30-06 ammo
 

Was in the local gun store getting a few things and got to talking to a fella and got into a pretty heated discussion about 30-06 bullets for whitetail. I made the comment that at my range from 25-200 yards the factory corelokts I use and interlocks worked great ad there was no need to change. He told me I was useing the wrong bullets. Said the Barnes ttsx was the way to go. Is the performance of this bullet worth the extra 20 bucks a box?

He's just trying to make some extra money off you.

The other fellow was full of beans. You do not need a premium bullet for any whitetail, and you absolutely do not need a premium bullet for a Georgia whitetail.

I have owned Dogs bigger than Deep South deer so no, absolutely not, you do not need tsx or ttsx or any other "premium" bullet to drop those tiny little deer. You don't even need them for the big 300+ pound Great Northern deer like in Canada.

I've used Hornady Interlock's and Interbonds for a long time and have yet to have one fail me as long as I put it in the right spot. And that is on Whitetail, Elk, Brown Bear, Moose, Caribou, Mountain Goat, American Antelope (speed goats), Bison, and Black Bear.

Used Rem CL's for years before I found the Hornady's and only had one failure due to bullet performance because I was just a little over speed at too close a range (bullet blew up on shoulder) still got the deer but had to trail it for close to a mile before I got another shot on the poor thing.

Cup and core bullets were killing Whitetail for many years before all these latest greatest "magical" "premium" bullets were ever dreamed up in the accountants heads. The only thing on this continent you should use a "premium" bullet on would be Elk or Brown Bear or Moose. Not saying that you HAVE to as I have never used them, but they do penetrate better so they give you better odds on that bullet getting into the boiler room. But thin skinned game such as Whitetail doesn't require it.

I have used corelokts in many calibers and never had them fail. Used them in 7/08,308,30/06,270,7mm rem,300 wby, 338 win, 35 Whelen. My dad shot probably 60 deer with a 30/06 with 180 gr corelokts longest was about 375 yards dropped in its tracks.

I always used core lok on big Wisconsin deer bought them in bulk and reloaded. The worked great

Agreed. CL's have been around forever and have killed so many game species it's not funny. If they weren't dependable, they wouldn't have stood the test of time.

Yeah man, he was right, the Core-lokt bullet is far too out-dated. But don't be fooled, the Barnes TTSX bullet is a few years old too, deer immune systems have already evolved and they're no longer susceptible to the TTSX bullet either.

Oh wait... bullets aren't flu shots...

Core-lokts have killed far more deer than the TTSX's ever will.

:fighting0007:

The TSX bullets are one of the best. My friend used 180 grainers this past fall in his 30-06 on a moose hunt we were on and he shot a nice bull high shoulder and dropped it where it stood.
You're right, even though the TSX is a great bullet there is absolutely no need to use them on whitetails. The corelokts and interlocks are all you need. That dude was just blowing smoke.

For WT Corelokts are just fine.