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

Both sons have used them to take their first deer with 30-06 loaded to 2900 fps. One was 160 yds across a clearcut and the other was about half that.
Both were one shot kills. What more could you want?
Recoil is less than the 150's.
I am tempted to slow them down to about 2600 to see how they work. They might work out of a 7.62X39 come to think of it.

For a paper/varmint combo to go with the 130gr TSX? That might be another great combo. You reckon they are as fragile as the TNT?

John

Nope-I don't think that anything is near that fragile! If they shoot in my new lil 308 I may just give me a test run come Oct for lopes.

Dober

Picked up a box of 130gr TSXs and a box of 125gr TNTs. I'll let you know how the load development goes. If I get both to shoot satisfactorily, should be a dandy combo. Hodgon's data indicates I should get 3100+ from them.

John

Hondo,

3100-3150 fps is doable with 125gr NBT's out of a 22" bbl'd 308. Seems like RL-15 was the best powder I tried.

BTW, enjoyed lunch Monday. Next time you're up this way, it's on me...

I dissected and chronographed some of Remington's Managed Recoil loads for an 06... they use a 125 grain Corelokt... and the powder was IMR 4198 "Looking' with a charge of 36 grains...

Since there is published data for more than that charge of IMR 4198 in that case.. I loaded up some rounds with the 36 grains of 4198 and a 125 grain Sierra and they chronographed exactly the same as the factory managed recoil fodder...

So I tested accuracy in a couple different 06's and hands down, between the Sierra, the Remington and the Ballistic Tips in 125 grains, the accuracy went to the Nosler...

contrary to the popular 'bigger faster better' trends.. the Ballistic Tips never get the credit they deserve on their terminal performance when MVs start out at under 2700 fps...

Its been a few years now, but after our favorite 16 yr old forgot his ammo at home, after telling us a dozen times he had it packed.. we were faced with no Elk hunt outside of Gardner, or going with a load that had been rolling around in his backpack since he was 12 and first got his 06... a load I did for him or 30 grains of IMR 4198 and a 165 grain Ballistic Tip, with an MV of about 2250 fps ( 30/30 speed.. which was what was intended for a 12 yr old, 4 years before)...

A 650 lb cow, was shot broadside at about 175 yds, out of a group of about a dozen cows, kicked up by some other guys in their pickup....

The ballistic tip, entered behind the shoulder.. the cow went 50 yds or so, and collapsed...

post mortem while gutting it, bullet entered right lung, dime sized whole.. came out the inside of the right lung about the size of my fist, cut the esophagus in half, entered left lung cutting an area into hamburger about 1.5 times the size of my fist, then came out the left lungs far side, making it and the upper half of the liver look like a bowl of spaghetti.. and the round was bulged on the hide on the far side...

Because of its size, Montana F & W wanted to hang it to weigh it, and also take a tooth for its age.. told us that it would have weighed about 650 on the hoof, and the tooth indicated it was 11 years old...

That got me testing Ballistic tips into media, and under 2700 fps MV, they can really penetrate and do a lot of damage without blood shooting meat.. that is why I recommend them first for reduced loads...

I have heard tons of people tell me how I am full of BS that a downloaded Ballistic Tip is a good choice for 250 yds, and under... yet many of the same guys will say how great of a bullet it is in a magnum at 400 yds on large game...

Guess not many of them think what kind of velocity they are going at 400 yds, out of a magnum, versus their velocity at 100 to 200 yds out of a downloaded 06..... this is where I would normally place one of those Homer Simpson Icons.... but you get the point..

Although I use the 125gr Nosler Ballistic Tip primarily as a varmint and predator bullet, it was designed by Nosler as a hunting bullet and performs quite well on small deer and animals that are smaller than that.

I don't like the way Ballistic Tips destroy edible meat so don't use them for hunting game I intend to eat but many people SWEAR by them.

I've found that it's a deadly accurate bullet and use it exclusively in my 15" 308 Encore Pistol with DEADLY results at whatever I've aimed it at including paper. <grin>

btw... It's PERFECT for coyotes out of a 308 and produces BANG/FLOP that REALLY anchors them.

$bob$

8 year old daughter shot this load during her first season last year. Three touches of the trigger, three trips to the skinnin rack....longest tracking job: 25 yards.

I load them over Reloader 7 in a Model 7 .308 for my 10yo son. I believed they are loaded to about 26-2700fps if I recall correctly. Last year he killed 2 bucks and a doe with this rifle and load. The bullets worked great giving fast knock down and clean kills when placed properly. No complaints here plus my son likes the cool green tips and is very confident with his M7. Plateau Hunter

have two buddies that shoot 125 out of thier 06's and both love them. Dirt naps abound on whitetail. I don't know what kinda FPS they are running, but knowing them as I do, I would say it is wide open.

i can say the 120 Accutip from remington works on Bama whitetails in .260