What are your favorite bullets?

Guy Miner

Guy Miner

Master Loader
Apr 6, 2006
17,861
6,422
The ones you go to the most, or regard the most highly, and why:

Nosler Competition .30 cal 155 gr HPBT - my standard highpower competition bullet. Thousands of these and the 168 version downrange.

Nosler Ballistic Tip .30 cal 165 gr - long since a standard hunting bullet for deer, I always thought the old "solid base" predecessor was just as good although maybe not quite as accurate.

Nosler Ballistic Tip 6mm 95 gr - most accurate and very lethal deer bullet

Nosler Partitions: 7mm 175 gr, .30 165 & 180 gr - they've reliably dropped game for me over the decades. Generally accurate too. The 100 gr 6mm version is very good too.

Nosler AccuBond: .375 260 gr - one MOA and one shot/one bear. What's not to like?

Berger .257" 115 gr VLD - three mule deer can't all be wrong.

Berger .20 35 gr flat base hollow point - deadly accuracy in a varmint bullet.

Hard cast, plain base .430" 250 gr SWC from my .44 mags - a go-to bullet for 25+ years.
 
For my .338RUM it's a toss-up between the 225 grain Partition and the 225 grain Sierra pro hunter. I have found that the Sierra retains weight better. Accuracy is equal and the velocity difference is roughly 25fps. For my 7-08 the 140 grain Partition can't be beat. For my .300WSM it's a toss-up between the 180 grain Partition and 180 grain prohunter. Both bullets work extremely well on game and velocity differences are negligible. For my 7STW 160 grain sierras are the most accurate and work well on Elk.
 
Gee

I dont think I really have to post, do I? Well maybe some one is new here!!
Hunting
.308, 180 gr. Partition, shot my first elk with one in 1961. For deer used the 150 Partition for several years until I moved up to the 300 WM. then the 180.

7mm, 175 gr, Partition, have not shot an elk with one as yet but will this year. (Optomism always helps). Backup is 160 AB, backup to the backup is the 160gr. TSX, the most "accurate" bullet in my STW.

.358, 250gr. Swift A Frame. If I ever run out of my only box or those I have some 225 Barnes X.

General Shooting

Sierra and Speer seem to work well in most of my rifles however I am not fussy, I will buy what ever is cheapest.
 
Tough call. When developing loads for hunting rifles, I try for Partitions or AccuBonds first. They work on game and won't embarrass the shooter if he does his part. I use a fair number of Barnes TSX and Swift A-Frames, especially in my bigger calibres. They work very well on game. I would undoubtedly use more Sierra bullets, especially on deer size game, if the distribution were more even in western Canada (there is one distributor and gun shops do not like dealing with him due to ethical issues). I have shot a lot of Hornady bullets, and they have served me well across the spectrum of cartridges. They are among the most accurate bullets available. However, my "go to" bullets in my own rifles, tend toward Partitions and AccuBonds.
 
Historically, I've tried just about every major bullet brand out there over the years. What I've noticed recently is that, not by design, I've really started using Nosler bullets more than anything else. This is especially true for hunting purposes. Here's a rundown of what's currently in my safe and on my bench:

243Win - I like 85-100gr Partitions or BTs. My 243 is a Browning BAR, so velocity is a little off the normal pace, though not terribly, so I've not started down the E-Tip road with this one. I may, at some point in the future. So far, for southeastern white-tails, I've not found anything bad to say about the Partition. I've not yet shot a deer with a BT, but they are accurate in this gun on paper up to this point. Not sure I can argue with the success of the Partition, though. This is the only rifle I still shoot any factory ammo through, and it seems to like Federal, which I can still occasionally find with the 100gr Partition for a decent price.

270Wby - 130gr Nosler E-Tips. I wanted a tough bullet for this one, since it's launching them at nearly 3500fps. I tried Hornady Interbonds, but didn't find a fast, accurate load. I could get one or the other, but not both. Barnes TTSX were better, but still not good enough, and they really laid down copper at 3400+. Nosler E-Tips seem to be the right choice. Accuracy is good, and velocity is right where I want it. Deer are not happy with this combination, I assure you.

30-30WCF - For this rifle, I worked up some Speer loads years ago, and haven't found the need to change. I can say that I really like Speer bullets, but they have become harder to find for me over the past few years and as such I've not used them as often. I am excited to try the new Deep Curl in a few chamberings, though, so I may order some.

30-06 - When I got this rifle, everyone said "Use one of the 4350's and a Nosler BT." Well, with a max charge of H4350 I'm getting 2900fps out of the 168gr BT, and the doe I dropped at 185yds earlier this season is proof positive it's the right combination. Unless I go after heavier game, my load work with this one was very short - 9 rounds - and I've got a half inch grouping deer hammer that is a pleasure to shoot.

