I guess I'm the odd man out, I got completed different results last year shooting it at 2975 fps out of a 7mm-08. Shot a average W/T Doe broadside through the lungs at 200 yards across an open field. There was no sign of a hit. I was afraid to shoot again, as the shot was so steady I felt the scope was off and I couldn't trust my sight. I watch her walking about 200 yard till she was out of sight. I immediately went to where she stood when I shot, and could find any blood or any other sign, now it was at dusk. I walked her path and found her not far from where she went out of sight dead. My buddy came over in just a few minutes. I was looking and honestly could not find an entrance or exit hole. The second I started to core her butt, blood just gushed out. My friend had some choice adjectives. Field dressing her it looked like she had been shot with a varmint bullet, every organ was a mess and fragments everywhere. I found the bullet hole from the inside was right where I aimed, as I was sighted in for 200 yards. I should have taken a lot of pictures, as I've never seen anything like it and I've killed a lot of deer with a lot of different weapons. In this particular rifle I've mostly used Barnes and Partitions, and it's always been DRT. I decided to try the 120 grain BT due to it's glowing recommendations here, but the example of one is enough for me. I'd never use it again. I know read others who reported similar experiences were always shouted down that they used "old" bullets before they beefed them up. Well I purchased the bullets from Midway in 2017, so I'd say they were new. Honestly if I didn't see it and someone described this to me, I'd probably think it was BS, but I that's what happened. I would have liked to have loved that bullet as it consistently shot 1/2 groups, but I've found I can get 2930 with a 140 grain Partition max load of Big Game and 1 inch groups so I'm good.
Having loaded and used the 7mm 120-grain Ballistic Tip since Nosler quit making the old 120-grain Flat Base, I find this hard to believe.
My daughters, grandchildren, friends and guest hunters have harvested truckloads of desert mule deer, Coues whitetails, Texas whitetails, pronghorns, a couple of elk and God only knows how many feral hogs using this bullet in a variety of rifles chambered for the 7mm-08. I posted many of those animals and, in most cases, got reports from those who field-dressed out the ones that I did not do. Never saw or heard of anything like your experience. I would say that most of those animals were taken well within 200 yards, as many of the hunters were newbies or people who otherwise had not shot much in the way of big game. My "standard" loads, using IMR 4350, Varget and now Big Game, have always clocked right around 3,100 fps from a variety of rifles over the years.
I guess that Nosler may let a bad one may get through once in a while, or end up with a different bullet in a new box of 50 or 100, but we sure haven't had to misfortune to run across one yet.
