Anyone use .30 150 Nosler Ballistic tip?

M

MLC

New member
When I cleaned my deer I found that this bullet bored an enormous hole through the shoulder meat. Two fingers fit easily through the wound channel. It also blew through two ribs on the entrance side at a 45 degree angle through the aorta and out through another rib. Excellent penetration but rough on the meat.
I am new to seeing what a bullet does to tissue, is this about on par with most bullets. I don't intend to keep ruining meat so if there is a better bullet I'll try it. I foolishly bought 50 bullets for reloading before trying them out. I though perhaps if I loaded them to a lower velocity I'd have less meat loss. My shots will be less than 200 yards as a rule.
 
You'd probably be better off posting this to the gurus over at the Handloading section, but here goes -

Softer tip + low velocity = big exit wound (meat loss)

Under 200yd or so, go for a heavy bullet with higher velocity (within safe specs, of course). You playin with a 30-06 or 308? If so, maybe try the 185-200gr soft flat (or hollow) point, like the ones available through Hornady, loaded to around 2500fps for a starting point (depending upon your cartridge).

At less than 200yd, don't worry about needing spire points for accuracy. There's not too much fall or resistance on a 30cal at less than 200yd.
 
I used 150 ballistic tip in 18" barrel .308 win for 10 years on local small blacktails. The sure do leave big hole, they ruin meat at 2700fps up but they penetrate adaquately and stop the light game quick. Also they seem very accurate and hold velocity like 165 grain .30s do. I think they are ultimate .30 antipersonnel round up to say 500 yds! Try nosler partitions in 150 if your rifle is sighted in for this weight they are less destructive to meat and even more reliable. If you are using magnum cartridge or hot 3006 use 180 or heavier premium bullet or Barnes X-bullet .
 
I've shot one with an '06 out of a 20" barrel, with them loaded to a bit over 2800 fps. I was mightily impressed with the very large exit wound, which was large enough to drop a quarter though without touching meat. At the time, I was a little concerned about "over expansion." However, the result was spectacular; a running deer simply cratered. For light-skinned whitetails, I'd have to say they're really superior hunting bullets at less than magnum velocities. I later read that shortly after that time, Nosler had addressed concerns about overexpansion by "hardening" the bases of the ballistic tip bullets.

It is my experience that the BT's are highly accurate bullets, and the general consensus seems to uphold that they outperform the Partitions with regards to accuracy and energy retention. (NOT in terminal ballistics, however!) I would be more likely to use the 165 g bullets than the 150s, however.

That said, I tend to prefer the GameKing 165g for '06, 180 for magnums.
 
My hunting partner and I shot a few deer with both the 150 and 165 BT and the 150 seems to damage way more meat than the 165. Out of eight or ten deer taken with either bullet none required any tracking. they were all dead in their tracks.

Critter toughness varies so YMMV

Rick
 
I vote with Long Path for the 165 gr BTHP Sierra Gameking. I've shot a lot of deer with these and have always been pleased with their performance.
 
I tend to find something that works, - - -

- - -and stick with it, all else being equal. I settled on the Sierra 165 BTHP some years back and it always served me well. Killed quite a few deer with it, plus one large Colorado black bear.

I bought a box of N. Partition 165 bullets after putting down deposit for a Montana elk hunt. Didn't feel I needed a special rifle for the purpose, but was willing to work up a special load for my '06. Never got to try 'em out--There was a special setting on a murder trial and my duties required . . . . (There was some mild consolation, though- - The defense attorney was on the same hunt, and he lost his deposit as well. :rolleyes: Tom was a good friend, though, and we could certainly sympathize with one another. Besides, he didn't like his client much better than I did.)

In recent tears, I've been using the 165 Game King Spitzer Boat tail. Another great bullet. I use it with slightly less than a max charge of IMR 4350 in .30'06, and over IMR 4895 in .308.

Wish I had some information about the 150 BT to share, but Bottom Gun's entry prompted my comments about the Sierra GKs.:)

Best,
Johnny
 
I will try the 165 grain gamekings. The boat tail spitzer should behave like a 168 SMK in terms of trajectory, my rifle love 168's.
 
A note on the 165g GameKings:

They come in two flavors: BTHP and BTSP. Sierra sez that the BTSP is very slightly "softer" than the BTHP version, but the SP has tiny advantage in its ballistic coefficient. Not really enough difference to worry about, IMHO. But the HPs do seem to suffer less tip deformation with repeated magazine loadings and unloadings over multiple hunts.
 
Friend of mine had been using 180 grain core lockeds (or some other heavily constructed 180 gr. softpoint) on rather smallish west Texas whitetails for a couple of years. He thought he had lost a couple because of failure of bullets to expand. So , he goes completely the other way and hunted last year using the 150 grain NBT's.

He shot a 100 lb. piglet across the heart-lung region and I helped him gut it out. The critter's insides were mush, and there were metal fragments all over the place. It was close to getting dark while we were doing this and we got back to camp, hung the little hog up, and started to skin him. I saw a big lump lodged in the ribs and I pulled it out- it was the heart! My buddy said that when he shot the pig it just kind of jumped up on all fours and fell over without even quivering.
 
My 30-06 loves 180-gr Ballistic Tips for Mule Deer.

FYI:

Nosler reports that beginning with the 30 caliber 180-gr. Ballistic Tips (and larger), the jacket's profile is changed or upgraded to a much stronger contour similar to the AccuBond (shown below). The lead core is also hardened over the 165-gr. and below bullets.

accubondcut.jpg


Lighter weight bullets like 165-gr. 30 caliber and lower (shown below) do not have the thicker contour which starts in the middle of the shell and goes down to the base.

bthunting.jpeg


In summary, one might suggest that the 180-gr. Ballistic Tip is simply a non-bonded AccuBond.

325-sequences.gif
 
I don't know how many deer my brother and I shot with Nosler Ballisti-Tips, but it was several that succumbed to 150 grain bullets loaded into .308 Winchester. We thought they were a little soft, based on a bullet or two we got back and the wounds we saw, but these bullets were the first ones out, not the redesigned one. Anyhow, it is hard to fault a bullet recovered of a dead deer!

We might have been prejudiced, though, as we really were in love with the old Nosler Solid Base. The Shooting Industry has one full time representative (sometimes two), taking note of what I buy, and then mandating that item is discontinued, just to spite me;-)

A lot of people sell the old Remington Cor-Lokt short, and they do seem to shed a significant part of their weight, but darn, they are reliable, in both .270, 30-06, .243, and .308. I wouldn't think any hunter ill equipped with a 180 grain Cor-Lokt
 
Wow, I forgot that I was even posting here in '02.
I've since tried the 165 grain SP with good results,
changed rifles and have tried the 160 and 140 grain Sierras in 6.5.
Now I'm back to trying the Ballistic Tips in the 6.5mm 100 and 120 grain range.
With quite a few more deer under my belt(literally) I think that the performance of that Nosler was just about prefect.
 
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