If they think partitions wont work then I am wondering what they think is necessary? I have only shot a few deer with partitions, but in all but one case they penetrated completely with good expansion. The one that I recovered had lost its foward portion, and retained about 60% of its original weight. Theres not a bullet made that wont kill deer and elk reliably as long as your shot is placed well. The bullet performance dialog is pretty much just something to talk about. Shot placement is the main ingredient for a clean kill. My personal feeling is that as long as you stay above about 160gr bullet weight it wont matter what the bullet does. Some bullet types tend to fly apart and make a big mess under the skin and some stick together and bore on through, either way, if you hit the vitals you have a dead deer.