Have dropped large cow elk where they stood with the Hornady Superperformance 140gr SST,one 125 yards, and complete pass through at 288 measured yards, broke ribs on both sides, significant internal damage. That is in my HVA 270. My Ruger ultralight uses only 150 gr. Nosler partition handloads for Dall sheep and one elk, never had any move more than 10 yards. Bullet placement far more important than type of bullet in my experience. That same Ruger dropped my biggest ever mule deer at 35 yards (he was occupied with a doe, actually felt slightly guilty about that
with a 140 grain Accubond Nosler factory ammo through the neck and it barely expanded as it passed through. Did the job, but was greatly surprised at bullet performance. Really like Barnes TTSX above others as long as your rifle shoots them well. Try their 130gr factory ammo if you don't reload, or the Hornady GMX or interbond loads. 130 grain solid copper or copper-gilding bullets are equivalent in game performance to 150 gr traditional construction bullets.
Bullet selection is important, but probably not as much as advertising or campfire talk would lead you to believe. Good old 7mm 175gr hornady interlocks loaded to 2900fps in a 7 mag never failed me on moose or bear in Alaska. Ditto on 250 grain Speer or Hornady softpoints in my 35 Whelen or 358 Winchester. Had one from my Whelen break the front shoulder of a 350 lb black bear and recovered it in the rear hip on the other side after treaveling the full length of the bear, still weighed 182 grains. High velocity, especially at closer ranges, does demand more from bullet construction though. Not a good idea to try saving money on ammunition usually.
