Rex,
Thanks!
One of the interesting things about gun writing is discovering stuff along the way--often due to being able to talk to manufacturers about why they do various things. Have found hunting-bullet manufacturers often tweak their products, in part thanks to field reports from customers--but sometimes due to other reasons.
A lot of hunters perceive some sort of magic in the word "bonded." In the early 2000s I was hunting in the area around Glenrock, Wyoming a lot, sometimes twice a year, for everything from prairie dogs to mule deer.
At the time Glenrock had a population of 2000+ people, but had a surprising number of shooting-related companies for such a small place, including A-Square, Talley, and North Fork Bullets--as well a component store that had one of the widest selections back then.
Got to talk extensively with Mike Brady, the developer of North Forks, in his shop. One of the things he mentioned is that after considerable experimentation with the bullet expansion tube he had inside the shop, the original bullet turned out to be almost a monolithic, with circumferential grooves like so many have today. But instead of a hollow-point or plastic tip, the front end had a tiny dab of lead, which Mike found really helped initial expansion, with far fewer manufacturing complications and less expense than plastic tips.
The only "problem" he had with potential customers is they increasingly asked if the "lead core" was bonded. It wasn't, but eventually he started bonding the tip-dab of lead, just for marketing purposes. It didn't make ANY difference in the penetration/expansion of his North Forks, but was a good marketing move.
