many discussions concern premium bullets being superior,
and theres no doubt the nosler partition, northfork, barnes and other brands
are nice bullets, but the standard copper jacketed lead core versions in a reasonable caliber work just fine
for some reason theres a group of hunters that seem enthralled with super fast smaller caliber rifles,
that almost mandate the use of premium bullet designs to get reasonable penetration,
its like a blinding light that draws mosquitoes, sure you can kill deer and elk with a smaller high velocity rifle
but they are no deader than if you use one thats a 50-100 year old design, or one pushing its bullets to under 2700 fps,
example the 6.5mm Swedish rifle with its original loads,
and 30/06 , 7mm mauser and 35 whelen, 375 H&H, , may not be modern designs but they all work just fine
many guys don,t grasp the concept that the projectile design, jacket thickness and just diameter and mass,
has a very pronounced effect on the results, you'll see.
lots of the guys I hunted with used the premium bullets, they would quote chapter and verse on the need for deep penetration,
but over time I realized the guys demanding the deeper penetration were generally using
rifles providing over about 2800 fps, and less than 30 caliber rifles and less than 150 grain projectiles,
the, the guys using the 308 win, and 30/06 and larger caliber rifles with the 165-200 grain bullets rarely had issues with lack of penetration,
or complained about game running off and longer tracking jobs ??
and no one I ever talked to using a 200-400 grain 338-45 caliber rifle seemed at all concerned.
while it was true the guys with the guys using the 308 win, and 30/06 and larger caliber rifles with the 165-200 grain bullets,
and those 338, 358, 375 and 45 caliber rifles, might not have the flattest trajectory on those ballistic charts,
but over time it dawned on many guys they tended to shoot game at under 250 yards where that more curved trajectory was not a major concern.
you seldom have the need to shoot longer ranges if you hunt where the game actually is most of the time,
and thats seldom standing out in open meadows
notice that either choice works fine, if youll seldom get any shot even close to 250 yards,neither rifle has issues with flat trajectory
heres my flat shooting 340 wby I used for decades
heres my late hunting partners 358 win
