Deer Bullets?

I was fortunate this year in taking a decent 8 point buck around 2PM opening day here in NY. It certainly wasn't my biggest buck, however it was not my smallest either. I was just glad to get out into the woods for gun season as I missed all of bow season this year due to heart surgery in July. Saturday was a phenomenal day weather wise and I ended up seeing a total of ten deer. I took the 8 pointer at approx 125 yards with my .308 Win using Hornady 150 grain interlock SST factory loads. Despite my success and bringing the deer home with me, I will likely NOT use that particular load again for deer. WHY? NO apparent exit hole and very little external blood. Fortunately the deer expired on the spot so no trailing needed and therefore no blood trail was not a problem

What bothered me is the what if's? What if the deer had stayed on his feet and made it out of sight. there was no snow on the ground and plenty of leaf cover and without any blood trail I likely may not have recovered the deer. The internal damage in the chest cavity was excessive which is why I presume the deer went down quickly. I not only didn't have an exit hole (UNLESS the hole in the right hip was an exit hole?).......I could not find an entrance hole either. Dead deer do not lie, so I am not losing sleep over it. I just made a mental note of it for future reference. I realize reading the forums that a lot of guys swear by the SST and Ballistic Tip format in a deer bullet. I also subscribe to and fully understand that deer are NOT hard to kill and hit properly are rather fragile animals. They are not covered with thick hides and a layer of fat combined with heavy shoulder bones etc. like a black bear would be. None-the-less, I like exit holes and a blood trail to follow if necessary. The sad part is that they are scary accurate and consistent and shoot well under an inch out to 150 yards which covers 95% of deer hunting where I hunt.

Since my Savage Weather Warrior accu-trigger .308 Win also shoots out to that same distance with MOA accuracy the Federal 150 grain Power Shok and the Winchester 150 grain PP and under 2 inches with the Remington 180 grain soft point Core lokt, I will LIKELY choose one of those loads next time around.

I will save the SST loads for coyotes or woodchucks etc. For me confidence in your load and ability to put it where you want it counts for a lot. For follow up shots on a moving deer that you know you have already hit (wounded), I prefer a bigger hole and an exit hole. I have read enough comments on shooting forums to realize there are quite a few comments on the lack of exit holes with the Hornady SST format. I also realize a dead deer, is a dead deer is a dead deer. The funny thing is I LOVE the Hornady 250 grain shock wave loads for my TC Encore 209/50. They too are very accurate and thus far have left both an entrance and exit hole. I think in part it is because they are a 100 grains heavier bullet and the velocity is less than the .308 Win. I have found the Shock wave bullets and the SST load in a ML shoot to the same point of aim.

Doesn't make me wrong for switching back to Win or Federal or Remington loads, and doesn't make anyone else wrong for sticking with the SST loads for deer in their own 30:06 or .308 or .270 etc.
It just makes me comfortable and gives me confidence and that is 80% of the battle.

Here are a couple of photos from an earlier post showing (3) different soft point loads in my .308 Win. at 75 yards. Results at 150 yards are very similar. Any of these three loads will leave an entrance and exist hole and therefore a better blood trail IF needed.

Dan

TC Encore 209/50 earlier photo showing Shock wave load

UPDATE ON MY OPENING DAY 8 POINT:

I picked up my venison from the processing place today and spoke with the butcher. He indicated that the wound in the right hip was DEFINITELY AN EXIT hole and not an entrance hole which confirms my last thought on the subject. I APPARENTLY missed shots #(1) and  #(3) and the only standing still shot I had entered in through the neck or brisket area somewhere and because of the bucks body angle and being down hill from my position exited out the right hip without hitting bone. He was looking up at me through the branches trying to determine where the first shot had come from.

That somewhat restores my faith in Hornady's Interlock 150 grain SST .308 bullet, however next year, I will still likely go back to either the Federal 150 grain Power Shok or the Winchester 150 grain PP load. To be completely fair to Hornady's SST load, it provided more penetration than I at first thought, however the butcher still did not find the entrance hole. It was somewhere in the brisket/chest area and apparently did not hit any bones going in or out. As previously mentioned it did turn the chest cavity inside to mush more or less. The deer dropped very quickly and did not suffer which is important to me.

Again in favor of the SST load it was extremely accurate and effective as I brought the deer home with me.

Dan