165 gr. accubond for everything from deer to elk.

Agreed with WA Mtnhunter and A +1 for you sir!!!

Remington Core-lokt 180 grain

150 grain boat tail, soft-nose, spear point. IT WORKS! of coarse this is just Whitetail we're talking about. And we have small deer. A 5 year old weighs from 120-150#. But for the cheaper cost difference in the high dollar rounds, this kills them just a quickly and just as dead.

I use the 125gr core-lok. for the area i hunt My food plot field is max. shot of 96 yards long and 58 yards wide so for me, this does the job and has put many of lbs in the freezer. The rest of my property is hardwoods, so I do change to one of my other children LOL to take with me.

Hang on guys! Nobody said those weren't great loads. The question was what "....type of ammo do you prefer?"

OOPS!

WAM is right!!!

Don't need a fancy bullet to knock down a deer, they don't wear bullet proof vests. A 30-06 round you can afford that shoots good will do a fantastic job!

I used to shoot Federal Premium 165gr Nosler ballistic tips exclusively. As Federals prices grew a bit out of hand i have been shooting Hornady lightMagnums 150gr as of late. Both with good results

165 grain remington core lokt. But that is just what my rifle prefers. Experiment, and see what your rifle shoots the most accurate.

My 30/06 round of choice for deer for years has been a 165 grain Remington Corelokt in a hand load sending the bullet out at 2750 fps or there abouts. This is basically equal to the factory load. I've also killed literally tons of feral hogs with this load. Why do it like it, it works and bullets are (or used to be) inexpensive. I used to buy them 500 at a time. At that rate they also made target practice a cheap proposition.

The Barnes XTP in 150 or 165 is an excellent choice as are loads in the same weight range with Nosler Ballistic Tips or Hornady Interlocks. After using a few on deer in 30 cal I feel the Nosler Accubonds are a bit much for whitetail.

My .30-06 was partial to Barnes 168gr TSX. Overkill for deer. You do have to mind what is behind them since pass through is highly likely.

Wiscbuckhunter-
Lots of good advice above. Mine would be to find which load shoots accurately in your rifle. Bullet weight between 150 - 180 gr. will kill a deer RND with proper shot placement. Our hunting group almost exclusively use a Nosler Ballistic Tip, and if they will shoot accurately in your rifle, it is a good bullet. .30-'06s sometimes have an affinity for a particular load, and accuracy should trump bullet weight.

I find it interesting how someone must use a Moose load 180 grain Remington Core-Lokt® on a poor little deer when a 130 or 150, especially a 22-250 55 grain soft point bullet will work just fine!

180 is good to have in bear country or if you case in there are moose and you have tags for both.

Man, you guys shooting those big bullets on a poor little defenseless dear are causing serious Seismographic activity in the earth’s core and look at the damage to Haiti and Chile you fella’s done!

I think some of these guys are making my point for me. For some reason they are trying to convince folks that a 180 grain bullet is going to blow up a deer worse than some teeny little slug whipping at mach 7. Shows their lack of experience. Exactly the opposite occurs. Both bullets are the same diameter. High speed and subsequent fragmentation of bullet, bone, and tissue is what will cause excessive damage and waste, NOT the heavier weight of a slug. The lighter, faster slug is going to be more prone to come apart or go off course after impact. I don't know how much more "punishing" a 180 gr bullet is to the shooter compared to 165 gr. I have shot both and really can't remember any difference. For the half dozen or less rounds a year I fire hunting deer and moose (I'm guessing average is three), it really doesn't matter. And ethically speaking it should never matter. The 180 grain has good range (200 yards - anything further is becoming unethical). It bucks the brush and wind much better than the lighter bullets. And finally, after impact IT GOES WHERE YOU POINTED IT. If I shoot a deer in the chest that's looking at me straight on, I can reasonably expect to find the 180 gr slug in its pelvic canal or thereabouts. With a 165 grain you can reasonably expect that the bullet is going to exit somewhere along the way tearing stuff up (e.g. front shoulder, backstraps, etc.). A nicely placed behind-the-shoulder lung shot with a too-light slug can turn into a blown up shoulder, backstraps, or even a ham on the exit side. Also, if I shoot a deer in heavy cover with a 180 gr I'll KNOW if I hit it. It's either down or nearly knocked down, not taking off to parts unknown like nothing happened and dying later.

150 Grain Corlokt and 150Grain Vital Shocks

I do have 180 Grain Corelokt but I would use them on moose or Caribou if I were in an area that has them and I have a license and tags to hunt them

good post, my dad has used the 180 round nose core lokt for 40 years and the only deer that got away was the one he didnt point his .308 at. He shot a cow moose in 1972 with a 180 core lokt. So its 180 gr core lokt in this family.