a friend who is the gun guru at ----- says that the high end ammo is ussually good stuff but when he sells it he knows the fellas not compared results with a good power point ,corloft or fed soft point..to put it in his words he knows the fellas trying to buy a kill.
First, if your friend truly “knows” what is in the minds of other people he could make a lot more money in a different line of work.
If not, which turns out to be the case, he is just a gun store salesperson with opinions as to why people buy what they do. Like a blind squirrel finding a nut, he will be right once in a while.
A 7mm Rem Mag was my first centerfire rifle in 1982 and my only big game bolt gun for over 20 years. The first animal I took was a spike bull elk and it fell to a “good” Hornady 162g Interlock. That was also the LAST time I used standard cup-and-core bullets in my 7mm Rem Mag. These days I prefer and shoot North Fork, TSX/TTSX/MRX, A-Frames and Partitions, If I was shooting only factory ammo I would still shoot the premium stuff, most likely from Federal because I like their bullet selection. In fact, Federal 160g Parttion loads were my backup ammo for many years when the 7mm Rem Mag was my only big game rifle.
Am I “trying to buy a kill” but choosing premium bullets and ammo? No, I’m trying to eliminate potential problems. I generally hunt deer and elk at the same time and choose my ammo accordingly. There are plenty of things that can go wrong on a hunt and the choices you make can minimize or eliminate some of them. That same philosophy is why I take chains for all four wheels, a chain repair kit, enough rubber snubbers for 2 per wheel and spares, a tool kit, shovels, a come-along, extra water and food, extra clothing, and a host of other items. On any given trip I may not need all that stuff but over the years I’ve needed it all at one time or another.
… he thinks they show inexperience and lack of real knowledge.
I think your friend is the one showing “inexperience and lack of real knowledge”. Lots of game has been taken with standard bullets, to be sure. But there have also been innumerable instances of bullets coming apart and/or failing to penetrate where a more solidly constructed bullet would have done better.
…
i think your gun will tell you what the best wgt rd is for hunting.. for that you would
you have to sight the gun in for each rd, i would assume.. lottsa work but one thing that could happen is ..you might just come accross an wt and type rd that is so accurrate that it leaves no doubt what should be in your gun when you have the trophy in your sights.. mine is 165 fusion.,. i have a lotta other ammo that i guess i ll just sell or keep for emergencies..just one type in my gun .. yours probably be different..good luck. slim
Your gun will tell you what is most accurate in it but it will NOT tell you what the best round is for hunting. In several of my rifles the Hornady A-MAX are the most accurate bullets I’ve tried, often providing one-ragged-hole accuracy. But I wouldn’t consider hunting with those bullets. Instead I’ll gladly give up some accuracy in favor of the kind of terminal performance I demand.
By the way, for many years I was a one gun, one load kind of guy. These days I spend a lot of time working up multiple loads for my rifles. My 7mm Rem Mag, for example, after shooting only 160g bullets for many years, now shoots 140g and 120g bullets as well. My .257 Roberts with 75g V-MAX is my favorite coyote rifle but I load 115g TSX and 120g A-Frames for it for big game. My .30-30 gets 130g bullets for summer plinking and 170g Speer SP or Partitions for hunting. Yes, I have to rezero when I switch between loads, but that usually involves just 2-3 shots, hardly a big deal.
