Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 7mm vs 6.5mm 120 grain ballistic tip performance???

Ok fellas I'm intrigued by what y'all have said about the 120 grain nosler ballistic tip being "toughened up" by Nosler for the silhouette shooters and by default being more durable for us deer hunters. So to my question. Has anybody ever compared the 7mm 120 grain bt bullet with a 6.5mm 120 grain bt bullet? Just wondering if that particular bullet is as tough as the 7mm version and will hold together and penetrate as well?

What is your application for the 6.5mm 120? It's a very fine deer bullet out of a 260 Rem.

Yep. It’s all I use for deer and Pronghorn out of both the .260 Rem and 6.5x284.

It will be the first place I start with my new 6.5 Creedmoor, as well.

The 120gr Ballistic Tip is a fantastic bullet in both calibers.

My app for the 120 grain bt in 6.5mm is whitetail deer coming outta a tikka t3 chambered in .260 rem. I'm looking for a broadside shoulder puncher that will break both shoulders and then exit for a good blood trail if it isn't a DRT. I wonder if the 120 bt is as stoutly constructed as the 130 grain accubond? My tikka shoots both <1"@100yds. But the 120 grain bt travels approx 3k fps from the muzzle and the 130 accubond is 2,800 or 2,700fps as advertised by nosler. I'm shooting nosler and fed premium factory loads.

This is a 6.5 Nosler BT out of a Creedmoor. Killed a deer at 150 yards, deer went maybe 20-25 yards, and bullet was found under the hide on the far shoulder. It's also very accurate out to 400 yards. haven't shot it past that.

Have you considered the 125 grain Partition?

The nosler partition is never a bad choice if is accurate in your gun. Deff a consideration I prefer plastic tipped bullets but need em to hold together.

The 125 NPT wasn't that accurate in my 6.5 CM, Shilen barrel. It's sub MOA with a lot of bullets, including the NBT. Best so for is the 123 Scenar.

DF

So,anybody got a pic of the 7mm-08 120 grain bt vs 260 rem,6.5x55swede,or 6.5 cm 120 grain bt split down the middle to show jacket thickness?

I've found the .264 130gr NAB to be a really great all-rounder in the .260Rem, and not hard to get to group pretty well. Fairly sturdy little bullet. My 22" factory rifles make 2,830-2,880 with H4350.

I guess I like a harder bullet than the bt. If I were you I would just buy the accubond bullets and go hunting, no worries.

I had a Savage 10 Predator Hunter 260 with a 24" barrel which liked the Nosler 120 gr bt. I used it for groundhog hunting because it shot MOA out to 500 yds. I was using 45.0 gr RL 19 giving me around 2875 fps.

I wasn't using it so I loaned then sold it to my neighbor for deer hunting. I think the longest shot he used it for was around 300 yds. According to him, he's taken 11 deer with it... all 1 shot kills.

The 120 7mm is the tougher of the two and usually exits. The 6.5 I haven't loaded them yet but other BT pass through maybe half the time. I would go bonded or mono or partition if you want closer to 100% pass through. The BT may kill quicker though with emphasis on the may.

i have some factory loaded nosler custom 260 rem 130 accubond that advertise 2,800 fps. i don't have access to a chrono but they group a little less than .8" for a 3 shot group100yds outta my tikka. reason i'm looking hard at the 120 ballistic tip is federal advertises it to go 3,000 fps if i'm not mistaken. it also shoots sub moa at 100yds outta the superlite. i really wanted y'alls valued opinions on whether the 264 cal jacket was beefed up like the 284 cal 120 grain bt.

No, it is not the same, the 120/.284 is tuffer than a two dollar steak!

JPro, "I've found the .264 130gr NAB to be a really great all-rounder in the .260Rem, and not hard to get to group pretty well. Fairly sturdy little bullet. My 22" factory rifles make 2,830-2,880 with H4350."

We found the same thing in various 6.5's.

The 6.5mm 127g Long range is also a very accurate and easy to tune bullet...

We did not always get a blood trail with the 120g ballistic tips in 6.5 & 7mm, but they were running dead.

The 130g NAB is worth building a rifle around. We were recently working with 6.5x47L, 6.5 Creed, and 6.5x55 with this bullet, and accuracy was fabulous with all three.

IN our 26" brux 8T, the 6.5x55 with lapua brass and 51.5g of R#26 was at 3150 fps, 1" groups, backed it off to 3000 fps and shot bug holes, fed 215 primers, work up to this load in your rifle. We used a Forster long drop tube powder funnel. We got amazing luck out of all the 6.5's with R#26.

Great report Keith.!

"....we did not always get a blood trail..but they were running dead.."

Over the last few months (ain't really been on much in years) I have seen this : ( RL26 + any smallish 6.5 cartridge + 130gr NAB = Dead Stuff.!)