Well I'll give it a whirl.

1. Cor-Lokt---A core-lokt is a basic soft lead point bullet that has a design which helps to prevent core-jacket separation on impact. The lead core is not bonded to the metal jacket however so core/jacket separation is possible. (but not likely IMHO) I have used these bullets at various times and still do on occasion. I have never lost a deer I shot with one. And living and hunting in Alabama for all my 39 years I have shot plenty. A 270 caliber 130 grain core-lokt bullet has probably been the second greatest cause of whitetail death in my home state, second only to the 150 grain 30-06 core-lokt bullet. It has been a rare occasion that I had a core-lokt bullet not exit a deer. And I have used them in .243, 25-06, 270, 7mm mag and 30-06. Performance was excellent in all calibers. They are cheap, available everywhere and reasonably accurate. If they group well from your gun I see no reason for anything else on deer sized game.

2. Ballistic tips----Or as I call them the pretty bullets. LOL! Ballistic tips are basically a hollow point that instead of leaving the end hollow has had a small tip made of either plastic, polymer, soft metal or some other material fitted into the end. This improves the ballistic coefficient of the bullet. The tip material is also usually made of a material that is not deformed easily like soft lead tip bullets can be. These tips also help initiate rapid violent expantion on impact. Ballistic tips are usually very accurate bullets and produce some of the best groups you will see at the range. The wounds they can inflict on deer look like something out of a horror flick. Excessive meat damage however is a minus in some peoples books. Mine included. On deer sized game when all goes well they can produce some of the most rapid kill shots you have ever seen. Looks like God hit them with an invisible hammer. BUT, I have seen things go horribly wrong with them as well. Because of their rapid expansion characteristics they have been known to fragment wildly. They are also not the best for driving through heavy bone. You may not get an exit wound with a ballistic tip and that can mean a more sparce blood trail if the deer doesn't drop on the spot. Still thousands of people love them and use them every year. My own cousin swears by them and will use nothing else. I personally do not use them.

3. Bonded Bullets----This is an attempt to have the best of both worlds. A bullet that expands well but also holds together because the lead core is chemically bonded to the outer metal jacket. This gives you a bullet that expands to two times or more of the original caliber size yet retains 70 to 90 percent of the original bullet weight while giving you good penetration as well. They are excellent bullets for the most part but generally expensive and harder to find. I have also had a lot of people complain that bonded bullets did not shoot as acurately from their rifles while others had no problem. If they group well from your rifle and you have the money to spare then they are a viable option.



I personally use simple soft lead bullets like Remington core-lokts, Winchester power points or Hornady soft points. I have found that I need nothing else on Alabama whitetails. I really don't feel like premium bullets are necessary until you accelerate bullets to magnum speeds or you go after game larger than whitetails. Even then there is little on the North American continent that I wouldn't feel comfortable shooting with a 180 gr soft lead tip from my old reliable 30-06.