Hey I never post anything on here, but am always reading what everybody else has to say. But today I will chime in...I have (as have most of us, probably) realized that hunting gear/equipment/caliber/and yes, even bullet selection is very fad driven. These fads, or what's popular, are driven by marketing from Hornady, Berger, nosler, Barnes, etc. furthermore, people jump on a particular bandwagon from even more marketing from "my uncle's cousin's coworker's brother..."
I believe that all of us want to have rifles that shoot one hole, five shot groups at all distances and that can shoot 2,000 yards with 1 inch of drift and have enough energy to drop every critter that walks the planet. But we all know deep down inside that for our hunting success, that is probably not needed. What is needed is a complete understanding of how our selected bullet (whatever caliber, weight, brand) will behave at given velocities, conditions, energy, etc etc.
I have started to run my own tests on bullets the past couple of years and I have realized that every once in a while a bullet will behave outside of the norm for that given line of bullets. However, the majority perform very similar to the others in the box under a given set of conditions.
One needs to realize that a Berger does NOT perform the same as a Barnes, and so on and so forth and vice versa. So don't try and make them. Don't go timber pounding with a Berger for an 800 pound bull where you may end up with a 30 yard shoulder shot (I know people will say: "oh they work flawlessly at close range, blah blah"), and also don't set up for a 1000 yard shot on that same bull with a Barnes. It's not gonna expand....the majority of the time.
This is where people get mixed results/opinions with bullets. They are asking their bullet to do something that it is not physically capable of. Yes, most animals will die if they are hit with a hunk of metal flying at 1500-3500 fps. But that's not the point. The point is knowing exactly what is going to happen when your chosen bullet hits that animal. Accuracy ANd bullet construction matter. Don't try to make one bullet fit all applications. For example, I use Berger's when hunting antelope where I know they are a smaller animal and a long shot is going to be the norm. I also use Accubonds or Barnes TTSX when I hunt elk in thick timber in NW Montana where I rarely have a shot over 200 yards.
I would just say to all those looking to switch or try new bullets: it does not matter what Joe Shmoe thinks or says on sites like this great one. You have to figure it out for yourself through testing that bullet prior to hunting. Does it meet your accuracy requirement? And does it perform terminally? Don't ask it to do something it can't.
With all that said I will give my marketing statement: I believe the Nosler Accubond in a heavy grain bullet pushed fast is the best all around bullet for me. A 300 RUM with 200 grainer at 3200 fps has performed on all game that I have launched it at. 20 yards-850 yards. Antelope to moose. The End.