Go to Deer projectile

Just curious what do most use? For me it's a Nosler Partition hands down. I also reload so it makes specific bullet choice easy.

Accubonds have served me extremely well.

Great accuracy and performance.

I’ve killed deer with a variety of projectiles over the years, from inexpensive cup-and-core bullets (Core Lokt and similar) to more modern designs like homogeneous gilding metal bullets. If forced to pick one style only for future use, I would have to go with the gilding metal design.

My favorite is by far the Nosler partition.

Remington corelokt but mostly sharp sticks.

Remington Core-lokt have been in most of my rifles for the last 30 yrs and have always performed well for me. The only one I shoot different ammo in is my .280...it shoots Federal Premium 140 grain Trophy Bonded Tip really well.

Short and long actions it’s hard to beat a soft point like a Core Lokt.
For magnums I like Partitions and Accubonds.

Barnes TTSX

Same here. By far Nosler Partition in my 3006. I have heard Accubonds are very similar but have no experience with.

Does anyone use Ballistic Tip style? Personally I only use them on varmints and have experienced horribly unreliable results on medium size game (Deer and hogs). My thought process is I train and practice as much as time and money allows but I also live in the real world. Things happen when the moment of truth arises. Shots pulled, deflections and the infamous"buck fever". I want a solid projectile that will drive through bone, muscle and organs. I also always prefer two opening over one. The faster an animal can hemorage out the better. What's the THF thoughts and experience?

Sierra Game King
Rem CorLokt
Nosler Partion
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Rem Accutip / Hornady SST

Limited experience with ballistic tips but I found the same thing as you. Especially fast shooting rounds they tend to open too fast. Thats just my very limited opinion and there will be lots on here that swear by them. Ive NEVER had a bad experience with Nosler Partitions.

You're asking too much from a Nosler Ballistic Tip. If you run one through the boiler room they will not go far and the insides will be mush. If you want something to go through bone you need an Accubond or Partition.

Speer Grand Slams or Swift A Frames. I like bonded bullets for everything, pronghorn to bison.
Spouse is an Accubond devotee.

It really depends on what rifle I have with me.
180 berger vld (hand loads)
143 eld-x (factory)
129sst (factory)
63gr Sierra SP (hand loads)
165 core lokts

Mines either an accubond or partition, i tend to switch back and forth depending on which one I can get as blemished bullets and haven't noticed a noticeable difference between accuracy or performance between them.

Same but I use interlocks and accubonds. Great bullets

Arrows I use a Gold Tip Pierce with a 100 grain wasp jackhammer. 410 grains total

150 grain CoreLokts when rifle hunting.

.308 150gr Winchester Super X. Affordable and drops every animal in texas

30-06 - 180 grain Nosler Partitions
308 - 180 grain Nosler Partitions
6.5 CM - 143 ELD-X

Hornaday interlock 162 grain 7mm Mag BTSP

6.5 CM — 143 ELD-x
308 — 178 ELD-x
280ai — 168 Berger VLD
30 Nos — 215 Berger Hybrid

Core-lokts. 100 grain in .243 and 130 grain in .270

The three in the rotation right now:
7mm Rem. Mag. - 140 Partition. I'm going to load some 150 Partitions and try them.
280 Rem. - 140 Sierra Game King
6.5 Creedmoor - 143 ELD-X, also really like the 140 Sierra Game King

I've mostly used Ballistic tips. I must be the oddball because I've never had issues and almost always get and exit. Even drove a150 NBT from a 308 through both shoulders of a big mule deer. I don't shoot magnums so maybe that is why they worked so well.

I use mainly Sierra Gamekings and Prohunters or hot day interlokts. These three have severed really well for me on deer and hogs.

This. The same cartridge and the same bullet.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

Sierra 117gr boatail soft point...

Sierra Game King, for us, primarily the 165 gr in 308.... 100 percent successful

Frankly whatever is on sale and whatever shoots best in that
particular rifle.

Deer are not usually hard to kill and I have done equally well with cheap Speers up to Scenars.

