nosler balistic tip?

S

swamp stalker30-06

Inactive
Anyone have any experience useing nosler balistic tip ammo for deer hunting?
in the past ive heard never to use this ammo on deer but ive recently had it recomended.
{im useing a 30-06,where i live shots range from 15 to 200 yards.


any info is much apreaciated:)
 
I've been using the bullet since it was introduced. It's extremely accurate and somewhat explosive if you hit bone. I've killed maybe 200 deer with it in the 270 and the 260, and 50 or so pigs. Here's what I suggest, after decades with the bullet:

Don't do quartering shots.
Don't shoot through bone, though the rib cage is fine.
Put the bullet right behind the shoulder - in the lungs.
I probably wouldn't use it in a Weatherby at extreme velocities
270 velocity is not too fast
The 100 gr in my 260 doesn't always exit. The 120 gr does.
The 130 gr in the 270 is extremely effective on deer.

It's an excellent bullet. If I didn't think so, I'd switch to something else.

Shoot em in the lungs and they will die every time. They might run 60 yards before they drop. Last buck I shot was at 75 yards. I used the 100 gr BT in the 260. The bullet blew through the rib cage and painted the ROW with a blood trail that a blind guy could follow. The deer ran about 40 yards and died at high speed.
 
I've shot several mule deer with a 25-06 using 100 gr. Ballistic Tips leaving the muzzle at 3300 fps. Farthest shot was 150 yards (can't recall exactly.) Nice sized 4X4 buck through the lungs, exit hole was big as a silver dollar. DRT. Muley does, same deal. No running, no nothing, just dead.

Shot a nice fat muley doe with the same gun using 110 gr. Accubond at 3240 fps (over the chrony). 140 yards, right in the lungs---she ran maybe 40 yards or so.

BT's are good deer fodder IMO. Take your time, shoot in the boiler room. Eat venison.
 
I wouldn't be my preferred bullet because it's very prone to coming apart. Out of the Nosler line, I still like the partition. I'm sure the ballistic tip is fine for lung shots on small deer.
 
Our group hunted the ranch near Bend, Oregon for many years using Nosler Partitions. Most of the guys used 30-06 but there was one .270 and one .300 Wby. After we built the Nosler plant there in Bend, Bob recommended the Ballistic tip and we started using it on muleys while retaining the partitions for elk. We used 150gr for each. Partitions would thru and thru 240# deer while the BT would mushroom quite well most of the time,occasionally losing a can.

Why don't you try them out and see how they work for you!
 
i too have used them since they came out in 7mm08 and 3006 and killed several tons of deer. i shoot them thru the lungs(no meat lost unless you like lung soup), the only one i had to shoot twice was when i hit a small limb i didn,t see in the scope.i will wait for a broadside shot and have left deer walk that didn,t give me that shot. eastbank.
 
I shot them for years on 4 antelope and numerous deer, mostly in a 7mm Rem Mag, 140 grain Nosler BTs push fast and hard. They were stone cold killers, almost every bullet exited, and in between was a mess. Pushed slower or in heavier for caliber weights they are awesome. For those that like the semi-blow up bullets they are awesome. Its amazing the number of things I have heard about Ballistic Tips over the years, one of the first rumors was that they wouldn't expand. (Say WHAT?). I think maybe early in the BT development all of them had a fairly thin jacket, but later some were thickened and became more of a hunting/game bullet. The Ballistic Tip loaded for my .22-250 is still my very favorite bullet. I quit using them when the prices went way up.
 
My experience with Nosler BT is that the early production in 7mm and .308 was pretty "soft" (meaning the bullets expanded a little too rapidly). Later production corrected this perceived deficiency. It's unlikely you will find these older bullets unless you find a 15-20 year old stash.
I use 165 BT in the 30/06 and it's a great combination of trajectory and energy.
 
agreed

My limited experience with older .30/180 ballistic tips is the same, they seem a bit soft for a 180, but they seem an ideal whitetail bullet, since their are no elk here in AL, I'd like to find a "stash" of the older, 100 count red trimmed boxes, cause my Savage Hog Rifle seems to love'em. You don't really need a .30/180 to take Bambi, but it's hard to argue with the results.

A pal shot 7mm/140 (?) from a Rem &mm Mag, and it was absolutely destructive at 3100 fps plus, I don't know that I've ever seen the equal in exit wounds on our whitetails. My limited experience with .270/130 was not as dramatic, but my velocity was only at about 2850. The .270/130 Ballistic Tip is the most accurate bullet in my Wally World Rem 700 ADL, but I have trouble getting high velocity from its 22" tube.

Another pal hates'em, claims he loses deer (truth), but I suspect some poor shooting involved. The one I helped him recover, was not hit well....but it was still the bullets fault...he switched to Patitions this year and had a DRT, now he's sure the B-Tip is no good!!!

Finally, I have read from some scribes they consider the B-tip in an appropriate weight as the "ideal" whitetail bullet, one noteable being John Barsness about 7-8 years ago or so. I've found them very accurate in about any rifle I've tried them in. But.....the cost per 50 is a bit high, and 100 count boxes of standard flat base spitzers from others seem a better bargain, especially for the distances involved in woods shooting deer around here.
 
Bamaranger has it just right. Cup and core bullets (Corelokt, Interlock, SST, SGK, Hot Core, and NBT) are fine until the velocity is over 3000fps. My buddy shot a 125# spike quartering to him at 100 yards. The load was a 145gr Speer in a 7mmRM at a chrono'd 3140. At the shot, he turned and all his guts were blown out the off side. Ran 30 yards and piled. The latest versions of NBTs are more stout, so I'd suggest, with others, a 165 or 180. Velocity in 22" will be from 2600-2750. Partitions won't be as accurate and will cost more, but you probably won't recover one from a very dead animal on shots from most any angle.
 
