Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Very disappointing performance from Ballistic Tips

Gus, perhaps a bad batch of bullets. Many years ago I had a batch of 139 g. Hornady that blew up on a 3-point mule deer at 2900 fps + out of my 7x57 (yes that was a stiff load, but I've used it for over 40 years and brass lasts 10+ loads.). After that experience switched to 140 g. Nosler Partitions. Never a failure with them.

Subsequently I've used 140 g. BTs in 7mm and 100 g. 257 BTs with satisfaction and just last year used the 139 Horn. BTSP (same load as many years ago) and it worked just fine.

Suggest using the current batch of BTs for practice and then perhaps try a different lot #. It took me decades to try the 139 Horn. again on an animal so understand your disappointment with the performance.

(My current 270 seems to prefer the 130 Horn SP over the 130 BT so I use the BTs for practice. The 130 Horn. was just fine on a fat antelope doe shot last year.)

I shot a big sow pig with a 338WinMAg using 200gr BT's a few years ago and none of them made it to the second lung. Blew up shortly after entry. That was the last time I used them on big game, been a TSX, TTSX guy every since. No problems with those, ever, on all manner of game Afircan or otherwise.

Funny that. I shot a big whitetail buck at 200 yards with a 340 weatherby and 200 ballistic tips cruising at over 3250 fps. It killed it but didn't exit on a broadside hit. Wasn't impressed either.

just shoot them in the head. If it doesnt penetrate it will knock them out long enough to get them with a machete'.

Hmmmm.... not sure what to say here myself. BUT....

On most bigger game i do use the Barnes TSX and have not had problems, but I do have a .257 wthby, .270Win, and 7mm that do like the ballistic tips!

As for the .257 and .270.... the animals it has killed with NBT have been exceptional....never failure on antelope and does and makes a mess of them usually and almost always 2 holes. NOW, those are not very big critters, but they are running quite fast!

As for the 7mm.... i use an Nosler Accubond in 160g so its runnging slower (2900) and yep, i think thats the ticket if the critters are bigger.

There is my 2 cents! I am one that loves the BT accuracy, but also knows there a time to switch to a premium bullet (NP, TSX, etc...) as critter size inccreases!

Guys,
many thanks for the feedback. Its really appreciated. I still have a few left and will continue to use them until they are exhausted. After those, a tougher bullet like the Accubond or the Barnes fodder will be looked at


Cheers
Gus

I had similar results. I went back over to Core-Lokts and things have been just fine since then.

Pushing the BT fast in a 270 will cause this exact scenario ALOT. Its a cup and core and it needs to be run slower or kept in the lungs. Swampman, although I love the 700 as you do, the Core lokts will also do the same as a ballistic tip if pushed over 3000 fps. I am not a 270 fan because when I was young I was always chasing my brothers and my dads deer they had shot with there 130 cup and cores. Little did i know it wasnt the cartridge but the bullet. 130 grain at 3050 at 30 yards makes for a possible disaster if that shoulder gets hit. Just a mental thing now for me, although I know there isnt a single thing wrong with the cartridge. I often think about buying a 270 and running a 140 partition just to fix my 270 mental block because I know it would prove to be awesome.

Never liked those bullets for close shots at high velocity.

Quit using them 2 yrs after they came out because they fell apart more than not. If I hadn't had a dog, I know I would have lost 2 deer I shot with 'em and did lose several hogs when we had depredation permits on a couple of farms.

These were the earlier BT's, 7mm in 140 gr. They say that they toughened them up since then, but I never used one again for anything other than yotes.

I used BTs on a couple of deer till I hit one quartering away. Broadside through lungs, no problem and great performance. Quartering away left a huge hole in the side and barely penetrated. Deer did drop, but needed to be finished.

Had a similar shot on a deer while using Accubonds. Both blacktails, both around same range, both quartering away. The Accubond broke 7 ribs on the near side, penetrated across the body tearing up a lung, broke two or three ribs (don't recall) on the off side, and came to a stop just under the hide.

I try not to judge a bullet on just one bad experience, or even two.

But my son hit a buck with one behind the shoulder a little high (I was watching thru binos) and we never found that deer, I did find a piece of rib bone.

