Todd....I have found that the best loading for the 30-06 for deer is the 150 grain bullet in my handloads. Many drop in their tracks kills on field deer with the 150 grain bullet. Larger bullets kill quickly also but I've never dropped a deer in its tracks with the 220 grain bullet or the 185 grain handloads I've used. The reason is that the 150 grain bullet is faster and expends all of its energy inside the deer often not going fully through and winds up under the expanding skin on the far side. The larger bullets expend a lot of energy on the outside after going all the way through. Relatively light high velocity bullets are key to drop in the track kills on deer size game as long as the bullets are 100 grains or larger. I've used the 110 grain accelerator bullets that were once loaded for the 30-06 for varmints. They kill quickly but I've never dropped a deer in their tracks with them for some reason. And they don't group that well on paper. However, the 100 grain 243 load results in a deer dropping in its tracks most of the time unlike the 80 grain handload in the 243 which doesn't always drop them in their tracks. I did a lot of experimenting with different loads and calibers on those crop damage deer. The 55 grain 22-250 and 222 doesn't drop them in their tracks either but all drop within 50 yards or so. If I was limited to one caliber for deer, it would be the 243 with 100 grain handloads. Recoil is minimal which helps at the bench and they kill quickly and cleanly. I consider it the perfect deer load. But all is contingent on a thoughtful shooter who picks and chooses his shots and is a competent shot. The reason why the 410 and 28 bore are not legal cartridges is that they can be problematic on marginal hits. In the hands of a buck fever shooter, they can be a problem.
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