Question Concerning Bullet Shapes

[Stopher]

Hi there- I have been shooting my father's Sporterized Springfield M1903 (.30-06) for a couple of years at the range but am planning on bringing it hunting for whitetail deer in Maine this year. The bullets that I have been using are 180 grain round nose but I think you can get .30-06's in a spitzer as well?

Being a bird hunter most of my adult life, bullets and their basllistics are new to me but as I understand it the spitzer will provide better aerodynamics for a flatter trajectory and increased velocity over a distance with a resulting stronger impact?

I am wondering if any of you have thoughts on the type of bullet to use. Perhaps the woods of Maine won't even give me a shot long enough to realize any of the differences between the two- I expect 100yds or less? What's the downside of the spitzer?- not as much mushrooming, and therefore damage to an animal, because of the shape? I've got the rifle shooting the round noses shooting in 3" groups at 100yds (at a bench, mind you) so if all things are equal I'd rather avoid having to re-sight it in for new ammo if it isn't worth it.

Just looking for some generic help- make sure your answers are written in "newbie" language so it doesn't go over my head!

 

[Hanwei]

I don't have an answer for you... but just wanted to say "Welcome!"

 

[JohnFH]

Take a look at http://www.speer-bullets.com
tons of info, I use Speer for most of my long range target stuff.
They have a 180 gr option for 30-06, but most likely will change your point of impact some.

 

[strangenh]

Given that 180gr .30-06 is more than enough powerful for whitetail deer, I am not sure I would worry much about it. Shoot what shoots good groups out of your rifle, and zero for it.

Hi there- I have been shooting my father's Sporterized Springfield M1903 (.30-06) for a couple of years at the range but am planning on bringing it hunting for whitetail deer in Maine this year. The bullets that I have been using are 180 grain round nose but I think you can get .30-06's in a spitzer as well?

Being a bird hunter most of my adult life, bullets and their basllistics are new to me but as I understand it the spitzer will provide better aerodynamics for a flatter trajectory and increased velocity over a distance with a resulting stronger impact?

I am wondering if any of you have thoughts on the type of bullet to use. Perhaps the woods of Maine won't even give me a shot long enough to realize any of the differences between the two- I expect 100yds or less? What's the downside of the spitzer?- not as much mushrooming, and therefore damage to an animal, because of the shape? I've got the rifle shooting the round noses shooting in 3" groups at 100yds (at a bench, mind you) so if all things are equal I'd rather avoid having to re-sight it in for new ammo if it isn't worth it.

Just looking for some generic help- make sure your answers are written in "newbie" language so it doesn't go over my head!

 

[Stopher]

Thanks everyone!

 

[gerrycaruso]

I'd leave everything alone. I don't think you'll notice any difference at 100 yards. The deer certainly won't.

 

[coastie]

The Round nose are fine. I wouldnt change if they are working good now.

 

[jobowker]

A 30-30 is fine for deer and if fact, more deer have probably been taken with this cartridge than any other. If you want more punch, then you can upgrade to a 308, probably my favorite, all around, if I could have only one rifle caliber. The 30-06 gives you even more bang.
While it's not overkill, you still have so much wiggle room that bullet choice doesn't matter as much as you'd think. If you really want to tweak, you have to decide what you are specializing for. A bullet with a better ballistic coefficient (basically a published number which lets you determine the relative performance through the air) will tell you which one will fare better over distance. While this might be very important when accuracy is the utmost concern for very long distances, it isn't necessarily the most important characteristic when hunting, where I care more about the bullet's performance once it hits the target.
Since these two goals don't always align, you may improve one at the expense of the other. It's kinda like snow tires on your car. I have dedicated snow tires for the winter, with an open shoulder and softer rubber than summer tires. They are better for winter than all season tires, but they wear too fast and have less traction for dry pavement than summer tires do. All season are the best all around tire, where you want something that is good for everything. Specializing will always outperform for the specific characteristic you are going for, but it's often at the expense of other characteristics and more of a pain, switching ammo or switching tires every season.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

Be aware of the game laws. Soft point is usually required. No FMJ. Jack.

 

[donthedrillman]

A 30-30 is fine for deer and if fact, more deer have probably been taken with this cartridge than any other. If you want more punch, then you can upgrade to a 308, probably my favorite, all around, if I could have only one rifle caliber. The 30-06 gives you even more bang.
While it's not overkill, you still have so much wiggle room that bullet choice doesn't matter as much as you'd think. If you really want to tweak, you have to decide what you are specializing for. A bullet with a better ballistic coefficient (basically a published number which lets you determine the relative performance through the air) will tell you which one will fare better over distance. While this might be very important when accuracy is the utmost concern for very long distances, it isn't necessarily the most important characteristic when hunting, where I care more about the bullet's performance once it hits the target.
Since these two goals don't always align, you may improve one at the expense of the other. It's kinda like snow tires on your car. I have dedicated snow tires for the winter, with an open shoulder and softer rubber than summer tires. They are better for winter than all season tires, but they wear too fast and have less traction for dry pavement than summer tires do. All season are the best all around tire, where you want something that is good for everything. Specializing will always outperform for the specific characteristic you are going for, but it's often at the expense of other characteristics and more of a pain, switching ammo or switching tires every season.

Fantastic answer jobowker