"If I was hunting Deer only..I would probably use the old Sierra and never look back.Premium bullets are not needed for Deer..Period..."
Shame, shame, I say shame on you, Sir! Everybody knows one needs an Ultra -Mag with premium bullets to kill deer inside 300 yards... Beyond that, one needs more....
I'm with JB's last line on this one.
Actually, Premium bullets aren't needed for much of anything in NA. Wanted, yes, but not really needed. I'll make an exception, perhaps, for the big bears, which I have no interest in hunting, only in stopping if need be, or for hunting any game with a "too light" caliber.
I AM going to shoot a moose with the .260, and will probably use premiums, tho they aren't really necessary. Probably. That one double-lunged with a .243 100 gr. Core-lokt at 80 yards only went about 50 feet.... Did not recover the bullet... it buried itself somewhere in the cut-bank behind him, having missed bone all the way through.
Accuracy (within reason) is more important to me than whether to use a plain jane or a Premium for most of my hunting needs- BTDT with no different terminal results, as far as my experience goes- 20 moose, about 50 caribou, several sheep, goats, black bear, and a lone elk. Most of which keeled over from plain jane bullets. I had a 210 gr .338WM NP blow up on the near shoulder blade of a bull moose at 100 yards, resulting in near-pant-formation on walking up to him, at which point he lurched to his feet at less than 10 feet distance. That experience was impressive enough that I never used the NP210 again on game, sticking with the NP250's for a time, which have performed adequately, tho not as an accurate load as other plain jane loads, which I've largely gone back to. - but really- how much accuracy is "good enough" for a broadside moose at 70 yards (my average). The NPs were perfectly adequate grouping at about 1.75, factory or worked up handloads.
But I'm chea...I mean economically minded.
So why shoot a more expensive, less accurate bullet for marginal terminal performance differences?
Since misplacing two lung-shot bulls long enough for the meat to spoil, I've largely gone to CNS shots on close-in moose in heavy cover, so I want all the accuracy I can reasonably get. I often have to shoot standing off-hand, so every little bit helps. Again, within reason. Some Sierra GK 250 handloads go right at 1 inch at 200 yards, but I've been saving those last 3 loads for years now in case I get a LR op... I have the data on these originally thrown together "junk loads" written down, so I can dup them if I want.. Currently the .338 moose load is some other thrown together junk loads- this time Hornady 250RN- which shoot MOA at 100 yards. UGLY cartridges/bullets!!!!
Had a spike bull moose soak up 3 factory TB 250's (perhaps I shouldn't count the 2nd, knee-cap one however....
), finally going down with the fourth reload round- a Sierra 250 GK. The 3rd TB went in just forward of the ham as the moose was trying to make the brush, and exited in the same hole in the off shoulder as the first TB - which had penetrated through both shoulder blades from broadside without shattering either. Impressive penetration, but the GK (again broadside, just under the spine) made a bigger hole and flattened the spike, which was about to go down anyway. I have the off shoulder blade as a trophy on the piano downstairs. One could cover the 1st, 3rd, and 4th shot exit holes in the hide with a the palm of one's hand, tho the GK passed just over the blade.
By accuracy (within reason )- I just ain't gonna spend 80 bucks for 50 bullets to gain an extra .2 inch group, or even .5, if the rifle shoots cheaper bullets nearly as well, AND I am getting adequate terminal performance out of the cheaper bullets. If a bullet ever fails me, I'll go elsewhere. So far, only one factory load (plus the 210 handload) has, but I was misusing it anyway.. Did result in adead and recovered animals (moose at 70 yards, sheep at 330) however, so it wasn't a "failure", really- I just wasn't happy to find exploded bullet pieces and poor penetration on both animals, tho that was perhaps the most accurate factory load I've ever found for the short-barreled '06 "Stub".. I don't reload brass fired from that one, as it has a mis-shapen chamber. I keep thinking I ought to rebarrel, but why? It shoots most factory ammo into 1.25 MOA as is... and it's my favorite beater.
On the other hand, if a rifle significantly reduces groups with a Premium, that's what I'll feed it, especially if I anticipate the need to reach way out there... So far in my rifles, I've found Sierras, Hornadys, and Corelokts are almost always as accurate, usually more accurate in my handloads than Partitions, sometimes by a significant amount. I'm really not very impressed with NP group sizes. But if I find one that works better than PJs, guess what I'll feed the rifle??? Just can't see feeding them amore expensive Partition which shoots half-inch larger groups just to say I used a premium,....
I've killed a number of caribou beyond 300 yards using plain-janes in .25 and .30-06, 270, .280 and .260. Those two 'bou taken using the .338WM and TB 250 gr bullets didn't die any quicker or deader, just a wee bit more expensively.
Just bought a factory box of Rem 140 Corelokts for the .260 today, not being in a position to reload at the moment. It's what it shoots really well.... but at $38/box including tax....... AAARRRGGGGG!. And yeah, they kill caribou at any range I can hit them at.
I'll try not to pecker shoot another one, however- I'm saving up for a 1,000 yard rangefinder, good to 500 or so probably. My current "400" just ain't cutting it for open country hunting, since it seldom ranges past 300 on 'bou, and they are usually beyond that. At the moment, a premium range finder is more useful to me than premium bullets....
But if Premiums float your cork, or significantly increases the accuracy of the rifle, have at it. It's your money, and your confidence.
