The philosophical hunter. I like it. Old school, Geezer here. I have watched all of the hype and fads over the last 60 years. Long shooting Game, a reliance on technology rather than hunting skills has its expected results. Desert Dog , you speak older than you are. That is a good thing. This Geezer ,an old time Bull Elk Guide and hunter.

Easily one of the best hunting/gun channels on KZfaq. You have more practical based knowledge and experience that the real boots on the ground hunter can relate to. All of this being in your own opinion is also the opinion of a majority of us sportsmen afield. Great content! Cheers from Canada eh 🍻🇨🇦👍🏻

It's like walking into the fishing takle store and realizing that most of the gear in there is to catch fisherman... not fish. With a .270 I use ELD-X for target shooting and Nosler Partition for hunting. I hunt where 400 yards is not even a posible shot. Long range is for fun not hunting.

The ol Partition is still doing it's job. That's what, 70 years old? Thanks for the vid, I needed that. [Edit] I decided to put your concept to the test and crunched the numbers from a hunting perspective, using two bullets out of my 308. Both 165 gr, one a flatbase, the other a slick boat tail. Point blank range set at 3 inches. The flatbase went 270 yards. But that slick and sexy boat tail went a whopping 270 yards. 🤪 Those BCs don't kick in soon enough for us hunters to bother with, unless BC in this case stands for Bullet Construction.

I’m so glad your making hunters understand it’s about the ethical kills first.

The best caliber is a good bullet and the best bullet is a well placed one.

I absolutely love your opinion of the ELD-X. I used it to hunt with for awhile and have taken 5 muleys and a bull elk with it. I’ve hunted with a lot of different bullets over the years and I deemed the ELD-X the worst bullet I’ve ever hunted with. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to South Africa in March and I took my .280AI loaded with 160gr partitions and was able to take 8 animals shots ranged from 120-310 yards the partitions performed flawlessly. I really like all your videos but this one has been my favorite. I’ve been arguing these points for quite a while now.

you and Randy Newburg make more sense than all the rest out there. Everything you talk about I have been talking about for decades.

DD, you make these videos so interesting and informative this is one of my favorites because you were spot on with what ammunition manufacturers have been doing for so many years. I can say I have learned a great deal on just about every level concerning hunting and hunting gear from your videos. I am also very happy I applied your suggestions to my gear and cartridge selections, when you explain it it all makes damn good sense. Thank you.

When a new potential hunter asks me what rifle caliber and ammo they should get I reply with my usual answer. Choose a good quality bolt action in a standard caliber and use soft point bullets (for deer). That advice has never disappointed. You are spot on when you said shot placement and bullet construction are the top two factors for ethical hunting. Great video.

Desert Dog, Thank you so much for all your videos, they have helped me a great deal to cut through the ammo marketing crap, and not be dragged through a long path of figuring things out through my own mistakes, I prefer to learn from others.

I always knew that firearms manufacturers were hyping everyone. Your concise and clear enunciation of the facts put truth to power. I have sub'd to your site. BTW: I have made it a point to leave remarks for all the "hunters" who brag about 500+ yard shots. Unethical and 1 in 50 success stories that don't get said. Thanks again!

Inside 100 I go 30-30 Inside 250 I go 308 Inside 300 I go 270 That’s as far as I go. Paper targets I go 6.5.

So well said! It really is refreshing to hear someone come out and publicly speak the truth. In every single instance my top priority when reloading cartridges is: do I have a good quality bullet? Sometimes my go to bullet doesn’t workout for whatever the reason might be, so if I have to choose an alternate bullet my criteria for a well constructed “hunting” bullet remains constant. I just will not back off this very basic principle.

Thank you for decluttering these concepts. I hope your viewers appreciate that.

One of your best!!! Extremely enjoy soaking up this lifetime of information you share!! Good hunting, and cheers from Texas!

Great video. Back to the basics! Remington core lokt with flat base bullets have probably killed more big game at practical ranges than any other ammo. Most hunters had no clue what the BC and SD even was. They just put it in the vitals and retrieved their animal.

Fast becoming my favourite channel. Very well explained 👍🏼

Real advice from a real Hunter I for one highly appreciate it. Thank you once again!

First! Thanks for making the best rifle hunting channel on KZfaq!!