Now if I am after bigger game or that proverbial once in a lifetime hunt, my default choice is Nosler Partitions.

As you can see by my. 277-.308 bullet drawer I have bullet ADD and am all over the place on bullet selection. Hmm and I just noticed a box of 6mm in there, now my OCD alarm light is flashing!

The BT works great here in E TX., I load mine but I run them around 28OO FPS mV instead of 3200 like most reloaders. The BT will blow up at close range if running too fast, at least that has been my experience. At 2800 +/-, the internal damage is huge, lungs & such are jelly.

From personal experience? Whatever the archery shop had in a 125gr 1.5” broadhead. Lol!

For the faster rounds(2700 fps +), I like Accubonds. For slower rounds I like SST.

I've used many others but these are the go to
270 130 gr sierra game king
30-06 165 gr sierra game king

In 40+ years of hand loading I have used a bunch of different ones. I find that if I poke a hole in the right place, dang near anything works. And then there are those deer that are very tenacious of life.

There are many good ones as already mentioned here. The bullets I’ve primarily used over the years are Sierra Gameking, Nosler Partition and Accubond, Barnes tripleshock. I’ve pretty much stuck with the Barnes bullet for the last 6 or 7 years as I’ve found them to very accurate while also doing a good job on whitetail, although I have taken a few Axis deer with that bullet also. I’ve shot the Barnes in 7 mag, 30-06 and 300 win mag.

I’ve killed hundreds of deer with Nosler Ballistic Tips. Used a 270 for decades (MV about 3000 with the 130 gr) and now am using the 120 gr in the 260 (MV about 2800). No complaints at all. This morning I shot a big doe right behind the shoulder. She ran 30 yards and piled up. Didn’t do a full autopsy, but the offside shoulder was a real mess. That bullet is messy but so very effective.

I can’t remember not getting an exit on a deer shot while broadside to me. Don’t always get an exit on medium to large hogs though.

If I get a broadside shot on a deer or hog, and put the bullet in the lungs, the critter will not survive. It’s never a question of did I kill it. More of a question of how far it got before hitting the ground. I trust the bullet performance after decades of use.

I’ve used lots of stuff. For on game performance the partition is the best I’ve used. Push it fast out of a magnum or slow it down in a short action, does not matter. It’s going to open up. Hold together on bone, and give reliable penetration. Accuracy with the partition can be finicky though and that level of performance is not a must for whitetail.
The bullet I load the most is the Sierra gameking. It is among the easiest bullets to get shooting tight and I like how it performs on deer. It is not as tough as a bonded or monometal but it is tough enough for deer. If I’m pushing them fast I go to a heavy projectile.

nosler partition all the way. i shoot them in every caliber i have if they are offered. .223/243/270/3006 to me they are the best performing bullets money can buy specifically for shooting game. I shoot my deer thru the front shoulders. they always provide a pass thru without making an unnecessary mess from bullet fragmentation.

^^^^^^
I've started reloading this bullet for use on hogs (160 gr. 7mm-08) and it is very accurate out my rifle. I've shot a number of hogs with it and it does very well. Actually recovered my first bullet recently and it held together well. I'm thinking about switching from the Combined Technology Ballistic Silver Tip that I load for deer to the Federal (140 gr.) though the CT has been excellent.


160 grain Federal Trophy Bonded:




140 grain Ballistic Silvertip:

150 grain remington core lokt out of my .270

If it ain't broke...

175 SMK

I shoot so many different cartridges it is hard to pin down just one go to bullet but I could easily hunt deer for now on with either the 150 grain 7MM Ballistic Tip or the 180 grain .308 Ballistic Tips. My 260 is loaded with 100 grain Partitions singing along at 3200 fps and I am going to carry it a lot this year.

Sierra Game King is the first bullet I'll try in just about any new, to me, moderate velocity round. Anything at or above 2,800fps mv and I start looking at bonded/premium bullets.

I really want to try the Trophy Bonded Tip but that nickel plating on the bullet is what has held me back. Nickel is a pretty hard metal and I have to believe it will shorten the life of a barrel.