Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .284/120 grain ballistic tip

I don't believe that any of us here had an axe to grind, and that is a great thing. Certainly, I have absolutely nothing to gain is nobody ever shot the Nosler 7-120Ballistic. But sharing great experiences with this bullet and having others expand on that experience ... well, that is priceless.

In the end, most of us are here to share with each other and to help each other. We are here as equal cyber-friends and we are here to learn together.

It's sad when a thread devolves into a pissing match, like the one in the Optics Forum on the B&C reticle. There, one new-old member (Big Stick aka TryMe) and a local fella tangled bungholes and absolutely nobody learned a frickin' thing except that otherwise nice folks can agree to disagree and that the subject is secondary to their disrespect of each other (and of the Campfire community in general). Even worse the bunghole-tangle becomes primary and actual learning gets lost.

The conversation in this thread was totally civil and between the group of us we examined the subject very well.

It's a beautiful thing; no ego, no smartass stuff, just discussion, total respect and learning among equals.

Steve

Excellent summary Steve.

Indeed some here can ruin an entire thread. While I have many of them on ignore that does not stop them from destroying a topic.

It seems the thing to do is to ignore the entire topic and go on to some other.

I will say that Dober was right - the 150 NBT out of the 7WSM does make an awesome yote slayer...

Never seen it not work on a deer.

I was rather unpleasantly surprised at the explosiveness of a 150 BT from my 7-08 some years ago. It basically removed about an orange-size chunk of meat from it's neck. That experience was why I asked about the 120 BT a while ago; on some level, I still look at the suckers a little crossways, if that makes sense.

If I opt to hunt the 120 this year, and I might 'cause I'm shooting boatloads of them right now and they rock... I will do my DAMNDEST to keep it out of the meat. Especially the rear shoulder... grin...

I believe that the nastiest wound I EVER saw was one I inflicted on a really great 4X4 (plus eyeguards) blacktail buck I shot around 1990. I shot him under the chin and the bullet went lengthwise down the neck vertabrae.

The bullet was a 140-grain Partition out of my .280 Ackley and it bloodshot the neck so badly that I could hardly stand to butcher that area. I have a pretty strong stomach for carnage, but this one was super-nasty with cranberry jelly.

Sometimes you hit them and it is bad. Other times you hit them and is, as they say, "not so much."

No telling why that happens. It just happens.

Another time, I killed a really great 4X4 mule deer out of Jordan, Montana. It was one of those zero-degree days in the snow, with no wind and I really wanted the buck. The range was fully 500 yards and, because the range was extreme (for me), I didn't do anything fancy. Just shot the buck cleanly through both lungs with my .280 Ackley, using a 139-grain Hornady Spire Point.

The exit hole was not even near the far shoulder, yet it bloodshot the far shoulder, both sides of the backstrap over the shoulders and the far ribcage.

Why? Danged if I know.

Bullets do strange things sometimes.

If I had judged the bullets on a single kill, I would have judged wrongly in both cases.

Steve

Nice thread. As a new member of the 7mm clan aquiring both a 280 Rem and 7mm-08, I'm looking for options. I have always found the NBT a very accurate bullet in other calibers and the jacket reminds me of the heavier jackets on the .338 BT's.

As others have said, nice thread

Hey Steve!

If it's your FIRST experience with a bullet... it kind of sticks with you, if you know what I mean.

I'm ready to give 'em another try though. Thanks for the good info!

-jeff

Interesting. My worstest/nastiest was one most wouldn't believe. A reduced load in a 7X57, 2575 fps with the old 140 Solid Base.

I shot a decent whitetail through the ribs at about 120 yards, impact velocity couldn't have been over 2400 fps. The damage to both shoulders was unreal, and the bullet never touched the shoulders! Cranberry jelly is right. Don't ask me to explain it! I shot several other deer with that load and with that one exception could eat up to the bullet hole.

What a great and informative thread. A pleasure.

There is something I don't understand here. I once shot an Axis buck with a hand loaded 180BT in 300 Wby. IT was cruising somewhere around 3200 fps from the muzzle. Impact was 185 yards away. THe bullet disintegrated on impact, opened a 4-6" hole in the onside rib cage and knocked the wind out of him. The second shot in the spine put him down as he was trying to get up on his feet. Upon gutting, the only penetration I found was the green tip imbedded in an offside rib.

I called Nosler when I got home and Mr. Nosler told me the BT's were never designed for impact speeds over 3100 or they will do exactly what happened to me.

Yet, you guys talk about driving this bullet over 3250-3300 fps. Do you think there may be an exception here given the heavier construction of this particular bullet in comparison to other BT's ??

A slight bit, but it's still not a partition nor was it designed to be.

MtnHtr

Bringing a refreshing thread back to the top.

I notice that Shooters Pro Shop has the 7mm-08 with 140 E-tip blem ammo on sale. With a published velocity of 2,850 fps, thoughts on using said load for an elk hunt next year?

Kind of a side step question for this thread, but is there a .277" NBT that enjoys the same reputation as the 120/7mm?

Great informational thread!

Based on what I've read I decided to give them a try. Handloads shoot 1/2" groups in my 7mm-08 and I gained a bunch of FPS over the 140's I was using.

120 Bt's will be in my magazine this fall.

I think you'd be more than well armed. Got a pard in WY that's shot them from close to nearly 700yds with the 140gr AB out of a 7-08 and not one problem.

Never tire of bullet discussion.

The 120gr is a much beefier bullet than the 140 and is capable of better penetration...especially on larger animals. powdr