Wisdom is not always possible to pass without personal experience, so there will be a ton of people who will try to find reasons why to dissagree. To me, big thumbs up!

Just found your videos yesterday while off work with Covid, have been binge watching and subscribed today. I like your practical and simple approach for what is necessary for ethical hunting. Thanks for the great videos!

Couldn’t be said better, excellent, professional and from the field not from the books. Well done simple as that

Great video DD. You have a great way of separating the pepper from the fly poop.

I love your videos. Very informative. I've been shooting Nosler partitions out of my Winchester model 70 Super Grade 30-06 for years. If it's not broke don't fix it. Greetings from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

I have been expanded through the information conveyed in this video. WOW! awesome video.

Hey D.D. great video. Judging by the amount of grey on our chins we're probably about the same age. I agree with everything you said in relation to B.C, Energy, and Velocity. However I never gave much thought about S.D. in it's relation to the bonded core or Partition style bullets; I think you have a valid point there as well. I admit that having grown up with cup and core bullets I always reverted back to bullets with higher S.D. numbers. I recon that I'll have to think about your theory a little bit. I know you've heard this before but you have one of the best hunting channels out there and I appreciate the work that you put into it. Take care and be safe!

DD, I'm a hunter/shooter from New Zealand and I really enjoy your videos. In my opinion you're one of the most sensible firearms professionals on KZfaq. I especially like your attitude towards ethical hunting distances. Unfortunately, there are alot of guys down here who would much rather take a deer at 800 yards, than stalk within MPBR of their particular cartridge.

Yeah, this is why I so appreciate Hornady putting boat tails on their 30/30 bullets 😊

Great content as usual. On a side note, I am SUPER jealous of your model 70 super grade maple. keep em comin

Excellent video. Cuts through the hype.

Great video!! I'm basically a whitetail hunter and for the last 40 years have taken most of my deer at less than 200 yards with the Remington core lokt mostly in 270, 308 and 30:06 calibers. Never saw a reason to change to a more expensive ammo. It has always done the job for me even at longer distances on my 3 trips to New Mexico mule deer hunting.

Great vid sir. As being an older hunter, I totally agree with many of your thoughts many cartriges and rifles have killed meat for me for 40+ years. But always use simple ammo at inside 300 yrds. Thank you sir

DD, Spot on! You have great informative videos!

DD, another great video. As you said numerous times, "ethical hunters"! My practice distances at the range go out to 300yds. I limit myself to 300yds because I'm hunting, not targeting deer at ridiculous distances. My 7x57 is scoped with a 1.25-4x24, a perfect rig out to 300yds. This was a great explanation for ethical hunters. Take care!

10 inch pie plate for target has been a long time hunting standard for ethical wild game hunting. Terminal ballistics is the deciding factor on bullet types that create ethical game hunting. I’ve always believed in the right bullet, for the right purpose, in the right cartridge, at the correct velocity with appropriate terminal impact, all along with shot placement. I’ve never been sold on marketing and the trigger word like high BC. Hunters should know their terminal impact distances on targets for delivered energy as well as what their bullet is made of, not necessarily what the bullet is marketed for. Great video! 👍🏻😃

Many many thanks for your informative and completely competence. I'm a German hunter, a blue collor lumberjack and I'm hunting since 1976. In this decades I used a lot of rifles, bullets in different calibers. To be honest, - in my first times I often failed or missed ! If the shot is pointed in the deadly target-area, the animal drops down and die fast and painless. This area is different in every species, and so you have to aim. Very good books about wrote by Kevin Robertson "The perfect shot".

Reliable Terminal Performance. Good choice of words and ideas.

Man i really hate your conclusions... because it means another great video is coming to an end. Keep up the good work Desert Dog.

Just now seeing this, and your work, and stellar, boiled-down delivery, are both unique and captivating. This, is probably the most important tutorial on not just the hype of hunting, but the fundamentals of what's really going (and important) during the exercise of hunting. For some reason, young hunters (the ones seemingly driving and parroting the new, techie cartridges) don't want hunting to be to much effort, or too messy. Understanding a quarry's behavior, defense, and the best tactics for stalking and successfully defeating them--in THEIR element--is just more than they want to deal with. Added to this, is the "sexiness" of futuristic rifle builds designed to snipe, rather than hunt, and the glorification of combat sniping in recent wars with young solders returning home...and it seems to add up to a foundation for the current environment. 300-400 yards and less. The same old cartridges. Mebbe that's become too boring...

