ORIGINAL: Roskoe

You make some really good points, Brian. I would like to add that, in many instances, the premium bullets don't kill as well as regular old Hornadys and Sierras on the broadside lung shots. This is particularly true of the Barnes X, Failsafe, and Lost River bullets when loaded in standard calibers - designed for lots of penetration - breaking big bones, but do so at the expense of a smaller wound channel. But, as Brian pointed out, these magnum calibers can turn a good controlled expansion non-premium bullet into a varmint bullet.

This became painfully obvious when I helped a customer do some loading for the .30-378 Weatherby - back when this caliber first came out. He was leaving for Africa in less than a week. We put together loads with 180 Sierras, 180 Hornadys, and 180 Partitions. The only bullet of three that could even make it through the ribs of African plains game without blowing up was the Partition. The other two bullets had worked fine for him previously, but at 400 fps lower muzzle velocity.