Close range deer hunters - do you pay for a prem bullet?

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BJE80

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So for those of you that hunt close range to deer say 125 yards and less, do you just buy the cheap(er) soft point ammo (Power shok, Core Lokt, Power Point, etc) or do you pay for premium bullet (Partitions, Barnes tsx, etc)?

There is much talk about long range expansion and accuracy but what about close range? Do you feel it is worth it?
 
I use the same bullet in close and way out there. I use the Nosler Ballistic Tip, but I'd be just as happy probably with the Sierra Game King. Most of my deer and pig shooting is inside 200 yards, and that's been true for over 4 decades and a couple hundred deer. My dad used CoreLokt's and Power Points and he kept the shots close and rarely had to track a deer. So...in my opinion, you don't need a premium bullet. Now, if I was gonna shoot an elk or a moose, I'd go for a premium bullet.
 
I shoot all reloads so whatever bullet/powder combo I have loaded up and sighted in is what I use regardless of the range. Sometimes its a premium sometimes just a "good" bullet. Either way I generally have no worries in my mind about the outcome if I do my part, I am always interested however in the actual terminal performance, I always have to take a close look at the wound channel etc. just because I want to know. I've always had good luck with Nosler Partitions & Ballistic Tips, Hornady Inter-loks, Rem Cor-lokts, Barnes X's. Are the higher end bullets necessary, nope not for the vast majority of situations, do you get a performance penalty for using them, nope and since I reload I don't have to pay the super-premium price for loaded ammo, thus I can shoot the good to better bullets for the same or less than buying standard factory loads. I've been expiramenting with the Barnes TSX's in my AR/.223, they shoot great, just haven't been able to line up the piggy to test the performance, saw him once but so far thats it.
 
I guess I began using Sierra bullets in maybe 1970. Odds are that the green box was the main attraction. Same price as Hornady or Speer. Since all my efforts were sub-MOA, why change? Since from 25 yards to 450 yards I had one-shot drop-deads, why change?
 
Ive had best results with regular federal powershok cup and core bullets. With that said when I used 9mm I went with a bonded gold dot.
 
Price is not much of a consideration since [for me at least] it's one bullet - one deer ! Practice with lower cost rounds and learn how to shoot.
 
I use Hornady Interbonds in most of my loads as they are extremely accurate in my rifles and performance has been spectacular. Since I handload, I could use a less expensive bullet and it would work just fine, but I like an accurate load that works.
 
I shoot what I find is most accurate in the given rifle, regardless of manufacturer. Price does become a limit for me at some point.

In other words, if paying an extra $5/box only yields me a modest improvement in accuracy, it's not worth it.
 
I shoot what I find is most accurate in the given rifle, regardless of manufacturer. Price does become a limit for me at some point.

In other words, if paying an extra $5/box only yields me a modest improvement in accuracy, it's not worth it.
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So accuracy is your only factor? Sure the bullet has to be accurate. But the performance of that bullet needs to be good too doesn't it?


For example, Federal Fusions shoot very accurate in my gun. But did you see the thread about no expansion?
 
I shot a large doe broadside at about 40 yards using my handloads for my .270 w 130 grain Nosler Partition bullets......The deer looked at me like it didn't even get hit and went about 50 yards before it expired ! The bullet exited the other side and I doubt it expanded much judging the exit wound but it was a clean shot through the lungs and heart area ! I've used 100 grain Gamekings in my .243 that I've shot two bucks with and they expired right on the spot of impact ! I do not think the average sized deer requires that tough a bullet construction taken with clean shots !
 
For the little deer here in my state I'll use most any hunting bullet but if I'm going after the bigger mule deer in Utah or Colorado, I'll usually use premium bullet like Barnes TTSX or Nosler Partitions.
 
While not needed it is simpler to just use one bullet and load for everything. During a typical hunting season here in GA I could be shooting a 50 lb deer or a 500 lb bear. Ranges could be as close as 5 yards or as far as 500.
 
In my Swede, I shoot the same Winchester Super X 140gr load for everything; From coyote, whitetail and wild boar, and plan on using the same load when I go west for Pronghorn.

I like to stay with a load that I know performs and is the most accurate and consistent from my rifle.
 
Since I reload for my hunts. Any bullet I prefer to shoot premium or cast. Is always cheaper than any commercial ammo. I shoot a few different weapon calibers so all of my rifles have developed reloading recipes and there bullets were chosen purposely for there performance.
I shoot Hornady 30-30 jacketed bullets out of my 300 savage. Cast lead from my 94 32 Special & 30-30s. Nosler Billistic Tips out of my 270. Discontinued Winchester Silver tips from my 25-06 and Hornady jacketed HPs from my 243. 223 shoots either Win FMJ or 55 gr. BTSPs and is most used. (rem model 7)
I seldom change any component in my recipes because of cost or fad. As many reloadings for the different rifles are well beyond Max Load listings or unlisted to get their utmost accuracy. When I grab a rifle here. I know exactly where its down range accuracy is targeted. Set typically zero out to 300 yards and one of those rifles is set for beyond that usual distance. Much beyond. That sir is how I keep my confidence up in my rifles of choice. I know how they shoot. I never have to guess where.
 
I load for accuracy. Depending on the rifle you use many bullets can be the same. Remington Corelock or Winchester Powerpoint all do the same for me. In other rifles there are many choices but if you have a lever action it's limited choices.

For my 6.5 jap i'm using Hornady A-max and Interlock.

As for close range 125 yards isn't all that close. Never had to shoot a deer over 50 yards. Hell I even shot one once at 8 feet.
 
BJE, yep, in terms of standard hunting bullets, accuracy is the biggest factor to me. I expect that if I put the bullet where it needs to go, the rest will take care of itself. I've used the gambit of core Lokt, power point, Interbonds, partitions, SST.....

Did I see the thread on the fusion? Meh, if you chase every bullet "failure" out there, prepare to be busy. For every failure story are there dozens that ended well. There are a lot of dynamics involved for shot angle to bone impact to the fact that the animal gets a vote.

Watched a doe take 2 130gr .270 slugs broadside in the boiler room at 100 yards. Deer didn't move after the first impact. We tracked her for over 100 yards. Both shots got lung and were well placed. 2 inches more and the heart would have been done as well. Why did the deer go so far? Good shots. Good damage. So was that a failure? I believe those were core lokts IIRC.

Earlier this winter it was SSTs blowing up with no expansion. Lots of folks reported good experiences.
 
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I use Nosler 165 grain BTBT's out of a hot loaded 30-06. At close range they don't expand but rather tend to shed the jacket. I've shot a few deer around 40 yards and the exit wound was smaller than the entrance wound. I hit one high in the lungs and missed the heart completely. She went about 25 yards into a briar thicket. The rest were DRT.
 
Nope, I usually don't use a cartridge that needs a premium bullet. In fact the last pronghorn I shot I used a 6mm 70 grain Nosler BT which is a varmint bullet. As long as I don't expect the impact speeds to be in excess of 2800 fps I usually don't worry about a premium bullet.

That said I did use a 180 grain Nosler Partition out of a .300 H&H on the last buck I shot, and an 80 grain Speer Deep Curl on the last doe. I used the NPT's because I bought a ton of them cheap as seconds. I'd been wanting to test the Deep Curl as a different option to the 70 grain NBT out of my 6X47, only because I couldn't get 85 grain bullets to shoot well.
 
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