Your favorite whitetail bullets, per cartridge that you own?Favorite?

Bitteroot said:

I'm pretty familiar with White and Mule deer here in Mt, how they move, terrain they like and terrain they'll share and how well deer see hear and smell but I haven't hunted in Michigan are deer different there ?
Keep in mind that I'm not suggesting anyone use a 30-30 for open country 300 plus yard shots of course.
I've also had deer spook from a 1/4 mile away and others that didn't know I was 50ish yard away.

Click to expand...

I took a nice 8 point whitetail. Big bodied.
A woman originally from New Mexico took a look and said "The deer sure are small around here ".
Apparently she was accustomed to seeing mule deer.

.338 Federal with 160 TTSX stands out most: quiet sleeper that hits way above its class with brutal terminal effect.
.308 with 130 TTSX is another underrated hammer.
Overall: consistent philosophy, not random picks… speed, expansion, and quick kills.

jseandsje said:

This has been good reading. People endorsing a diverse list of bullets.

I like to experiment, so I've written down a few to try when the weather gets cooler.

Click to expand...

Yes, it has been a good read. What it seems to boil down to is that there are two factions represented here - the rapid expansion proponents, and those who prefer deep penetration. Both work, and it's a take-your-pick deal.

memtb said:

Simply put…. Up here they appear to be much more nervous/excitable and seem to "overreact" as compared to a Mule Deer given very similar situations!

Our bottomland Whitetails are more nervous than the local Mule deer…..but, not nearly as "nervous" as the Whitetails that I grew up with!

Perhaps not scientific…..merely my experiences! Your mileage may vary! memtb

Click to expand...

The only places I have hunted whitetails extensively have been western Pennsylvania and northwestern Minnesota. It was like I was hunting completely different animals. In PA, the deer are EXTREMELY nervous, at least relative to their counterparts in MN. They also weren't as big - often a full 100 pounds lighter in weight. They seemed to be far tougher when shot. Their nervous and high-strung nature was probably the reason why. The Minnesota deer quite often dropped at the shot, even on rib cage hits. The PA deer usually ran 50 to 100 yards, unless they had been hit through the shoulders. The bullets used didn't seem to matter as much as the deer's temperament when hit. With bullets placed behind the shoulder, it was about 50-50 as to whether or not they would drop right there, but the high shoulder shot knocks them down reliably.

I have never tried the all-copper bullets in either locale - just cup & core factory loads and saboted slugs in 12 gauge. The full-diameter lead Hybred slugs worked better than the 50-cal hourglass-shaped slugs, which were only effective when we hit bones. Otherwise, the holes were too small since they penciled through. The rifle loads I have used varied from 22-250 through 7mm Rem magnum, with most of the kills coming from 308 & 30-06. Bullet size and velocity didn't make a noticeable difference in the outcome - they all worked about the same, including the 22-250. I just don't think that a 150-pound animal is big enough to show any difference in killing effectiveness.

I do know that the bullet I used the most, the 308 & 30-06 Federal Hi-Shock, worked great on everything I have ever shot with it, including elk. It made very large holes on deer, but killed them quite handily. Exit wounds for blood-trailing the lung-shot deer came in handy when there was no snow for follow-up tracking. We often threw away a lot of blood-shot meat, but we always found the deer. Better to lose 5# of shoulder meat than to lose the whole carcass. The 22-250 killed them RIGHT NOW and didn't make a big mess of the meat. I shot about a dozen deer with it, but don't think that's enough of a track record to make a blanket statement that this little cartridge is a better deerslayer than a more conventional deer cartridge. They might behave differently when shot in the bigger bones with those little bullets.

Since I moved away from whitetail country, I have shot a lot of blacktails with the 30-06 & 280 Remington, most with the Hornady GMX bullets. ALL went right down, with very little meat loss. Most were ribcage shots, although a couple were frontal chest shots. When coming to the rattling horns, that's often the only shot you're gonna get. Fortunately, they are close when you have that shot presentation. I'm almost out of these bullets, and plan to use the CX when these run out. 165-grains for the '06; 139's for the 280. Both should do around 2900 fps muzzle velocity, which has always been enough in the past. If/when I go back east for whitetails, I'll take one of those two rifles with me.

nicholasjohn said:

Yes, it has been a good read. What it seems to boil down to is that there are two factions represented here - the rapid expansion proponents, and those who prefer deep penetration. Both work, and it's a take-your-pick deal.

