Nosler Ballistic Tip Bullets

[Colorado Cowboy]

Just returned from an Antelope hunt in wyoming and am looking for anyone else who has used these bullets. They really shoot great on paper in my 25-06 and .257 Wby Mag, with the right load, less than minute of angle. In my .25-06 I used 100 grainers and in the Wby 115s. The bullets just exploded on impact, really made a mess of the meat. Went back to my Sierra 117 gr boattails and got great expansion like I always do one my last antelope. I guess these Noslers are really not designed for hunting. They were given to me and they shot great groups, but are really nasty for hunting! Guess I'll shoot up what I have left at the range. Won't use them again on deer or antelope

 

[mcseal2]

I've seen similar results from a neighbor's 25-06 and 257wby. He switched to the 110 accubond and loves it. I'm also a fan of the Sierra you are using especially from the 257. If you want to try something new however, the 110 accubond would perform very well for you. It won't overexpand but will expand very quickly on impact and then drive on through creating a good wound channel. The few we have recovered in other calibers weighed very close to 70% of their original weight and were mushroomed beautifully.

I think the 100BT does well from smaller cases like the 257 Roberts or 250 Savage with lower velocities, or at long range from the bigger cases. It just doesn't seem to be able to take the stress the velocity of the bigger cases puts on it at close to normal range. Reading online reviews you can find people saying that the Sierra's will blow up also, but I haven't personally seen one fail. I think the key to the Sierra is sticking to at least a mid-weight bullet for the caliber so Sierra designs the jacket to handle the biggest game that bullet is likely to encounter. The nice thing about the bonded bullets like the accubond is that you can go lighter if you want and still be assured of good penetration.

 

[bern0134]

You ever think about using Barnes Triple Shocks for your 257 WBY? We use them out of my dad's and they work great. Killed my biggest mulie and biggest elk to date with it. Recovered the bullet from both. I don't know how well they do for long range though. Both shots were less than 200 yards.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

The buck antelope I shot was a one shot kill at 371 yds in the 25-06 and one of the does was 295 with the .25 Wby, one shot too. The MV in the 25-06 with the 100 gr is 3200 and the 115 in the Wby is 3350. At the long ranges I shot the animals at, I really didn't expect the BT to explode like it did. I have used Sierras fo 50 years and they are great bullets, use them for everything except in my .300 Wby where I use 180 gr Nosler Partitions for elk & larger animals.

 

[Bitterroot Bulls]

CC,

Since their design profiles are virtually identical, you should be able to closely duplicate your excellent ballistic tip loads with the sister Accubond bullets, and get both the accuracy and terminal performance you are looking for.

 

[woodtick]

The Ballistic tip is a great antelope bullet, the problem is velocity, I don't know if anyone has brought it up yet. But I jump up to the Accubond if the muzzle velocity is 3100 fps or higher. I have shot hundreds if not thousands of both the BT and the Accu's into test media, milk jugs full of water, milk jugs full of sand, etc.. just to see how well they hold up from 50 to 500+ yards. I've love each bullet but I tend to lean towards the accubond unless like I said slower muzzle velocity's. So in conclusion to my findings above if your impact velocity is somewhere around 2500 fps or slower they'd be great, anything else I switch to the Accubond.

If you look at Nosler's webpage you'll see mushroomed bullets with different velocity's next to them, those are fired into test media, not bone or thick hide. So I can see why you had explosions, those speeds will demolish a BT even at the ranges stated

http://www.nosler.com/Bullets/Ballistic-Tip.aspx

Just my 2 cents, happy hunting or shooting whatever it may be

 

[Booner]

Not sure what to say, I've used that bullet for several years in my 25-06 with good results. Never had one blow up. Have always had good penetration. They are traveling at 3225 fps. at the muzzle.

 

[Chippy Hacky]

BT's are all I use in .284. Deer, Elk, Bear, never had a problem with them.

 

[larrylur]

I use the Nosler ballistic tip exclusively in my Winchester .270 for deer and antelope. I load 130 gr. bullets over the top of H4831 and my groups are less than an inch off the bench.

I load to about 3000 ft. Per sec. at the muzzle and I do notice the bullets come apart if my target is inside 50 yards. And that has happened before.

But,.....

#1 ) I'm so confident in the accuracy of that bullet in my rifle that I feel like I will make a clean kill every time I squeeze one off with a good rest. Even at long range.

#2) Every time, it has been a one shot kill and I have not lost any more meat than when I've used Barnes bullets or Sierra boat tails. Even when the jacket and bullet separate.

When my target is 100 yards +, the bullet usually will pass through intact like most other bullets. I love them just because I know they put deer on the ground and they will hit where I want them to. Confidence is everything.

 

[AKaviator]

Larrylur is right; confidence is everything. I've used the Nosler partition quite a bit and don't stray far from that design. My son took his first moose with a 100gr in his .243 for a clean 1 shot kill (not a bad first animal for a 10 year old!) I've dropped a mature boar grizzly with a 180gr .300 Weatherby.
Many of the guides I know up here like the Swift A-frame but I haven't taken game with them yet. I haven't had good results with the Barnes Triple Shocks although I have a bunch of them loaded up for my .25-284. I'm anxious to try them on a caribou.
It seems many favor the ballistic tips...that gives me a good excuse to load some up.

