Hmm. I assume you're not one of the advocates for the .223 on deer (I use a 30-06 with 165's on everything)?
I'm personally not a user, but I'm not the most politically correct hunter out there, as I won't hesitate to shoot stuff running/trotting/moving within reason. I'd use it on whitetail doe cull shooting I suppose as I usually have dead solid rest/stand situation.
It is irrelevant what you think. What matters is the TRUTH.
They are just as good, unless they are the super old type with machined ogives, in which case they are a hazard and should be shipped off to someone who can safely dispose of them. I will be glad to do that for no charge.
I had some of both the 150 gr and 200 gr. old style relief groove bullets, still have the 200's but used up the 150's out of my 308 on deer and feral hogs, if I didn't no one else was. They seemed pretty destructive but killed and penetrated well. As for being to valuable to hunt regular stuff they were paid for 30 years ago. Bet I paid less for them than I would a new box of Speers today.
I started using Partitions in the late 1970s, just before they converted to impact-extrusion manufacturing and eliminated the "relief groove" in the yellow-box bullet. The first two boxes I bought were yellow-box .270 130s and .30 200s.
Had always heard they weren't as accurate as most other bullets, but I loaded them with the same charge of H4831 I'd used with cup-and-core bullets of the same weight. Somewhat to my amazement, both grouped into an inch at 100 yards, using the 4x Bushnell on my Remington 700 .270 Winchester and the K3 Weaver on my "sporterized" 1903 Springfield .30-06.
Oh, and they killed stuff too, but as far as I could tell not "too dead." In fact I learned to really like the 200 Partition for woods hunting for anything from deer up, because it killed 'em but didn't ruin as much meat as more conventional bullets.
That was one among many reasons I started becoming skeptical of "common knowledge" about all sorts of shooting stuff....
Mid 1970's I was concerned that my then-new 6mm Remington ought to have Partitions, because it could drive an 85 grain Nosler Partition fast... I still have a partial box from back then. Somehow it survived many USMC transfers/moves and a lot of hunting seasons. Still have the rifle, though mostly my son uses it now.
I ought to load a few of those old bullets and see how they do. Ha! My dies are from 1974 too, just like the rifle. The bullets are likely from about 1976 or so. Those old bullets were pretty good. Or at least that's how I remember them.
I just loaded up some 115gr .257''s that don't have the zip code on the box. That means pre-63.....they shoot great! If they are tarnished like these were just dump em in a jar with vinegar and salt, rinse with water, and dry.
Jack O'Connor had great success hunting elk with this bullet. He was a famous hunter and Outdoor Life writer who died about 50 years ago, but game has not become any tougher since then. - Sherwood
Holy Moly have I gotten so old we must explain who Jack O'Connor is? Sobering indeed. JO, the man who hunted without a cell phone ...
I do not entertain hypotheticals. The world itself is vexing enough. -- Col. Stonehill