Many weapons originated as tools for putting food on the table. Take nunchucks, for example. Farmers used them to thresh rice long before Bruce Lee used them to thrash punks. And although their utility for warfare is unquestionable, we’re willing to bet the first spears and arrows were invented by people who were hungry – not belligerent.

The 30-06 Springfield is the exact opposite. It started out as a weapon of war, only to become a means for procuring venison later on.

Springfield Armory didn’t give a hoot about the .30 caliber rifle cartridge’s hunting capabilities when they developed it for the U.S. Army. That’s not to claim that Springfield’s ballisticians hadn’t supposed 30-06 would work well on whitetail, though. They probably expected hunters to implement their fine work someday, just as they had other, previously introduced military rounds (such as the 45-70 Government).

And hunters most certainly would. We wouldn’t even venture to guess how many Americans served alongside the 30-06 since its adoption by the Army in 1906 until its retirement during the late ‘70s. Many a veteran has preferred harvesting venison with similar ammo to what they’d been issued. Plenty of hunters who’ve never served have followed those veterans’ lead, too – the reason why the 30-06 still reigns supreme as America’s favorite deer hunting cartridge almost half a century after its retirement from the military.

What 30-06 Ammo Should You Buy for Deer Hunting?

If you just want a recommendation for ammo – our top pick would be Remington’s Core-Lokt 30-06 rounds. You have a lot of good options but this one is effective in the field and cost-effective for your budget too. (We’ll explain more on our specific ammo picks later in the article.)

30-06 ammo is certainly capable of walloping varmints and coyote. It probably goes without saying that it can handle a human threat as well. Despite these facts, 30-06 ammo typically isn’t designed for these purposes. Factory-loaded ammo almost exclusively comes in two flavors: target, and medium/large game hunting.

Bullet Types

Target loads are normally loaded with full metal jacket (FMJ), hollow point boat tail (HPBT), and open tip match (OTM) bullets. Don’t hunt deer with these bullets, as they lack the ability to undergo terminal expansion. Note that some target loads feature low-drag (yet non-expanding) polymer-tipped bullets (such as the ELD Match). Though impressively accurate, these rounds aren’t ideal for harvesting whitetail, blacktail or mule, either.

For deer hunting, you want to stick with either of two types of bullet: soft point (or some variation thereof), or polymer tip (specifically one designed for terminal expansion, such as Nosler’s aptly named “Expansion Tip”).

Some hollow point bullets are also suitable for deer hunting, such as Winchester’s protected hollow point (PHP), or Barnes’ solid copper TSX. Just take care to distinguish these from HPBT bullets, which are too fragile to reliably penetrate dense body mass in addition to being unable to expand.

Bullet Weight

Any 30-06 bullet can knock a deer’s socks off, regardless of its weight. The best weight ultimately boils down to what you (and your rifle, to some degree) prefer firing. Do you want the flatter trajectory of the lightweight 150 grain bullet? Or the 180 grain bullet’s trajectory, which arches more dramatically but is also less vulnerable to wind drift? Or would you split the difference with a middleweight 165 grain bullet? So long as you hunt with the same bullet weight you used to zero in your optic, you ought to be in good form.

There are tons of great 30-06 deer hunting loads. In recommending the following ammo, we are in no way asserting that other rounds aren’t equally good or even better. Really, we’re just trying to give newer hunters a few ideas that will lead them in the right direction.

But do read on if you’re an old pro. You never know where you’ll discover your new favorite deer load.

Best Polymer Tip 30-06 Springfield Ammo for Deer Hunting

Remington Core-Lokt Tipped 150 Grain Polymer Tip

Remington Core-Lokt 30-06 ammo

  • Product No. 29027
  • Bullet Weight: 150 Grains
  • Bullet Type: Core-Lokt Tipped
  • Muzzle Velocity: 2,930 fps
  • Muzzle Energy: 2,860 ft lbs

Remington already had a hit on their hands with the Core-Lokt: the soft point (SP) billed as “The Deadliest Mushroom in the Woods,” which Field & Stream claims has taken more deer than any other bullet since its introduction in 1939.

