What is your #1 GO TO bullet?
 

I just made this reply to Corey's thread "top 5 bullets for the avg. hunter" and I was curious to know what everyone's favorite HUNTING bullet.

My #1 choice is the .45 caliber, 240 grain XTP. Here is a 240 grain XTP found in a deer after being shot standing just a bit to the right of broad side about 40 yards away and hit behind the shoulder. The bullet was fond with the core practically touching the jacket on the opposite side above the shoulder just under the skin of the neck. That means the bullet traveled up and to the left after entering behind the shoulder.


It is the only one I have not had a pass through with but not a problem since the deer dropped where it was shot and never moved again. The second photo of the bullet is sitting just about the way it was found under the skin.
It is one awesome bullet in my opinion.




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Right now its the Barnes 250 tez.

Hornady 250 grain .452 XTP. Every shot a pass through, and a 'bang-flop dead right there' deer...

Speer Deep Curl .44 cal, 240 grain. Best bang (flop) for the buck.

pluckit

#1 - All-Around bullet -> Lehigh/Bloodline .458-275 Grain DOA
a. Elk Bullet -> Lehigh/Bloodline .458-300 Grain DOA
b. Deer Bullet -> Lehigh/Bloodline .400-200 Grain DOA

#2 - All-Around bullet -> Nosler Partition .451-260 Grain HP
a. Elk Bullet -> Nosler Partition .458-300 Grain HP

#3 - All-Around bullet -> Speer .452-300 Grain Deep Curl
a. Elk Bullet -> Speer .452-300 Grain Deep Curl
b. Deer -> Speer .452-250 Grain Deep Curl

If I was forced to only be able to shoot 1 bullet, it would be the 300g Barnes Expander.

If money was tight, I would say the .430 300g XTP. They shoot beautifully out of every gun I own and perform wonderfully.

Im with you pluckit, the 240gr xtp in .45cal. I've been using them for about 15years now, could be longer. I've never loast a deer hit with one of them, I have no reason to ever change.
(BP)

Barnes .250 gr TEZ.

Any Barnes solid that shoots good in weapon being shot. Some guns like heavy/light or BT/flat. I shoot Barnes solids in my slug gun, handgun, muzzleloaders and rifles. Always have good results.

I love to shoot and experiment with many different bullets/sabots. However, when I go hunting I almost always load the 300 gr XTP .430 caliber. It just works and it is low cost compared to most offerings on the market.

By the way I made my longest ever shot on a deer (100 yards stepped off in the field) with the the 300 XTP. It was a complete pass through with a blood trail 4 feet wide and 35 yards long to where it dropped. That shot was 4 minutes after I shot one at 20 yards that feel over and never twitched. The darn bullet just works for me.

I can almost guarantee I am in the minority here.

I still use factory Knight .260 sabots, and have been for the past 15yrs. (The jacketed version which is actually a Speer handgun bullet). Every animal I've ever shot at is dead, with excellent performance from 20yds to 125yds. I do have a couple bullets that I have recovered...1 from a deer, and one from target shooting. Mushroomed and held together perfectly. I'll try to find them and post a pic if I have time. I'm old school I guess....its the don't fix it if it ain't broke thing.

I do plan to do some bullet testing for fun this year, and may even try some new bullets on game next season. Not for lack of performance though, can't complain about the Knights (Speers).

the .430 300 gr is a good choice, with it's 245 BC and 233 SD.

My one and only is the Paper Patched Lee 500 S&W bullet. I would show a picture of a recovered bullet but they blow through. I have never found one. They have taken a lot of game. Ron

Barnes 250gr TMZ

.452 Gold Dot [ Deep Curl] been using it the past few years. No need for me to change. Shure does the number on the deer.

300gr HORNADY .430 XTP. Or a home cast 310 gr .429

If I had to pick one it would be the .430 300 grain Hornady XTP in a green harvester sabot. Most any fast twist rifle will shoot these well. They can be found in some stores and on line. They are cheap to practice with. And although I never shot a deer with one yet.. I have seen the reports of others and it is a very impressive bullet for deer.

For anything larger it will be a 460 grain .5045 conical bullet.

i have two go to bullets depending on the gun i hunt with.
1. 250 grain SST/Shockwave.
2. 240 grain .430 XTP.

Speer 300 grain .451 Uni-cor:

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.co...?sku=000214485

have yet to find one in a whitetail... big hole in and bigger hole out...

For me, my go to bullet is the .452 300 grain Speer Deep Curl in Harvester Crush Ribbed Sabots.

That said, I've never tried the .430 XTP's, but it sounds like I need to.

