The choice of bullet, IMO, is less important than UNDERSTANDING THE BULLET YOU CHOSE!! Shot placement depends, for me, on the bullet I'm using. For example, if I'm using a ballistic tip that's designed to come apart and dump all the energy, I try to avoid bones on the entry. On the other hand, if I'm using something like a OTM (or other pill with reputation for penciling) I'm going to target a bony area to aid the expansion. It's an understanding of what your bullet's terminal characteristics are that should guide your shot placement.
Ultimately, precise shooting is the deciding factor. I'll take a bullet that I can deliver sub .5moa over a 1moa bucket every time, regardless of construction or its reputation as a 'hunting' or a 'match' bullet; because knowing I can deliver it in the appropriate place is the primary concern. Precision delivery of a bullet, in an appropriate area for the bullet's construction and terminal features, will always result in a swift kill. The best expanding bullet in the world, if not delivered properly, will do nothing.
For my .260 I've used the Federal Fusion with a lot of success but I'd probably be looking at Copper Creek if I was going to use factory ammo in it anymore. I wouldn't be afraid of the Prime, though - I'd just be breaking down shoulders with it OR using a high shoulder or neck shot to break the spine. No soft tissue placement.
With what little experience I have with match bullets on game I wouldnt shoot an animal with one I cared about it dying right there. I did some testing on pigs with them and they can have good performance if you hit a pig square on in the face, lots of bone structure, that splits the bullet open and causes a good amount of damage I guess for what it is. But glancing or soft tissue and they just suck them up seemingly no worse for the wear. Ballistic tips are the opposite, glancing or soft tissue and they explode taking lots of material with them in the process. Straight on a skull and they blow up before penetrating very deep.
For deer or pig sized game I have gone full circle and ended up going in the opposite direction of modern bullet technology, a good old pointed soft point like a gameking or partition.
Ive followed a couple pig hunters on instagram and while they get shipped lots of prime to use I have never been very impressed with the results I see despite their pimping of it. Sure the occasional eye pops out but thats more good placement than terminal performance, Ive never seen a good exit wound out of the prime unless they just turn the pigs over to hide the nasty for the web but I highly doubt that as they are sure to show you the eyes dangling.
This is some good advice.
Also, it seems the assumption is I'm shooting a 6.5CM. I'm shooting a 260, so the factory options for ammo are much less. This will be my match/target gun, but it's going on one hunt with me as I don't have a better option short notice - hence the desire for factory hunting options.
See if the Federal Fusion shoots well or try some Copper Creek stuff. Even the Remington Core-Lokt delivers great terminal performance if your rifle shoots it well enough to have confidence; and if you're not shooting real far. I only use it on pigs because my Tikka doesn't care for it all that much. If you have a lot of confidence in Prime, shoot it but be aware of its performance and pick your shot accordingly.
Hope you have a great hunt!
So ELDXs have a thicker jacket (from my experience) then ELDMs yet we've seen a couple posts saying ELDMs pencil through despite have no the same Ballistic tip and a thinner jacket.
Further a lot of "Hunting" bullets seem to be designed to pass through game, wasting energy and dumping it into the earth.
Meanwhile something like a Berger "Hunting" bullet in my experience rarely passes through, dumping all of its energy into the target.
Hunting bullets to me seem to be mostly scams, over engineered to have people pay huge amounts of money. It's an easy target really because some people spend huge amounts of money on a hunt, you wouldn't want to ruin that hunt by cheating out on ammo, so companies market "Premium" hunting rounds that cost 4 or 5 times sometimes more then their regular ammunition. And worse yet depending on what they're shooting might not be any better suited then the cheapest stuff.
A Partition is developed for huge animals with massive bones, that could kill you if you don't hit vitals. But people use them on white tails, which are fairly small and easy to kill. And yet you'll see people recommend them.
At the same time my experience with Hornady SSTs and Nosler Ballistic tips has been they under penetrate and game walking away, these however are also "Premium Hunting" bullets. But you wouldn't catch me using them again as I've had to do to much tracking with them. A few instances of them penciling through as well.
However everything I've shot with "Match" rounds has died almost instantly and never gone more then a few yards. On top of that I practice with these rounds far more often.
And were not talking about a few instances here, I've shot a lot of white tails (and a few Mule Deer) in fact next month I was supposed to help take 90 or so off of a couple properties due to over population, but I'll be working and that type of thing I really don't care for anymore, it turns it into work.
In your previous post you pointed out someone assumed your lack of knowledge or ignorance, have you used "Match" Bullets for hunting? If not you're just assumeing a lot of things and you are ignorant.
If we rely on the marketing of the people trying to sell us ammunition we'll all be buying the most expensive thing they can come up with, some of the research they do is after all "how do I get people to buy this?"
Everyone compalins when companies like Hornady use their marketing department to sell us new tips and superformance ammo, but when it comes to hunting rounds if we don't believe these companies were fools?
ill take my first hand experience over company marketing every day of the week.
I agree with you to an extent and, as I've posted above, agree that shot placement is paramount! On the other hand, there's always plenty of anecdotal internet evidence that's likely more due to luck than any sort of shooter or bullet proficiency. Lol!
Manufacturers have developed all sorts of hunting bullets with different characteristics to suit all sorts of animals and types of shot placement. The problem is that the manufacturers lump all of them into the "hunting" category as if they're all created equal and will work for any placement on any animal. Unfortunately, the vast majority of "hunters" don't know enough to even inquire about what the actual bullet is designed to do and what the parameters are for success. Heck, most hunters call a loaded round, "a bullet." Lol! The manufacturers would do the hunting community a favor if they explained (on every box) specifically what the bullet in that particular round was designed to do and, thus, what type of placement should be used. They produce such a wide array of hunting bullets in order to provide terminal performance for all sorts of critters and shot placements.
There's nothing wrong with a ballistic tipped bullet that has less penetration but expends all its energy in the vitals; but a controlled expansion, mushrooming bullet that blows out the other side can be very useful. I prefer my clients use something that consistently produces exit holes because tracking is easier and most people don't make their best shots on animals. As I stated in my post above, I tailor my placement to the bullet I'm using. Some bullets are appropriate for a coyote and some for whitetail and some for elk - but they're rarely perfect for all three. The problem isn't with the variety of types of performance that make up the vast array of "hunting" bullets - it's the misuse of them by hunters.
There are a LOT of factors that go into picking a great bullet for a particular animal and hunting environment. IMO
You definitely raise some great points!
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