My 700 270 doesn't shoot them as good as sie or hornady.

The 130gr bt did blow big holes through whitetails, the 140 seemed a lot tougher.

I've found a dinged lead tipped bullet shoots as good as a plastic tipped bullet.
 
Lots of comments about bullets expanding too fast. This was more of a concern 10-15 years ago. With some bullets this may still be an issue, not with all. When introduced they were designed for smaller game like deer. There is nothing wrong with rapid expansion, it kills stuff very fast as long as vitals are hit. But they don't give as much penetration on bigger game or at bad angles.

Nosler got a lot of complaints about poor performance on elk. The bullet wasn't designed for elk, but since some were using it anyway Nosler addressed the issue by making the jackets thicker on some of the more common bullets elk hunters used. I know this is the case with 165 and 180 gr .308 bullets, probably others too, but those 2 for sure.

The Accubond has the same BC's and is a tougher bullet, but the 30 caliber BT's in 165's and 180's end up performing about the same. 150 and 125 gr 30 caliber BT's are pretty explosive. I can't comment about other calibers with certainty, but think the heavier offerings in 270 and 7mm are the same.
 
I've used that Ballistic Tip for so long (version 1 and tougher version II) that I have to admit to having not much user data on other bullets. But, when I was pig blasting with my 220 Swift, I was using the 55 gr BT. It killed the pigs, but it wasn't a DRT bullet for pigs (unless you shoot em in the ear). I found that my 220 wouldn't stabilize the bullets I really wanted to use, so I went to the 55 gr Sierra GK. Knowledgable people suggested that bullet. I found that it had exactly the same POI as the Nosler and loved the same load. And it is cheaper. What I don't know is whether or not it'll kill a medium sized pig effectively. Can't seem to find a darn pig lately.
 
My 30.06 really likes the 150 gr BT combine the flat shooting trajectory for that bullet weight in that caliber I have used it on Kansas white tails when I have struck out during archery season.
 
thank you all for the info,:)i think ill pick up some nosler balistic tips then see how they shoot in the ol savage and see if they become my new hunting load:D
 
Under no circumstances do I recommend the Ballistic Tip Varmint for big game.

At 15 yards, I wouldn't recommend the Ballistic Tip Hunting.
I also wouldn't recommend it for shots that require significant penetration.

But with a little more range between the rifle and the well-positioned target... By all means, put the bullet in the boiler room.

One of the best shots I've ever seen was about 430 yards on a pronghorn antelope with 140 gr Ballistic Tips (hunting version) in .270 Win.
Bang... THWOP... and that antelope looked like it got pounded into the ground by the hand of god.
Never twitched. Never moved.
Stone dead.

I don't remember whether or not there was an exit wound on that one.
 
Good advice to not use a Ballistic Tip Varmint bullet for big game. Except for 6mm bullets, anything BT under 100 gr is a varmint bullet. At least that's the way it has been unless there are new BT options.

As for BT use at 15 yards, I have to admit that I have never shot a deer at 15 yards, but that doesn't mean the bullet is not good to use at that range. I shot a 400 pound boar hog behind the shoulder years ago, and I had the version 1 of that bullet. Went all the way to that gristle plate on the far side. Dropped him right there, though he did grunt a bit for a while. Range was about 40 yards. And now the bullet is even tougher.

The only issue I've had with BT's is using small bullets on big pigs. For the last few years I've been shooting 100 gr BT's in my 260, for deer, pigs, and coyotes. Works great and kills em every time. But, with the 100 gr BT I don't often get an exit wound and no blood trail. A couple of big boars (200 to 250 pounds) were shot with that 100 grainer and I got no exit. One dropped on the spot and one ran 50 yards. No blood at all. So, I'm switching back to the 120 gr version, which seems to be more effective on deer and pigs. By that I mean that it's faster to put the critter down, and I usually do get a blood trail.

Just shoot em in the lungs. Works great. They die every time, though sometimes they will run a bit. Usually about 40 yards or so is max, though some years ago I shot a monster 9 point (just shy of 300 pounds). He was a real tough old warrior. Shot him right through the heart at 268 yards (lasered it) and he ran about 100 yards into the nastiest briar patch in eastern Louisiana. I lost a good pint of blood getting him out of there.

Nothing wrong with the Nosler Ballistic Tip. Just don't shoot bone, or it might fragment too much. That is possible. But, having used it on hundreds of deer, and going on old memory, I think I lost one 8 point.

If somebody you know is shooting deer with Ballistic Tips and not collecting the deer, I assure you that it isn't the fault of the bullet. It's the fault of the hunter.
 
I use a 30-06 a lot. I have not used the ballistic tip much, but I used to use it's functional twin the Remington Bronze point. These bullets open fast, and put deer sized game down with authority...but they are a meat grenade at close range. Also, in the 150gr weight they suffered from poor penetration almost like a varmint bullet. Not to say I ever lost an animal from it, but if tried on of old Elmer's "raking shots" from the rear, I don't think it would reach the vitals.

I used it for it's reliable expansion at longer range, but finally went back to cup-and-core. Dead is dead after all, and the '06 killed 'em dead without fancy trick bullets, even at 500 yards. (Further once on someone else's crippled buck. Close to 750, but that's another story.)

Getting back to your 15-200 yard scenario, NO I wouldn't choose a ballistic tip. It will damage more meat than is necessary. I would use cup and core bullets of 150, 165, or 180 grains weight, depending on what the rifle liked best. If you are one who will shoot a trophy buck from almost any angle, the 180 might be best. Otherwise it is whatever shoots best in your gun.
 
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