Quote Originally Posted by rattfink View Post
Berger hunting bullets are the exact same thing as their match target bullets but with ever so slightly thicker walls.
That is just backwards Rat. Berger redid the match bullets with a slightly thicker jacket due to complaints that some bullets were being lost in flight due to them coming apart. After much testing Berger found that some bullets would come apart in flight if pushed to the extreme and started making the match bullets with a heavier jacket. The bullets now marked as hunting are the same as the original match bullets which were not designed as hunting bullets but just seemed to work very well. As stated about the Matchkings, Berger also started out saying not to hunt with their TARGET bullet. It was the reports of many shooters having such good luck with them that led Berger to reexamine their bullets for hunting.
I have used Matchkings for deer hunting but after a number of deer have stopped due to the lack of expansion. The bullet does a lot of damage but for the most part it is due to a tumble such as fmj's do in soft tissue. Lapua Scenar bullets have exhibited the same non-expansion with a tumble effect for me also. If i was going to use a target bullet to deer hunt with it would be the original Berger which is now called a hunting bullet. The A-Max is a good cross between target and hunting. Not the absolute best at either but good at both. JMHO