Another great video, thanks. It can take a long time to get real world experience and so if you are jut stating out, or if you just really want to deep dive into an interest, you tend to turn towards metrics.

I love your no nonsense approach.

Great video, loved the topic. I agree with you and I have really turned away from the new high speed cartridges, I was looking at buying the 28 nosler when I realized I don't need anything like that for 300 yds and in.

Your presentation and the messages are very nice and educative thanks keep it up thanks again

Amen!! it's hard to beat a Nosler partition or a Barnes Tsx for larger game, or a simple cup and core bullet for deer and medium game. Most deer are killed inside 200 yards. With these re brand match bullets all you are doing is wasting money. Where the BC's matter and these match rebrands become useful is in competition or tactical or law enforcement situations. Which has absolutely nothing to do with hunting to begin with. I don't understand why companies like Hornady push bullets like the ELDx towards hunters. In my opinion these companies set uninformed and young hunters up for failure. They are also encouraging unethical behavior! It's about using the right tool for the job and being ethical. The whole point of hunting is ethics.

Great content, thank you.

Excellent practical explanation. 🙏🤟🏽🙏🤟🏽

You nailed the issue in the first two minutes. Well said. Proper shot placement at ethical distances is still the best way to ensure success.

Great show, and your right, back in the day, S.D. helped you choose a deer, elk, ...etc.., With the advent of the Fed. TLR Edge, (an old Ackley designed bullet.) May very well be the best designed hunting bullet out there... What is so funny is the Nosler Partition has always been under B.C., its actual bc is way higher than what they advertise, a great bullet.

I know this is an old video. Just saw it. You bring up a lot great points and I am seeing a lot archery and firearm overlapping. After practically bouncing an arrow off a deer I knew I had to go a different route. I’m had found a KZfaq channel called the Ranch Fairy a long with the Dr. Ashby foundation. They talk about heavy arrows. One of the biggest points they make is arrow and broadhead integrity just like what you said about bullet integrity. Dr. Ashby was the one that helped legalize archery hunting in Africa. Thank you for all of your knowledge that you are sharing.

Excllent points...in 28 years of hunting up here in Alaska most of my shots have been less than 200 yards. This past fall I shot my caribou at 120 yards and my bull moose at 160 yards.

Love your channel and how you stand by the basics and traditions. If someone can't get within 200 yards of any game animals they should not be hunting. A slight gust of wind and miscalculation at even 500 yards could cause a wounded game animal. To me 200 yards is the max ethical distance for most hunting scenarios. Punching paper at 500 yards or 800 yards at a range off a bench on a warm sunny day is different then shooting across canyons with varying gusts and thermal drafts. Not worth the risk of wounded the animal in my opinion. What happened to the art of stalking and stealth. It's called hunting not shooting.

I agree with you DD… and here is a slightly different angle on the topic of BC’s for ethical range hunting bullets - to shine a bit of a positive light on the merit of BC’s: Yes, pursuit of the high-est BC’s in selecting a hunting bullet is folly… this leads hunters into the more fragile cup and core style bullets like the ELDX and bergers where normal range terminal performance is traded for long range velocity retention, yielding a net performance disadvantage to the ethical range hunters. But, on the other hand I really appreciate what barnes is doing with their LRX bullets. They have taken the proven TTSX design and refined it in pursuit of high-er BC’s without giving up the advantageous terminal characteristics of the tipped copper monolithic design. It appears to me that this is a net advantage to the ethical range hunter at all ranges. For example: in a 270WIN the 130gr TTSX versus the 129gr LRX at 3053fps MV… the improved drag efficiency of the LRX yields 4/7/10% increases in retained energy at 200/300/400m ranges respectively. If we consider 2000fps to be the performance limit for these bullets, the TTSX and LRX reach this low velocity limit at 470m and 540m respectively… a 15% increase for the LRX. 🎉 And for large game like elk/moose the TTSX/LRX reach 1600ftlbs retained energy at 300m/345m respectively (again 15%). In summary, I just wanted to say something nice about higher BC’s and give props to Barnes for doing very fine work with their LRX product line… and honourable mention to the 270WIN… these numbers are pretty sick! Cheers!

