My loads for deer this year .300 WSM and .30-06

[hard h2o]

For the .300 WSM I am going with 67 grains of Reloader 19 under a 180 grain Sierra Game King.

With the .30-06 I have settled on 55.5 grains of IMR 4350 with a Nosler Accubond 180 grain.

[crbutler]

I think you have the bullet choices reversed, IMO. The accubond is a more retentive bullet design. The magnum will put more stress on the bullet on impact than the 06.

But either will kill deer, of course.

[Seismic Sam]

Have you chronoed both loads to see how consistent they are?? Or, to put it another way, how did you come to the conclusion that these loads are the best ones to go with? I don't shoot either caliber, and even if I did, with handloading there is no such thing as one BEST load, but what makes these two desirable?

[hard h2o]

Have you chronoed both loads to see how consistent they are?? Or, to put it another way, how did you come to the conclusion that these loads are the best ones to go with? I don't shoot either caliber, and even if I did, with handloading there is no such thing as one BEST load, but what makes these two desirable?

A chronograph is on my wish list.

Looking at the load tables and several references including the Lyman book and the Nosler and Sierra data I worked up a few loads. In shooting them I observed no pressure signs in the cases nor in the extraction of the cases from the chamber. In shooting at 50 and 100 yards and at 200 meters the trajectory was consistent with the load tables and was just what I expected it to be at a given velocity. Accuracy was more than acceptable from these rifles with how well I am able to shoot.

[hard h2o]

I think you have the bullet choices reversed, IMO. The accubond is a more retentive bullet design. The magnum will put more stress on the bullet on impact than the 06.

But either will kill deer, of course.

I will have to switch projectiles and see what happens on the range.

I have used the 180 Sierra before and they shoot well in the .300 WSM. I had a box of them on the bench so i figured I would stick with what works in that rifle.

I picked up a box of the 180 Nosler and thought I would give them a go. The table on the package shows expansion at various velocities. The expansion at the velocity I am expecting out of the .30-06 looks like it should be more than adequate for whitetail.

[hard h2o]

In shooting them both it is nice to see the flat trajectory of the .300 WSM. I think that will be the rifle and load I mainly rely on.

I really do not need both but since I have them I usually bring both to camp.

The .30-06 is a Weatherby Vanguard and the .300 WSM is a Savage Model 11.

[crbutler]

The nice thing about the accubond is that it generally shoots pretty well in everything. The accubond was Nosler's attempt to upgrade the partition. I'm not sold it does that, but it is a very good hunting bullet for everything short of big dangerous animals in my opinion.

A whitetail doesn't demand much of a bullet to kill it. If your load has been adequate in the past, it will in the future.

The .30 06 doesn't need a premium hunting bullet, but of course they work just fine there too.

My comment was meant that if I was loading hunting ammo, in the absence of accuracy concerns with the accubond in that rifle, I would use the premium bullet in the magnum, and use the game kings in standard velocity cartridges like the 06. There are plenty of reasons to choose one over the other other than the terminal ballistics though.

A 180 grain .308 bullet, regardless of type will hold together enough for deer from either rifle... I have met guys who use match kings and Berger bullets on deer with perfectly adequate results. Elk, well then I'd want the accubond.

[hard h2o]

The nice thing about the accubond is that it generally shoots pretty well in everything. The accubond was Nosler's attempt to upgrade the partition. I'm not sold it does that, but it is a very good hunting bullet for everything short of big dangerous animals in my opinion.

A whitetail doesn't demand much of a bullet to kill it. If your load has been adequate in the past, it will in the future.

The .30 06 doesn't need a premium hunting bullet, but of course they work just fine there too.

My comment was meant that if I was loading hunting ammo, in the absence of accuracy concerns with the accubond in that rifle, I would use the premium bullet in the magnum, and use the game kings in standard velocity cartridges like the 06. There are plenty of reasons to choose one over the other other than the terminal ballistics though.

A 180 grain .308 bullet, regardless of type will hold together enough for deer from either rifle... I have met guys who use match kings and Berger bullets on deer with perfectly adequate results. Elk, well then I'd want the accubond.

Gottcha. Thanks for the input. They shot very well in the -06. Might be more bullet than I need and maybe I will look for something more befitting the -06 and whitetails for the future. Maybe look at some sort of 150 grainer. I do love reloading. Gives you a lot of options.

[BigDog58]

I too, have a 30/06 Weatherby Vangard. While it's been years since I have been physically able to hunt, I used to hunt a lot when I lived in GA. I started hunting there with a 180 gr Accubond but found it severe over kill for deer. I made good lung shots on 2 different deer and both, ran long distances. One, a doe, I lost and never managed to recover. I saw her behind my house the following spring and she was badly limping but still had a fawn following her. That fall, I took her with a bow, and when I processed her, I found that I had hit ribs and the bullet had passed totally through her shoulder and exited the shoulder (scars).

That season I switched to 168 gr Ballistic Tips, and never lost another deer. I managed to limit out every year (5 deer) for numerous years after switching to the Ballistic Tips. I found the lighter bullet had tremendous expansion, and all but a couple of the deer I harvested with the BT never went more than 50 yds from where they were shot.

I mention this, simply to give you another idea for bullets for deer. The 168gr also shoot very well and give excellent groups in my Weatherby. YMMV.