30 ca. 180 gr. RN for Deer ?

[Marlin444]

Any exp. with 180 rn's on deer with 30-06 or 308 ? I only have used 150 gr. sp in my 30-06 for deer, shots range from 25 yrds out to 125 .

[charles p]

Don't need a 30 cal bullet larger than 150 grains for a whitetail.  Don't need a round nose either.  My opinion over 40+ years.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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[PowPow]

Got some 180 RNs here in trade for something I didn't need.
180's are more accurate in my 30-06 than 150's.
The 180 RN's don't shoot as tight a groups as the 180 spitzers.
But they do seem to be luckier; this year I didn't see any deer when spitzers were in my gun, but shot 3 when I had the RNs.
You were asking about how lucky they were, right?

[BBF]

A 150 gr or 165 gr is fine for Deer. That doesn't mean a 180 gr won't work either. RN is fine IMO they open up just a wee bit earlier than the SP. I don't think Remington sells their 180 gr. RN's as components, a shame.

[RevJim]

 I and two friends hunted in Valdosta, GA, back in '84. My one buddy used a Remington 742 that would only shoot the Remington 180RN factory load well, but it was well indeed! He shot a spike around 80yds, a big bodied deer weighing around 160#. Shot tight behind the shoulder, it made a big mess inside, and about a 50 cent piece exit hole, no bloodshot meat, impressive.
On another lease, in Texas, another friend used a 742 and the Remington factory 220RN, he hunted in the woods, all close shots, same results, dead deer, no bloodshot meat. I used my dad's 742 30.06 with 150 PSP corlokt factory, dead deer, lots of bloodshot, ha. That particular rifle was a jammomatic, but I never shot anything twice with it either. It did better on meat with the Sierra 165BT in the then new Federal loading. Deer don't need a lot of killing, but no use tearing them up either. Of course, I used fast bullets in lots of calibers, but I made heart/lung shots and didn't ruin a lot of edible meat, although if I got too close to the shoulder, it was ruined. At the ranges you  hunt, a good 180RN around 2500-2700 is super. go for it!

[mcwoodduck]

I like the round nose 180 grainers out of my 308.
seems to put the deer down right there with a boiler room shot.
I wish I could still use them here in Condor country where we have to use lead free. 
I have used everything that was on the shelf in the gun store. From High tech to these older style bullets.
The older style seem to be the best bang for the buck. 

[superd]

Used Rem 180rncl in my 30-06 for years with great results. I have also used 180 hornady rn in the 308 and 30-06 bullets seem similar. Accuracy in the factory Remington was better than I could get with the Hornadys.

[BBF]

If you ever want some easy on your shoulder but capable deer loads,you can download a 308 or 30-06 to 30-30 Win velocity and use either 150 gr or 170 gr bullets made for the 30-30 using H-4895.

[zero]

I shot a deer with a sierra 180 rn last fall with my 303 brit, around the same level as mid 308 velocities. Got a good lung shot, but It didn't open up at all. Made a nice clean hole through and through, knocked it sideways a few inches and it dropped pretty quick, but i find out later they construct their 180s more for black bear and elk and recommend the 150s for deer. But it'll still get the job done

[Mikey]

Marlin:  the 180 gn rn Remington jacketed slug for the 30 bore is perfect Whitetail medicine in upstate ny, imo.  The 150, from either a 06 or a 308 simply destroys a awful lot of meat where as the 180 sings on through and will drop them just as quickly.  I simply will not hunt with a 150 gn slug in any 30 bore if I'm puting the meat in the freezer. 

[BBF]

Hold that 150 gr down to 300 Savage velocities, using a Corlokt or a Speer Mag Point and it will not mess up your deer either.
 
BTW. The 180 gr Sierra bullet is a tough bullet even for top 30-06 velocities.

[Lloyd Smale]

I agree totaly. Ive killed a truck load of deer with the 06 using 150 power points, ballitic tips and seirras and ate every one of them. Ive also spent enough time chasing deer hit with 180s that didnt open up properly to find i keep them on the shelf unless loading for a magnum rifle. A 165 cup and core bullet might be better yet but ive shot some with them too and they never did anything a 150 didnt do just as well.

