"Accuracy" and bullet placement are of course paramount but if the bullet fails to behave properly after it lands you might have more problems than if you missed completely.
That's a big "if," and one that none of the premium bullet proponents seem to have a handle on. No hands-on experience in other words, just so much hot air, like most of this thread.
I for one have a very good handle on it and have often said that most bullets will work most of the time - "most" being the operative word. My preference nevertheless is not just for premium bullets but for carefully selected bullets. There are a lot of what others would call "premium" bullets that I have actively chosen not to use based on their construction or demonstrated/expected/claimed performance, just as I choose not to use cup-and-core bullets when high velocity impacts might be encountered.
Like Bob, I don't give a fig what other people choose. He is absolutely correct when he says that once the bullet leaves the barrel the shooter becomes nothing more than an active observer but one that is responsible for the outcome.
As my younger brother says, if you go through life asking "What is the worst that could happen" and plan accordingly, you will save yourself a lot of grief and unpleasantness. And as Dad often said, "if you can't afford the gas you can't afford the car." My most expensive handloads use North Fork bullets, which I buy on sale to save a few bucks. Even with them the cost of my handloads is comparable to Remington Core-Lokt, Federal Power-Shok and Winchester Power-Point factory ammo and they are far less expensive than many factory 'premium' loads I consider no better or even much inferior to my handloads. OK, I could save about $0.70 per round using AccuBonds instead of North Fork bullets. In some cases that is what I choose to do, particularly for antelope. Even after several years of filling my antelope, deer and elk tags using AccuBonds (or partitions or whatever) I would only save enough money to buy a cheap glass of wine with my dinner out. Regardless, total ammunition costs don't amount to a even tiny fraction of my overall hunting costs and the potential savings are less still. If the premiums I use (North Fork SS and HP, Barnes TTSX, Nosler AB and Swift Sirocco-II) provide me with an additional level of comfort over cup-and-core technology - and they do - they are well worth the insignificant extra cost.
You say it is a big "if" that a bullet may fail to perform as intended ("properly" in Bob's terminology) yet I've personally seen enough evidence of what I consider failures on the part of cup-and-core bullets that I choose to plan for the worst and work for the best - and that planning most often includes not using cup-and-core bullets.
YMMV (And that's OK by me.)
Last edited by Coyote_Hunter; 04/30/16.
Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!
No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.