But “Big Green” isn’t content to coast off its past successes. Ever the forward-thinking company, Remington introduced the Core-Lokt Tipped in 2024. Like its predecessor, the Core-Lokt Tipped wears a copper jacket that is physically embedded into its lead core. This feature minimizes fragmentation after impact, thus promoting effectively deep penetration into the quarry.

Unlike its predecessor, the Core-Lokt Tipped ends in a big honkin’ polymer tip. The aptly named Big Green tip gives the bullet a more streamlined frontal profile. That and the bullet’s rearward-adjusted center of gravity, highly concentric jacket, and boat tail all contribute to its highly predictable trajectory.

The Core-Lokt Tipped’s tip isn’t just for ballistic efficiency. Impact slams it into the underlying lead core’s cavity, thereby catalyzing the wide (up to double diameter) terminal expansion which quickly sends a deer off to meet the Deer Maker.

Also available in 165 grain (product no. 29035) and 180 grain (29037).

30-06 150gr Core-Lokt Tipped; 24" bbl; 0.211 G7 BC
Range (yds)Velocity (fps)Energy (ft lbs)Elevation (in)
029302860-1.5
100271124491.62
200250220850
30023021765-7.2
40021101483-20.98
50019271237-42.59

Best Soft Point 30-06 Springfield Ammo for Deer:

Winchester Power-Point 150 Grain SP

Winchester 30-06 power point ammo

  • Product No. X30061
  • Bullet Weight: 150 Grains
  • Bullet Type: Soft Point (SP)
  • Muzzle Velocity: 2,920 fps
  • Muzzle Energy: 2,840 ft lbs

Polymer-tipped bullets are mighty accurate – but at the end of the day, an SP is perfectly serviceable within the distances most Americans hunt deer across (the 30-06’s effective range for deer hunting is usually considered to be 200 to 500 yards, depending on the hunter’s marksmanship).

If the Core-Lokt soft point really has bagged the most bucks, then the Power-Point is nipping at its heels from second place. Winchester introduced their name brand soft point to hunters in the ‘60s; a simple cup-and-draw affair, with a lead core surrounded by copper save for its tip. Its jacket fortifies the bullet to undergo reliably deep penetration. Its unjacketed tip enables the Power-Point to mushroom, tumble, and otherwise do extremely deadly things to whichever unlucky deer it tunnels through.

Also available in 165 grain (product no. X30065) and 180 grain (X30064).

30-06 150gr SP; 24" bbl; 0.294 G1 BC
Range (yds)Velocity (fps)Energy (ft lbs)Elevation (in)
029202840-1.5
100260722641.82
200231517860
30020421389-8.36
40017891067-25.1
5001561811-52.78

Best Cheap, Foreign-Made 30-06 Springfield Ammo for Deer Hunting

Sellier & Bellot 150 Grain SPCE

  • Product No. SB3006C
  • Bullet Weight: 150 Grains
  • Bullet Type: Soft Point Cutting Edge (SPCE)
  • Muzzle Velocity: 2,953 fps
  • Muzzle Energy: 2,905 ft lbs

Sellier & Bellot may be a foreign manufacturer, but you’ll definitely want to “Czech” out their 30-06 hunting ammo. This round’s bullet is an SP with a twist. Whereas the usual SP has a sweeping, uninterrupted ogive (i.e. profile) which extends from its tip to its base, the soft point cutting edge (SPCE) has a cylindrical base which abruptly transitions to ogive at midbody.

The SPCE’s frontal profile isn’t the most aerodynamic one could design. But thanks to its sharp shoulder (which isn’t totally unlike a semi-wadcutter’s), the SPCE is able to punch a wider and altogether more injurious entry wound into its target. The SPCE’s wound channel is also pretty darn injurious even if the bullet fails to produce any terminal expansion.

The SPCE offers even more at the rifle range. That same sharp shoulder which punches a clean hole through buckskin also stamps a clean “O” into paper. By functioning similarly to the tip of a hole punch, the SPCE makes it easier to tell exactly how closely you’re grouping your shots.

Also available in 180 grain (product no. SB3006E).

