bronko22000

I've always contested that a premium bullet is not needed for deer. i would have to sit down and count the number of deer I kill with a little .243 Win and Hornady 100 gr interlock bullets. And as I recall, all but one fell like it was hit by Thor's hammer. I also killed a bunch with a .308 and 30-06 with Rem Cor Lokts. The only rifle I ever used anything close to a premium bullet was my .270 win. That thing lover Nosler Ballistic Tips in 130 gr. Lately I've been playing with cast bullets for my .45-70. Way too much cartridge for deer. But I've grown nostalgic in my old age.
But if someone wants to waste their hard earned $$ on premium bullets have at it. It don't bother me none.

buffybr

Like others have posted, premium bullets are not needed for deer. Millions of deer have been killed with cup and core bullets, and plain old lead bullets. I've even killed deer with lead .22 rimfire bullets (it's legal in Montana). I have three magnum rifles (7 mm Rem, .300 Weatherby, and .375 RUM) that I do most of my hunting with, and in them, I only hunt with premium bullets. In the past I have used Nosler Accubond bullets in the 7 mm RM, and now I only hunt with Barnes TSX or TTSX bullets in these rifles. I try to match the rifle and bullet to the largest animal that I will be hunting, and on hunts where I can shoot a variety of animals, I have found that it is better to shoot everything with one size/weight bullet than to switch to a lighter bullet for smaller animals, which would require re-sighting the rifle with each bullet. The Barnes bullets are also very accurate in my rifles.

In 1978 I built a .257 Roberts Ackley Improved primarily for deer and pronghorn antelope. I have successfully used it with several different "cup and core" bullets, but one of the best bullets that I have used in it is the old Sierra 117 grain GameKing bullet. I have killed dozens of mule and whitetail deer and pronghorn antelope with those bullets, and have used them to make one shot kills on 3 bighorn rams, a Dall ram, a mountain caribou, and one of my largest 6x6 bull elk. Bullet placement is more important than bullet diameter or construction.

bronko22000

Buffybr I certainly don't knock the Sierra Game King bullets. A couple years ago i hit a bull moose facing directly at me square in the chest because in an instant and one step he was would have been in some thick spruce 7' trees. After the shot that's exactly where he went. I sprinted the 150 yards and caught him just inside the spruces and finished him with 2 quick shots into the hear lung area. I later found that that 180 gr 30 cal Sierra went through the chest, took out the right lung, passed through the liver and I presume stopped somewhere in the gut! Not bad penetration from a puny 30-06. The other 2 were complete pass throughs.

homers brother

This is the stuff of campfire debates, and likely always will be? And as surely as one might believe one way, someone else is going to believe another. To each his own.

However, I think it's fair to expect that - whatever cartridge/bullet combination one carries to the field, that they be proficient and responsible with it. You cannot make up for poor shooting by using a bigger gun. Bad shooting is just bad shooting.

bronko22000

Exactly. And re-reading this thread - more so the title of it. I do believe premium bullets ARE superior to the older lead core/interlock type bullets. BUT I still contend they are not needed for deer size game in chamberings for .270 on up. In more open country for antelope or deer where 300 shots are easily possible and your choice is a .243 or God forbid, even smaller then I would say yes use a premium bullet.

Bocajnala

That was my initial reaction as well bronko.

Yes, premium bullets are better. Are they needed is the real question.

-Jake

hunters_life

Playing devils advocate here for a second, maybe they aren't needed but are high powered rifles needed? I've killed countless whitetail with smoke poles and round balls and I've never not recovered a single animal I dropped the hammer on with them. But I did start using conical bullets simply because of better accuracy and better penetration. I've killed lots of game with cup and core from everything .243 and up. Do I need premium bullets to take whitetail? No. But I may get one of those rifles that will only shoot a premium bullet with consistent accuracy. That is what anyone should be more focused on rather than bullet makeup as it is well established that plain lead, if delivered accurately, will kill a deer just as well as about anything else. Focus on your accuracy from field positions and find the bullet combination that best suits that particular rifle and ignore the marketing ploys of the bullet manufacturers. And to the person advocating for monster magnums for whitetail, I agree with the others in saying that is a very bad position to take in advising new hunters/shooters to be trying to use them. Flinch is a very common problem with new shooters and it is one of the hardest things to overcome once developed.