Don't want to derail the deer caliber thread but what's your preferred bullet?

In my 338 wm I really like the barnes Ttsx in a 210 or 225.
My 30-06's I like a barnes tsx in 168 gr.
I haven't reloaded for my 26 nosler but the nosler142 lrabs seem to be the cats pj's.

The barnes really hold they're weight and just plan ol work imo. I've only recovered 3 bullets but I've 100% recovered every animal I've shoot with them. I've only shot 2 elk with 26 nosler. One being 550 yds and the bullet was found on the off side of its hide while the other elk was 200 with complete pass thru. Both doa.

A well placed one.

Seriously, about any hunting bullet will do the job if placed right. Unless you get way out of line and use a varmint bullet for Elk or something crazy like that.

Swift A-Frame and Nosler Partition bullets have given me excellent accuracy.

The Partition has worked well on moose, but I really like the A-frame for tougher animals. I shot my kudu almost entirely lengthwise with an A-frame, and the bullet exited a front shoulder. Two A-Frames recovered from my buffalo showed perfect mushroom shapes.

The A-Frame is probably overkill for deer--or at least it's not needed. I've shot deer with Partitions, and they performed well. I'd avoid one of the thin-jacketed bullets that almost explode on impact and ruin meat.

Jim

In the 06 I use hand loads with Superformance powder and Nosler partition of 150 grain pushing them at 3150 Ft /sec. I want to try some Barnes TSX in 130 grain though. In my 30-30 I use 150 grain Sierra pro hunter over a healthy dose of Leverevolution powder. In the Grendel 123 grain Hornady SST with the same powder as the 30-30.
All of them work if you put them in the right spot.

Those are all great bullets.

I do think that one not frequently discussed but that works well are the Speer Grand Slams.

I've had expected good performance with Partions out of my .243 AI.

[quote=hippie]Seriously, about any hunting bullet will do the job if placed right. Unless you get way out of line and use a varmint bullet for Elk or something crazy like

Very very True!

The Barrel will tell you what it likes.
...when a Firearm is new- I shoot 3 to 5 different types of ammo. not worried yet about centering the group of 3 shots. The tightest Group is the one I move to the target center. Sometimes we want a certain brand/ type but the barrel hates it.

Hornady 139gr. Interlocks shoot super well out of my 7mm Rem Mag. Browning A bolt SS.

Hornady 117gr. SST's perform well out of my .25-06 Browning A-Bolt

on the cheaper end but still performing well close and downrange Blue box Federal Soft points Shoot super well out of my 3 different .243's

I don't reload so this is my method to Match load to barrel.

I never understood the desire to get competition accuracy from a hunting tool.

I like partitions too. For stuff like elk especially. I have killed a lot stuff with sierra game king boat tails as well. Nosler ballistic tips work great on coyotes. Hornady interlock have been easy to find. 150 grain round nose works in my 30-30. Loaded a bunch of interlocks for 25-06 havent killed anything with them. My grandsons been using them in 243. They work. I have not shot anything with grampa's old 243 but loaded a few interlocks for it also. After shooting paper with them I am sure they will kill anything I decide to shoot them at.
Those TSX I loaded for my 300 win mag are impressive. Not just for accuracy. Have only shot deer with them. No bullets recovered. I would be willing to try them on any animal in N. America

Soft lead at 1200-1800 fps does everything I need it to.

Barnes Tsx or ttsx are punching great groups out of 243. Will be testing them on deer this week...I suspect theyll fix any blood trail issues that occasionally occur with small caliber lead core. Ive used Barnes out of 50 cal muzzloader for many years and cant say enough good about them.

In my 35 Rem I use a 200 Grain Hornady FTX bullet with 40 grains of Lever Evolution powder. In my 6.5 CM I use Barnes 127 Grain LRX. I only hunt Deer so have a shorter range and a longer-range gun to fill both rolls depending on where I hunt.