Click to expand...

And when you find one that does some of both well enough, there isn't much to dislike that I can find.
ABLR cup & core, and McGuire, Apex monos is what I've found so far. Very good precision and good enough BC for Me.
Blown up internals with a lot of leakage plus broken bones if needed, so far in very limited use. I'll be testing 4 calibers this fall, 5-6 cartridges.
They rank from fast to a lot faster.

6mm creed. 108 eldm
6.5 Grendel 123 Eldm or SST
6.5-06. 147 Eldm
270 win. 130 Accubond
308 AR 10. 2620fps. 168Amax
308 varmint 12 twist 150 Accubond

300 RCM 150 gr. Barnes TTSX
7PRC 175 gr. Hornady ELD-X
270 WSM 130 gr. Barnes TTSX.

Amen - 30.06 All Around -

Al Diamond said:

.30-06 Springfield and 165 grain Core Lokt ammo. It's called the deadliest mushroom in the woods for a reason. Neither have let me down, so if it's not broke, I'm not fixing it.

Click to expand...

Amen - 30.06 All Around- so many bullet choices readily available, etc.

Am breaking in a Tikka T3X in 6.5 Creed - will see how it does at 400-450 yards - the longest shots I would probably take..

Al Diamond said:

.30-06 Springfield and 165 grain Core Lokt ammo. It's called the deadliest mushroom in the woods for a reason. Neither have let me down, so if it's not broke, I'm not fixing it.

Click to expand...

AMEN Brother.

.243 Winchester: any good 100 gr soft point (great for Scottish stags out to 250 yards)
.30-06: 165 Ballistic Tips, 2900fps (plenty of reh deer as well as springboks, blesbok and impala)
.308 Marlin Express: 160 FTX, 2700 fps (rehbok, pigs)
.303 Savage: 160 FTX, 2200 fps (steenbok)
.30 Hembrook: 180 Accubond, 3100 fps (anything including a 550 pound sable)
9,3x62: 250 AB, 2700 fps (foxes up to zebra)
.45-70: 325 FTX, 2050 fps (foxes up to gemsbok)

223 -60 gr partitions
7 mm08 - 120 gr nosler ballistic tips
270 wsm 139 gr Hornady bullets red tip can't remember what they are called
30-06 150 or 165 gr nosler ballistic tips
300 win mag 180 gr nosler ballistic tip
300 weatherby 180 Hornady flat base
30-378 200 gr nosler accubonds
338 win mag 250 gr sierra pro hunter
44 mag 240 gr Hornady xtp
444 300 gr Hornady xtp

Out of all these I've killed probably the most with the 30-06 and 150 gr. But the 7 mm08 is catching up quickly

Cheap old 100 gr Corelokt's out of a 243 are pretty bad medicine out to 300 or so.

Wendell Reich said:

I have killed WT with such a huge range of bullets. 55 gr FMJs in 223 to 270 gr TSX out of a 375 H&H.

WT aren't tough animals. Any decent bullet, in the right spot will kill them.

That said, any "hunting bullet" that shoots accurately out of just about any center-Fire gun is fine with me. I don't get picky with whitetail like I do with bigger and tougher game.

From Elk to Elephants is where I get picky with my bullets. A mediocre bullet can mean the difference between success and failure. As they get bigger,ll said

Click to expand...

Wendell Reich said:

I have killed WT with such a huge range of bullets. 55 gr FMJs in 223 to 270 gr TSX out of a 375 H&H.

WT aren't tough animals. Any decent bullet, in the right spot will kill them.

That said, any "hunting bullet" that shoots accurately out of just about any center-Fire gun is fine with me. I don't get picky with whitetail like I do with bigger and tougher game.

From Elk to Elephants is where I get picky with my bullets. A mediocre bullet can mean the difference between success and failure. As they get bigger, my pickiness goes up.

Click to expand...

Well Said.

308win said:

**** son, thats some fine shooting....you could clean up at an F Class match with those numbers!

Click to expand...

AMEN