Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .243 Nosler Ballistic Tip for Whitetail?

New hand-loader here and was wondering if the current production Ballistic Tip bullets are suitable for whitetail or should I stick with the 80gr Barnes TTSX?

The rounds will be loaded for my youngest's .243Win

No personal experience here, but by all accounts the 95g NBT was specifically designed for that application and is reported to be an excellent deer bullet.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...a-243-ballistic-tip-95-grain#Post4576253

In fact the guy who designed ithe 95 BT for Nosler used it quite successfully on a number of good-sized bull elk. It definitely works on deer.

It is the perfect deer bullet for the .243.

While I didn't shoot any deer with them, I can tell you that both the 90 and 95 grain BTs are stout enough to shoot completely through medium-sized hogs. (Now you have me missing the 6mm-06 Encore barrel I used to have )

My boy is shooting these bullets in his 243. They are very accurate, and hold together well. He shot 2 deer with them this fall, and has killed a couple coyotes as well. You will like this bullet. If you are reloading,try 41 grains,of H 4350. It is working well.

The 95 grain Ballistic Tip works great on my lease for deer and pigs. We don't seem to have the armored deer some places do.

Sure would be fun if Federal offered a 95 B-Tip 6mm Creed load from the factory.

They definitely kill with aplomb. You might consider staying off the shoulders unless you're fan of strawberry jello.

Both bullets kill deer very well.

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I stopped my search for the perfect deer bullet several years ago because I think I've found it or at least it's close enough to perfection to suit me. It's the Nosler BT. I have three basic requirement for deer bullets. They must be accurate, must expand readily, and must more often than not make two holes, one in and one out. I can depend on the NBT's to do this.

I never shot a deer with the 95 BT that didn't exit. I do think it's the perfect 6mm deer bullet.

Others have a sleeker profile but I like the 95 BT best for killing.

It kills them just fine, granddaughter uses them.

Re: both kill well, indeed, but if you are shooting long distance, say over 300 yds, the 95 BT is going to hold it's speed longer and expand better.

Guy I know dumped a deer at 540 yds with a 243, and 95 BT..........I would not try with a light mono, may pencil thru.

IME, the 95 is VERY hard to beat, will drill both shoulders of a WT Deer at 100 yds broadside......and still expand way out there.

Oh, I have shot 1/2" groups..........at 200 yds using them. Other bullets can do very well in 6mm, killed deer with 70 TNT in 6BR and 243, on up thru 100 Partition.

The 95 leaves me nothing wanting, near or far.

Are you sure ? Higher retained energy, yes, but velocity & therefore trajectory bleed faster.

I'm a 95gr SST guy.

I believe the comparison was between the 95 BT and the Barnes 80gr TTSX. In that case, the TTSX should bleed off velocity faster, although not by much.

If you start the Barnes off at 3100fps, its .331 BC will see the velocity drop to 1789fps at 500 yards with a drop of 43 inches (assuming a 200 yard zero). If you start the Nosler at 3000fps, its .379 BC will give a velocity of 1872 fps at 500 yards and a drop of 42.5 inches with a 200 yard zero.

Data taken from trajectory tables at the back of Nosler and Barnes reloading manuals.

my wife has used a 90 or 95 grain BT to kill 8 Muledeer from 60 yds, out to 300.

I haven't shot a whitetail with one yet but they sure work well on antelope at all ranges I care to shoot them. Good expansion while holding together, broke bone when needed and exits without excess meat loss. If I could only shoot one 6mm bullet a 95gr Ballistic Tip would likely be my choice.

What’s the difference between the 90 grain and 95 grain BTs? Besides the 5 grains, of course.