Do  any of you have a preferred round that you like to use?  Say the Core-Lok or the Winchester Super-X for example.

We have killed a LOT of deer from 3yd to 400yd with 150gr CorLokt...

Yeah I've had good luck with the corelok too but I was curious if there was anything "better" that I should give a try.  I'm picking up a new rifle soon so I'm also thinking about trying out some new ammo as well

There's always the TSX...

This.

I'll never get a shot greater than 150 yards where I hunt (hilly and densely wooded).

At that range, pretty much anything coming out of a 30-06 will put them down quick if I do my part.

Welkbi guess I'm I different and hate corelokt bullets.  Every caliber I've tried they have never been accurate.

I'm a Hornady fan as they are inexpensive and work.  150gr sp. for me.

Now if I was to buy factory it would be Federal or Winchester PP.  You don't need expensive rounds to kill whitetails or elk.

I always wipe the excess lead off the sides of the tip before putting them in my backpack or rifle.  Several perfect shots with 150gr CorLokt at over 300yd out of my old beater Savage 110...

Heck, CorLokt .308 grouped better out of my RFB than Prvi Match 168 or 175 gr.

Barnes Vor-Tx or Hornady Superformance.

Corlokt 165 seem to group better than 150s for me.... Out of 700bdl

it's hard to improve on basic soft points in .30-06.  

Fragile bullets like the nosler ballistic tip open hard and fast.  Maximum expansion seems to be about 6-10" deep, literally liquefying a small melon sized volume of tissue at this depth.  Deer frequently drop in their tracks, boom-flop. I'm running about 80-85% of kills dropping in their tracks, and the runners are only taking a dozen or so steps before dropping.   Exit wounds are small, since most of the bullet is still in the deer (or so it seems).  A dead on shoulder shot will be ugly.  This is with a .308" diameter 165 at about 2620 fps.  Drive it faster (as in a .30-06) and it will get really ugly and messy.  It you want a dramatic explosive kill, these fragile rapid expanders are it.  In a .30-06, I'd actually recommend a 180, since a bit slower won't be as messy.

Soft points (Fed/Win/Rem/Hornady interlocks) work really good.  Not as explosive as the fragile ones, but reliable.  You wont get as many boom-flop DRT kills, and your deer may well run 20-50 yards before piling up, but he's dead and just doesn't know it.  And your meat won't be pre-shredded.  Pick one:  150,165,180 by any of the big companies and your deer (or elk, or moose) is as good as in the freezer.  This is the advantage of the .30-06.  Its fast enough to open up very well, but not so fast that penetration is limited.  And its got enough bullet diameter and mass that it drives a couple feet deep and works well.  The .30-06 works very, very well with a basic no frills bullet.

Premium deep expanders like the Barnes TSX, Federal's Trophy Tipped Bonded or Trophy Copper, Swift's A-Frame, etc are designed to drive exceptionally deep.  Expansion is less violent than with the Ballistic Tip clones or soft points, but penetration is enhanced.  A deer is only 16" thick , so all this extra penetration is useless.  In my experience, these bullets are great on moose but are actually LESS effective on deer.  A large portion of the bullet's killing power is wasted on the 6" oak sapling and 30" of dirt on the  other side of the deer.  Deer are running 50,75,100 yards before piling up, and interior wound channels are less defined than with soft points.  I use these on moose, but regular 150-165 softpoints actually kill faster and more dramatically than the expensive premium deep penetrators.

If you are shooting a little .243, I can see the advantage in a hard, premium bonded bullet.  If the bullet starts out at 80 or 90 grains, you don't want to loose any of it.  If you are shooting a slow-poke .300 savage, a fast expanding Nosler Ballistic tip works great.  And if you are shooting a big magnum with impact speeds of 3000 FPS+, a controlled expansion, bonded bullet makes sense.  However, the real magic of the .30-06 seems to be that it's already in a sweet-spot, and 108 years of bullet manufacturing experience have gone into designing and making bullets (regular soft points) that work very, very well the '06.   Grab a box of Rem/Win/Fed 150/165/180 soft point regular non-premium ammo and your deer is as good as freezer wrapped.

