There are several things I've decided after all this:
1) Shot placement is still 90% of "killing power," even with all of today's Wonder Bullets, and more important than foot-pounds or bullet diameter.
2) Fragmenting or partial-fragmenting bullets do kill deer-sized game quicker. This was determined by pacing off the distance animals traveled after being shot in the heart-lung area. The quickest killing bullet I've ever seen is the Berger VLD, but there are a bunch of other good partial-frgamenting bullets.
3) Many hunters who have a firm belief in premium bullets tend to equate price with performance, which (as with many things) isn't a valid assumption.
4) The danger of a bullet not penetrating to the vitals is highly exaggerated, especially by hunters convinced that premium bullets are The Answer. In all the hunting and observation I've done, only a handful of bullets have disintegrated to the point where they didn't penetrate the vitals of the big game animal in question. A couple of these were on deer, and maybe three were on larger game. Of course, the bullet used for most game was selected either for construction or weight or both.
5
Mule Deer,
I can truly say that what you posted here mirrors my experiences and the opionions I've drawn from those experiences. The most noteworthy part of this was the statement concerning worrying about standard bullets not penetrating. I've killed deer with such cup and cores as Hornady, Core Lokts, Gamekings, and Pro Hunters in places such as Montana, Missouri, and all over Texas and I've never had one fail to penetrate more than what was truly necessary to kill the animal.
