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Speer Grand Slam. Never loaded these for accuracy. I always stuffed them on top of 72 gr of 4530 and filled the freezer. They work. Odd that they don't get mentioned more.
Sierra Game King. Lets be honest. If you can't make these fly, you suck as a reloader or your rifle sucks. They kill game dead. I hate the lead tip. Never caused a problem, just a personal issue.
Sierra HPBT- We all know my views towards these. I will admit some flaws when pushed fast at elk 30 yards away.
Nosler Ballistic Tip. Kills elk dead. Enjoy the billion chunks of copper in your meat. These have since changed. No experience since the change.
Nosler Accubombs- yeah.....
Nosler Partitions- Possibly the best damn elk killing bullet made. Not as accurate as Sierra.
Hornady- Never loaded or shot. Impressed by friends use.
TSX- Works very well but I have trouble making them fly.
TTSX- Lets just say HIV infected hookers ass. Ruined me on Barnes for life.
Remington CL- Yep, works.
Winchester coated long black things- Shoot yourself. Its easier.
Did I miss anything?
wyoelk - This is not directed at you, but since you provided a list, here are some additions and my thoughts on the others.
Grand Slams. I've never been able to get the accuracy I can get with other bullets but 3-shot groups of .9" were common. Good enough in the accuracy department and the 160g 7mms I used for 20+ years never disappointed. Recovered my first one the last year I used them. That one destroyed both shoulder joints of a 5x5 bull and was against the off-side hide.
Nosler Partitions. Took Fed Premium 160g 7mm RM ammo as backup ammo for years. Still have a box around but have never used them on game. Accuracy was better than the Grand Slams, not as good as some others. Still more than good enough. Used by various hunting people I've hunted with over the years with only good results. I load the 170g RN for my .30-30 but have no on-game experience with them.
Ballistic Tip. Very accurate. I buy them from SPS when I can and use them as practice bullets in place of AccuBonds.
SSTs. Very accurate. These also get used for practice bullets in place of AccuBonds.
AccuBond. Very accurate. One cow shot with a .30-06/150g instantly went straight down. Another, hit with a .338WM/225g in the process bones above the spine, kept walking. A second shot to the ribs would have done the job but she was still standing and so got another that enlarged the hole in the ribs and dropped her. Can't blame the first shot results on anything but me rushing the shot from an awkward position. Last year's cow was hit with the same load at 487 yards. She made it 58 yards before falling over. 110g AccuBonds have been very effective on antelope.
X. Very accurate. Sucked on antelope. Very inconsistent on coyotes but killed every one. Never found the entrance or exit on one coyote, blew a softball sized hole in the backbone of another. Refused to use them after the experience on that unfortunate antelope.
E-Tip. Too much like the X to suit me.
TSX. Very accurate in every rifle I tried them in. Couldn't get past my experience with X so never used them on game.
MRX. Very accurate and effective on elk and deer. No longer available so I use the TTSX.
TTSX. Ditto the MRX but cheaper, available and even more accurate. More straight-down DRT's than not.
North Fork SS. Very accurate and effective. If I could only use one bullet this would be the one.
North Fork FP. Used in my .45-70. Most consistently consistent load I've ever developed with E.S. under 10fps common and under 5fps on occasion. Sent some of my handloads to Mike Brady for pressure testing and even he was impressed with their consistency. Have only taken two animals with this load, a 6x6 bull @ 213yds and a mulie buck at 197 yds. The bull went straight down, the buck made it a few yards but was leaking like a water bucket with a couple of .45 caliber holes in it. Lots of red snow.
Trophy Bonded. Very accurate and effective. Haven't used them myself but my hunting buddy has.
Scirocco II. Very accurate. Only use them in my 6.5-06AI and need more on-game experience with them.
A-Frame. Very accurate. Only use them in my .257 Roberts (120g) during deer/elk season and have no on-game experience with them. That said I've seen what larger A-Frames can do and have no doubts about how they will perform.
Cup and Core bullets. Other than the BT and SST listed above and those I use in my lever guns and .22 centerfires, I don't have much use for them except as practice bullets. My first elk with a 162g BTSP Interlock convinced me to use sturdier bullets in my 7mm RM and I haven't looked back when selecting hunting bullets for my bolt guns.
That said, I may use Federal Premium .30-06/165g GameKing for elk this year. When Dad gave me his .30-06 Ruger American he gave me one box of 165g Trophy Bonded Tip and five boxes of the 165g GameKing. Although I think the Trophy Bonded Tip may be the single best bullet on the market per my wants in bullet design, I won't use them unless they shoot very close to the Game Kings that I'll be practicing with. Or I may just develop new loads altogether, save the Trophy Bonded and use the GameKings for practice. I do wish Federal would offer the Trophy Bonded Tip as components.
At the end of the day I'm just glad we live in a time and place where we have so many choices and are free to choose what we want to use in spite of the fact that a .308 Win and a C&C bullet would have doomed every animal I've ever taken just as surely as what I chose to use instead.
