer.
I really liked the Barnes TSX in 165 or 168 grain, I can't remember now. My A-bolt really liked them. The .30 cal bullet of choice for me now is the 180 grain Accubond.
There, that ought to get it to 4 pages.
 

   

[one-eyed Ross]

now, now, everybody knows that the elk in this state are "down winders" and as such, have mutated to the point where you need a .338 Lapua mag or better yet .50 BMG to bring them down.  Sure, in the past guys would hunt them with .30-30 lever guns, or what not...but gotta use a super magnum rifle now and just pray that your teflon coated bullet is strong enough to go through the shoulder because we don't aim for the heart and lungs anymore....

(have I included everything?)

[Curly]

The 30 cal bullet of choice for me is the 168 gr TSX.  It will penetrate from one end of an elk to the other.

[bobcat]

you know in places like ak and mt, they have found their animals to die regularly with 22 centerfires.....heck, the natives in the village kill a ton of stuff with rimfires.

   

Sure, and fiberglass sticks with sharp metal points on them also kill a lot of animals (arrows). But he asked about what to use in a 30-06. I suppose we could try to convince him that a 30-06 is much too big for elk. But I've never been a believer in "overkill".    When choosing a bullet it's not just how well it will kill, it's also how well will it shoot? I like heavier bullets for their better ballistic coefficient. It may not make a big difference but a better BC certainly doesn't hurt. And, as I said, there isn't a downside to using a 180 grain in the 30-06. Other than possibly recoil, if that's an issue.

[jackelope]

He was asking for deer AND elk.

My opinion stands, even if he said "deer, bear, elk, moose, sheep and goats"

[bobcat]

My opinion stands, even if he said "deer, bear, elk, moose, sheep and goats"

And I do agree. 15 grains of bullet weight is not significant. I haven't had time to do it yet, but I plan to work up a load for elk with my 30-06, using a 150 grain Barnes. As you said, it's not the weight that matters, it's the quality of the bullet and how well it shoots in your particular rifle. (are we up to 4 pages yet)   

[one-eyed Ross]

on a serious note, I'm still going through boxes of ammo finding which one my 06 likes...so far Rem 180s PSP seems to be the best but I might have to limit myself to 100 yd shots for this year unless I get more practice time.

[Curly]

I agree with Bobcat.  I wouldn't use Rem Cor-lokt 165gr bullets for elk; if you're going to go with cor-lokt, you better make it 180gr.  They shed a ton of weight and if you hit a rib, you're going to need all the weight you can get for penetration..........

(that should get it up over 4 pages now)
 

[bobcat]

Yeah, core lokts do suck.

[Curly]

Another thing.......if you use core lokts, you better like eating lead fragments.

[high country]

Another thing.......if you use core lokts, you better like eating lead fragments.

good reason to take a clean lung shot.....no meat to lose

[Curly]

Yeah, just better make sure to not hit a rib on the way in..........

[addicted]

Anything less than a 200 grain polymer tipped bonded bullet wont kill an elk. With deer you have to use a NBT or it wont leave enough energy in the deer to kill it. 



A gut shot is a gut shot, 15 grains wont make a difference. Marksmanship kills better than energy and hydrostatic shock(fast) combined.   

I'm feeling kinda trollish today.