Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 30-06 too much for deer?

IMHO the answer is no, you certainly don't need a 30-06 to kill a deer or really any of our common NA game animals that weighs less than 400-500 lbs. On the other hand it certainly works fine and it doesn't cause issues, so what if it is a bit bigger than you actually need. The same could be said of many of the popular midsized rounds. A lot of people enjoy shooting it and that's reason enough . To the deer its all the same.

Point I'm making is why fool with a known, proven commodity for experimentation sake? No offense to the OP, but asking a question like "is the '06 too much for deer" is ridiculous IMO. It's interesting to me, that over the past 12 years chasing these bucks, and big whitetails, I've never had one hunter show up with a .223. Lightest cal has been a 7-08. I am well aware that .24's and .25 work well in the hands of those who know what they're doing.

You wanna spend $7000 to find out? Most poeple don't.

Excellent point JG...

It was an odd circumstance to be sure. A small doe came out near my stand-- maybe 15 yards. I plugged her. She spooked and hid behind a bush, and then came out again. I nailed her again. She started eating unfazed. The short of it is that after she got done eating, she turned and walked off with a massive arterial spurter before finally falling over.

We went 'round and 'round on this back when it happened on this forum. Somebody suggested Win Powerpoints, and I started using them, and have not seen the problem since. Still, the next year I invested in a Savage 99 in 308 WIN and have been using that for my Opening Day go-to rifle ever since.

I know folks love 30-30's and I'm trying to run it down. The point was to show there's a spectrum, at least in my tastes. 35 Whelen, even if I do take more deer with that cartridge than any other, is more than enough for whitetails. The 30-30 left something to be desired. 30-06 seems to fall in the high-end of the middle of that spectrum, at least for me. I love my '06 collection, and I really cannot complain about its performance. It has been my cartridge of choice when I figure I might have a shot beyond 150 yards, but I have also taken deer with '06 as close as 5 yards.

I get to hunt mule deer bucks every year, and know there's no magic involved with getting them killed. Shoot them in the bleedy breathy region and they die. Will a 223 be my first choice? Probably not, but if it's what I had in my hands, I wouldn't worry about it.

YOu make a great point really. I always go armed with what I feel I might need. Some days its pretty small and some days, its awful big or powerful.

If I am after an animal that I don't want to pass up whatever shot I get at whatever range, it'll be a lot bigger than normal and a lot stouter bullet. Barnes for sure.

If I"m shooting does and don't care if I get one or not, I might have my civil war musket. Or my 50 bmg or anything between depending on my mood.

The answer to this can be so variable, thats why I have more than one caliber in my safe.

Had I to choose only one centerfire round period, it might well be that I hunt everything with a 375 H/H...rabbits would do just fine with a light load cast bullet... and I feel could take on about anything in north america with such also...given the right load.

Folks that have wide open long shots might tend to worry most about drift... drop can be covered.

Folks that are in the thick stuff might want large frontal diameter, and dump as much energy in them as possible. Expanding bullet.

Me? I'd take on a 7000 dollar buck with a 223 no problem. But I just wouldn't be jump shooting em, would need em 200 ish yards or so and broadside standing still...but spending 7 grand I can assure you thats not what I"d show up with... not a 223.

Yes. With either my .22-250 or .223ai. If they work you pay. If they don't I pay.

I am the OP and the only reason I started the thread is because I keep reading that very statement made over and over on this here Campfire.

Don't put much faith in what you read here sometimes. Sometimes threads are simply a joke. And other times they can be turned into that.

It all depends on the situation. But as far as I'm concerned, I've never seen anything to big yet. Maybe bigger than needed or louder than needed but never seen an issue with using larger rounds. Unless you come from the ballistic tip light weight crowd like my BIL. Gave me 150 bts once for my 300 wtby. Wife shot a few does in the head and we never used em on body shots after those results....

I think as Enlightened Sportsman we need to be very sensitive to the anti-hunting crowd in our choice of cartridge. We wouldn't want to unnecessarily over-kill a deer.
We must consider their feelings on the matter as well.

Either that, or just treat 'em like test medium and blast away. This is my approach.

I have.

In my experience, I'd say 2 in 10 can effectively shoot a 300 Mag. That's after seeing hundreds of hunters come through camp and seeing the results (i.e. carnage) often left by the big guns.

And what if you don't get a shot? Big Al made a 195yd running shot, quartering away, on that 200" buck in those pics. You wanna take that shot with a 22-250/223ai? In 25mph wind? I'llPM you where to send the $7k if you'd like ? You've obviously never seen nor hunted in this part of the world. Not to mention the fact those big bucks weigh 300 lbs +. I'll PM you where to send the $7k if you'd like ?

My go to gun has my my 1955 Savage Model 99 in 300 Savage. It has killed a lot of Michigan Whitetails and I have never felt under gunned even with quartering away or toward me with the bullet going through about 4 feet of deer and winding up under the hide on the far side. I have shot deer with many different rifles and calibers over the years. They have all killed deer in I do my part in put the bullet in the engine room. I have seen several deer wounded with legs shot off by folks using magnums who are recoil sensitive and flinch and jerk the gun hitting the deer in a front leg or in the paunch. That is just a shame to wound the deer and have them blame the bullet instead of themselves. They should be using a gun with a recoil limit they can tolerate.

Sure, why not. If you're taking low % running azz shots in the wind anyway, you're looking for trouble no matter what is being used. But put a Baby TTSX into the pelvis or back of the head and you'll be eating mule deer.

I would believe you pg. We had a crack shot show up with a 30-378. He missed over 20 times in 4 days....complete misses. He was more scared of that thing than I was.

Then you'll get a shot or two every 5 years. A standing shot at 200+, swirling winds, with ultra light bullets is asking for trouble IMO.

No armor on any of them that I can see. I'd be just fine with shooting any one of them with a .223 and a 53 grain Barnes. I'd expect two holes and a dead deer at about fifty yards give or take.

The extra speed of the 223 AI or 22-250 make up for the lower BC when you're talking fairly close range, depending of course on what we're comparing it to.

Now I know you know your stuff pg, but I guess you guys think we just talk out our azzes about shooting small, light projectiles out here? We shoot coyotes, hogs, lots of everything all the time, in the wind, at targets, gongs. I've seen what swirling 15-25mph winds will do to bullets in person. Even the sniper guys don't hit stuff in the wind the first shot. I've seen the world's foremost trainer and his boys shoot in it, first hand. They miss the first shot, in swirling winds, a lot.