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The "least premium" bullet there is is the round ball. I have used many of them to kill many kinds of game, up to the size of moose.

But I see 2 categories where I recommend bullets (designed so they retain 70% or more of their weight ever time.)

#1 is any gun that fires it's bullet at 2900 FPS or higher. High striking velocity is not good for standard bullets and contrary to what the magazine adds would have you believe, too much velocity DOES NOT kill large game better then somewhat slower speeds. It makes the round shoot flatter and has a bit less wind drift, but it does not "kill better".

#2 is "going small" on your cartridge for the game you hunt. There is NOTHING wrong with a 25-06 for an elk rifle IF you have a bullet that expands and still exits the elk. That's where a Barnes TSX, Hornady GMX or some of the best bonded and partition bullets are worth their weight in gold. Remember that bullet HOLES are what kills the game and a hole that exits is as deep as you can get. If 100% penetration is give to you, the only thing left to "adjust" is how big around that hole is.

There is never anything wrong with using a bonded or partition bullet on a white tail deer, but it's not really necessary. It's like asking if a 3/4 ton truck will carry the kids home from school "better" then a Honda civic. It's bigger, stronger and more powerful! yup, sure is.

And that gives you what advantage exactly?


I use bonded and partition bullets in many of my rifles. And when I hunt deer or antelope I don't often re-zero for a non-premium bullet. But to me it's more a matter of convenience. I buy large lots (at least 1000 at a time and often 5000 at a time) of cup-and-core bullets to have fun with when ever I can. I shoot them all year to practice and have fun with. But in late august I re-zero (when necessary) with the bonded or partition bullets and leave the rifles that way until I am done hunting.

In my wife's 30-06 and in my scout carbine (also a 30-06) I leave it alone because I use the same weight of Nosler partition as I do Hornady inner-lock and I have found the rifles shoot to the exact same points of impact with the 2 bullets. So there is no need to monkey with sights. We use Hornady standard cup-and core for deer and antelope and drop in Noslers partitions when elk hunting. 2 of my 270s are the same, shooting Hornady standard bullets to the same point of impact as Nosler Partitions. That makes it very easy.

My 6.5 M/S uses only round nose bullets, so I have no choice but I have found no problems with them anyway.

My 25-06 uses old stock 120 grain Core-Lokts and I have never had a problem with performance with it either, but I don't shoot elk with it. Not that I could not do it, but I have other rifles that I like better for that purpose.

Same with my 30-30. There are premium bullets made for it, but 170 grain soft nose bullets have been killing and exiting large deer for me for over 45 years, and I can't see any reason to spend more of the same size hole through a deer that can't do any better.

Another point is that not all bullets that retain 70% or more of their weight are "premium bullets. I have used a number of old fashioned cup-and-core bullets in various calibers that didn't do anything any worse then a bonded or partition bullet. But that can be a function of striking velocity. As an example, the old 150 grain Winchester Power Point bullet in a 308 Winchester is outstanding. I have recovered 2 from elk that broke bone, and one weights 129 and the other 131 grains. But that same bullet would no do as well from a 300 mag.

So the issue can become complex and unless you have a lot of years to test such things, it can be best to simply go with a "premium bullet" if you are in doubt, and that is one good reason so many hunter do just that. I super bullet probably is not needed, but it doesn't hurt either but for one circumstance . That brings me to my last point which I'll call "too much of a good thing";

In the case of expanding solids and Swift bonded bullets I have found that STRIKING velocity needs to be 2000 FPS or higher to make them work really well. So these types are best mated to rifles that fire their bullets at 2900 FPS and more, or are used at ranges of 250 yards and less. They are very popular for use on potentially dangerous game. No animal is dangerous at long range. Only when they can touch you! But those that give bad reviews of some of these bullets often hit game with them at 300+ yards with powerful rifles that give M.Vs. of about 2500 to 2600. So at the longer ranges the bullets don't open up much and sometimes not at all. Over all ranges and over the broad list of game, the one bullet I have found that seems to cover all the bases best so far has been the Nosler partition. The resent addition of bonded bullets may change my mind, but I have 50+ years of experience comparing Partitions to other bullets and the bonded offerings are too new for my to have the broad base of experience to speak from with any degree of 1st hand authority. So far however what I have seen with the bonded offerings of Hornady, Nosler and a handful of others may make me believe that the partitions are not alone at the top any more. (If I live long enough to learn)

I still use cup-and core in some of my rifles because a good bonded or Partition is not made for them. I also use c&c bullets when I see no advantage to switching over, but I have used a lot of bummer bullets in my years of hunting (now 54 years) in many states and in 5 countries. I have learned a lot about what bullets to NOT use. and I try to pass on that info to younger hunters when I am asked. But I have not lived long enough to make every mistake myself.

In a nutshell, what I recommend is to use a bullet to practice with that you can afford to practice with a LOT and then if possible and if available use a premium bullet on game. If you were to use 1/2 a box of "XYZ SUPER BULLETS" to confirm that they shot to the same trajectory as your "ABC standard bullet" and were just as accurate you would still have 25 left in the 1st box to kill game with. If you buy 5 boxes of XYZ SUPER BULLETS and you use ABC Standard bullets to practice with, you will become a very good field marksman and every thing you shoot will end up in your freezer, and over 200 SUPER BULLETS are going to last you a very long time. You only shoot game with them. Shoot dirt clots, far rocks, rabbits, grounds hogs, marmots, tin cans and so on with the ABC bullets and you'll find that being a good marksman is worth more than all the other trivia combined.