Lots of good gouge here, flintlock's post was right on. I'll add two more cents if I may. You could probably shoot a dozen deer with the same load at the same range and all and you'd probably get at least a couple different results. Ten may drop while two may run and so on. There's no absolutes in deer hunting and I can appreciate your need to drop a deer in thick covered terrain as I hunt in eastern NC. A shoulder shot will most often drop a deer at the spot but at the cost of some meat, no way around it. Whether its a spoon full or a bag full you are gonna lose at least some meat. If you are a shoulder shooter, then a tougher bullet like a Nosler partition, Speer grand slam, Barnes X, a bonded bullet, etc. would most likely benefit you. If you wish to save shoulder meat and opt for a behind the shoulder shot, a more violent expanding bullet may benefit you. Problem is, we as hunters can only choose which shots we take and not what's offered by game. In other words, you may end up passing on shots that you're unsure of that bullets particular capabilities. If you have a successfull track record with a particular load then stick with it. I'm sure that I'm not the only one that has often wondered what bullet (pick one) would do better than the current one in the chamber. There are many, many good bullets in both component and factory format available in 30-06. Its basically a matter of what your rifle likes and how you like the performance that it gives for your style of hunting/sized game. Good luck