Whitetail & perhaps Mule deer, may be on the menu. Bolt action 6MM ARC w 22" barrel is the launching platform. Suppose I may be asking myself if a 90 gr Accubond may out perform the Hornady CX at longer ranges. (more reliable expansion) Suppose I am anticipating limiting shot distances to something near 300 yards. In cases where I feel comfortable closing the distance to something considerably closer, that would be the goal more often than not.
Of course I would still need to see if I could find a load that will shoot reliable small groups.
I've done a lot of testing with hunting bullets over the last 30 years or more.
When I tested Hornady GMX/CX bullets, I found they are made from gilding metal which is harder than pure copper. I shot the first deer with a GMX, a doe, at 75 yds with a 280AI and she just took a few steps and stood there. Shot a second time and she dropped. The post mortem revealed the first shot did not expand at all. Same size in and out. The second did expand. Never touched another. A bonded bullet like the accubond is tough but I prefer the copper monos.
IME, Hammers and Barnes are awesome. I've killed dozens of deer with barnes and NEVER a failure of any kind. I've used 22, 24, 25, 28, 30, 338, and 9.3, as well as 45 in my muzzleloader.
5 years ago I tested Hammer bullets. Spectacular performance! The PDR groove design caused no fouling at all in any of my rifles and enabled 100+ fps more speed compared to Barnes and lead core bullets. The absolute hammers are a bore rider bullet and will run 150+ fps faster than lead core. I have dropped deer in their tracks with the 90 gr absolute hammer running at 3475 fps. The 75 gr hammer hunter performed just as well. I also took deer with hammers in 22, 24, 35, 28, 338 calibers.
Hammers are designed to have the petals break off immediately upon entry and move on as secondary projectiles and this they do well. We have recovered a few petals under the hide on the off side.
Accuracy with hammers in my rifles is always under .5" and most of the time .2" or better. I cant recommend Hammers highly enough.
Mono bullets dont usually require heavy weights as they are much tougher. I've used 51/2 grain in 22 cal, 69 gr AH in 243ai and 6mm rem ai, 75 & 90 gr in 250ai and 257ai, 101 gr and 120 gr in 7x57ai and 284 win, 175 gr in 338 RCM and never a hiccup.
Best part is no lead in the meat. Always full penetration, never recovered a mono
As a footnote, I find that both hammers and barnes are not sensitive to seating depth. I typically jump them .050 to .250 and they still shoot tight.