30-06 150gr SPCE; 23.5" bbl; 0.146 G7 BC
Range (yds)Velocity (fps)Energy (ft lbs)Elevation (in)
029532905-1.5
100263923191.77
200234318290.01
30020661422-8.13
40018081089-24.46
5001567818-51.51

Best Long-Range 30-06 Ammo for Deer Hunting:

Hornady Precision Hunter 178 Grain ELD-X

Hornady Precision Hunter 30-06 ammo

  • Product No. 81174
  • Bullet Weight: 178 Grains
  • Bullet Type: Extremely Low Drag – eXpanding (ELD-X)
  • Muzzle Velocity: 2,750 fps
  • Muzzle Energy: 2,990 ft lbs

A hyper concentric Advanced Manufacturing Process (AMP) jacket. An optimized boat tail and sleek secant ogive profile jacket. A Heat Shield tip, which is made of special polymer that doesn’t deform in response to aerodynamic friction. The ELD-X has all the makings of a match-grade bullet, and would serve any competitive shooter admirably.

But the ELD-X doesn’t just home in on its target. It also strikes it down. Within ranges up to 400 yards, the ELD-X’s InterLock ring (which functions similarly to the Core-Lokt’s signature feature) secures no less than 50% weight retention. Impact at farther distances produces no less than 85% weight retention. In either event, the ELD-X’s tip and nose cavity quickly kick into action to dish out wide terminal expansion. A potent combo!

30-06 178gr ELD-X; 24" bbl; 0.278 G7 BC
Range (yds)Velocity (fps)Energy (ft lbs)Elevation (in)
027502990-1.5
100258926491.86
200243323400.01
30022822059-7.72
40021371805-22.13
50019961575-44.17

Best Lead-Free 30-06 Springfield Ammo for Deer Hunting

Barnes VOR-TX 168 Grain TTSX BT

  • Product No. 21565
  • Bullet Weight: 168 Grains
  • Bullet Type: Tipped Triple-Shock X Boat Tail (TTSX BT)
  • Muzzle Velocity: 2,850 fps
  • Muzzle Energy: 3,031 ft lbs

Other manufacturers merely adopted the copper hunting bullet. Barnes developed the first commercially successful one: the X-Bullet, which gradually evolved into the TSX, which itself was eventually improved by the addition of a polymer tip.

Without its tip, the TSX is a remarkable bullet. Its perfectly balanced weight distribution, sleek profile, AccuGroove (i.e. multiple recessed bands machined into its shank), and precision heel radius all contribute toward the monolithic bullet’s extraordinary accuracy. The robust copper it’s made from enables the TSX to conserve most (if not all) of its weight after impact. And once its nose cavity fills with pressurized flesh, the TSX unfurls four sharp “cutting petals” which gouge out a terrific wound column.

With its tip, the TSX becomes even better. It makes the bullet’s sleek profile that much sleeker (a pointed nose, as opposed to a flat, narrow one with a cavity). The tip also accelerates terminal expansion, thereby transferring more shock-inducing kinetic energy to the quarry in a shorter span of time.

Lead-free bullets aren’t just compliant with certain jurisdictions’ restrictions on hunting ammo. They also can’t deposit toxic substances inside your quarry’s venison – a big plus if chili looms in your future.

Also available in 130 grain (product no. RR30061), 150 grain (BB30061), 175 grain (LR30061) and 180 grain (BB30062).

30-06 168gr TTSX BT; 24" bbl; 0.239 G7 BC
Range (yds)Velocity (fps)Energy (ft lbs)Elevation (in)
028503031-1.5
100265926391.72
200247622870
30023001973-7.41
40021301693-21.4
50019671444-43.07

The Takeaway

Can’t find one of our preferred 30-06 deer loads? That’s quite alright. Anything similar to them ought to serve you just fine.

And remember: Even the highest-quality ammunition by the most reputable manufacturer in America won’t do you a lick of good if you don’t know how to aim it. Deep penetration and wide expansion are both beneficial, but a bullet’s supposed “stopping power” ain’t squat if it don’t hit the right spot.