The 30-06 150 Grain Softpoints and Deer

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Coolhand_Luke

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Question for you guys that have used this obviously classic combo. Can the 30-06 with regular cup and core 150 gr soft points defeat big buck shoulder bones on a shoulder shot? Let's say 175-250 lb deer and at normal hunting ranges say out to 300 yards.

The reason I ask is I have usually used my 30-06 with 180 grain bullets of various types, but on doing some reading on Nathan Foster's Terminal Ballistics site, I think I could actually get better performance switching to 150's for deer instead of trying to use 180's for everything. I have two 30-06 anyways so I can set them up for different loads. But my last deer I shot with a 30-06 was hard quartering toward me at around 60 yards I was using a Barnes TSX 180 gr handload over kill I know but that's why ask about the 150 gr bullets. I have both Sierra pro hunters and Win power points in 150 gr that I can try.
 
I think the power points will do a great job. Especially if placed thru the lungs. Deer are thin skinned thin animals. Tough but not bullet proof. I use a 25/06 with 117 gr interlocks and never have had a problem. A 150 gr 30 cal bullet will work on a deers shoulder but you will experience some blood shot meat
 
Maybe don't shoot them through the shoulders? That's just a good way to waste good meat. There's no such thing as "overkill". Keep shooting the 180gr load you have now. It works now and will continue to work. Keep it simple.
 
I'm going to try some 125gr accubonds in the '06 this year for whitetails....3250-3300fps range, should be interesting....
 
I find the 150's make a bunch of goo, a cone of bloodshot scrap.
So they work great.
But I wouldn't want to tag a dear in the shoulder with one...There's good eating right there.
 
wasrupzuk said:
But I wouldn't want to tag a dear in the shoulder with one...There's good eating right there.
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I agree, the shoulders boned out and tied into a rolled roast are the best eating part of a deer.

Shoot a deer through the lungs,behind the front legs, and it isn't going to go more than a few dozen yards. My advice for the OP is to leave the American-style "shoulder-busting" meat-wasting shots alone and use whatever weight of bullet his rifle shoots best.
 
'Boo said:
... and use whatever weight of bullet his rifle shoots best.
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Test a couple at the range, different weight and brands and use the one you shoot best with. Shot placement is key. On the weekend I got a bear with my 30-06, 180 grains, whereas a guy with a 300 WSM missed. He later told me he can't shoot the rifle much since it is so hard on his shoulder (!). Therefore bad shot placement, or total miss.
 
Well I don't take shoulder shots as a rule but sometimes that's the only shot available or no shot at all. That shot through the shoulder was nearly 10 years ago now that I think about it, I've taken my last few deer since then with a 30-30, which I really like. But I would like to set up my spare 30-06 as longer range flatter shooting deer gun. I got several hundred 150 gr bullets, still I would hate to lose an animal if presented with a similar shot and the bullet wasn't up to the job of getting through the shoulder.
 
Coolhand_Luke said:
Question for you guys that have used this obviously classic combo. Can the 30-06 with regular cup and core 150 gr soft points defeat big buck shoulder bones on a shoulder shot? Let's say 175-250 lb deer and at normal hunting ranges say out to 300 yards.
Click to expand...

If you shoulder shoot the buck you cripple it. Either this same round or the next should kill it.
 
Coolhand_Luke said:
Question for you guys that have used this obviously classic combo. Can the 30-06 with regular cup and core 150 gr soft points defeat big buck shoulder bones on a shoulder shot? Let's say 175-250 lb deer and at normal hunting ranges say out to 300 yards.

The reason I ask is I have usually used my 30-06 with 180 grain bullets of various types, but on doing some reading on Nathan Foster's Terminal Ballistics site, I think I could actually get better performance switching to 150's for deer instead of trying to use 180's for everything. I have two 30-06 anyways so I can set them up for different loads. But my last deer I shot with a 30-06 was hard quartering toward me at around 60 yards I was using a Barnes TSX 180 gr handload over kill I know but that's why ask about the 150 gr bullets. I have both Sierra pro hunters and Win power points in 150 gr that I can try.
Click to expand...

A .308/150 C&C at 3000 fps is a destructive load that should produce lightning fast kills. That said, keep in mind that Nathan Foster, who I value as a source of reliable information, is more interested in long range bullet performance than he is in shooting over typical big game ranges. IMHO, if you tried a 130 or 150 gr TSX, you would observe faster kills than you did with 180s, since the bullet expansion would be faster and more violent, but would result in less bloodshot meat, than is typical from a cup and lead core bullet that comes apart from a 30 yard impact, particularly on a shoulder shot. Then again, I don't like varmint bullet performance on big game.
 
legi0n said:
If you shoulder shoot the buck you cripple it. Either this same round or the next should kill it.
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Typically shoulder shots are faster killers than lung shots. Bone from the shoulder shreds the heart and large blood vessels, and takes out both lungs, so the oxygen supply to brain is stopped immediately. Not much chance of a wound from a shoulder shot, unless the bullet blows up on the shoulder, and stops, resulting in a shallow wound.
 
I shot some 150gr power points last summer out of my Tikka T3 30_06 with MOA accuracy at 100yrds. Decided to try them on deer and they worked great, until then I always used 180s but the 150s are a keeper now.
 
Boomer said:
A .308/150 C&C at 3000 fps is a destructive load that should produce lightning fast kills. That said, keep in mind that Nathan Foster, who I value as a source of reliable information, is more interested in long range bullet performance than he is in shooting over typical big game ranges. IMHO, if you tried a 130 or 150 gr TSX, you would observe faster kills than you did with 180s, since the bullet expansion would be faster and more violent, but would result in less bloodshot meat, than is typical from a cup and lead core bullet that comes apart from a 30 yard impact, particularly on a shoulder shot. Then again, I don't like varmint bullet performance on big game.
Click to expand...

Ya I agree with you on lighter weight TSX. When I bought the TSX 180s and did the load development I didn't understand the difference very well between monolithic copper bullets and regular lead bullets I just loaded up the TSX same as my old 180 gr cup and core load and it shot accurately so I called it good. Later I had an opportunity to chronograph that 180TSX load I used on the mule deer and it was only going a leisurely 2550 at the muzzle! I know now better why that load proved to be less emphatic than I hoped for and actually I got a box of 130 gr TSX bullets as well but I kind of 'wasted' them fooling around and never developed a good load. I would like to revisit the Barnes bullets but since I have several hundred cup and core 150 gr bullets I think I will try and shoot them up in the meantime.
 
Try 165gr. I have used 165 gr. bullets in my 30-06 since the 70's with great success. Nosler partions in 165gr. have accounted for a lot of moose and deer. Try 57.gr. IMR 4350 in your 30-06 with a 165gr. partion or accubond on top of it and I think you will be very happy. That recipe is straight out of the Nosler reloading manual.
 
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