why?
Why is it that the ballistic tip (specifically the Nosler Ballistic Tip) is so quickly slammed? I 've got a pal who has a .270 and worked with him to get a 130BT/.270 load together that will drive nails, and breaks 3000 fps at the muzzle. He's lost several deer, and continually slams the bullet. Invariably, we learn his zero is off, or he's shooting farther than he realizes, or took a shot at a bad angle, moving deer, etc, etc,
I think a major part of the OP's issue is "very heavily brush" area. Been there, haven't we? How did I miss/cripple that one? Well, you likely hit something you did not see and the bullet ended up where you did not intend. Lost a dandy 6pt this year, at 35 yds max, in the brush. It looked clear.......broke leg, no deer. I almost had to have hit something. But it was not my rifle or loads fault. I took a shot under difficult conditions (brush) that I should have passed. "Grunts" comments about clearing lanes is apt, if that is a viable option on an established stand. Not everybody hunts that way of course, but that will solve the "brush" problem to an extent. I'd like to see all the brush I've cleared cutting shooting lanes for bow hunting piled in one place....it'd be a heck of a bonfire!!!!!
"Panfisher" makes a good comment. Once somebody is down on a load/combo, the combo will rarely instill any confidence, and the malcontent will go searching for a new solution.
REgards the .270/130 BT. Accurate combo in any rifle I've tried it. But I do not think I could drive it fast enough from a 22" bbl to get the "hammer of Thor" effect that 603 country describes. Yielded dead deer, but not particularly dramatic or dynamic, just dead deer 10-50 yds away ususally.
About normal.