I agree shot placement is damn-near everything. I believe most of these what works type arguements is really back to what people use effectively. The one going on the .243 is a perfect example, the question of is it enough is directly attributable to how good is the shooter.

I think there are some basics that the more familiar people don't talk much about. New shooters or hunters get into these exchanges and miss some of these points that really make more difference than the caliber or bullet construction.

Lets face it. The people who come to this site are GENERALLY more experienced and wind up arguing small issues. The matching of caliber/bullet/ cartridge/game is, and always will be critical to the end result. Poor choices matching performance of round to bullets for any given game can result in terrible tracking jobs. Most of the time it really comes back to where the bullet hit. Sometimes the "bad" bullets work very well if the loose nut behind the trigger is adjusted to the idea that it has to be used in a specific manner. Nosler Ballistic Tips are a good example. When shot into the heart/lung area they can be as devastating as anything developed, shot into shoulders, or worse, a raking shot, they are labeled a "failure". The Failsafes, X's, and stiffer bullets that "pencil through" are usually because the velocity isn't what the bullet needs to open up. Notice I threw in the usually part.

The more forgiving rounds and bullets are generally the ones I find people recommending for "everything" aside from those who are just less informed with big egos. These claims are justified in that if all you had was a hammer then everything is a nail. The truth is there are many hammers for many different uses. Guns are tools, nice tools, but tools just the same and when picking the right tool for the job some have enough sense to realize there are some specific tools that work better than others. Can a finishing nail be pounded in with a framing hammer? Could you use something other than a framing hammer for framing? What happens when the new standard is to use an air gun to drive nails? Does that make the nail gun perfect for every job?

If we didn't love our sport there would be no passion. If there were no passion there would be no need for these discussion boards!

A point that is not discussed is that "shot placement" is not always perfect. It's quite hard to make a perfect shot all of the time. Many get nervous and there are a lot of animals hit on the edges.



A wound that is on the edge may get the game if it's a big one. Small wounds from weak loads may fail and the game may get away.



"Don't force it, use the big hammer."