WT Fever,
If you are a handloader you are in a whole different realm of possibilities. I've had great luck with Nosler Ballistics Tips on deer. It really kills them. I'd stay away from partitions if you're just hunting deer. I shot a small buck with a borrowed .260 Rem that had partition handloads. It went through and the deer ran for a couple of hundred yards before it went down. That bullet wasn't made to expand quickly enough in a deer size animal. If you have an Encore, you proabaly have a 24 inch or longer barrel. If I were handloading for that gun, I'd take advantage of the speed that you can get with that caliber and a long barrel, and I'd try the new Barnes TTSX bullets in a 100 grainer. I'm guessing you should easily be able to work up a load that's way in excess of 3,000 FPS. That bullet will expand quickly, won't break up no matter how fast it's going and deliver an tremendous amount of shock as it goes right through. I'm trying them this year for all my hunting (antelope, deer, elk). I know a hunter who's had great performance with it. I'm planning on using a 110 grain in my .270WSM and may go as "light" as a 130 gr. for my .300WSM.  |