Grand Slam????

[srab]

I've shot 145 gr. Grand Slams through a 7x57, and they shot
well, providing very-respectable 100 yd groups. But, just about
every spitzer or semi-spitzer that I've run across, from Hornady
to Sierra to Nosler to Barnes to non-Grand Slam Speer, has
a significantly better ballistic coefficient than the Grand Slam.

I don't typically use "premium" bullets in my deer rifles. In my
experience, using non-magnum cartridges, they just don't seem
to provide any appreciable benefit.

In my elk rifles, on the other hand, which are magnum offerings,
I use "premium" bullets exclusively. But, Nosler Partitions,
Win/CT Fail Safes, and Barnes all offer significantly better
ballistic coefficients than the Grand Slams, so I am inclined
to use one of the former unless I just can't get any of them
to shoot well. I might then consider the Grand Slam.

Does ballistic coefficient make any difference in the real world?
Not for 99% of the shots I take on deer at 200 yards or less.
But, for an elk/mule deer/antelope at 350 yds, shooting into a cross wind, it may
make the difference between holding the crosshairs on hair
or on air.