Sling

Thanks for the reports all. Lots of good info here.

I should also give a report since I started the thread. I gave Winchester Ballistic Silvertips a test drive this year and this is what happened:

What caliber did you use? 30-06

What bullet did you use? Winchester Ballistic Silvertips

How many grains was the bullet? 168

How far was the shot? 3 deer - 50/75/50 yards

Where did you hit the deer?
The first deer was a double lung shot.
The second deer started walking as I shot and I did not adjust appropriately. Caught the back of the lungs. Not an ideal shot.
The third deer was sharply quartering away. The bullet entered the back of the rib cage angling toward the opposite shoulder.

How far did the deer run after it was shot?
The first deer ran 50 yards and dropped. It moved fairly quickly, but looked like it was having a bad day the entire way.
The second deer went about 90 yards total. It was not able to run, but could best be decribed as walking quickly. The deer looked like it was trying to sneak away. It slowed to a slow walk after about 75 yards but did not stop, so I put in an anchoring shot in to keep it from walking over the next ridge. The shot angled from the back of the rib cage to the opposite front shoulder. It dropped at that point.
The third deer dropped immediately. The legs went stiff and the deer kind of dropped over with the legs extended straight out.

Roughly how big was the exit hole (if any)?
The exit hole on the first deer was small, maybe the size of a dime. The insides were mush.
The second deer had a larger exit hole that was maybe between the size of a quarter and half dollar. The second shot did not exit.
The third deer had no exit hole either.

How much did the deer weigh dressed (if you know that)? 180/115/95

I would say the Winchester Ballistic Silvertip 168 grain bullet did a pretty good job overall. The first deer did not dropped immediately, but I could tell it would not go far from its behavior. I would say the bullet performed well on that one.
I did have the second deer travel a little farther than I would have liked, but by my own admission, I could have made a better shot. Considering the shot I made, I think the bullet did a pretty good job of slowing the deer down for a finishing off shot.
The third deer was obviously the ideal situation and was what I was hoping for with all 3. This is a pretty small sample size to make any definate calls from, but it appears that the 165's do not produce that deep shocking effect unless the deer is quartering away. Although the bullet performed just fine, I would like to give the 150's a try next year to see if I can get more of that shocking effect that was seen in deer number 3.