Looking for a good deer bullet?
 

I was planing on using 250gr sst over 2 t7 pellets out of my optima but after reading alot about these bullets not expanding im not sure if i am going to use them anymore. What would you guys recommend.

Package them up and send them to me...:s2:
Nothing wrong with them, if you want to help them expand then shoot them through the shoulder blade...

If I didn't shoot the 250 SSTs, I'd shoot the original Barnes all copper MZ bullets...My Knight loves them but the SSTs shoot flatter...

Another vote for Barnes. IMO, you can't go wrong with any of their ML bullets. But there are a lot of great bullets out there that will get the job done just as well. Some like the Hornaday XTP's for their inexpensiveness and good performance. Some like Powerbelts for their great accuracy. It really depends on what shoots good in your gun and what kind of performance you're expecting.

My advice would be to search this forum with a word like "bullet" and read about other peoples experiences. Or you can search by brand name. Then get a list of the ones that sound good and buy a package of each and test them out.

All most all the bullets on the market today are good. I use the SST and SW my self and have never had a problem, I some time wonder why some people do have problems. I personally believe that the powder load put behind the bullet is often at fault, there are a lot of people shooting muzzle loaders that only have a year or two experience and they do not always take the velocity the bullet was designed for into consideration when choosing a load.
I have used SW and SST bullets for quite a few years and never had a problem, sure there is always a chance of a factory mistake that's true of any bullet but in the real world it has never happened to me or to anybody when I have been around. If you are going to be shooting the SW or SST between 1800 and 2000 FPS you will be fine if you are going to be pushing them from 2000 to 2400 FPS then use Bonded SW's.
If you are looking for the best buy for a really good bullet for deer then look at the Gold Dot 250 gr. Is it deer or something big we are talking about?

so 250gr is a pretty good weight for deer sized game.

yes, a 250 grain is an excellent choice.

While I am one of those hunters with one or two years muzzleloading experience, one should keep in mind that nothing ever works as it is designed to 100% of the time. For each negative review of a bullet, there is another with glowing results. There are so many variables to take into account, including powder charge, impact point, and velocity. The most important part of the gun/powder/bullet combo is accuracy. If ya can't hit where you want to, or if ya don't have confidence in the combination, this increases the chance of a "poor" bullet performance. Use what works best in your gun, and what you have confidence in. Just my two cents.

Just curious, what gun are you going to shoot? I shoot 250gr SW over 2 pellets of 777 out of my TC Triumph. Accuracy is great out to 125 yards (have not shot beyond that). Nevere had the bullet fail, but I have also heard the horror stories. Advice about finding the one for your gun already stated here is the key. My only advice, if you are going to go with the SW / SST, would be to get the non-bonded or regular version for deer. I think the bonded bullets are to tough for whitetails, IMHO.

X2 on the Barnes. I use the 300gr Expander MZ. They also have them in 250gr.Attachment 586

ranger400ex1994

If you are looking for a plane jane type bullet (less expensive) then I too would suggest the Speer Gold Dot .452/250gr HP. It is a bonded bullet and can not come apart. It can easily be shot to 175 yard with no adjustment of the scope sight picture, after 175 you will need to adjust for elevation.

If you want to pay for a premium bullet then I would suggest the Nosler Partition .452/260 grain, again easily shot to 175 yards.

Niether of these two bullets will pencil at close ranges.