I am Looking at Bullet types for Deer.

I have been told dont use HP , They Plug UP.

These would be used in a Contender, And a Ruger BHH

SO WHAT WORKS BEST ?
HP
SP
Poly Tipped

Thanks
Mike

What round are you looking to load for?

Well I am trying to keep this more as a general Question.
But: Out to 100yards,
45LC, 44Mag, 45-70, 30-30

OK, now we have open up a can of worms. IMHO, you can’t compare 44 Mag and 45 LC rounds with 30-30 and similar rounds. (The hole straight wall Vs. bottleneck cartridge comparison.) “I” don’t think it matters to much with the straight wall rounds, the bigger the better, LOL HOWEVER, In the bottlenecks a hangunhunter needs to be selective, particularly with the Contender. (If you shoot a 162 projectile out of a 7-30 Waters all you are going to do is punch a pencil size hole threw your game. The min expansion vel on that bullets is 1900fps. Out of the Waters you are already hindering yourself. On the flip side, a 100gr might be too light and explode on impact if your choice of bullet construction for “intended game” is poor.” I have this image in my mind right know of this porridge is too hot and this porridge is too cold... LOL) You need to make sure that the bullet will expand at the intended velocity out of your barrel. “I” shoot a lot of Nosler Ballistic Tips because they have a low expansion velocity (1600FPS?) and perform well on game in handguns. So, do your homework and see what meets your criteria. Just match your velocity with your bore size and life is good IMHO.

Any others have any thoughts?

The Hornady HP XTP has killed a lot of critters. So has the Speer SP. It depends on velocty, to a point. In the 357 Mag I like a hollow point, in the 357 Max I don't. In the 45LC you can go either way, an XTP MAG will act like a hard cast, where an XTP may expand. There is no set rule really. That thing about hollow points "plugging up" is urban legend.

Like TCMan said, for the bottleneck cartridges I like the Ballistic tips because the lowest speed for expansion does or is said to go down to 1600 f.p.s.Hollowpoint bullets, for the straight walled cartridges, works fine on deer ,provided you use a hollowpoint designed for game/by that comment what I mean is , Hornady has bullets made for self defense in the .357/.38 which would expand too quickly in game so you would have very limited penetration.What I would do is call the particular bullet company and ask about the different bullets/cartridges you have in mind and their techs should be able to give you the right answer for whatever bullet your wondering about,I do this all the time if I have questions.

I don't have any scientific Data but the hornady 250 gr xtp has always worked in my Ruger .45's. Haven't hunted with my .44 mag yet but the 240 gr xtp will be in it. With the 30-30 the speer 130 grn. h.p.has worked very well, and shoots little bitty groups.Push it to fast .308 and it is violent, but at 30-30 velocitie it works very well . Put it in the right spot dead deer.

Well this is where I am sofar.
I realy like 300JHP in the 45-70.
240XTP's in the 44MAG.
I have NO experience with the 45LC.
And I have been using Factory Hornady Flex tips Ammo in the
30-30.
I dont care for lead, so will a JSP or a XTP work in the 45LC at Modreate Speeds ?

Thanks

Mike

Absolutely

I load to about 1200fps and the 250 xtp has not failed me yet in
the 45 colt. The 250 xtp mag is for higher velocitys
Bullet placement is everthing and can't be stressed enough. I
like the 300 hor. or rem. in 45-70 also,12 inch, 30-30 I use 130 gr. speer hp works well at 30-30 speeds.

Thanks for all Your input
Mike

HP's plugging up? That's a new one for me!

For the 30-30, just about any 125 or 130gr offering will do perfect. I've used these weight bullets from 1900fps MV (.30 Herret Contender) up to 2600fps (.308W and .300 Savage XP's) MV without issue on deer out to marginal distances (under 200yds).

For the .44 and .45, I've used 180gr Sierra HC's up to 340gr hard cast without issue.

It's cliche.........but put it where it matters and the critter will expire.