Shooting up last years hunting loads

[Billyram]

I went to the range today to shoot up the left over hunting ammo. I had 8 rounds left of the 150gr AB I had hunted with last season. I had never used the AB and wanted to try them out. They worked well and I killed 3 deer with them but I'm going back to the 165gr BT that I have a new load for. I fired 5 shots from a cold clean barrel that went into a .663" group that's about average for this load and the last 3 went into a .378" group. Still dead zero after a season of climbing in and out of deer stands and riding in atvs. The 165gr BT just seems to be made for the 30-06 and deer and I can't find anything better.
Billy

 

[DrMike]

Hard to beat Ballistic Tips for deer; however, the AccuBonds didn't do you wrong. That was still some fine accuracy.

 

[TackDriver284]

Yep, Ballistic tips and Accubonds are my favorite hunting bullets, cannot go wrong with them.

 

[Billyram]

The ABs worked well on deer but didn't seem to do as much damage as non bonded bullets. "Like shooting deer with a smaller caliber rifle." The exit hole was smaller and didn't leave as much blood. "Partitions make a bigger exit hole." I shoot my deer in the ribs and like the big hole the 165gr BT leaves. "That's why I use the 30-06." Now the AB won't mess up as much meat if your shot goes a little high or too forward. I found the ABs to be quite accurate and not picky to find a load for but not quite as accurate as BTs. I haven't found anything in the 30-06 as accurate as the 165gr BT other than match bullets. I had my rifle built for the 165gr BT using a 11" twist Broughton 5C #3-24 contour barrel throated for my hand load.
Billy

 

[Guy Miner]

I find the 165 gr bullet weight to be an excellent choice for the 30-06, with great accuracy and normally good performance on game.

The 165 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip has become a huge favorite for the reasons Billy mentioned:

Excellent accuracy - right up there with match bullets

Superb on-game performance!

I've used that 165 Ballistic Tip for many years in both the 308 Win & the 30-06, and it just does a great job on a wide spectrum of game. I think that if I was concentrating mostly on bear & elk, I'd swap over to the Nosler Partition, but the Ballistic Tip has worked well on those species for me. Trying to think of all the different types of big game on which I've used the B-Tip:

whitetail
mule deer
pronghorn
black bear
elk

I think that's it.

We really are living in a time when great hunting bullets abound!

Guy

 

[TackDriver284]

Last season on a spike I used a Nosler 168 BT, similar to a 165 BT, in a .308 at around 2750 fps muzzle, and it left a nice golf ball sized hole shy of 200 yards. Dropped like lightning. This season used a 7mm Mag AccuBond 160 grain on a 10 point, left a thumb sized hole on exit and it ran about 50 yards. AccuBond seems to hold up better than BT, but the BT in a 308 is awesome due to lower velocity where tremendous expansion is just perfect.

 

[TXbaldhunter]

I just started using a 30-06 the last three years.Using both 165gr and 168gr ballistic tips on deer,I have had seven in a row DRT kills.The ranch owner was so impressed with their performance,he wanted to start shooting my ammo in his 30-06,so I gave him 50 rounds.I've killed a lot of deer with various bullets,but the newer ballistic tips seem to just kill them quicker.Out of my 7mag,with the 150gr Ballistic Tip,I'm also getting DRT kills too just like the 165gr and 168gr out of the 30-06.The amount of blood and tissue left on the ground and beyond the exit is also impressive.I've used Interbonds,Accubonds,Grand Slams,Interlocks,Pro Hunters and Hot Cores,but these three bullets perform better than anything I've used.I need to try the 165gr and 168gr Ballistic Tips in my 308.Overall I have not been impressed with it's performance.I've had every deer but one run between 30-100yds after being shot with these bullets,165gr Interbond,150gr Interbond and 150gr Ballistic Tip.All bullets exited with a silver dollar size hole,but with no or very little blood to be found.Don't know,but the 200fps difference I get with the 30-06 does seem to make a big difference.Bullet weight to bullet weight velocities,the 30-06 is running right with the 7mag that I have been so fond of for 25 years.My 30-06 loads are about 200fps behind my 300 Win Mag in like bullet weights,so it proves itself to me it can hang with the bigger boys.The South Texas brush where I hunt and also guide,dropping a deer in their tracks is a blessing.Having to look for a deer in the thick thorny brush is not fun,believe me.So finding the perfect bullet to match the caliber of rifle your shooting is an important thing for me.