Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 'Tough' Balistic Tips

I bought a bunch of those factory second blue tips (120s) a while back. Went to load some for the 7-08 the other night and compared the base to ogive length of the blue tips to the red tips I'd been using, using a comparator.

They weren't the same length, just FYI.

I've killed lots of deer with that bullet and see no need to use anything else.

I wouldn't hesitate to use it on larger game as well.

I am very aware of it. You'll see similar differences in lot-to-lot comparisons of standard Nosler bullets and from other manufacturers as well. It drives me nuts, but this batch generated the same velocity, provided the same accuracy, performed identically in test medium and gave the same POI as the red-tipped bullets from my previous loads.

I don't doubt it, as a matter of fact I sure hope so, the red tips shoot great for me. Just pointing out that if your load is seated near the lands you'll need to re-calibrate.

On elk I've used both the 150 NBT from a 270 Win, and 150 NBT from a 7-08. At 150 yards, the 270/150 whistled on through the lungs broadside on a good sized cow. At 40 yards, the 150 from the 7-08 angled through about 3' of bull elk, took out a lung, and was underneath the offside scapula.

I believe a 160 Partition would likely have penetrated the offside scapula and made it to the underside of the hide. But the result would have been no different.

This was a 7.5+ yo bull, which is a different animal than the average cow. 7mm/150 NBT:

.30 cal 150 BT taken from bobcat. MV was 2770 & range app. 170 yards. Entered head and penetrated most of the body's length, including taking out vertebrae in the neck.



.25 cal/100 grain BT also recovered from a bobcat (hard quartering angle) taken at 270 yards. MV was 2660 fps.



150 grain C-T BST taken from coyote shot head-on in center of chest with 30-30 AI at app. 2550 fps MV. Recovered near hip if memory serves...



30 cal 125 grain BT recovered from hog. Quartering shot entered near last rib and made it to opposite side shoulder. MV from the 26" 30-30 AI was right at 2800 fps, and the range around 100 yards




7mm C-T 140 grain BST taken from 190 yard shot on a hog. SHoulder-to-shoulder impact. MV right at 2600 fps.

7mm 140 grain C-T BST. Found just under the hide of a large boar taken at 210 yards. MV right at 2600 fps. Notice the layer of cartilage this boar had. Bullet penetrated both sides of it along with one shoulder.

My experience is the same as BobbyT's. I've found zero difference in red's and blues in the accuracy, POI, killing power, etc.

JG, have you used the 120's on stuff bigger than deer? If so, what's your opinion?

No sir I haven't. Just deer and hogs, and 'yotes of course.

Mudhen...think you will be happy with the 115`s. Used this bullet the past three years in my .250AI at 2900 fps.for three W/T`s. Excellent accuracy, and I have not recovered one. Entrance and exit holes show no sign of blow-up, or core seperation.

I'm not JG, but I think the hog I killed a couple nights ago with the 120 grain 7mm will count as "bigger than deer." Hogs can stress an inadequate bullet. The photo is graphic but I wanted to show the exit -- not to mention the size as it makes my rifle look like a toy.

190 yards/2651 fps MV

And a couple more KO'd by a Nosler...

The top hog was actually killed with the 7mm 140 grain lead-tipped precursor to the BT. They perform virtually identically at the speeds I launch them at.

Some of you have seen this photo:


Very large cow elk taken by my grandson this year with a 7mm-08 and 120 BT at 307 yards. Complete pass through, destroyed all the upper lobes of both lungs.

What a cool photo! Congrats to your grandson. Also, that is nice to know about the Ballistic Tips on elk.

mudhen-

that's awesome! Thanks for posting...

The NPt's are more likely to penetrate further and be more consistent.

And yes, a 7mm 150gr NBT will kill an elk. Then again, I've seen lots of elk killed with bullets I wouldn't describe as ideal elk bullets.

Casey

When bobcats stop bullets like that, not for me anyway..

Same was the last straw with sierra when a piglet about the size of a bobcat stopped a 160 gameking out of a 7mm wildcat... The shot just prior to that had penciled through does head from that gun....

I rarely find a lehigh 194 from the 300/221 at under 1000 fps MV in deer, only on lengthwise shots...

rost495-

You need to think about this with a scientific/forensics state of mind and not just take it at face-value.

A shot on a bobcat like the 3 I posted would have stopped just about any other similar bullet as well. You have to take into consideration the effect of several inches of vertebrae on the projectile. I have stopped Partitions with similar shots and on similarly-sized creatures. I also have recovered Barnes TTSX from hogs as small as 90 pounds. But that doesn't mean they don't penetrate well.

By the way, the BTs at moderate speeds behave remarkably like the Accubonds and only fall a few percentage points short in terms of penetration.

Look at the brute of a hog I killed a couple nights ago. The 120 grain BT penetrated the shoulder and exited the other side. Is that not sufficient penetration?

Seems I remember you (or someone) saying the VERY heavy NBT's tend to be in weights not covered by a corresponding NAB.

DF