Don't need a 30 cal bullet larger than 150 grains for a whitetail.  Don't need a round nose either.  My opinion over 40+ years.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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[rickt300]

If you have them use em the 180 gr. Speer RN's are great bullets. There is no politically correct bullet weight for deer. That said I use both 150 and 180 grain bullets out of my 30-06 for deer.

[thumbcocker]

180 round nose core lokts are all I use in my 308. Kills 'em dead too.

[SHOOTALL]

Any exp. with 180 rn's on deer with 30-06 or 308 ? I only have used 150 gr. sp in my 30-06 for deer, shots range from 25 yrds out to 125 .

as a matter of fact the first deer I shot with a rifle was with a 3006 using 180 gr Corelok's. It was about and inch or two behind the shoulder. Blew the deer up really . Was the last time I used such a heavy bullet .
 

[oneoldsap]

                             The 180 gr. Rem. Kore-Lokts have been the deadliest mushroom in the Northeast woods for a long time . They ruin much less meat than lighter , faster bullets !

[Freezer]

180's are fine but more than you need. If you hand load the most accurate round I've found for my gun is 165 gr Sierra Game King. That said if your not a hand loader 150's have less recoil and serve you very well.

[SHOOTALL]

                             The 180 gr. Rem. Kore-Lokts have been the deadliest mushroom in the Northeast woods for a long time . They ruin much less meat than lighter , faster bullets !

your deer must be bigger as here in Va. eastern half we have med to small deer and 180 just blow big holes in them. We don't need big heavy bullets . A shoulder hit is useless meat on both sides .

[RevJim]

 Years ago, Speer used to make a 165 round nose, I always thought that would be a good one in an '06 or '08. One could order them from Hawk Precision or maybe some other company.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

I never shot many deer with rn bullets..did load a bunch of 220's and 170's for my old o6 about the time I retired..But never used any of them they are still sitting on the shelf..When I was in college in the 60's, one of my hunting buddies and his family shot 180 Horn. rn..exclusively for whitetails..they loved venison, so it must have worked very well..My old college room mate used 150 grain Horn. rn. in his 06 for whitetails and killed a huge buck with them..I would say they would work fine, and perhaps open nicely especially in 150's or 165's..I did shoot a number of deer and antelope with my old .300 and factory 220 grain Silvertips..they seemed to hammer deer and woods ranges, and the same with antelope..

[Siskiyou]

Hunted with Dad and his buddy who lived down the street when I was a kid.  He hunted with a Savage 99 in .303 Savage before the start of WWII.  His favorite load was the 190-grain WW Silvertip.  (The .303 Savage bullet is .308 diameter.)  I know that he filled one or two deer tags a year with it until he bought a Winchester 88 in .308 Winchester.  His only and favorite load was the 180-grain WW Silvertip.
I was dogging heavy brush for him and he took a nice 4x4 blacktail with that 88.  Besides deer he shot a number of black bear on his homestead in the Peace River Country of Alberta.
While I thought the 150-grain was the way to go with the .308 it is hard to beat yearly success with the 180-grain.
HB was a fine teacher, hunting and fishing partner for me from about the age of five.
 
If I had 180-grain bullets I would use them.  I just remembered that my FIL hunted mostly with 180-grain Silvertips in his 30-06.  I inherited the rifle and ammuntion after the FIL passed away.
 
If those 180-grain RN have a lot of exposed lead they should open up nicely and have enough mass behind the mushroom to give good pentration if not full pentration.  Another one of my Dad's hunting partner's, Ernest, made a Texas Heart Shot on a buck.  He was using a 30-40 Krag and 180-grain Silvertips.  There was a 2-inch exit hole out the chest.
When Dad gave me his Remington 722 in .300 Savage there was some 180-grain RN CL and Silvertips.  I think I shot them up for the brass.  The rifle easly handles a maximum published charge and a number of 165-grain bullets. The old times he it right running with heavy bullets.  I have seen far more meat damage with fast moving, light wieght bullets.

[Cheesehead]

                             The 180 gr. Rem. Kore-Lokts have been the deadliest mushroom in the Northeast woods for a long time . They ruin much less meat than lighter , faster bullets !

your deer must be bigger as here in Va. eastern half we have med to small deer and 180 just blow big holes in them. We don't need big heavy bullets . A shoulder hit is useless meat on both sides .