300Wby - Still working on this one. So far the best accuracy has come from Hornady 180gr SST's. I've been working on 180gr E-Tips, but only intermittently, and don't have them dialed in yet. This is a project for the spring, as I'd like to take it into the woods next fall. Either the E-Tip or a 180gr bonded (Nosler or Hornady) will likely be the bullet of choice.

8x57 - 180gr Nosler BT's are the best compromise in this rifle. Good accuracy (around 1", consistently) and good velocity (2720-2750fps) over IMR4895 makes this one a nice shooter as well. I was surprised these bullets don't expand as much as I'd anticipated, but a deer down within 60yds of where I shot him is still good enough for me.

That's the summary so far. I'll be adding to the list shortly, I anticipate, and I've come to the point that when I look at bullets, I almost always start with Nosler. They just work. The last two years, that's all I've shot at deer, and the freezer is nicely stocked.
 
260 Remington
I use all sorts of bullets in this one, favorite was the 140 gr Grand Slam not sure yet what my go to bullet will be maybe the 140 gr Deep Curl.

264 Win Mag
130 gr Swift, would still like to get a consistant load with the 140 gr Partition.

35 Whelen
225 gr AccuBond but I love to experiment with this one too, have some 200 gr Accubonds and TTSX on order to try this year.

375 Ruger
260 gr AccuBond but am going to try the 300 gr version this year since this is my bear stopper that bullet could still reach out a bit and touch something.

223 Rem
TBA, have some 55 gr Varmageddon and 52 gr Speer Hp coming and the gun isn't even decided on yet :lol:
 
When I started reloading back in the mid 1950's, Sierra bullets were the least expensive as at the time they were being made in California. Speer and Hornady were made out of state and I think they were more expensive due to transportation costs at that time. I was living (existing?) in Caliifornia at that time. :roll: The Sierra 150 gr. spitzers did a nice job on those little California Blacktail deer so I saw no reason to try others. Kind of like, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." kind of thing. Even after I moved to Nevada, I used that bullet until I changed to the Sierra 180 gr Spitzer. They didn't call them Pro-Hunters way back then. I do like the Hornady 100 gr. Spire Point in my .243. I took a lot of coyotes with that bullet and I let kids I took out on their first deer hunts use that rifle to harvest their animals.
I used the Sierra 130 gr. PH's in my first .270, switched to 150 gr. Noslers and 150 gr. gr. Sierra Game Kings for later .270 rifles. I'll be doing more work with the 150 gr. Noslers in the .270 as I just got a sweet deal one 6 boxes for $10 a box at a gun show. :grin: 8)
In my .375 Taylor and H&H I like the 270 gr. Hornady Spire Point and 300 gr. Sierra GK.
My .35 Whelen uses the 225 gr TSX and is an elk slayer supreme. :grin:
I'm not sure what I'll like in the 7x57. The only two deer I've ever lost in all my years of hunting (since 1949) and both were shot with a 7x57. :shock: One was with a factory load that I later found out was doing almost 400 FPS less than advertised. The other was with one of the early Nosler Ballistic Tips that I think blew up on a rib. The deer may have died but in climbing the hill to pick up the blood trail, my foot twisted one way and my body another way and the wrecked knee pains me to this day. So, to be fair, the jury is still out on that one. I said early BTs because they were still being sold in boxes of 100 bullets.
On that same deal that I got the .270 partitons, the fellow also had 5 boxes of 7MM 150 gr. Partitions and I got those for $10 a box as well. My bullet supply runneth over. :lol: Now if I can just find the time to load them.
Paul B.
 
Ummm, this is fairly easy. I use alot of Nosler.. Yeah, big surprise there huh!

22-250- 60gr PT's
243 - 100gr PT's
264WM - undecided. 140 AB or PT...Still working
270WSM - 150 BT or PT's..
7WSM - 160 AB's
300 - 180 AB
338WM - Just about anything Nosler. 200 AB's, 250 AB's or PT's...
35 Whelen - 250 PT's
45-70 - 300 PT's

The 30-30 gets Speer 170gr Deep Curls and the 35 Rem uses 200gr CLRN's..
 
