Nosler Ballistic Tip vs. Hornady SST

Nosler Ballistic Tip vs Hornady SST

  • Total voters
    58
Appropriate bullet...

Smit & Wesson--Some years back I did a bit of comparing. Wanted a plastic tipped bullet, as the Sierra Game Kings (lead tipped) had a tendency to flatten their noses on the front of the magazine, under recoil. In a mag with, say, 5 rounds, by the time #5 was up to bat, it had a completely mashed nose. The SGK's were fine for accuracy, and had no trouble putting down deer. But, there was that nose damage. Wasted a few rounds every year, pulling and discarding their bullets.

Long story short: I settled on Nosler Accubonds. Penetration of the fabled Nosler Partition; accuracy of the Nosler Ballistic Tip. Hard plastic nose that doesn't deform in the magazine under recoil. Best of all worlds, in a hunting bullet for most N. Amer. game, IMHO.

Accuracy which I have fine-tuned is > 1 moa. Have stopped at that point, because this isn't a target load--The bullets are far too expensive! The loads could be further tweaked if more accuracy were desired...

Have since kilt deer with NA's in 6.5x55, .300WSM, and 8mm Mauser. All bullets penetrated through, making a surprising mess as they went, including one body-length pass-through. Haven't shot a deer through the shoulder structure, though.

The 200 grain 8mm is, I think a bit of overkill for deer (how can a deer be "over-dead"?) but one load was desired for both deer and hogs, to hit a big hog like the Hammer of Thor.

Anyhow, consider the Nosler Accubond.
 
Smokey Joe, interesting that you should mention being worried about deformed tips. I used to think that way too. Then, I saw an experiment done by someone where they took a known load (with a known average accuracy) and started experimenting with how much they could deform the bullet before it started affecting group size. What they found really surprised me.

They found that you could do pretty much anything you wanted to the tip and it hardly budged the group size. They even smashed some to a cockeyed angle and it didn't change much. However, if you damaged the base of the bullet the groups would start to open up dramatically.
 
Deformed tips...

Doyle--I've read reports of similar results as those you mention. Did anyone ever check the change (if any) in the bullet's terminal behavior, with a deformed/non-deformed tip? Just askin'.

Agree that damage to the BASE of a bullet will promptly wreck its accuracy. The cloud of gas emerging from the muzzle immediately behind the bullet, must be exactly symmetrical all the way around, or it knocks the bullet off course.

As for my own use, for now, I like the results with Accubonds for hunting, and do not plan to shop around. I don't happen to hunt grizzlies, AK brownies, or polar bears. (Although an Accubond out of a big magnum might work well there too, but that's outside my ken.)
 
I shot a good size mule deer with a 150gn SST out of 30-06, muzzle velocity ~2,750. It was about 110 yards, uphill at about a 45-degree angle. Just as I squeezed the trigger, it stepped and turned. The bullet hit the flank, went all the way through the upper leg bones and out through the top of the backbone. The exit hole was about an inch and a half. So, I would say it handled bone well and didn't blow up. The deer fell in the snow and slid all the way down the side of the mountain, and ended up just in front of me. It was DOA from very quick blood loss. I thought the performance was excellent.
 
I shot a lot of deer with Noslers in ND, from 75 yards to about 700 yards. I used 165 grain in my 30-06. I had to learn precise shot placement with them as they are VERY destructive. I consider them a "death ray" on deer, every one was a boom, flop.

The only ones I had trouble with were the Ballistic Silvertips, moly coated. Lost velocity, lost accuracy, they act like FMJ's. I was not happy.
 
On the other end of the spectrum, I used a Nosler ballistic tip in a 7.62x51 mmR combination gun made in 1892, subsonic at the muzzle to take a large doe.

The bullet expanded in to the classic day lilly shape even at that paltry velocity. It did massive damage and was captured in the opposite side hide of the deer.

All reports that it holds together at supersonic velocity seem to be true but amazingly they work at handgun velocities too. I am sold on them.

Note: 7.62x51 mmR is an old black powder cartridge that is for all you can measure it so close to 30-30 Winchester that you simply can’t tell the difference. Don’t put a 30-30 Winchester cartridge in an old rife, it obviously will blow up.
 
SST

Only experience with the SST in a 7x30 Waters.

Have never had to fire a second shot when hunting wild hogs.

Excellent performing bullets with consistent expansion.
 
I shot allot of NBT over the years at white tail. Early on I found the best use for such bullet was limited to: back of the head or into the necks white patch under the animals jaw. Anyplace other and the bullet blew up fragmenting in any and all directions irregardless of distance. I do shoot a very hot cartridge in my 270 and I assume velocity creates allot of the problem with such profile bullets. As of last year I decided to for-go using the NBTs on thin skin animals although I have no intention to slow my 270 cartridges velocity. Just by changing the ballistic tip bullet and replace with the same bullet weight and pointed lead tipped should resolve the awful damage I seen. I come to believe such ballistic tip's are uniquely designed for varmints ~nope not deer or anything harvested for human consumption. So

My suggestion. Shoot all copper or jacketed advertised for >your hunting game need.
 
