Sometime choosing a bullet for deer is way overthought.

[Paul B.]

For many more years than I care to count, I used the plain old cup and core Sierra 150 gr. Pro-hunters in my 30-06. I can remember when they were not even called that. I shot and deer died. Used then in the .308 for a while as I was not hunting in very high mountains and as I was a heavy smoker at the time, that almost 10 pound 1903 Springfield shorter was a tad too heavy.
I just did not like the way the 150 gr. PH mangled up good eating meat on less than perfect shots so went to the 165 gr. Speer Hot-Core for the .308 and 180 gr. Sierra Pro-hunter for the 30-06. In 1978, while still living in Nevada, I shot the biggest and heaviest bodied Mule Deer I have ever seen. I hit it twice using my 06 and the 180 gr. Nobler Partition. Shots were at roughly 30 to 45 feet. Deer was apparently unfazed so shot #3 was used to break it's neck. Upon opening up the deer, the shot I believe was first had cut a groove in the top of the heart without opening the organ. Shot #2 punched through both lungs in a pencil sized hole. No sign of any expansion. I stayed away from premium bullets after that and only went to a 225 gr. Barnes TSX for hunting elk with my .35 Whelen. Took my elk this year with a 30-06 and 165 gr. Nosler Accubond.
Paul B.

 

[samsmix]

I submit to the group that any deer CORRECTLY shot with a cup and core bullet from a GENUINE deer rifle (.25 caliber to .35 caliber, starting velocity of at least 2000 fps, bullet weight of at least 100gr), within the cartridges effective range, will be DRT or very nearly so

 

[lefteye]

For roughly 40 years I have enjoyed developing the best loads for hunting with my .223, .243, .270 and .300 Win Mag using a variety of bullets, cases, primers, and powders and my RCBS reloading equipment. Of course I can't guarantee all of my hunting loads were superior to factory ammo, but I know they were very accurate and successful in rifles much less costly than the OP's beautiful Kimber (I'd have a Kimber or two if I was much younger.)

 

[Pathfinder45]

I have never used corelokt on deer. But I can tell you that using using Speer 130 grain spitzers in a 270 Winchester seems to be an utter death-ray on deer.

 

[WV_gunner]

I usually use Winchester Super X or blue box Federals. For .45 Colt and .45-70 I do use LeveRevolution but that's because they are cheaper. With Super X in a .243 it'll go through light brush and still fragment in a deer at 300 yards. Usually the heart and lungs look like they went through a blender. It's not uncommon to find an exit wound from a piece of the bullet. With .30-30 and .30-06 you can shoot through small trees (can't always see everything in brush), shoot the deer, and still have an exit wound. I actually have a .44 mag rated spinning 3/8ths thick target that was shot with 150 grain Super X .30-30. Not only did it spin, it put a .30 caliber hole in it, and that's at 75 yards. (Against manufactures recommendations) I've shot this same target with FMJ 9mm and 9x18 out of several guns, it's had a few hundred FMJ hits at less than 25 yards without a problem. It's been shot with everything including hunting .44 mag loads, I had no idea a .30-30 at that distance would hurt it. If I wasn't a firm believer in regular bullets in a .30-30, I would've been after that. Penetration is not a question.

 

[Boogershooter]

I don't think it is too over thought because at deer camp bullet selection is the second biggest argument. Caliber selection is #1. Remington vs winchester is third lol. Some people don't like to track deer and some don't mind. IMHO softer rapid expansion bullets provide more DRT shots on deer than harder bullets. Especially in larger calibers. I tried nosler partitions in all of my .30 cals from 308 to 300 weatherby and they were all pass thru's and only 1 DRT. The 25-06 partition expands very well. Winchester ballistic tips provide DRT shots almost everytime, but only pass thru about 50% of the time. Some people just like what they like and most people that blame the bullets are just making excuses for a bad shot.

 

[WV_gunner]

I think out in the real world most people that hunt don't give much thought into what they are shooting bullet wise. Most just go with Winchester or Remington and call it good enough. The biggest question is what caliber you're shooting. Then it's the action. Third is probably wood or synthetic stock. Most people seem to wait for a couple days before season starts to buy ammo and get a box of whatever is left.

 

[Pathfinder45]

Got Silvertips?

 

[Pathfinder45]

If you simply must hunt with factory ammo, look for this: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=503363583

 

[dgludwig]

QUOTE: In my testing, the 150PP had 10-12" more drop @ 300 yards vs Remington 150 CoreLokt/Hornady 150 Interlock with similar 100 yard zero.

Ballistically, this doesn't make any sense to me. A foot of extra drop using equivalent bullets in terms of weight and similar velocity, irregardless of the bullet's profile, seems a bit much to me. I've bench tested many rifles using these same bullets and have never seen this much disparity in terms of drop between the two, everything else being for the most part equal.

In terms of "killing power", I do prefer the "Core-Lokt" bullet but I wouldn't feel at much of a disadvantage using a "Power Point" bullet, at least for deer hunting. As the op implied, "...choosing a bullet for deer is way overthought".

 

[Kbourqur3375]

308 180 gr. bonded deer thug

ok, rhetorical question and I'm sure somebody somewhere has asked this before. It has a good BC, very good results out of a bolt gun. I've thought about using it for long range shooting with my SASS. Shot out of a 24 inch bolt gun, I can tell you exactly what will happen when you pull the trigger. TANGO DOWN. But out of an 18 inch semi auto sniper, I haven't done it yet. Anyone here have any input that I might be interested in? Has anyone shot it thru a LR308 or other AR10 guns?