Before I handloaded for .308, I used the Hornady 180 gr. basic round (in other words, I forget the name, but it was the basic 180 gr. sp). It never failed to give a clean one shot kill on NY deer, but I never shot further than 190 yards with it. Now I prefer a 165 gr. Whitetail deer are not difficult to kill and do not absorb alot of lead. Other than for range micro groups, I have never found a need for premium bullets. Quality of all projectiles today are very high overall.