Hornady markets its 80-grain Outfitter CX as a hunting load for medium game. The CX is Hornady's copper-alloy bullet with a polymer tip and no lead core. It carries a G1 BC of .273 and leaves the muzzle at 3,200 fps, and it still carries 864 ft-lbs at 300 yards.

Compared with Fiocchi's Hyperformance 80-grain TTSX, another tipped copper bullet with no lead core, the Outfitter gives up both speed and wind. The Fiocchi starts 75 fps faster. At 400 yards, a steady 10 mph wind blowing straight across the range pushes the Outfitter about 19 inches sideways and the Fiocchi about 15. Compared with Remington's High Performance 80-grain PSP, a lead-core soft point, the Outfitter starts 150 fps slower but ends up close: the same wind pushes the Remington about 20 inches at 400 yards. Zeroed at 100 yards, the Outfitter drops about 27 inches at 400 and the Remington about 25. The Remington kicks about 6 percent harder in the same rifle.

Buy the Outfitter CX if you want Hornady's copper medium-game load and most of your shots fall inside 300 yards, where it drifts about as much as the Remington. Pick the Hyperformance TTSX if you want a copper bullet that holds up better in wind at 400 yards. Pick the Remington if you do not need a copper bullet and want the faster start. Pick Black Hills Gold's 80-grain CX, loaded with the same Hornady CX bullet, if you want slightly softer recoil; it kicks about 2 percent less than the Outfitter.