What’s your go to bullet/ projectile for Deer

[Buckmaster7600 8850]

Good to see a fair number of replies from people who have switched from lead to copper. Kudos to the conservationists among us.

I’m not sure what the conservationalists part means? I switched to copper bullets for the hooter to tooter performance. Haven’t found a lead bullet that retains weight like copper.


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[airedale 4057]

With the reliability of todays modern bullets on Deer I really do not have one that is a standout above all others. I have used most styles and brands and all have done their job well when it comes to the kill as long as the shot was placed correctly. I do not see a Deer as an animal that is particularly hard to kill so I stick with traditional regular grade bullets for the most part. I have a couple of times had the occasion to go out west and Canada to hunt for big stuff, I will use the premium bullets like Nosler Partitions for those Animals.

What I do like is fine accuracy and will try different loads, bullet weights and brands to find what shoots best in a particular rifle. I like the confidence of knowing when I pull the trigger of where that bullet is going to hit and the bullet that gives me that confidence is the one I will choose. While just about every brand is plenty accurate enough more often than not handloaded "Sierra" bullets will shoot the best groups in my rifles.

Al

[Curmudgeon 1364]

18 hours ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

I’m not sure what the conservationalists part means? I switched to copper bullets for the hooter to tooter performance. Haven’t found a lead bullet that retains weight like copper.


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That's a great reason for using copper.

The conservationists are concerned with lead poisoned scavengers, especially eagles.  It has been a topic of conversation here for years. 

[ATbuckhunter 3123]

I shot the 180gr Barnes TTSX in my 30-06. It always puts them down when I do my part. I dont like eating lead nor leaving lead in a gutpile. When I walked back to check out the gutpile a few hours after I gutted the deer, there was a red tailed hawk on it eating. Wouldnt have been too good if it had lead pieces through out it 

[Water Rat 11221]

Been using these for years.....good groups from my Ithaca Deerslayer.

 

[TonySkyline 22]

I love the hornady super performance sst 162grain bullets out of my 7mm rem mag. I have never lost a deer ive hit with it. No reason to switch and I'll be using the same thing for my custom mountain rifle tikka build next year for elk unless i can find something a little heavier with the same terminal power.

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[Curmudgeon 1364]

23 hours ago, ATbuckhunter said:

I shot the 180gr Barnes TTSX in my 30-06. It always puts them down when I do my part. I dont like eating lead nor leaving lead in a gutpile. When I walked back to check out the gutpile a few hours after I gutted the deer, there was a red tailed hawk on it eating. Wouldnt have been too good if it had lead pieces through out it 

AT - Besides redtails, this was what was in my bone yard a few days ago. Ignore the location. For those of you who are not familiar with this bird, it is a golden eagle. Bald eagles show up more often than goldens.

This is not Oneonta. I used the camera in Oneonta but forgot to change the setting. This is Otsego County NW of Oneonta.

[YFKI1983 441]

30-06 Federal nosler ballistic tip. When I bought my rifle 15 years ago I had a few boxes of Remington bullets and went to set my scope. I had about 3 bullets in a box misfire. I bought federal and never had an issue. They are a bit pricey but I have everything dialed in and don't want to mess with it.

Almost every deer I have shot over the years dropped on the spot. The only 2 that didnt were does that ran about 75 yards with their heart in a million pieces. I don't even know how it's possible. Blood trail looked like a murder scene for both.

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[BowmanMike 2466]

I only have a 50 cal muzzleloader i hunt with during gun season. I use the shockwave 250gr saboted bullets. They are lead,and i tried the copperbelt but my gun threw those unsaboted ones all over the place,and i mean 2' right at 50 yds,next one 2' low and who knows where the third shot ended up.

But the MZ is a lot slower than a rifle,so my bullets do not fragment much and so hopefully lead contamination is not a big issue.

[Larry 789]

265gr Hornady 44cal interlock flat point in my 444 marlin.

[Poppy 86]

Hornadt SST 123 grain in my CZ 7.62x39 carbine & 62 grain Federal Fusion in my CZ 223.