How to Choose Deer Bullets

For the vast majority of American hunters, “big game” means deer. Thanks to a century of great conversation work in North America, our deer are the most populous large game animals in the world – there’s more than 30 million whitetail deer alone! This fall, they’re going to be pursued by more than 10 million hunters, by far the biggest hunting culture in the world. Here at Speed Beez, your source for speed loaders and everything else you need for recreational shooting, we’re going to discuss the best way to choose deer bullets.

The majority of those 10 million American deer hunters will be pursuing one brand or another of whitetail. But to be honest, deer bullets are deer bullets. In terms of cartridges, there is a difference in optimum power between a 100-pound Coues deer and a 400-pound Northern whitetail. In terms of bullets, the largest deer probably call for heavier-for-caliber bullets — if not more powerful cartridges — and perhaps bullets of tougher construction.

Penetration vs Expansion:  Although our many “modern” hunting bullets have complicated things a bit, here’s the age-old argument: complete penetration, in and out, so you have a better blood trail to follow vs. a bullet that enters, expands, expends all its energy inside the deer and does not exit. Bullet expansion is a good thing because it transfers energy, opens a larger wound channel and creates greater disruption to vital functions. You don’t want a bullet that expands too fast or, literally, comes apart without entering the vitals. So we don’t shoot frangible varmint bullets at deer any more than we shoot solids designed to penetrate an elephant’s skull. Between those extremes there are lots of options.