I"ve used both. I used 30-06 165 grain NBT to take an 11 point Mule buck at 230-ish. It was a poor (high) shot on my part as I was aiming downhill but not accounting enough for lack of drop. it's right shoulder was toward me. The NBT chopped the spine, blew up, continued through the off side backstrap ruining a lot of that but the core kept together enough to break the left side hip bone. I found him and finished him not far off from where I hit him.

I also shot a cow elk with a 165 gr NBT. it was a very short shot which probably the only reason it worked. I woudn't ever do that again. I was younger and dumber about bullets.

That said, NBT 165gr flew like darts to 200 yards (the farthest range I have to shoot--and where i put my 30-06 scope zero). I shot them from both a Winchester 70 (post 64) and a Mauser rebarreled with a modern Browning 30-06 barrel. NBTs like both. 1/10 twists both, I believe.

I've used the 123 gr SST in 6.5 Grendel when chasing antelope. Both the cartridge and the game are very different, so take that into consideration. They seem to leave a very substantial hole. They've been accurate to 100 yards from 2 different 6.5 Grendel uppers that had 1/7 twists. I would take them hunting any day for up to deer.

If you're chasing deer, either would work, I think.
 
Smith and Wesson said:
I've decided to get some premium deer ammo for my 30-06 and have narrowed it down to the Nosler Ballistic Tip and the Hornady SST. Accuracy is the same, so I'm focused primarily on the performance of each on game. Which of the two is tougher? I'd like to be able shoot through a deer's shoulder without the bullet turning into a grenade so toughness isbthe primary deciding factor. So there you have it, if you wanted a deer bullet that could go through a deer's shoulder without fragmenting would you choose the Nosler BT or the Hornady SST?
Click to expand...
Honestly, neither.
Nosler Accubond and Swift Scirrocco II are your tipped bullets for bone busting.
You did say you want premium ammunition. A Ballistic Tip and a SST are nothing but tipped cup and core. Absolutely nothing premium about either one. The Ballistic Tip us actually Noslers lowest end hubting bullet. SST is close to the bottom of the Hornaday ladder.
 
Last edited:
I like and use the SST bullet on game up to and including elk, never lost an animal and only had to even track one (teenage son's first deer, shot was too far back). That said, as the OP specifically mentions wanting to be able to shoot bone structure I would not recommend it at all. I did recover a 165 SST from a spine shot elk (the only recovered SST I can recall) that had retained almost 65% of its original weight but that was also a 260yd shot. At closer range (higher velocity) I highly doubt it would have held together that well.

I like heart/lung shots and will generally pass if they don't present. For that the SST is extremely effective and it's been such an accurate bullet for me that I choose to accept that.
 
Ifishsum said:
I like and use the SST bullet on game up to and including elk, never lost an animal and only had to even track one (teenage son's first deer, shot was too far back). That said, as the OP specifically mentions wanting to be able to shoot bone structure I would not recommend it at all. I did recover a 165 SST from a spine shot elk (the only recovered SST I can recall) that had retained almost 65% of its original weight but that was also a 260yd shot. At closer range (higher velocity) I highly doubt it would have held together that well.

I like heart/lung shots and will generally pass if they don't present. For that the SST is extremely effective and it's been such an accurate bullet for me that I choose to accept that.
Click to expand...
If its a nice enough trophy, I will shoot it at any angle. Thus Barnes is my preferred projectile. I have shot a few very nice bucks in the white tail, DRT.
 
I have loaded and shot a lot of Nosler BT in everythING from .22-250 to .30-06. They are pretry reliable and messy. Lately for wife's rifle I switched to Hornady GMX in a lower weight and little more speed, plenty accurate, even less recoil, and had no problems punching Hugh deer shoulders. I have no problems with her taking one or both front shoulders in a small deer, that way the tracking job is usually measured in feet and I can drive the tractor right to them without having to drag anything. And if she runs them little shouders I don't feel bad about it at all.
 
I've been handloading for about 30 years, I consider neither of those bullets as premium hunting bullets.

I would recommend a Nosler Partition if you want a Nosler premium hunting bullet. I used Partitions on deer and elk, growing up in Idaho until I discovered Barns bullets.

Witnessed many messy kills with ballistic tips.

Just my opinion. Good luck in your search.
 
If I wanted a guaranteed pass thru both shoulders, with either, I'd stick with the 180 grainers. Of course you could do that with non-premium bullets like Core-Loks too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top