I saw some 7mm 120 grain Nosler solid base bullets for sale this weekend. What kind of design are these? Cup & core? What are they good for? hunting? target shooting?

Jeff

It is a flat-nosed hunting bullet. I'm pretty sure it's a bullet specifically for the 7-30 Waters. You could also play with it in 7mm-08 or 7x57, but I probably wouldn't use it in any of the magnums.

RSY

The "Solid Base" was Nosler's predecessor to the Ballistic Tip. It's interior design was similar to the Ballistic Tip but it had no polymer tip. The jackets become increasingly thick toward the base. IMO it was a great deer bullet. And it was "tougher" than the Ballistic Tip. I had worked up loads in several of my rifles. I still haven't forgiven Nosler for discontinuing this bullet.

If the 120 gr 7MM bullets you saw have a flat nose, they are indeed made with the Waters cartridge in mind. But in the past, Nosler made a 120gr 7MM spitzer design.

FWIW, I heard Nosler was going to come back out with the Solid Base in addition to the BT's. Heard that last year while I was in their Pro Shop.

I didn't buy them because I wasn't sure what they were. I will say the boxes looked brand new, not like they had been sitting on the shelf for years. I may pick up a box, if they are there the next time I pass thru that area.

thanks for the info.......Jeff

Nosler lists Solid Base bullets on their Pro Shops website. Selection isn't on par with partition or BT, but some are available.

If the 120 gr 7mm bullets are a spitzer Solid Base, they are a wonderful deer and antelope bullet, particularly for the smaller 7mms like the 7x57 Mauser and 7-08 rem. I used to shoot them exclusively in a 7x57 No. 1 RSI, because they shot such nice tiny groups and killed things real dead.

I too hardened my heart against Nosler when they replaced the wonderful
Solid Base with that plastic pointed pretender. Now that they are seeing the light again and bringing them back, I may find some forgiveness for them. Maybe...

Elky, Federal is loading Nosler Solid Base bullets in several calibers this year. I have been shooting 150 grain SB's in my .308 for a few years now and have been extemely pleased with the accuracy but have had questionable bullet performance on a blackbuck and a whitetail doe. On all the other animals that I have taken with this bullet, performance was perfect. John Barsness has told me that they are a pretty tough bullet and need to be driven fairly fast for best results. By the way, I got a big stash of them from a friend that used to shoot them through a .300 Weatherby. RS