Bullet weights for deer- what gives?

[2506]

+1. All modern ammunition bullet performance is OK. Pick the ammo that
your gun shoots well. Example: I've got a Ruger M77 30-06. It shoots
most 180's into 2"-3" at 100 yds. Sprays every 150 i've tried in it all over the
paper. Shoots 165's into 1.5" all day long. In THAT gun, I shoot 165's!

I'd say this indicates your rifle is particular about COL, assuming you're shooting factory rounds, and not bullet weight.

 

[Phillyfan]

I shoot a .270 winchester, enough gun for anything in the lower 48 (I'm from Alaska). For deer I shoot 140 nozlers. Drops them instantly, if I do my part, as it will with elk, assuming bullet placement. My friends shoot 300 win mags. The difference is that I get to keep a lot more meat than they do.

 

[Phillyfan]

Sorry, didn't see the 30-06 part. I think 150g would be perfect for deer in this caliber. When I was a kid, almost everyone I knew carried a 30-06 in Alaska. So versitile, enough gun for anything you were after.

 

[JPR]

I've used all three in my 06 and settled on the 180 mainly because it will take care of pertty much any thing around here and I don't have to check my zero because of a different weight bullet. none fo the deer I have hit with them have gone two feet(except for sliding down steep ground).

 

[johnboy]

For deer I would use 150 and heavier just in case you need to shoot long. 180 best choice for long range as it will retain more ft lbs out there. Shot placement as always.....is key....

 

[DeanMk]

In the .30-06 for deer, I would always choose a bullet in the 150g range (given that one can be found that is accurate in the rifle).

Heavier bullets (such as 180-220g) may not expand as quickly, and deliver the fast kill realized from a lighter, faster expanding bullet. Save them for the elk and the moose.

If I knew I was on a trip for heavy muley bucks, I might consider a 165, or rather opt for a 150g premium controlled expansion bullet like a Nosler Partition. This would give me the improved trajectory over the heavier bullets, and yet punch through heavy bone if needed.

It is not that a 180 or 220 won't do a good job of killing a deer. It's just that they aren't at all necessary, and a fast expanding 150 (such as the incredibly accurate Nosler Ballistic Tip) has always for me delivered that "lightning fast" kill, on the spot: expanding violently in the chest, and delivering nearly all of its energy within the animal.

I take issue with the stipulation that trajectories are similar: a 150g, tossed out at 3000 fps (max velocity in Nosler book) will arrive at 400 yards, 9.8" below point of aim (sighted with 200yard zero). A 180g at max 2800fps will arrive there 12.4" low. (2.6" difference--significant within the same caliber).

I grant that this is a worst-case scenario, and I am not in the habit of frequently launching bullets at deer at 400 yards, but for somebody who thinks this is a good idea, an error in hold could result in a miss, or worse: a wounded animal. The 150 would give you almost 3 inches of insurance.

Finally, anybody spending any time at all with a .30-06 will soon know without a doubt that the bigger bullets kick noticeably more. It is a fact that we ALL shoot lighter recoiling guns better. One more reason to go with the 150.

...and there's your answer, right there.
Nice write-up, Spitpatch.


Dean