325gr FTX in my Savage 50 and my Knight 52cal
Barnes 195gr and 200gr SST in my 45cal smokeless Savage/Pacnor.
Lehigh 40-185gr and 200gr SST in my Knight 45s
Barnes 45LC-225gr XPB and Parker 275gr BE in my smokeless NULA 50cal.
Barnes 300gr 458SOCOM in the GMB54-120, its looking promising in the Knight 52cal also

That's really hard for me. I have had good to excellent results with every thing but the Power Belts and they were accurate enough they just won't hold together for the loads I like.
I tried the Shock Waves which came with my TC guns and liked their accuracy but they did not hold together well at 2200 FPS until I tried the bonded version.
I used the 250 XTP for years they kill good but loose their jacket a lot, then I used the Deep Curl 250 with excellent results, When the Lehigh bullets came out I tried them with excellent accuracy and terminal results.
I have all of them in hand, I like to practice with the Shock Waves and since I do not have to re sight because all the 250 gr Shock Wave SST and FTX have the same POI so if that's what I am sighted for I just dig out a few bonded one and load up.
I think my next experiment will be to use the FTX at 2300 FPS as that is the area they are designed for.

I think many realize what makes a bullet good for one doesn't make it good for another...Impact velocity can make or break a hunter's opinion on how a bullet preforms...

My powder is usually Goex FFF and charges run 80-90grs...Ranges could be 15 yards or 150 yards...I've had good results with the 300gr Barnes MZ, the original 250gr Shockwave SSTs and the .430 Hornady 300gr XTP which is my current bullet of choice...

300gr Barnes Expander MZ with a black Harvester Crushed Rib sabot.

My own 333 gr hard cast from a LBT mold, cast of WW alloy water dropped from the mold.

300g .452 Deep Curl.

Thompson Center SureFire Hollow Point in Mag Express Sabots. Yup, the cheapies from WMart. I believed I measured them once to be .451. They are a 230 grain bullet. I shoot them in my Accura Ver. 1 and just love the performance. The rifle places them right where I aim and then the bullet does its job! I couldn't ask for anything else; pull the trigger and fill your freezer.

in 45cal, lee improved minnies paper patched

in 50cal, (inlines) go to either .430 or .452 240gr xtp. mmp sabots, (sidelocks) lee 250gr REAL.

Hornady 250grn SST. Have yet to recover one and have yet to ever lose one shot with it.

I've been using the .430 240 grain xtp in a green crush rib sabot with great results, about 12-15 deer. All pass throughs. They shoot great out of my Omega. Last year I intentionally let a doe walk away in a field to about 100 yds. Furthest I have shot a deer here in the northeast. Broadside, complete pass through, bullet hit exactly where the cross heirs came to rest. This year shot a doe slightly quartering to me, about 100 yds. Bullet hit just behind the front shoulder, traveled the length of the deer and exited the hindquarter. What I do like a lot is I push that bullet with 90 gr of B209. Recoil is very manageable especially in a tree stand when your body may not be in an ideal shooting position.

Ballistic Coefficients
 

Was just on the Sierra bullet web site. Could someone explain to me why a bullet would have different ballistic coefficients at different velocities? I would think that the faster a bullet spins, the better the coefficient would be.
Also, I don't quite understand the concept of over stabilizing a bullet??? :confused0024:

Sorry guys. I meant for this to be a new post. If someone could move this to start a new post, I would appreciate it.

250gr Thor is my all time favorite. I still love to play with many many other bullets though.

I took 2 different Bucks with the .430 240gr XTP's at distances of 177yds and the other was somewhere near there. One was a Heart shot and the other a Double lung shot, both were complete pass throughs.
As mentioned above somewhere I dont think there is a Perfect Bullet, we all use different MLer's, Sabots, Powders, Barrel lengths, ect. These things all have some kind of a effect on the outcome as does the distance of the shot.
If you find something that works, use it. It may not be the best for the other guy but as long as it works for you that's all that matters.
If there was the perfect MLer/Bullet/Sabot/Powder/Primer out there Im sure we'd all be using it, but there is'nt. We make them what they are that's what makes this So Much FUN!
(BP)

Right now my #1 "Go to" bullet is the 200 grain Shockwave/SST. It just has been a great all-around bullet for me, and does many things well. Here is a pic of the only one I've ever recovered from a deer (it was shot head on, facing me, bullet found in rear ham).


Having said that, I like to experiment with bullets a lot, so my "go to" bullet may well be different a couple years from now. I also like the 185 Lehigh and the .452 250 grain Deep Curl....

300 gr. Speer Deep Curl

Gotta say since shooting the Speer Deep Curls the 250gr is my go to bullet if I was to shoot bigger game then whitetail it would be the 300gr

I gave a box of xtp's to my neighbour. Told him to let the kids shoot them up cause they don't shoot worth a hoot out of my rifles.

#1 Nosler Partition PP 300 gr

# 2 PR Bullet Dead Center 340 gr

HA

In my Knight Extreme .50 cal.I like the Barnes 250 gr,TMZ and the 300gr.Expander.Use 250 gr.Hornady SST for target only.
Taureaunoir

177gr. 50cal patched round ball......