Again, these were the earlier version that had issues. The hogs were a tough call as those shots were made at night with only a spotlight for illumination. Anyone that has done that kind of shooting knows it can be tough.

But the fact remains that when I started using them hunting and hog popping, weird schit started happening.

When I quit using them, the weird stuff stopped.

Used a 260gr BT on a moose. Messy. 375 Taylor built on a Tikka M695 action. 2825fps. Knicked a rib going in, very colossal hole on the backside. Have since switched to Accubonds. I like shooting the BTs, they shoot really accurate, i just dont like exploding big-game bullets......

Twice I saw failures on bucks and twice on pigs years ago. .260 and 7 mag.
Running Fusions now and never had a issue.
I loved their accuracy and performance.

jcc

Gus, as you know, accuracy isn't everything in the killing fields.....Try some hornady interlocks like I'm always posting pics of and let me know how they do buddy....

Doublewolf,

WELCOME to 24hrcf!

Cool rifle caliber there, too.

See ya 'round the circle here,

MARK

I used to load the 100gn Ballistic Tip in my Ruger Ultralight .250 Savage with 20" barrel. Velocity was about 2640 fps. At that velocity the bullet would drill through pigs with side on shots when shot behind the shoulder. I once shot two pigs with the one bullet as the Ball Tip went through and hit another pig behind the first one. At those velocities I found the 100 grainer to be hard.

We've used the Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silver Tips in a 7mm08 Rem. on deer and pigs and always have had good results.

I use BTs in 243, 25-06, 260, 6.5x55, 7-08 and 280. Have never had a failure, fragmenting bullet, etc. All have been one shot kills with one exception. That exception was a red stag with the 6.5x55 120gr at a sedate 2719 fps. No excit on that big critter, but made him sick enough to lie down. A second BT to the neck finished him.

Most often have good blood trails to follow if they didn't drop. I have complete confidence in them. Tried some Hornady SSTs this year and did not get the large exits and blood trails that I get with BTs. They did work though. Also tried Accubonds in the 257 Roberts this past season and they worked very well.

I don't run the BTs at excessive speed and I almost always shoot behind the shoulder on deer avoiding bone and lost meat. Pigs get shot in the neck/spine.

Nosler BTs get my vote. Just my experience which is all I can go by.

Without seeing a photo, it is difficult to know the exact shot placement being described, but isn't the lower part of the shoulder the same as the upper part of the leg? From most shot angles, there isn't a direct path to the vitals through the lower shoulder/upper leg. Not knocking on your shooting - there are a lot of things that can happen between the time the final sight picture is established and the bullet strikes the target, some of which can be outside the control of the shooter - but hitting bone in the lower shoulder probably isn't going to be a good shot for any bullet just due to location. Sound like the deer went down just due to a broken leg and possibly some shock from whatever blood vessels in the leg/shoulder were hit, and that might have been the result with any bullet. If the shot had been a little higher (and possibly a little farther back, depending on angle), fragments may have entered the lungs/heart and been the only shot needed.

All that doesn't mean you're happy with the bullet fragmenting on bone, but shot placement can make a lot of difference in our perception of how a bullet performs. Not many bullets are ideal for every shot. The Barnes monometals prefer higher impact velocities (hitting bone is good for them). Ballistic Tips prefer more moderate impact velocities. Berger VLDs give 2 or 3 inches of penetration before obliterating whatever soft tissue is in their path. Nosler Partitions and Accubonds may be the closest to a do everything bullet, but the Partitions aren't as aerodynamic as some other bullets, and some people, including myself, have trouble conceptualizing a bonded bullet with a plastic tip, like the Accubond, being every bit the equal (or at least very close) to the Partition on penetration, even though it very well may be.

if a Ballistic Tip failed, then it hit the object at higher velocity than the bullets best performance window is in...

such as I have heard the same guys say

1. Ballistic tips in a 300 Weatherby Suck...

2. The best bullet under the sun to hit an elk with at 400 yds is a ballistic tip out of a 300 Weatherby..

I never handload a ballistic tip at over 2800 fps MV.. and more than usual, feel better at 2700 fps MV..