Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 125 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip for small whitetail?

Do any of you have experience, good or bad, with 125 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips (30 caliber) for small whitetails (e.g., Coues and Texas whitetails) or pronghorns?

I am looking at shooting them from a .30-06 at near the max Nosler-listed velocity.

I've used the 150gr BT's at 3,300+ and they were absolutely brutal on our smallish whitetails. I would think that the 125's out of an '06 would work as long as you avoid angling shots and heavy bone.

I'd load them back down, preferably 2800-2900 for best results....

Just like any cup/core bullet, hotrod them and you're asking for trouble...

Used them on Smallish Southern Whitetails with no complaints @ 3100-ish fps out of a 308. Don't recall any close shots, mostly sniping does off greenfields @ 150-300 yds...

They will work fine, but BTs tend to expand rapidly regardless of weight, and the heavier bullets will give more reliable penetration and less deflection on bone, and carry more velocity and energy to distant targets. The lighter bullets shed velocity much faster and the heavier weights catch up pretty quickly, not very far downrange. I see the 30 cal 125 BT as more of a varmint bullet, and no downside to stepping up to the 150.

TC

The 125 nos bt is stouter than one might think. Section one and you will see the jacket is thicker near the base compared to a 150 nbt. Nosler says they build each bullet based on the projected velocities.

There is a large following here with the 120 nbt in 7 mm. The 125 APPEARS to be built in a similar manner to the 120 nbt. I have used the 120 nos bt in two of my coues rifles and they stop these small deer quite well. (284 and 7 mag) I shoot longer distances and avoid shooting the shoulders if at all possible.

A friend shot a coues wt, his first, at 300 yds with the 125 nbt out of his 30-06. It was a behind the shoulder shot. He was pleased with the results. Sorry I can't offer any other real world experiences with the 125.

Can't offer any real world feedback on the 125 BT, but is there some strong reason you don't want to use the 150 BT at 3,000? I have killed a boatload of whitetail with that load from 40 yards to 280 yards with identical results....DRT. From all angles, and only failure to exit was on a diagonal from front shoulder to under the skin on the offside behind last rib...and that was at 280 yards when she'd slowed a bit.

I'm sure the 125 would work fine, but I KNOW the 150 does.

I loaded some for a couple of friends of mine that had shoulder problems but I loaded them slower. They worked fine at reduced speeds. Both killed deer with them with one shot kills. miles

I've been loading these for a friend in a 30-06 @ ~ 3200 fps muzzle velocity (chronographed) for about 10 years now.

He LOVES them. Low recoil and drops the deer in their tracks for the most part.

I'm less enthusiastic, as it really blisters A LOT of meat at that velocity - which you then have to cut off & throw away.

However, with the velocity dropped a bit, they are a fine low recoil round. If you're planning on shots out a bit further where the velocity has dropped off somewhat, they are not so destructive.

I have also loaded them to the max for another friend shooting a 14" barrel 30-30 Contender. His problem was that the factory offerings he was using for his 30-30 Contender were not expanding well. The 125 gr Ballistic Tip has killed a number of deer and several hogs for him.

I have helped clean most of the animals taken with rounds reference above, so that's my hands/eyes on experience FWIW.

Always remember, the light bullets don't perform as well in the wind at longer ranges also, so if you are thinking light and fast for long shots, its the other way around, heavier, IE higher BC, is your friend.

I've had good luck with the 125 NBT out of a .30/06 around 3100fps. It really puts the whack on a whitetail.

HBB

This is very well said, I'll only add that I used them for a time out of my lil G33 when it was an .06 and with R15 they ran very well. For deer/lopes etc they'll do you quite fine.

I am in the process of getting a 308 together and this is one of the first bullets that I am gonna work with. (I am using a 700/Youth with a 20" tube and a Ti take off).

Not for game but for rodents, pracitice etc the 125 TNT is absolutely the most accurate 30 cal slug that I've fired to date out of about any 30 cal.

Good luck to ya!

Dober

Ballistic Tips put a good whackin on a lot of things. Not sure where this myth that they are no good for hunting because they blow up came from.

When they first came out, they were horrible blow up bullets. Used some of the first 7mm 150gr BT's out of my 7mmRemMag and swore I'd never use then again. Times change and the BT's have been beefed up and now work great on Deer.

Dober,

Been wondering about a game/varmint/practice combo for my .308. Maybe the 130gr TSX and 125gr TNT? I wonder if 5 grains would make a significant difference in POI or trajectory. If it worked out, that would make an awesome combo. 'Course my .308 loves 178gr Amaxes so much, I may give them a try on deer and pigs.

John

Hondo-you never know till you try them but I'd bet on them being fairly close.

Would be a heck of a combo.

Dober

James,

I had nearly identical experiences with the 1st Gen 150gr BalTips from a .270 Win. Fist-sized or larger exits. 'Course the deer were DRT. But I got the same DRT results with Hornadies, with much less meat loss. I guess maybe it's time to give BalTips another try...

We still on for lunch Monday?

John

My father got a perfect broadside on a deer at about 125 yards with an early 130 grain .277" Bal Tip launched by 60 gr. H4831 from a 26" barrel. He said the ground on the far side looked like someone kicked over a large chum bucket. Interestingly, even with a seemingly empty chest cavity, the deer ran a fair distance.

Sure, I'll skip breakfast so I can eat extry at lunch..:)

The BT's have changed over the years and are nothing like they used to be. The 7mm/120gr BT was reportedly redesigned for shooting steel (Sillywet Competition) and is now a very fine choice for deer and such. Johnny B and Steve Timms speak very highly of the new generation BT's. I have to agree based on my experiences with them...

You could also give the 135 Berger a go as well...grins

Dober