Deer hunters have never had a better selection of gear to choose from or a wider range of opinions of what the “best” is in any category. I recently had a number of discussions with hunters (who are all much better than me) on the “best” bullet for that perfect, one-shot kill. I ended up more confused than when I started. After many more hours of research, I came to a solid conclusion that I will defend with every fiber of my being: it does not matter.

Tip 1: Why It’s Important.
In all the piles of gear that I use while hunting, the bullet is the device that actually puts the deer on the ground, and I’m always striving for a clean, fast, one-shot kill. An ideal shot would be through both lungs and the heart, with the bullet expanding—not fragmenting—and coming to rest just under the hide on the opposite side of the animal. This ensures a large wound channel with minimum damaged meat and all of the bullet’s energy expended inside the animal. In my experience, the deer will not run more than 30 yards when hit like this.

Tip 2: The Best Gear in History.
If the bullet is the linchpin of a successful hunt, you’d think finding the best bullet would be easy—and you’d be wrong. Bullet design, manufacturing, and performance is incredibly complex, with a near-infinite number of variables. Each company can show you why their bullet is superior, and back it up with charts, graphs, tables, and testimonials. And they are right. And so is the next company. The engineers work their tails off making their products better, and it is stunning what they accomplish.

Tip 3: The Chicken or the Egg?
Selecting a bullet cannot be divorced from the platform from which it will be fired, and if you want a particular bullet, you may be forced to use a particular rifle or caliber. If you live in a straight-wall restricted rifle area, you’ll need to select a bullet that’s available in ammo for that rifle. If you have a youngster who uses a .243, or you hunt in a wide-open area where long shots are the norm and need something like a .270 rather than a .30-30, your options may be more limited. Most rifles have barrels that perform well with medium weight bullets, but if you are using light (or heavy)-for-caliber bullets you may need a different twist rate in the barrel for optimum performance.

Tip 4: What is Good Enough?
A friend once showed me nine bullets that he recovered from deer―four that mushroomed well and five that did not expand at all. He was very upset and said that this ammo was useless because it did not all expand. I asked about the deer. All nine were one-shot kills at 30 yards or less, all were shot through the heart, and none ran more than 40 yards. I told him that bullets are designed to have optimum performance at a particular velocity range, and if they hit at very short or long range they may not expand as well, or at all. He is a very good hunter and a great marksman, and I asked him how much more dead those five deer would be if the bullets had expanded. He thought that was a stupid question.

Tip 5: Free Advice is Worth What You Pay for It.
My advice? Talk to your friends, check out the ads, closely examine the charts, graphs, tables, and testimonials. Make your choice, buy at least five boxes of ammo, go to the range multiple times, and work to become an expert marksman with your firearm and ammunition. Any decent ammunition on the market today will kill deer if the hunter puts the bullet where it should go. Practice from different shooting positions (supported, sitting, standing, and so on) wearing the clothing you will have on while hunting. Do not just check zero with three rounds from a rest and think you will have a successful hunt because you have the “best” bullet money can buy. The skill of the hunter is the most important thing you can take into the woods.