I recently shot a Red Stag that weighed around 450lbs.I shot it with a 300 Win Mag and a 180gr Nosler Ballistic Tip about a 100yards away.My load had a mv at 3100fps.I hit the onside shoulder and left a silver dollar size exit behind the offside shoulder.That bullet held up really well.I think Nosler has come a long way in improving the ballistic tips over the years.They beefed up the jackets and they must use a hard lead for the core.I was impressed by how little the meat was bloodshot around the wound channel.What I've noticed over the years is,if you have a cup and core bullet that has a soft lead core,it will shed a lot of weight and often produces a lot of very bloodshot meat.I don't know when Mule deer did this test but it is an interesting read.Because bullet makers tend to play around with bullets from time to time,I'm sure the results can vary as well. https://www.24hourcampfire.com/rifle-bullet-hardness/
So, is there really much difference between the AB and the BT? I just looked up the 180gr .308 cal. you mentioned. They have the same sectional density and B.C., different colored tip, and the AB has a thicker jacket at the base and is bonded. I'm not suggesting that the BT doesn't do great things, which, as you have shown, it does, but why not merge them and call it the Nosler Accubonded Ballistic Tip or Nosler X-Bonded Accuballistic Tip or something? Or is there an advantage to the NBT over the AB?