Thank you for ironing out all this and yes hunting is at an all time ethical low point.ive been all over the place with what I use growing up in Tx hunting I started out on the 22-250 moved on into magnum mania now I'm 45 killed lots of game and I now use and stand firmly behind a wonderfully accurate rem 700 titanium 24" 3006 it flat out dead bang flop right there works out to 400 yards which I think is my Max limit 99% of the game I've shot were between 150-200 yards I use a 150 hr accubonds at an honest 3000 fps ( why I use a 24" 3006) that shoot 5 shots in one 1/2"hole at 100 yds. can take the same gun with a few clicks on my Zeiss 4.5-14x44 scope and I'm on point with 180 gr accubonds for the real big stuff.

Agree sir. I will take my 270, 308 and 30-06 over all the new laboratory cartridges and all of there high BCs. Great video

Excellent! 👍👍👍

Knowledge is power listen and learn excellent 👍 video

Another great video. Thnaks again!

hornady interlock. the only bullet i've used for 40 years. 6mm remington to .338 win mag. shot placement with a GOOD bullet. i have never lost an animal to this date. 200 yard to 300 yard shots only, respect the game.

DD, you remain the no-nonsense, common sense voice in the wilderness. Always enjoy your experience-backed presentations.

100% agree with the ELD-X. I stopped using it for hunting. Never seen as much meat damage ever as I seen with the ELD-X bullet. Went back to partitions.

Very well explained. Thanks.

Really good video with lots of sense. Thank you :-)

Great video sir

Outstanding sir. My family, friends and I combined have brought home so many game animals over just my 50 years that i don't dare try to count. With a few exceptions, most of us use standard calibers .243, .30-30, .35 remington, .300 savage, .308, .30-06. With a couple old .303 british, 30-40 krag 8mm mauser everyday average kinda stuff. Though we have tried different ammo, it is the majority's opinion out of all the the people i have ever hunted with that you just can't beat a good old inexpensive core lokt or power point or similar type average ammo. In my circle i have never heard of one failing to do its job. From ground hogs to moose. If your spending $50 for 20 rounds of hunting ammo..... You have been had my friends.

Your best video on an important topic. The bullet hype is like the covid.

Thanks again for projecting the idea of truly ethical hunting practices and using your experience to teach. How we use our liberties have everything to do with their future existence. Preserving well thought out execution of a wonderful way of life is what will give the next generation values and experiences that will give them a rich life. It is so important to pursue the right things. And, this IS science with real world application, exactly the kind of intelligence we require.

Great video!

excellent and needed discussion

dude these videos are the best

I gotta admit I have allowed bc to affect my selection and I don't know why. I have given myself a 300-400yard limit on my shooting of animals. I am under the belief system that if you can get closer, you should. Although, bullet construction and ability to expand reliably has been the most important in my bullet selection. The federal bullets based off the old trophy bonded bear claw are what I've gravitated to. Then again, I killed two Caribou this winter with my 270 win shooting 140 grain Hornady Interlock btsp. That old interlock did the trick hitting bone but still passing completely through at 30 yards. Thank you for this reminder of what my thought processes really are when it comes to hunting.

There are so many great videos of yours that I happen upon..lol

Well done Sir 👏.

Desert Dog u never let me down great video.

Long story short, I just "reverse engineer" my handloads for a bullet/cartridge to bullet manufacturers terminal velocity recommendations. Sometimes slower is better depending on bullet construction. In the old days, I had to call or email them to get that information, today it's usually on the box. -Tutt

I am both grateful and embarrassed at how straight to the point and informative this has been. Embarrassed because why should it be this way in the first place. With all our smart people out there why would anyone want someone wounding or injuring an animal that goes off and dies and is never recovered just so they can get in our pocket book. I would much rather have the perfect blend between caliber and energy and speed and felt recoil and best performing projectile. So knowing this, we should be told straight without hype right from the start. If that means u need only a savage weather warrior 30.06 then so be it. Conversely if the 257 weatherby magnum in vanguard Weathergaurd is the ticket then that's what should be presented. Like my vehicle. I want it to start and operate fully as intended each time I turn the key.

Very good video!👍🏻👍🏻

Accubond and TSX/TTSX are the best in my opinion for expanding bullets

Another great video!

