I loaded 130 gr Sierra boattails to about 3000 fps in my .270 back in the day when Sierras were the "thing." I shot several deer, elk and antelope with that load and never had a loss; in fact, most were one shot kills, DRT.
When I started loading for my 7x57 in the early 80s, I began playing around with different bullets and loads: 140 and 160 gr Sierras, 139 and 154 gr. Hornadys, 145 and 160 gr Speer Hot Cores and then, because they were suddenly all the rage, I bought some Nosler Partitions.
I butcher all my own game, and truth to tell, if I noticed any real difference in performance between Noslers and the others, it was that the Noslers seemed considerably more destructive of tissue. I wasn't happy about that, so went back to the 154 gr Hornady.
Two years ago I bought a box of 7x57 Federal Power Shoks loaded with 140 gr Speer Hot Cores to an advertised velocity of 2660 fps, and shot clean through 2 deer at the same time with that bullet, killing both. The distance was about 80 paces.(It was a freak accident - another doe was hidden in a screen of brush directly behind the doe I was aiming at. I mentioned that incident in another thread here last year.) Both were double lung shots with minimal meat loss.
The point, I suppose, is that cup and core bullets of good sectional density driven at moderate velocities hold together pretty well - at least on thin-skinned game.
Now if I were going to whack a moose with my little Mauser, I'd give serious consideration to a tougher bullet, but for the game I hunt - and the way I hunt - cup and core bullets are just fine.
