The general rule is:

- Hollowpoint rifle bullets (excluding MATCH bullets!) are generally lightly constructed and intended for very rapid expansion/fragmentation, as they are designed for small animals.  They make poor defensive bullets because penetration is far too shallow on humans, which are much larger than the animals these bullets were designed for.

- Softpoints generally give more penetration than hollowpoints, but you have to check each load, as some still don't give enough (less than 12") or give too much (over 18") for defensive use.  They use controlled expansion to assist wounding, which makes a smaller but predictable wound profile, and is still working at longer ranges/lower velocities.  This is usually the choice for hunting medium and medium-large animals, because it doesn't do as much hide or meat damage, and because in many states, SPs are the only ammo that's allowed.

- Most FMJ bullets don't expand or fragment, and in fact, the original design was specifically to prevent that from happening.  It's a "happy little accident" that military 5.56 FMJ ammo (M193 & M855) fragments, and it does so because of the high velocities that are typical, and because of the bullet's construction.  In fact, if it didn't fragment, it is very likely that the AR15 would never have been adopted by the US or any other military during the Vietnam era.  Most early users were shocked at how effective it was, as they naturally expected less performance than their M14s with a smaller (5.56) round.  That performance "magic" was that M193 fragmented, but the larger and "more powerful" M80 (7.62x51mm) did not.  It should be noted that NOT ALL FMJ, including NOT ALL 55gr 5.56 ammo, will fragment.  It must also be noted that fragmentation requires that the velocity is high enough to overcome the bullet's structural integrity, and so there is a range at which fragmentation no longer occurs.  That range is heavily dependant on the construction of the bullet and the terminal velocity, and naturally shorter barrels, which give less initial velocity, significantly reduce fragmentation range.

- It has been found that match hollow-points (often referred to as OTM or Open-Tip Match for political correctness) fragment very well in many cases.  This is not in any way related to the hollow cavity at the tip, as unlike standard hollowpoints that expand, OTM bullets do NOT expand.  But, if the velocity is high enough, they WILL fragment.  Further, it has been found that longer, heavier bullets typically not only make larger wounds, but that their fragmentation threshold is lower, so often fragmentation range is increased compared to other types of bullets.  Most of the best defensive rounds use heavy match/OTM bullets.

Fragmenting (rifle) bullets potentially make the largest wounds, and so where fragmenting rounds are available, they are often the best defensive/combat choice.  If you can't have fragmenting rounds, or if you must use a barrel that's so short as to severly limit your rifle's fragmentation range, then a carefully selected soft-point is your next-best choice.  Hollowpoint/varmint bullets, particuarly in 5.56, are the worst choice.

-Troy

Compared to an OTM bullet, which will have a velocity threshold for fragmentation at around 2400-2200 fps, a SP will give at least some expansion down to 1700 fps, so, yes, range is often extended.  However, the wounds will be quite a bit smaller with SPs than with fragmenting bullets, so you're trading close-in performance to get increased performance at longer range.  As a rule, that's not a good trade-off, but in a situation where fragmentation range is very short (such as: having a short barrel), it may be the best way to go.

-Troy

As you stated, the bullet in question was a varmint-class bullet.  I was generally only talking about 5.56/.223, but what I wrote applies to most other calibers, with noted exceptions, such as your soft-point varmint bullet.

-Troy

Understand that deer are NOT humans.  Their bodies are constructed differently, and that loads that are ideal for combat are not necessarily good loads for hunting, and vice versa.  Lots of people fall into the trap of "this load dropped a deer/moose/badger/etc., so it must be a good defensive load", which is false.

Most hunters have very different goals from their bullets than you do in combat.  An experienced hunter wants just enough wound damage to kill the deer, so that the meat and hide damage is minimal.  Fragmenting bullets can shred both, and will leave small fragments of lead and gilding metal in the meat that is hard to find.  For this reason, most hunters choose controlled-expansion soft-points, like the excellent 64gr Winchester PowerPoint.

-Troy

Quoted: The other thing to consider is barrier penetration.  Some controlled expansion softpoints will perform much better on auto glass or auto bodies than OTM.

Again, you must be VERY careful making generalizations.  The bullets that do well against barriers are those with bonded cores.  It just so happens that nearly all of these rifle bullets are SP designs.  But most SP rifle bullets are NOT bonded-core bullets, and their barrier penetration abilities aren't much better than OTMs or FMJs, if at all.

-Troy