Blackelk

I'm curious of how many hunters and target shooters have switched from their long time previous bullets to new bullets that have came out in the last decade or so?

What was the reason behind leaving your old trusty bullet behind for a new bullet?

How has the performance been in the new bullet vs the old?

Anyone regret having switched in a hunting situation that has gone bad?

I have been shooting the same bullet for the past 25 years and have never switched in my big game rifles. I'm very interested in what makes a man switch bullets if the one he has works and has been working fine for decades.

ADVWannabee

I switched years ago but not from "trusty" old bullets. I was using Winchester Silvertips and they would not go through a dear. They would break up and stop at the hide on the far side. So I switched to Federal Premiums with Nosler partition bullets. Now I get a nice through and through shot.

Mr. Deer Hunter

I'm confused by two things, why you would use Silvertips and why you would think that you need premium bullets to kill a whitetail deer.


The object of killing a deer is to find a bullet that retains as much of its core as possible. The tip of the bullet burns off in flight, especially if it is one of these new polymer tipped bullets.
The goal then becomes getting a bullet that will open up upon impact and will penetrate and create a wound channel that will do devastating destruction to the internals of the animal you wish to kill.

At one time, I knew people who hunted with Sierra Match King Bullets. They thought that pin point accuracy was the key to harvesting a deer. Yet Sierra tell you in plain terms that the Match King bullet is specifically designed for target practice only. Once it makes a hole in a target it's job is done. The Sierra Game King is the bullet of choice if you wish to hunt whitetail deer.

The goal of shooting deer isn't to see who can blow the biggest hole in it, but to use the cheapest bullet that will do the job.
Dead is dead.

A bonded bullet will not always open up upon impact because it is designed for thick skinned game such as Elk and Moose. A solid core bullet is not designed to open up upon impact with a soft skinned animal either.

The end result is that more deer are shot in Pennsylvania with Remington, Winchester, Federal cheap factory loads then any other component or brand name bullet - first because it is the cheapest and second because it is the most available.

Thats not to say that you could or could not use them to shoot a deer 500 or 1000 yards away, but to say that most weekend warriors - that only hunts deer a couple of days a year, uses them with success because their range is usually limited to 200 yards or less and that is what these factory loads are designed to do.

My dad was a reloader for years and he uses Hornady bullets because they are cheaper.

bigcountry

I have switched for many reasons. I used to only use partitions on moose. But the partition is not known for its accuracy, or BC and generally are very expensive to produce. So I switched to the barnes TSX and Accubonds for moose hunting.

I still use gamekings and bullistic tips for deer. I have had some questionable performances out of them. But not enough to switch.

Vapodog

I was almost exclusively a Hornady interlock fan.....then went to ballistic tips and now use more accubonds than anything....I also hunt with Northforks and A-Frames.

My reason is that I want two holes in the target (if I can get it) an entrance and an exit hole.....and I want the bullet to stay together to accomplish this.

I fully agree that this isn't required for deer.....it's mostly a waste of money.....but I have them for elk and other heavier targets and lets be honest here.....I only shoot a few rounds at big game every year.....I actually can afford the extra $10.00 a year it costs.....

BTW.....I usually practice with standard cup and core bullets....

Pygmy

I used Nosler ballistic tips for years and had good results on game up through the size of caribou...I used partitions for heavier stuff..

In the last 10 years I have become a huge fan of Barnes TSX for everything... In my experience they kill just as fast, always leave two holes and they don't leave as much bloodshot meat as most other bullets I have used..They are also scary accurate in my rifles..

Big Z

Couldn't help but LMAO when I read that

Anyways, I started centerfire shooting with factory ammunition. Pretty much remington core lokts. They shot pretty decent and never left me needing more for my abilities at the time in the deer field. However, the factory ammo days are over which led to a nasty habit of reloading. BTW I hunt mostly archery and ML but do shoot a fair amount of centerfire.

Sometimes I just shoot a bullet because I got a great deal on the box. But mostly I shoot hornady bullets because they are cost effective and just good stuff. Deer are way easy to kill, so I worry less about the bullet and more about how good it shoots. I do have some Barnes X bullets waiting for elk though.

ADVWannabee

Ditto what Vapodog said.

Nomercy448

I've been biting my tongue about this kid's comments for a while now, most of his posts are riddled with this type of mindless drivel, but I've tried hard to ignore it in hope that others will do the same, but I can't leave this one alone.

This is one of the dumbest "theories" I have ever heard. This kid has obviously NEVER fired into sandbags or water tanks to recover his bullets. The tip of a bullet DOES NOT erode in flight. Not even a polymer tipped bullet (especially not a polymer tip in fact). Period.

Wow, really? I've been hunting deer for the better part of two decades and I had no idea that I needed an accounant! I've been hunting all wrong! I've been going out in the woods trying to make well placed shots with bullets that produce clean kills on BIG deer.

And I do hate to burst your bubble Deerhunter, but the Winchester SUPER-X SILVERTIP and the Winchester SUPREME BALLISTIC SILVERTIP are VERY DIFFERENT BULLETS!! The Silvertip is a flat based, copper jacket lead core bullet, but it has an aluminum tip. This harder tip makes it expand more slowly than typical soft point bullets used for deer hunting, providing deeper penetration. The Ballistic Silvertip is a polymer tipped, boat tail, moly coated copper jacketed lead core bullet that is suitable for deer at extended ranges, but does not penetrate deeply due to it's rapid expansion. I used the BST's extensively in college because I was using the same rig to hunt coyotes as well as whitetails and antelope, I never had any quarry argue with a well placed hit from a 150grn .30-06 BST.

Moral of the story? Make sure you know what you're talking about before you post next time.

bigcountry

I have to agree. They are silly, but do give me a big chuckle.