Is it pendleton ammo all loaded by hand ..this year it 51 grain sst for the 270

For deer a 165 interlock out of my 300 win mag at 3200fps flattens deer
Moose, elk, bear 225 ttsx out of my 338 win mag

the confidence from time on paper and steel to know you can make the hit and fast.
and because it is just frustrating to fire a group and think man I know that I and that rifle will do half that with the other ammo

don't get me wrong I am not into designer bullets at all I shoot mostly cup and core soft points some speer some honrady

I prefer a bullet inexpensive enough I can shoot targets with it often enough but put together enough to also take hunting speer hit that for me in 30 cal

hornady in .224

Federal Terminal Ascent and Barnes ttsx and Lrx

Just ramblings here from me now.
IMHO there is no perfect hunting bullet for all situations. if I see a boat tail bullet, I figure it is made for longer ranges and will have a softer composition than a flat based one to allow it to expand at the slower speeds it will have once it gets to where it was sent way out there. Same goes for the flat and round nose bullets made for the 30-30 for example that start out at those slower speeds. ( just ignoring the tube mag here for arguments sake ) Its up to us to try and match a bullet for our application. You can't put the blame on the bullet when you stick a light boat tail bullet into a 300 WIN Mag case and then throw that at a deer at close range. It will blow up and cause massive surface damage with less than ideal penetration and shards of copper and lead in your venison sausage as a side effect. On the flip side, you will get next to no expansion if you use a sturdy pullet that would shine in the above situation if you shoot a deer with a 308 at 500 yards with it. I think the effect it called penciling. Just zips through without expanding leaving you with a tracing job and maybe no venison at all.
Its about choosing the right tool for the job and not blaming the wrong tool when one made a poor choice from the outset.
Match the cartridge to the job at hand.
I am guilty of taking too much gun into the woods myself and know it. I know that I am better served with a 30-30 here where I am for 90% of the time. Yet sometimes I take the 06 knowing that most of my shots are well below 100 yards.
I try to make up for that by using a 150 grain Nosler partition. It has a soft nose but has a sturdy back half. So it expands relatively easy, but the back " chamber" stays together and will exit . It works from 30 to 300 yards in that round and probably a bit further than that as well.
But I knowingly make the " wrong " choice and live with it. When I know that the better tool is the 30-30 with a 150 flex tip bullet. As the holes I have to eat around would be somewhat smaller that way.
I blame myself for that not the tool.


Pew glad that one os over


PS. I want to try some 130 TSX in the 06. Just because I can. I am thinking it would be a zippy flat shooting round that stays together quite well. And easy on the shoulder to boot

It wasn't until I started reloading my own hunting ammo was I forced to give the choice of bullet much thought. Forced to chose as there are dozens and dozens of bullets to choose from for each caliber. Have read books, watched hour long videos, etc, but in the end, choice pretty much boils down to size of animal, distance to target and muzzle velocity bullet is fired from, and that is caliber specific. The 6.5 Creedmoor and the sport of long distance shooting movement it created has probably caused more problems than all other calibers combined. That Nosler felt the need for an Accubond and Accubond Long Range pretty much says it all.

Bullets that mushroom well and do damage fired at 3100 fsp on a deer inside 100 yards may pencil a deer at 500 yards.......the jacket is too thick and stiff to expand at the diminished velocity. And bullets that will expand at that range may blow up with impact velocity of 3,000 fps at close range. So you have to match the bullet to expected range, expected impact velocity, with additional wild card of your notion of aim point.......say thru both shoulders (tough bullet) or thru the boiler room (softer bullet). No soft bullet like and SST fired at high velocity thru the shoulders is going to make it. A Nosler partition would.

Any love for berger

I am a Nosler Partition guy.

Barnes TSX or TTSX. They work well on the terminal end and all of my rifles shoot well with them. The magnums plow through with amazing retention and the smaller .243 and .25-06 shoot them into very nice groups.
Swift A-Frames in the 300 grain offering work really well from the 375HH. I have enough of them rolled up to last the rest of my days afield so won’t be changing anything coming out of that rifle.