HuntnShoot-
The North Fork SS I use in several rifles (.257 Roberts, .280 Rem, 7mm RM, .30-06, .300WM, .45-70) don’t have the greatest B.C. but they perform great, providing exactly what I want in terminal performance. When shot from my magnums they shoot flatter and faster, not much different than inferior bullets with higher B.C. values shot from my non-magnums. Either way, magnum or not, they are reliably consistent performers, which is what I value most in my bullets.
Striking velocity is not the “essential thing”, as you claim, it is “one of the things”. Bullets can fail to expand if velocity is too slow and fail to hold together if it is too high. Both constitute failures to my way of thinking. The premiums I use have worked fine at low velocities yet hold together better than standard cup-and-core bullets at much higher velocities. Case in point were the two antelope we took this last weekend with TTSX, a 100g from my .257 Roberts (310 yards, ~2400fps striking velocity) and a 140g TTSX from my .280 Remington (373 yards, ~2075fps striking velocity). Both shots resulted in exits with signs of good expansion. Although I’ve lost petals from TTSX when shooting into water jugs at over 3,000fps from a range of a few feet, the only time I have had them disintegrate was when shooting steel, and even then they made a big pocket. By contrast, I’ve had cup-and-core bullets come apart in in the water test and barely dent the steel before flying to pieces.
I agree there are no guarantees from bullet makers when buying “premium” bullets. Like cup-and-core bullets, some have proven to reliably meet my performance exportations while I won’t even consider others due to their construction and performance claims by the manufacturer (read “Berger VLD” for one).
I disagree, however, that when using the premiums of my choice, that I’m paying “more for less”. These include Barnes TTSX, Nosler Accubond, North Fork SS, Swift A-Frame and Scirocco II and, while I no longer use them, Speer Grand Slam. While I’ve rarely needed the additional penetration capability that the premiums I use can offer, it has been there when needed.