 

[bigshot]

Just returned from an Antelope hunt in wyoming and am looking for anyone else who has used these bullets. They really shoot great on paper in my 25-06 and .257 Wby Mag, with the right load, less than minute of angle. In my .25-06 I used 100 grainers and in the Wby 115s. The bullets just exploded on impact, really made a mess of the meat. Went back to my Sierra 117 gr boattails and got great expansion like I always do one my last antelope. I guess these Noslers are really not designed for hunting. They were given to me and they shot great groups, but are really nasty for hunting! Guess I'll shoot up what I have left at the range. Won't use them again on deer or antelope

Hey CC, thats why I use Accubonds, they hold better at higher velocities and dont make a mess of the animals. I shot my goat with a 7mm saum, 160 grain Accubond traveling 2975 fps. My buddy shot his goat with a 25-06, 110 grain Accubond traveling 3200 fps. My goat was quartering towards me, when the bullet hit him in the right shoulder at 425 yards. The bullet went through and exited just behind the shoulder on the opposite side. The entrance hole is the diameter of the bullet. The exit hole is about the size of a half dollar. It destroyed the left shoulder and lungs. Upon being hit, the buck rear up like a stallion, fell backwards and dropped in its tracks.

My buddies buck was shot at 167 yards (25-06). The bullet entered on the left side of the neck just behind the cheek bone and exited the other side of the neck. The entrance hole was the same size as the diameter of the bullet. The exit hole was about the size of a quarter. The bullet destroyed the vertebrae. The buck dropped in its tracks. By the way, how about a picture of your goat and rifle.

 

[TooFarEast]

I have used ballistic tip 165 grain in my 30-06 for whitetails. As far as accuracy and taking down game they have performed flawlessly, however the meat is tore up to the point were there is very little salvagable meat from the shoulders. I shot a whitetail doe once in the shoulder and it appeared the front shoulders were the only area that had damaged meat. While butchering the deer i found a tiny piece of bright green plastic just under the skin on the deer ham which appeared to be in perfect condition. The only thing i could figure is that it was a piece of the ballistic tip and the bullet must have exploded. I have no idea how a piece of the tip ended up in the ham but this scared me away from ballistic tips. I am more of a meat hunter and dont feel like I can ethically shoot an animal with these bullets due to the loss of meat.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Here is the buck. Bullet went into left shoulder and fragments exited right side. Range was 371 yards.

 

[Jeremy]

I used to use B-tips and never had a problem with them but know people that have. I now use the Berger VLD 180 grainin both 7 mag & 300 mag and have for about 6 years. I have killed several elk, mulies, whitetails, a couple of aoudad and an oryx with the VLD. They were at ranges of 30 yards to 500 yards all were lethal. They hit like a hammer and I would recommend to anyone.

 

[Old Hunter]

When I talked to Nosler. They said the Accubond was a bonded Ballistic Tip. I see no reason to use the BT.

 

[bigshot]

Good looking goat CC, congrats.

 

[xtreme]

Same as Jemery except I use 168gr Berger VLd in 7mm. This bullet drops the animals where they stand but there is meat damage, I only shoot behind the shoulder so damage is mostly confined to ribcage. Almost every advantage comes with this bullet, great BC, good accuarcy, very lethal. I had my grandson shoot his bear with it because I wanted the bear to drop and that is what he did.
There are times I might shoot a ballistic tip. I did shoot a large Neberaska whitetail buck with my wssm 243 55gr ballistic tip. There was an exit wound and the deer went about 75 yds, so I think most bullets now days are capable of doing the job I think shooting deer,and antelope ballistic tip works fine, small entrance and small exit. The Berger does not usually leave an exit hole. All I am loading for the 7mm is Berger. I need to keep it simple as I can.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Finally got the picture of the entry of the bullet on the doe. Really wiped out the shoulder.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

My go to Bullet in .264 Win Mag is 120gr BT loaded to 3225 FPS. Performance on Antelope has been perfect. Just know when shooting inside 50 yds shoot behind shoulder. I plan on hunting Mule Deer with it this fall & most shots where we hunt start beyond 150 yds & with this bullet I still have enough energy to shoot to 700 yds. Buy the way the BT is a Deer & Sheep bullet buy design.

 

[6mm Remington]

Here is an Accubond, a Partition, and an E-tip all from Nosler out of a 6mm Remington at 400 yards.

Here is close up at 25 yards. These were recovered in gallon plastic water jugs. It does give a good test for the bullets I feel, it's inexpensive, and a lot of fun. I like all three of these bullets a lot. Not so much for the Ballistic Tips. They build them a lot differently when they first came out, and I had a bad experience with them then. I still would prefer the Accubond, Partition, or the E-tip over the BT any day.

E-tip at 25, 100, and 300 yards from a 6mm Remington.