I've driven a 140g 7mm ballistic tip stem to stern through a muley buck. Not bad for a bullet 75% cheaper than a BT.
Originally Posted by BWalker
Range was 200 yards from a 280 remington. 3150fps at the muzzle iirc.
Given those parameters, Nosler’s claimed B.C. of .485 for the 7mm 140g BT, an altitude of 7500 feet and a temperature of 59F, the impact velocity would have dropped from 3150fps to about 2846fps at 200 yards. Retained energy, the same energy that destroys flesh and bone and attempts to destroy the bullet as it is lost, falls from about 3084fpe at the muzzle to 2518fpe at 200 yards.
Your experience simply shows that a cup-and-core bullet like a BT can penetrate deeply at a moderate impact velocity and energy. Congratulations, but this is not exactly headline news.
Experimenters other than myself have shown over and over that higher impact velocities often result in less penetration. In my own tests I’ve driven a 300g and 350g .458” bullets through 12 water jugs with a MV of 1167fps and 1097fps respectively on multiple occasions, a feat I have been unable to duplicate with any bullet at higher velocities. In fact, here are a few of my results, sorted by MV:
While the only NF bullet tested on water jugs was a .458” 350g, I have fired smaller varieties into elk and deer at close range/high velocity (10 feet and up) and even into steel and they have held together. My 7mm RM launches the 140g North Fork HP at 3214fps and I don’t have any concerns shooting an animal with that load no matter how short the range.
I do question how a 140g BT would hold up at similar velocity, which is why the 140g NF HP is my preferred load for the 7mm as well as the .280 Rem. The .30-06s and .300WM get NF SS and Barnes MRX/TTSX for the same reason – no concerns about close range performance.
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