Norma markets its EVOSTRIKE 127-grain for "small and medium game when lead-free is the active choice." The EVOSTRIKE is a lead-free hunting bullet with a polymer tip, and at 127 grains it is lighter than the 139-grain loads it competes with. Norma rates it at a G1 BC of .392, and it leaves the muzzle at 3,314 fps.

Compared with Hornady's Superformance 139-grain SST, a polymer-tipped bullet with a lead core, the EVOSTRIKE starts 74 fps faster, but the heavier SST holds its speed better and is ahead by 200 yards. At 500 yards, a steady 10 mph wind blowing across the range pushes the EVOSTRIKE about 19 inches sideways and the SST about 16. That is how far from the aim point each bullet lands if you make no correction. The SST also kicks about 17 percent harder in the same rifle. Compared with Black Hills Gold 139-grain CX, a copper alloy bullet that also has no lead core, the EVOSTRIKE starts 214 fps faster, and the CX kicks about 11 percent harder in the same rifle.

Buy the EVOSTRIKE if you want a lead-free bullet with light recoil for the small and medium game Norma markets it for. Pick the Superformance 139-grain SST if a lead core is fine and your shots run long in the wind. Pick the Black Hills Gold 139-grain CX if you want a heavier bullet with no lead core. For big game, Federal markets its Premium 160-grain Barnes TSX, a copper hollow point with no lead core; it kicks about 38 percent harder than the EVOSTRIKE in the same rifle.