Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 115 grain ballistic tip

+1

Since I've never seen one on here, I will comment this: -1. I doubt you want to hear any nuanced rebuttal anyway.

Hornady BC: .394
Sierra BC: .350

What are your MVs? N

It wouldn't bother me. Everybody is entitled to an opinion.

My opinion is if one keeps a 115 BT, within a reasonable distance and velocity parameter it will work just fine on a bull, small or large, or cow.

When even Nosler does not advise the use of a 130 Accubond out of a 270 Win for elk, I question Nosler's wisdom.

Alan

There's a +1. I am not Nosler. Why would I care how or why they do what they do if I am not trying to be Nosler? Can I not decide for myself if something works or does not work? It seems the bullet manufacturers can't decide whether a particular product is for hunting or not. And that is what bullets are: they are products sold with marketing. Bullets sold as fancy for hunting because of some particular property demand a premium. That is why they are called premium bullets. A hunk of metal propelled at speed will kill. The variables define the what and the how. Certainly, within the realm of human ingenuity, I can work some things out for myself, given my purpose and my tools. I will certainly take a manufacturer's recommendations as a kind of input, but some of you seem to think that advertising somehow becomes unbiased and factual where bullets are involved. That is not the case, if for the simple reason that every manufacturer is biased toward the sales of their own products, at the exclusion of other comparable products. I'm not trying to be a dick; I am trying to point out a few simple realities.

I'd sure like an example of one of these 115gr 25 cal BTs that blew up on the hide of the ribs, or failed to break the spine or the skull on a well-placed shot propelled at modest speed. Even thin-jacketed varmint bullets become controlled-expansion bullets at the right muzzle velocity.

Sure you can decide yourself. When a BT made for deer blows up and leaves a wounded elk, you can watch it limp over the hill and say "Now I know, they don't work."

I just just can't understand a mentality to use a product specifically NOT designed for the job.

Rock Chuck, I prefer to think for myself. I can see that you have yet to learn what that means.

"My opinion is if one keeps a 115 BT, within a reasonable distance and velocity parameter it will work just fine on a bull, small or large, or cow."

I can make the same argument for a 22-250 with a 55-60 gr bullet.

Power to the minimalists!

Now give us your real opinion.

Thats pretty scummy. Sad to hear of slob hunters in Gods country.

We've used the 115 ballistic tip on elk, mule deer, whitetails, and mountain goat with no issues. Works well. I like bergers and scenars better these days but lot of stuff will get the job done.

I had a 7mm ballistic tip 150 grain more or less blow up on a bull's ribs from 250 yards quartering away. The entry wound was the size of your palm and he covered over 500 yards before the shrapnel in his lungs bled him out. It was an easy trail to follow in the snow but a long way have a wounded elk walk that was hit right where I aimed.

Since then I've gone with Barnes TTSX bullets and will stick to deer sized game with the NBT's. They work great most of the time but id rather not take the chance that they wont at the wrong time.

Any time I hear of a story where a BT "blew up" on the surface of a game animal, I immediately think of two things.

1. How old is the bullet? Was it pre BT "Hunting" where the jackets were thin like a varmint grade bullet or the newer, more modern, heavy jacketed BT where the jacket is thick towards the base, just like an Accubond?

2. What caliber/rifle did it come from and what was the impact velocity? Did it come out of a 308, 7-08/7Mauser, 257 Roberts or did it get launched from a 257 Weatherby, 7mm Mag....something, or a 300 Wissum, etc?

I'm not pointing fingers at anyone on this post.

Alan

120 Partitions always shot very well out of my A-Bolt II .25-06 over RL-22 (don't remember the exact charge). Of course, a dink whitetail and a couple coyotes don't prove a whole lot about a bullet's integrity.
I did figure if I were ever lucky enough to go after an elk, they should kill one with any shot I had any business taking and always thought that would be my bullet of choice.

Of course, all but the greenest of newbs know that A-Bolts are totally unsuitable for the rigors of elk hunting.......

A couple failures from the first version of the 7mm 150 on the shoulder of an elk from a 280 at about 250. Eventually a neck shot put him down. My brother was doing the shooting. This was early or mid 90's. We still debate why he kept shooting for the shoulder, instead of aiming 6 inches to the right. Both bullets 'varminted' in the meat of the shoulder. It was a mass of blood and mess, but there was no evidence that any fragments made it into the chest cavity, or if any did, there was no obvious damage. No idea of the impact velocity, but I do know that chrono'ing more recent fodder in that gun suggests velocities more associated with 7-08 than typical 280. He won't use BT in 7mm to this day. He loves them in 30 cal though, particularly the 180s.

I'd like to get my hands on some old 30 cal 150s or 165s for a 30-30 Contender. They rated them for opening at 1600. Not sure how much different today's version is, but Nosler doesn't seem to want to budge from the current 1800fps min.

I've seen the 223 with 55 FMJs used successfully more than once on our big northern moose. I also know that a person really needs nothing more than a 22 mag for these big elg if you know what you're doing and use some discretion in choosing your shots. Then again, I once had an opportunity to try my new 340 Weatherby on a big bull in a classic broadside presentation. I placed 3 200 NBTs behind the shoulder- missing the big bones- and all were recovered against the hide on the far side. All were lethal, but a classic broadside isn't much of a test for a 340 considering that the same presentation can be as readily handled with just about anything else too.

The bottom line question hinges on how a fellow hunts the quarry in question. If you're willing to wait for another day to get the shot you need, go for it. If you'll use the bullet (and cartridge) in question to take whatever shot you've got today, then something tougher would seem prudent.

I had such good results from BT's that I always discounted the blow up stories before it happened to me. The bullet could have been an old original model it was traveling about 3000 FPS at the muzzle so at 250 yards maybe 2700 or so as an impact velocity. Fragments in the lungs and a big hole for blood to spray out is what killed him.

I suppose if I shot every BT on hand loaded or boxed, and only bought from Cabelas you could count on them being new models - but I still wouldn't trust them for elk with the Barnes available that shoots just about as well in my rifle.

Those give me broken bones and exit holes, not usually available with BT's.

I'm guessing with an AI you'll be launching the 115g BTs at a minimum of 3100-3200fps. My primary concern would be with a high-velocity (close range) impact.

When my .257 Roberts gets carried in elk season, it is loaded with a 120g A-Frame at 2947fps. I don't worry about it splashing on a rib.

My choices would be the 120g A-Frame, 120g Partition, 110g AccuBond or 110g TTSX, all of which shoot iwell in my rifle.

Does Montana have a law on adequate bullets?

Such a tiny 115 gr bullet on a big animal is just looking for trouble.