Do you need Premium Bullets?

I've killed 250 lb deer and I've seen 300 lb deer killed in the Greater Ohio Valley within 100 miles of Cincinnati. None required a premium bullet. The are awesome to look at, but that size difference is deceiving.

You have to remember that the key dimension in a deer in this discussion is the width of the chest. That dimension changes very little as the weight changes. The girth of a 157 pounder and a 340 pounder differs by only 10 inches. That's using the chart over at whitetail.com. Assume that's a circle and use trig to figure out the change in diameter. That comes out to less than 4 inches. What's more, you only have to go 3/4 of that distance to take out both lungs and the heart. In the end, you're talking about a difference of less than 3 inches of deer, assuming a broadside heart/lung shot.

Start talking to me about a difference when you see a moose.

The flesh is not any tougher. The organs aren't either. You might get a bit more resistance going through a thicker rib, but not enough to worry.

In the end, deer are not that hard to kill. My contention has been and will be that time spent on worrying about terminal ballistics inside whitetails would be better spent scouting. Stick with the Wally World specials. If you screw up, it won't be because of bullet contruction.