Pasted 175 pound (field dressed) whitetail whilst running away w/Scirocco. 'Twas a 150 grain .30-06, with range of 165 yards according to my rangefinder after the shot was taken & things calmed down. One of those embarrassing "bore another one" shots, aimed at a hastily retreating white flag. Entered in right ham, slid up the inside of the ribcage, then blew a hardball size hole out of the centre of the brisket on the way out. The bullet did not hit too much bone other than breaking the rear leg bone on the way through the ham, and did NOT destroy an abundance of the hind quarter. The deer slid to an abrupt stop on it's chin right after the hit. Bullet was not recovered. Accuracy is excellent, i.e. 1.25MOA out of 18.5" bbl remington pump, a gun not typically associated with stunning accuracy. In the .270 bolt action I once owned, accuracy with 130 grain Sciroccos was much better than in the pump gun. In my guns, bullets are seated as long as possible without touching the lands and still fitting (barely) into the magazine box.
From my perspective, who really cares if you pay 80 cents or 30 cents for a hunting bullet for big game?? Is it worth fussing over whether 100+ pounds of meat in the freezer, or a once in a lifetime trophy came to you at the overinflated cost of an extra half a buck? Who in North America shoots so many big game animals in a season to worry about the cost of the bullets, or shoots their quarry so full of holes to the point of driving a cost inefficiency? (spray & pray maybe?)
On the target range, in a target gun where high volume shooting is the norm, then bullet cost DOES very much matter to me, but alas, we're discussing hunting bullets here. My criteria is really about accuracy and terminal perfomance with hunting bullets. Terminal performance must exist as table stakes, then I gravitate to the most accurate bullet for a particular gun so I can be assured that I can deliver that terminal performance where it's needed.
I bought some TBBCs at a frightfully expensive premium, and when I got home, I realized that there are only 25 bullets in the box!!!! My first reaction was to faint at the realization, but then I took a deep breath and applied some perspective and rationalization. If they turn out to be stellar in the accuracy dept, and if their terminal performance turns out to be great, then I'll go back and buy some more without a second thought to the cost, although I won't shoot them beyond load development and sight-in.
So far, on whitetails, (almost all shot quite close, i.e. under 50 yards) I've had good luck with .30-06 150 grain Barnes X & XBT, Sciroccos, and even the lowly Winchester power point and silver tip. The Winchesters out of a .30-06 were the only bullets I've ever recovered, and were perfectly mushroomed. A friend in my hunt camp once shot a deer broadside at 15 yards with a .30-06 150 grain winchester silver tip, only to discover that he really shot 2 broadside, 1st with one broken shoulder and second lung shot, with the bullet ending up perfectly mushroomed under the far side hide of the deer standing behind the 1st - (thank god for lots of doe tags while party hunting in Ontario!) I've had 2 150 grain Sierra Gamekings driven hard out of a 7mm rem mag that completely blew up into bits at 75 yards on 2 broadside deer, (consecutive seasons) the jackets stuck in the far side hide, with the lead core exiting and likely somewhere in the next county after breaking the shoulder each time.
To all: Sorry about the long winded post, but this is a subject that really interests me!
