With deer season upon how about we open a thread on bullets, not cartridges or calibers. While I don't find the time to hunt these days I'm contemplating making the time in the future.

What I've shot the last few years that I did get in the woods was 150gr ballistic tips out of a 30-06. Before that corelocks 140gr in a 280.

Didn't care for the corelocks due to my tendency to take my shots at knife fighting distance and preference for breaking down the running gear. They grenade under those conditions with the lead core doing the damage. I can't recall an exit.

The ballistic tips seem to hold up better even when hitting the spine. Never recovered one.

Since I'm getting low I went looking, yup everything out of stock. So what say the crowd. I'm thinking a bonded or copper.

I've used copper bullets exclusively for 25-ish years with good results, but my hunting conditions might be different than yours. One reason I prefer them is that they always stay together and penetrate deep. In approx 30 caribou and moose, I've only recovered a single slug (nicely expanded with 4 petals). This is relevant because my hunting rifle is also my bear protection. Also, we usually hunt in open country and can watch our quarry take the hit and react, rather than disappear at the shot into a brushy thicket or gully. Lastly, I never find bullet shards in the meat. Meat damage is modest given that copper bullets don't blow up on close shots.

That's why I'm thinking copper. The shards in the meat. My longest shot to date is 62 paces, shortest 3.

Something that holds together no matter impact velocity or what it hits would be good. I really don't need the penetration on these buck and quarter deer though.

Any cup and core bullet like core loks or ballistic tips should work fine on deer when not pushed too fast. These bullets are designed to work in the 2900-2000 fps neighborhood. Go over 2900 fps and they can unreliably blowing apart or separating from the jacket. Under 2000 fps a lot of them will not expand properly or at all in soft tissue. To answer your question I use a little bit of everything in my firearms. Ballistic tips, game kings, SST”s, midway USA branded and Speer to name a few in the cup and core selection depending on the accuracy of the individual firearm for whitetail deer. .

There is no need for premium bullets for whiitetails, they are thin skinned medium game. If you use a high intensity cartridge and expect impacts above 3200 FPS then they are a good bet. Have you checked on the availability of hornady sst's?

sounds like 30-30 country, or something like my current woods rifle, the 6.5 grendel.
edited to add:
or better yet for close range deer hunting an AR chambered in 458 Socom or 450 bushmaster is an absolute whitetail hammer!

For whitetails, 150 Hornady Interlocks in everything 30 caliber that runs less than 3100fps. In my experience, just about perfect in 308 / 30-06 class cartridges.

I like accubonds, seem to drop deer in their tracks.

Oh I agree about not needing just don't care for bullet splatter. They've all been dead and none required me look long for them.

A good hard cast lead would do the trick. Or go back to the shotgun with slugs.

Shot placement is important. A .17 HMR is a heck of a deer rifle in the right hands.

So is a 22lr, or so I'm told cause I know nothing.

X2

Haven't shot a lot of deer with a rifle but all have been with Rem coreloks except one. Corloks worked fine. Seen one shot with a varmint bullet. Not a good choice in my experience.

Bonded
Copper Jacket bonded are my first choice...

Remington used to make a Remington Ultra bonded

I bought a few boxes back in 2002 or so of
140 gr. Bonded 7mmRem mag. My Browning SS A bolt loved them and I used them here on Deer and in Wyoming for lopes. Long shots or close the bonded 140s opened up perfectly as designed and Caused No meat damage.

I can't find those particular bullets anymore

Ok so this post is just assuming you or anybody else can afford every type of bullet. My main caliber is 6.8 SPC which uses .277 bullets. My hunting gun is a factory Ruger Mini 6.8 SPC and with that rifle, Remingtons UMC 6.8 SPC ammo shoots sub moa. How they make that bullet im not sure but I love it.

However my main go to is barnes .277 110 grain BTHP, I was able to get a smoking deal on what should be like 20 years worth. These are copper only, but my next one to try is Hornady's full boar line of 100grain and 110 grain. I have the 120grain SST to use as well.

My alternate go to is the .277 90 grain gold dot speer bonded bullets. Any of the Gold Dot bonded bullets are awesome, I always bring the same amount of bonded bullets as the full copper ones.

Muzzle loader bullets are the federal trophy copper pack from walmart. Its aggravating because its difficult to buy in bulk for a good deal. Thor is who I would go with, they were great to deal with and offered their best deal for a bulk buy, but it was still too much per bullet. Would like to see a bonded 50 cal muzzle loader bullet, if you guys know of one let me know.

If I was really desolate, or just starting off in life, I would only use my 30-30 and use whatever bullets you could get. A 30-30 will kill everything in North America absolutely fine, Federal makes a great 170 grain bullet for it, as well as a nice bonded set too. 30-30 have killed more elk than any other caliber, but 300 win mag will take it over soon. For white tail, no caliber will ever come close to 30-30, considering a lot of people still hunt with it today myself included.

seems like the 06 and 280 are long range guns in a short range setting

I just shoot cup and core

I prefer the 180s in the 308 and my 30-06s are semi auto so I run at 308 velocities M1 and 742

I prefer heavier because I like 2 holes but also like using a bullet I can afford to shoot a bunch in practice

I was getting the 180s for about 22 dollars a hundred they are up to 30 a hundred now and I wish I had bought a lot more when they were on sale at 19.99 a few years ago

at 62 paces might as well just use the shotgun with slugs get good shooting fast

most of my deer have come under 80 yards with slugs , slugs break running deer down fast but if you get that 125 yard shot there aren't much good

for the 06 in the thick stuff like that I would be looking at a heavier bullet like a 180 range isn't a concern so breaking bone and making exit would be to break them down quick
because of the weight they don't travel as fast so they don't expand as violently close

Used to shoot 180 grain corelokt's out of the -06, but the bullet disintegration turned me off. Switched to blue box federals (still 180 grain), much happier with the bullet performance.