About 10-12 years ago I decided to kill 5-6 deer with each factory loading that would group decently in my .243...For about 15 years I had used 100gr CoreLokts and had killed 75 or so deer with it through the years and never lost one...I just wanted to see if certain bullets would kill quicker than others...
Well, I'm back to using the CoreLokts...Part of this is because of the rise in prices of "premium" factory loading we have seen in the past 3 years or so...I stock piled a few boxes of CoreLokts back when they were $12-$14 bucks a box...I just can't see spending $35 a box for a bullet that shoots a little flatter or drops the deer 10 yards closer than the CoreLokts would...
I will tell you that in my testing I found that bullets like the Nosler Partition and the Speer GrandSlam didn't drop a deer any faster than plain jane cup and core bullets like the CoreLokts, the HotCores or the PowerPoints...If anything the deer actually ran further on broadside lung shots...
One bullet that did rise above the rest is the Federal Premium 85gr HPBT Sierra GameKing...When I was told of this bullet, my reply was "That's a groundhog bullet"...The guy laughed at me and just said, try it on a few deer and see what happens...He was right, it's a heck of a loading, but if your shots are within 200 yards, it's not needed...This bullet is my bean field bullet but they are currently selling locally for $35 a box...Luckly I have a few boxes tucked away...
What I'm saying is that the CoreLokts, Federal Classic and Winchester PowerPoints in 100grs are all great deer killers if they group well in your rifle...I'd save your money so you can shoot more often...