There are so many different 30-06 bullets...what would you shoot for S. TX whitetails?

I use 150 simp;y because they are the easiest to find. Overkill? Probably. 130 can be found, but not easily.

I use 165, mainly because I don't have to sight in again for muleys, hogs, etc. And it shoots the best out of my gun.

I don't necessarily think its overkill. You should be hitting nothing but the parts you don't use: Ribs, lungs, heart.

But like most guns, there is a particular load that will work. It might be brand, bullet type, bullet weight, etc.

And I think the normal 308 caliber bullets are 125, 150, 165, 180, 200?, 220.

A well-placed 165 gr Nosler will take down all North American game, so they are always loaded in my gun!

And yes, 165 gr for Texas whitetails is waaay overkill. But screw it - I won't have to re-zero for anything larger if I get the opportunity.

I use:



Remington Premier® Scirocco™ Bonded 150s.

Why?

Because they work best in my gun. I tried to use Winchester Ballistic Silvertip 150s, but they just didn't group as well.

quote:

---

165 gr for Texas whitetails is waaay overkill

---

To be honest, a 30-06 itself is probably overkill. But it keeps us from having to buy more guns for other things.

And like I said, a well placed shot out of almost anything isn't usually going to damage the meat.

I shoot 165gr Noslers (handloads) b/c they shoot tight groups (less than .5MOA) and they drop deer. I started with ballistic tips when I first started handloading, and switched to Accubonds when the 165 came out last year. I'll never shoot anything else. It's the most accurate d@mn bullet that I've ever seen and deer do not run when you are confident making head and neck shots inside 100 yards. My bro's 7mm Mag shoots sub .2MOA with them, so it's not a fluke. Truly a one-hole group bullet if you tune it to a good rifle.

[This message has been edited by tx4guns (edited 7/13/2007 11:08p).]

150 will take anything native to Texas. I have yet to hit a Texas whitetail with a 150gr .30-06 and have it run more than 30 yards.

I look at the package and it must have the following: "Remington"/"30-06"/Picture of whitetail or something similar of size or bigger.

I second/third the 165. It really just drops them. Like was said above, I never have had one run more than 20 yards after the shot.

I think I am gonna use either the Premier Accutip 165 or the Scirocco Bonded 150's.

I need something that can drop an aoudad from between 250-350 yards in West Texas too so I might go ahead and go with the 165's.

i use 150 grain

The 165 will work well on long shots. I dropped a nice WT at 250 yards thru the heart 3 seasons ago with the Nosler BTs. Held about 6-8" over his back for POA, and it went thru the lower boiler. Sighted in dead on at 100 yards.

[This message has been edited by tx4guns (edited 7/14/2007 6:08p).]

And let me just add that the main reason I shoot 165 gr is because those group fantastically in my gun.

quote:

---

But like most guns, there is a particular load that will work. It might be brand, bullet type, bullet weight, etc

---

This has been my experience as well. I'd rather hit a deer in a vital area with a smaller grain 30.06 bullet than have a larger grain bullet simply wound the animal.

180 grain, winchester supreme elite XP3

I took the 30.06 I inherited from my grandfather to the range today and was shooting 180 grains. It almost kicked my arm off. That's a powerful round.

...dude... mancard gone.

My dad is a gunsmith. We both shoot 30-06's and use Hornady Light Magnum Interbond 150 Gr.
We both started using them a couple of years ago and love them. Normally take head and neck shots on culls and does @ 100-150 yds. Took a nice 11pt last year at a little over 200.


-ME '99

[This message has been edited by -ME (edited 12/21/2008 4:22p).]

[This message has been edited by -ME (edited 12/22/2008 10:52a).]

Talked to dad (gunsmith). He has never shot the Hornady 165 and 180 Gr. (we hunt in the hill country and 150 Gr. works just fine).

See below for ballistics on the different 30-06 options from Hornady.

https://www.hornady.com/shop/?ps_session=9b4761b2a9be5dfcd8180146cbd36eca&page=shop%2Fbrowse&category_id=3fd358901ec2b806cdbb152612e888c8

[This message has been edited by -ME (edited 12/21/2008 4:23p).]

Ftworthrealtor:

What range do you go to? I need to find a place in this area to go pop some rounds off.

And out of my bolt '06, I shoot Winchester Ballistic Silvertip 150's.

Out of the Garand, I shoot whatever I can find.

Alpine Gun Range in South Fort Worth. It is a gunner's paradise - shotguns and skeet range, pistol and rifle range, gun shop, gun and ammo sales. Great spot. You can find their site if you google it.

I hunted S. Texas for 10+ years. A 150 grain is plenty big. I always used 165's because we would also get to hunt mulies in N.M. every now and then. I have also killed nilgai with a 165. I always shot handloads back then. I preferred Sierra boattails for the accuracy. Most of the other hunters on my lease used Nosler Partitions for the knock down power.

I have been shooting factory ammo now for the last ten years. It has been my experience that different brands and bullet weights will react differently in different guns. I prefer 150 grain Hornaday Customs. They group very well with my gun. They do not group worth a crap out of my brothers gun. He shoots 180 grain Federal Premiums. They seem to group better in his gun. I guess my advice, for what it is worth, would be to try several different brands and bullet weights until you find one that you are satisfied with. Do not get discouraged if the first brand you try does not group very well. You may just need to switch brands.

I use 125gr, never had an issue.

I shoot 165gr.

I shoot a 180grain....usually core lokt. But if i can ever afford a ballistic tip of some sort, id probably shoot that. I shoot that round because thats what the rifle is sigthed in for and im really too lazy to redo it.

It seems to work well for deer...pig...and the occasional turkey. One guy at the lease shot a turkey with a 300 Win Mag...the meat was still good!

[This message has been edited by jed1154 (edited 12/22/2008 9:20a).]

any grain you can find in 30.06 will work. I shoot Winchester XP3 150gr.