.224- 52gr Sierra Matchkings: Jaw dropping accuracy in my 22-250

.257- 85gr Nosler BT: Outstanding in my 257 bob, drops whitetails in their tracks

.284- 140gr Barnes TTSX: Had great luck with these on whitetails this year. they shoot 1/2 MOA in my 280

Hornady HP/XTP's in all my pistols! I love these bullets

115gr for 9mm
140gr for 38 special
158gr for 357
185gr for 45 auto
 
.243 Win, The 55 gr Nosler BT has acounted for over 50 dogs in my .243 in the last three years. Shoots under hald inch with most any powder combo as well. A close second is the 105 A-max. Shoots REALLY well, and it a ton of fun for shooting a long ways. (the NCC 105 is not far behind the A-max).

270 WSM, Still wroking on this, but the 140 Ab is showing a ton of promis!

280 AI, Loves the 160 AB, and the 140 BT. Shoots more 140 Bts than anything. Both group under .5" @ 100.

7 STW, Still working on this one as well, again the 160 AB is showing some great promis. And the 140 BTs are freakishly accurate in it as well.

338 WM, Well My favorite bullet for it is the 225 AB even if it doesn't shoot great in my rifle. Just love the size/speed combo, combined with the tough AB, it would make a great package. If the 225 AB doesn't work out, I'll try the 225 Horn. IB, or the 250 AB.

375 Ruger, Really like the 260 AB. Getting around 2830, and 1 MOA accuracy. Elk don't like it at all!
 
In order...............

Accubonds
Ballistic tips
partitions
Barnes TTSX
CE and GS custom

The aforementioned cover ALL of my needs/wants so far.
 
In my .22cf's I end up with 53gr Hornady match bullets all the time despite trying others. They always shoot better.

I shoot mostly 105 Berger VLD's in my 6mm's with some 105 Amax's thrown in but I only hunt varmints with them.

In 7mm's I shoot several but mostly 168 Matrix and 162 Amax's lately.

In .30's my favorite for rock chucks is a 150BT and for hunting either a 180BT/AB or 210gr Matrix. I still shoot some Bergers on occasion too but the Matrix bullet's have been more accurate and tougher in the last few guns I've shot them in.

In my .338's it's 200gr BT's or 250gr Sierra's but I shot a few 225AB's and 250gr Scenar's lately and they both shoot into the .2's and .3's just like all the others do.

In my .358STA I shot 250gr Hornady's for several years and then switched to 225BT's. Admittedly I haven't shot it in years though.

My .375 bullet lately is a 260AB but I've had good luck with 250 Sierra's and 270 failsafe's.

In my .416 I have been shooting 300gr X bullets lately at 2960fps but killed a ton of stuff with 350gr Speers before that.

My .458 it's 350gr and 400gr X bullets
 
280 Rem 140gr Ballistic tips and 140gr accubonds

300 WSM 180gr Hornady Interlock SP

444 Marlin 265gr Hornady Interlock FP

450 Marlin 350gr Hornady Interlock FP

22-250 50gr Ballistic tip and a 55gr Sierra HPBT
 
I am sincere in saying "Whatever is in the belly of my rifle while I'm hunting".

Usually that's either a Partition, AccuBond, or Ballistic Tip in .308, either 165 or 180 grain.

Lately I've been leaning Partition. But I've never been able to judge between them all, because the animals all end up lying on the ground.
 
Ballistic silver tip
Ballistic Tip
Interlock/partitions
XTP/Nosler sporting
Win Positive Expanding Point .25 cal (not available as component unless you pull ) :twisted:
The cheapest 22 cal I can get at the time for running in my AR's

You can find all of these at any given time on my bench.
 
Guy Miner":3g3hsduv said:
The ones you go to the most, or regard the most highly, and why:
...
Click to expand...

For the bolt rifles:

.257 Roberts
75g V-MAX for varmints
100g TTSX
110g
120g A-Frame

6.5-06AI
130g Scirocco II
140g A-MAX (practice rounds)

.280 Rem
140g TTSX
140g North Fork
162g A-MAX (practice rounds)

7mm RM
140g TTSX
140g North Fork
160g North Fork
162g A-MAX (practice rounds)

.308 Win, .30-06
150g Ballistic Tip (practice rounds)
150g AccuBond
165g North Fork
168g TTSX
168g A-MAX (practice rounds)

.300 WM
168g A-MAX (practice rounds)
180g MRX (will have to replace with TTSX as MRX are no longer available)
180g North Fork

.338 WM
225g SST (practice rounds)
225g AccuBond


The “Why?” is pretty easy – I don’t like Cup-and-Core bullets for hunting as elk is my primary quarry. Because all my rifles go elk hunting sooner or later, I tend to develop hunting loads for elk and use them for all big game.
 
For all around just get with it no matter what caliber from small calibers, medium calibers and up to .358 my favorite for doing all kinds of work is the AccuBond. I do like the Partition and Ballistic tip for game specific use.
 
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