Fro

My go to load in .30-06 is a 150 grain Speer Hot Core. Accurate and deadly. Penetrates deer completely and does not blow up. Could easily be a core lokt or Hornady sp. I have had a Winchester power point blow up on a rib. Not a fan of them.

So the consensus seems to be just stick to what I've been using.  Thanks guys

If it ain't broke, don't fix it

Yup lol

I dropped a 200 lb mule buck yesterday with a Winchester Power Max Bonded 150gr.  Of course I snuck up on him and shot him at 20 yds, so it wasn't going to matter much what bullet was coming his way.

He jumped way up in the air, took about 10 steps to the edge of the canyon and flopped, then slid 150ft to the bottom.

This was the first time I have hunted with these bullets and they did their job.  Will know more once I have success with longer shots.

I like the 165 grain Nosler BallisticTip, plants mule deer DRT. The most I ever counted (that I can remember) was 4 staggering steps before it dropped. I've always had a nice exit wound but I've found copper bits in steaks before also.

I use whatever shoots best outta my gun that I can readily find at any sporting goods store or walmart. For my 30-30 that's core lokt 150. In my 06 is fed blue box 180. Is love to try some gold metal match but can't afford them

For deer any 150gr sp or heavier will get the job done. I like 150s personally.

Winc hester 150 or 168 gr ballistic tips either in winchester supremes (aka warewolf killers) or handloaded have taken every rifle killed whitetail Ive had in the last 15 years. Post holes them where they stand and it most certainly doesnt blow up the insides UNLESS you take a head on shot which I wont do again....

Honestly they shoot so good out of my gun I see no point in changing. Anything 150-180 grains coming out of an -06 is bad bad ju nu for a deer

A flat-base, conventional soft point. I like 150 gr. for deer.

With a .30-06, it doesn't really matter what you use.

Federal Fusion is my go to ammo, in all calibers besides .223, for hunting deer.  I haven't found anything more accurate, or more reliably expanding, in the same price bracket. It is outstanding in all regards IMHO.

What is the difference between the fed fusions and the fed blue box? I bought a box of both and the fed blue box shot better and is cheaper. They look to be the same construction I think

It seems you have it down already "stick with what works".

My personal round is the 180 Barnes tsx.

It groups well and I can use the same round for deer or elk, never have to rezero my rifle.

I don't know, Fusions have been sub MOA in any rifle I have tried it in, so I stick with it. If something else shoots better in your particular rifle, stick with that as well!!

30-06 is overkill for deer, so if you find a cheap accurate round, go for it!!

I shoot 180 gr Sierra game kings in my 30-06. It's overkill but it shoots awesome in my gun.

For factory loads the Federal Fusion bullets are excellent. Federal has really figured out the bonded bullet. They seem to expand better at lower velocities than the Nosler  Accubond bullets, and they are reasonably priced.

I wish Federal would release them to reloaders. You can only find pulled bullets every now and then.

150 grain Hornady SST's fired out of my 30-06 reloads and my Model 700 rifle.

Federal 180 grain game king or reloads with the 180 grain Sierra Game King are what I have seen as most effective.  As a range officer I see the Rem Core-Lokt as the cheapest and also worst-grouping cartridge out there.  Anecdotal evidence, but take what you will from it.

150gr. Game Kings over 4350 gives 1/2 - 3/4" groups all day long out of my Encore.

I use the 150gn game kings too.

165gr GameKings for me. Use whatever your rifle shoots well. Mine hated 150gr SST's. 150CoreLokt's didn't group up as well either.

150gr bullets of unknown manufacturer over (iirc) 48.4gr of IMR 4895 put three rounds under a quarter at 100 yards.  From my rifle.
165gr Core-Lokt bullets over 57.0gr of IMR 4350 put three rounds under a nickle at 100 yards.
With 180gr bullets, don't remember the powder charges, the best I could get was about 1.5" groups.

All accurate enough for deer, but I settled on the 165s.  I've never tried any of the expensive bullets.