I don't do any kind of hunting that requires a premium bullet. I figure i can probably kill deer with a 7mm rem mag shooting a 140 grain spitzer. If i was going after something tougher i'd use grand slams not some bullet that's $2 a pop.
Been using the 7mm 160g Grand Slams for over 20 years on elk or deer. About 3 years ago I recovered my first Grand Slam and it had performed well – after breaking both shoulder joints on a 5x6 bull elk it still weighted about 113g. Still, that was a something of a turning point for me.
I was already looking for “tougher” bullets and had experimented earlier in the year with 160g XLC’s on antelope with horrible results. The North Fork, Trophy Bonded and A-Frame seemed to offer what I wanted – limited expansion and bonded cores – and a year later I was very impressed with the results of my .45-70 and 350g North Forks on a buck mulie and a 6x6 bull elk. Now I shoot North Forks in the .45-70, 7mm Mag and .300 Win Mag. Development of 120g A-Frame loads for the .257 Roberts is on hold until after elk season. A 115g Barnes TSX load has proven to be exceptional in the .257 Roberts and a 180g TSX does very will in the.300 Win Mag. The .257/TSX won’t be hunting this year but I may give the .300/TSX load a try – although it will probably be backed up in the magazine by a North Fork if I do, as I haven’t forgotten the experience with XLC’s on antelope.
On the other hand, I made my selection of hunting rifles while at the range yesterday. The .300 Win Mag will be backed up by a Marlin .30-30 shooting factory loaded Winchester 170g Power Points.
Last year my hunting buddy switched from 160g Grand Slams to 160g Trophy Bonded for his 7mm Mag, and that is the load he will be using this year. His backup rifle will be a Marlin .30-30 with Speer 150g or 170g handloads.
While there have been a lot of posts on various shooting sites where people bash premium bullets and the people who shoot them, I’ve never seen a post bashing someone who uses cheap factory ammo from Rem/Win/Fed. My premium handloads cost about the same – and sometimes less – than the cheap factory stuff, so I really don’t worry about cost.
It really doesn’t matter to me what other people shoot, nor does it matter what they think about my bullet selection. There are stories galore about standard cup-and-core bullets that didn’t perform as desired, but I have yet to read or hear about how an A-Frame, Trophy Bonded or North Fork “failed”, let alone how the shooter would have somehow been better off with a non-premium bullet. My own experiences lead me to the Grand Slams back in the early 80’s and now to bullets I consider even better. I plan to keep shooting the “better” bullets.
Oh, the standard “cup-and-core” bullets in the .30-30? I have started working up loads for the 170g Partition, but at .30-30 velocities the standard bullets seem to work just fine.
