30-06 load

[historicfirearms]

I have a very accurate load in my aught six with the RCBS 180-FN and 21 grains of 2400. It chronographs at 1820 fps from my model 70. What is everyone's opinion on effectiveness for deer hunting Michigan whitetail? Most shots would be under 100 yards and a big deer would be 150 pounds in my area.

[Hardcast416taylor]

This is a decent choice of a hunting bullet in the `06. The velocity is in a good area, and assuming the accuracy and expansion is good out to 75 - 100 yds. you should be set.Robert

[Larry Gibson]

Most shots would be under 100 yards and a big deer would be 150 pounds in my area.

My opinion would be to go hunting..........

Larry Gibson

[btroj]

I wuld use that load. Bet the deer won't be happy with it.

[Char-Gar]

If you go hunting with that rifle and load and don't bring home a deer, it will be for one of two reasons;

1. You didn't find a deer to shoot at.
2. You can't shoot a rifle for beans and hit the deer in the wrong place.

Best of luck, you choice of ammo will "git er done".

[1Shirt]

Ballistics look good to me!
1Shirt!:coffee:

[NSP64]

I use the LEE 170 gr RNFP (180 with GC and lube) with the same load as you. My 1917 eddystone loves it.
One day I will live in a stste that allows rifle deer hunting and I will use it.

[Wolfer]

I shoot the same load except the Lyman boolit, I have my mold HP by Eric in one cavity with two pins, one large, one small. In my test medium the solids mushroom pretty good but I plan on deer hunting with the small HP and coyote hunting with the large.
Hopefully in Nov I can post some results

[historicfirearms]

Thanks for all the advice. I haven't deer hunted for about ten years now. I'm going to give it a try again this year with my cast load.

[RevGeo]

Oughta work just fine. Good luck!

[fcvan]

I ran your number in a ballistic calculator and it was still running 978 ft/lbs at 100 yards. I'm working up a load for a 160 grain boolit For the same velocity range. It's been fun and educational to finally start shooting cast in rifles having only cast for handguns for the past 35 years. I don't know if I'll ever take anything more challenging than tin cans with the load but it would be nice to know I can put in some meat with the old Springfield 03A3. Frank

[RugerFan]

I have a very accurate load in my aught six with the RCBS 180-FN and 21 grains of 2400. It chronographs at 1820 fps from my model 70. What is everyone's opinion on effectiveness for deer hunting Michigan whitetail? Most shots would be under 100 yards and a big deer would be 150 pounds in my area.

Under your parameters, you'll be fine. And I wouldn't worry about expansion. That flat nose will cause sufficient wound cavitation. I've seen it time and time again with hard cast boolits (round nose and flat nose) in .30 & .35 cal.

[historicfirearms]

I did a little expansion test the other day to see how my alloy would do. I have an old plastic 55 gallon drum with the top cut off that I have used to test my handgun boolits before. What I do is set the drum next to my deck, where I can stand on the deck and shoot straight down into the drum full of water. I know, it won't tell me anything about penetration but it has shown interesting things about boolit expansion before.

Anyway, I set up the drum like I have done before with my handguns and tested the 30-06 load that I want to hunt with. I fired 3 shots into the water. When I emptied the drum I was expecting to find lead in the bottom, but all I found was three boolit holes in the bottom of the drum. I guess it takes more than 4 feet of water to stop this load. I sifted through the dirt under the drum for a while but gave up on trying to find anything after about 15 minutes.

Mostly the test was a bust, but I did learn a few things. 1: My alloy must be too hard because the boolit holes were still about 30 caliber. 2: An old wool blanket draped over the top of the drum stops water splash from getting all over my nice rifle. 3: I need to choose a day to experiment when my wife is not sleeping because she worked all night at the hospital.

[runfiverun]

#3 being the most important if you wanna keep on doing those type of experiments.
and i wouldn't recommend you use one of her blankets for number 2 either.

[jhalcott]

I like to test for expansion by shooting into bales of wet news paper at the range I expect to shoot deer. Phone books or wet paper bundles give you an idea how big the wound channel is. Even if the slugs exit, they still leave a visible indication of what they did. A carefull examination will tell you if and how far in the bullets started to break up. Large bones can be inserted in the bundles to see the reaction IF they are hit!
I was thinking that you COULD continue to do as you have been, the wife works at the hospital and could visit you while you're recuperating from the beating!

[lead chucker]

I shot a black bear this last spring with my 308 win. I was at around 1600 fps with a Lyman 311299 with a shallow hp 200 gr. At 110 yards. It worked. The boolit went right through her.

[LAH]

I took 2 bucks a few years ago with the same bullet & 20 grains of 2400. First buck was 15 yards, the second 85 years, both on shot kills.

[leadtater]

That was quite a shot to hit a deer 85 years away!;-)

[Kskybroom]

:kidding: A 06 should go 100 to110 years easy.....

[legend]

nice catch leadtater !

[LAH]

That was quite a shot to hit a deer 85 years away!;-)

Long shot for sure, not every cartridge is capable.

[Iowa Fox]

The 180 FN should be a fine killer for whitetails with your load. One thing I have found is that it doesn't take much to kill a whitetail with good bullet placement. We are so overun with them that a lot of the farmers are getting some pretty high number cull tags every year.

[fcvan]

Since its 2012, I don't think the 30-06 will go past 106 years, at least until next year then it will go 107. Frank

[9.3X62AL]

Bruce B Softpoints, I'd say.