ORIGINAL: gleason.chapman

"You can talk about scopes and different MLer all day, but when ya talk about the things that are doing the actual work bullets folks take it pretty personal and are very serious about it. I alsothink that people don't like ya talkin' about their pet xxxxx bullet if ya have not shot them at game and used them, and that is a valid point, however to make their choice of SW without shooting them they did the exact same thing, read articles, listen to reports of friends, shot them at the range and then used them to hunt with. The three bullets that people really get upset about are SW/SST, XTPsand PB.There are two camps on each of those bullets you either love them or you hate them and you tend to not be as objective as you think you are, becauseeveryone tend to keep evidence that supports your POV and discard evidence that doesn't. Thru the school of hard knocks with PBs I now like "strong well constructed expanding bullets that hold together well and expand well in flesh, not bone".

I do know this, most new MLing people start out MLing with absolutely NO idea of what bullet to use, they use what the guy at the store told them or use what their buddies shoot, if their buddies got them into MLing. Most have not done the research on bullet design, shot it into wet newpaper, sand or packed top soil to see if they expand, fragment or hold together well. Most will not even read struff on the Internet under Cabelas and Midway Product reviews, they just stay with their bullet until something bad happens,then they go looking as to why this bullet did this or that. They then get educated on what bullets are designed for what purpose and how to use the bullet properly. Most people have bad luck with a given bullet because their didn't use it propertly i.e. shooting PBs 295 with 150 777 pellets, shooting SW at a deer at 30 yards, etc. Once they get educated on what bullet is best for me in my hunting situations, they pick a good bullet shoot it where it is suppose to go and then get excellent results. That has been my journey at least, and none of us want to loose game, and we like to think our judgement is 100%, 'cause we are strong willed guys. I am rambling, so I will quit. Anyway buy the book "Rifle Bullets for the Hunter, A Definitive Study" and read it several times, then ask yourself why does Craig Boddington say "long shanks on a perfectly expanded bullet with no wight loss" is a thing of beauty. Why is it long shanks? Why does Al Marion, a gun writer say "pancaked bullets" are to be avoided (i.e. bullets that are inside out", totally flat). Why is it that terminal performance is with 12" of penetration, not 6"? Why doens't a fragmenting bullet work on deer? Why 300g for shoot thru when 250 is so close to 300? Why is it that 350g and high bullets are in conicals not sabots? Why did the Hornady FPB come out with 350 as it's starting bullet? So bullets and bullet perormance is one of the most debated topics on this forum, and we mostly have gentlemanly strong conversations about them. Most guys are pretty passonate about their bullets, more so than powder, chevy/fords or any other thing."