A shoulder hit with most any 30 caliber round is damaged meat on both sides, unless it is a FMJ.

Cheese

[SHOOTALL]

true to a point but with the one I shot with the rn 180 there was a baseball size hole thru. the deer . Same for a 307 with flat points. The 30-30 with 150 gr and the 308 and 3006 with 130 or 125 gr bullets do a lot less damage.

[BBF]

Years ago, Speer used to make a 165 round nose, I always thought that would be a good one in an '06 or '08. One could order them from Hawk Precision or maybe some other company.

I presume they didn't sell many so it was dropped.
 
I recall someone making a 170 gr bullet for the 270 which is no longer available either.

[BBF]

true to a point but with the one I shot with the rn 180 there was a baseball size hole thru. the deer . Same for a 307 with flat points. The 30-30 with 150 gr and the 308 and 3006 with 130 or 125 gr bullets do a lot less damage.

I can see those lighter weight bullets doing less damage IF they stay inside the chest cavity.

[bcraig]

My experience to the tee!

I agree totaly. Ive killed a truck load of deer with the 06 using 150 power points, ballitic tips and seirras and ate every one of them. Ive also spent enough time chasing deer hit with 180s that didnt open up properly to find i keep them on the shelf unless loading for a magnum rifle. A 165 cup and core bullet might be better yet but ive shot some with them too and they never did anything a 150 didnt do just as well.

Don't need a 30 cal bullet larger than 150 grains for a whitetail.  Don't need a round nose either.  My opinion over 40+ years.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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[streak]

This subject comes up frequently, and same answers always follow!
After many years of whitetail hunting, I have settled on one round that has always come through for me and never let me down and that is the old standby the Remington Corlokt in the 180 grain roundnose configuration!
These have worked great both in the 30-06 and .308 rifles that I use.

[rickt300]

My experience is the 150 gr. bullets, being more lightly constructed generally are more destructive than the 180 gr. bullets. The 150's also provide plenty of penetration. The heavier bullets lower velocity and usually heavier jacket is somewhat less destructive. If you hit bone all bets are off. In fact I have used the 180 gr. bullets many times because of the reduced meat damage.

[SHOOTALL]

true to a point but with the one I shot with the rn 180 there was a baseball size hole thru. the deer . Same for a 307 with flat points. The 30-30 with 150 gr and the 308 and 3006 with 130 or 125 gr bullets do a lot less damage.

I can see those lighter weight bullets doing less damage IF they stay inside the chest cavity.

Even if they pass thru. they seem to expand less or maybe they roll back . the ones we recover are still small.

[Lloyd Smale]

personaly i dont shoot deer "in the meat" unless i absolutely have too. I kind of chuckle at claims they do to much damage. Why are you shooting a gun at a deer? To kill it! Damage is what kills. Ill take a deer dumped in its tracks with the ribs shot to hell anyday before one shot with a less destructive bullet that runs off into the swamp and suffers even for a few seconds and makes a job for me tracking. Bottom line is i dont fool with the ribs anyway. Just to much work for a pound of hamburger. Another thing some dont keep in mind is that if hit in the shoulder with a heavy bullet you usualy get two blown up front shoulders instead of one. For the most part if you hit a deer right on the shoulder with about any bullet your going to have to toss most of those shoulders. Ive shot deer with everything from a .30 carbine to 300 wby and some of the most tore up deer ive seen have come from the lowly old 3030. You want a mess? Shoot a deer in the shoulder with a 3030 corelock. Nope i just dont buy into the heavier bullets or premium bullets doing less meat damage argument. If your tearing up meat you need to learn where to shoot a deer, your not going to stop it by buying bullets that cost a buck a pop or by loading heavy for caliber bullets.

My experience is the 150 gr. bullers, being more lightly constructed generally are more destructive than the 180 gr. bullets. The 150's also provide plenty of penetration. The heavier bullets lower velocity and usually heavier jacket is somewhat less destructive. If you hit bone all bets are off. In fact I have used the 180 gr. bullets many times because of the reduced meat damage.