Great video

Another great video.

Great video. I as well have seen eldx crap out on whitetail

Very good video.👍

After this video, I released that I’m Hunter. Thank you Sir you opened my eyes.

I agree with your assessment 100% The only new cartridge that got my attention was the 350 Legend. What's not to like about a low recoiling light weight short rifle? Especially when you're hunting in thick Pennsylvanian woods. Most of my shots are zero to 75 yards... I don't need a high performance cartridge to get that job done.

A few years back the marketing "rage" was weight retention. The intent was to convince hunters that they had to have 100% weight retention in order to be successful. Thus the guys who had successfully used their Nosler Partition bullets for years had somehow been wrong. My retort was that a military full jacket bullet has 100% weight retention, but you wouldn't want to hunt with it.

Good excellent content, I have rifles chambered from .22rf to .416 REM , the later definitely more than I need for the UK, just a fun gun. On of my favourite rifles is a Ruger No1 .45/70, I meet too many UK deer stalkers who think that bigger diameter means greater meat damage. Fortunately many of us know that is not necessarily so.

You are 100% right and many hunters these days have very limited experience in shooting big game animals. Simple cup and core bullets are okay in very slow rounds like a 30-30 but they have no place for hunting especially not in fast magnum calibers. Nosler Partitions, Winchester Failsafe, Swift A-Frame, Barnes X, Hornady GMX, RWS TUG, are some of the better projectiles for hunting big game. Sure they are all a bit more expensive to purchase due to their construction costs but they will do the job if the hunter does his. All the better match bullets should only be used for fun and paper punching.

My favorite eastern Whitetail rifle is a 7mm 08 loaded with 175 grain accubond bullets. I only get 2300 fps but I get very consistent expansion and penetration. This works better than most anything on quartering shots.

Interesting you started your video comparing Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets to Barns TSX, because that's how I started my hunting. I loaded 140gr Ballistic Tips for my 7x57 and immediately had failures with shoulder shots on deer and hogs. Fortunately I didn't loose any game but I did move up to 150gr Ballistic Tips. Soon I heard about Barnes bullets and switched to a 140gr solid copper projectile. After that I had a run of 7 one shot kills on Black Tail deer. These slugs go through both shoulders of a deer and they drop right in their tracks when hit like that. I've also dropped a couple of black bears in the same manner with this load. A lot of people I used to hunt with used 7mm Rem Magnums and I saw several failures on close range shoulder shots on deer, even with Nosler Partition bullets. The slug blew up on the animals shoulder and didn't do much damage in the chest cavity. Apparently the velocity was just too high at close ranges.

I agree with your assessment on kinetic energy. For decades the conventional wisdom has been to make sure that your load can deliver minimum of 1500 lbs of energy on target for taking elk and 1000 lbs for deer. With the advent of these “new” copper solids, hunters seem to be having success taking these animals with less energy delivered on target than what this decades old convention suggests . Considering how these solids seem to perform on game animals, it makes sense that bullet construction matters more.

I agree with your opinion!!

I can remember a long time ago my uncle always used flat base bullets because the boat tail bullets of the time would not hold together it is important to pick the right bullet when it comes to hunting

I'd still use Barnes even if California didn't require it. Great hunting bullet

I have for decades always said the gun industry is like the auto industry. Every year there is a new and better vehicle out there. Same with firearms. They change the stock a little and is sold as new and better. As far as bullets go match your hunting bullet to your game and expected range. Leave the target type projectiles for range work. Some bullets have so much cooper in them to give a higher BC. They will not not stabilize in standard rifling twists.Everything you say is true in the video. B.C.means nothing in real hunt situations. Accuracy and penetration will get the job done. Well done.

100 gr gmx or 110 gr ttsx for my 270 Win = whitetail tenderloins on my table. With the majority of my shots being inside 250 yds its a perfect combination. Thanks for the great video.

Great video, I will only add, to match the rifle/ caliber/ cartridge/ bullet construction to the animal and terrain. Still own and prefer my "Bean field" rifles/calibers and will take having a DRT on a accidental marginal shot then a wounded/ no blood trail, lost animal. Again great explanation of bullet construction over math calculations. The long range shooters will now add their arguments. LOL.

You are hunter I want to be like. Very professional and knowledgeable.

Thank you

An awesome opinion!