I never understood why someone would pay thousands of dollars to go on a elk hunt and then skimp on the bullet. The bullet does all the kill'n and everyone wants to go cheap.
I am poor/ cheap but after paying $600-$1000 for a elk tag, hundreds of dollars in fuel, time off, etc. I ain't worried about trying to save $50 in bullets.
I know cup and core bullets work most of the time but if a premium bullets makes the difference between a kill and a wound one time in a hunting lifetime it was worth it to me.
Dink
I can afford to use any bullet I want and still use the 180gr Nosler BT out of my 300 magnums. You can spend alot more money only to lose accuracy and the ability to kill quickly....
What one can afford and what one thinks about bullets and will they work in the worst case scenario, not 20 of the best case ones in a row, are totally different things.
But its always the shooters choice as to how much risk they take.
Never heard anyone say that a 180 ballistic tip was tougher than a 180 partition and hte performance i've seen from 180 partitions on Nilgai, a fairly similar size animal if not possibly tougher, with somewhat tougher hide, says I would not risk a 180 ballistic or partition.
Especially when I've had 2 deer stop 180 partitions. One with a measly neck shot into an appx 225 pound whitetail. When a neck stops a bullet it makes me VERY nervous.
