Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Nosler Ballistic tip or Hornady SST?

We have more in common than you think. I'm also a hardcore Partition user. 160's in the 7's, 200's in the .30's, and 250's in the .33's. IMO, the Partition is one of, if not THE greatest hunting bullet in existence. It is what all others are compared to.

7point62mag,

Yes, something is "off" somewhere, and that is your experience with more recent Ballistic Tips and SST's--which as you admit is zero. Both have changed since first introduced--and Ballistic Tips also vary considerably in construction according to caliber and weight.

My experience with Berger Hunting VLD's goes back a dozen years, and that is how they work in calibers from 6mm up. But the design has not changed.

My comment about the VLD was seperate from what I was saying about the BT and SST. Berger's are made to "grenade" by design, and they do work great if you don't hit a shoulder first.

Next, I have experience with recent SST's, even the flavor sold under Remington's colors. It was the Nosler BT that I havent used recently. But since I posted in here, I've sent an email to a fella I correspond with at Noser to see what, if anything, they have changed.

It feels like you are trying to turn this into an argument. If I'm wrong, I apologize.

I actually don’t believe the Berger bullets were designed to do anything on game, as they were designed strictly as a target bullet .... to fly straight and long were the only parameters. Long range target shooters liked the accuracy and ballistics so much that they started shooting game with them because they could make more precise hits them at longer ranges than were thought prudent with older hunting bullet designs like the Nosler Partition. These types of shots also typically were at undisturbed animals which gave them time to dial up their scopes and place very precise shots into broadside targets.

These target shooters quickly found that their Berger target bullets “grenaded” on game and were effective as long as you put them into soft tissue to reach the lungs. This was a by-product of trial and error, not design.

You are completely correct. It's actually been so long, I forgot about that. That was back when I was bitching at people for using Matchkings and A-Max bullets on game.

Berger has a 185 now, designed for hunting (so they say). When I talked to them a couple weeks ago, they told me the Classic Hunter bullets will perform the same on game at 50 yards as it will at 1000. I still won't use them on game, for the exact reason you mentioned (that I forgot about). I'm 38, but maybe my soul is older, because I prefer bullets that stay intact. Bullets that can break a shoulder and still make it to the other side.

This seems almost a silly dispute as darn near anything that goes bang will kill a deer. The only question in my mind is dropping them quickly versus meat damage. This is a moot point with behind the shoulder shots. For me it will come down to which ever is cheaper and shoots better in my rifles.

[s][/s]I always get a kick out of guys claiming Nosler BT's blow up. For starters they are probably one of the toughest cup and core bullets out there. Very stout jackets on many models. Second the old ballistic tips that were fragile where produced around 30 years ago. I still have some and they work just fine on deer.
Never used the Hornady SST, but have loaded them for friends that used them with great results.
Either bullet will work just fine on deer. I like the BT better because for me they have required less effort to get to shoot and I have had very good results with them. Even on elk at 300 RUM velocity levels.

It wasn't a "claim" sir. It's a usage report from my usage. My friends and I tried them in a .243, .264, 7 RM, 7 STW, .308, .300 WM, and .338 WM.

I also tried the 180 BT (blue tip) in my .325 WSM. Now that one performed well, oddly enough. However, I did find the 220gr Power Point to be more effective. Especially when going THROUGH the shoulders. Shoot, talking about it made me realize how much I loved that rifle. I've definitely got to pick up another 325 some day.

As I stated earlier, haven't tried the Nosler BT's recently (the SST I have). I'm curious how they will perform now. I may just give them a go in my son's 7mm-08 this season.

Exactly. For your use, I'd pick "neither" as an option for 100 yd midwest deer. Shoot the interlock or if you must...a 120gr NBT.

Always the same old argument about Nosler BTs. Well, I’ve been shooting them since they were available and killed somewhere around 200 deer with them. Started with 130’s in the 270 and now use 100’s and 120’s in the 260. I have never lost a deer because of the bullet, but did lose one 8 point due to poor bullet placement (found him a month later). Biggest critter killed with the ‘original’ BTs was a hog weighing close to 400 pounds. One shot and down he went. No exit, but the bullet made it halfway through the cartilage shield on his far side.

The bullets can be messy, but that is why the deer don’t go far, so I just try to not hit the best edible parts of the deer. Just shoot em in the lungs. Works every time.

When I switched to the 260, the plan was to use 100 gr BTs on varmints and 120’s on deer, but I wound up using the 100’s on deer. Got an exit every time, but thought the 120’s might be more effective, so for the last few years I’ve used the 120’s. Best I can tell, it doesn’t matter which one I use.

One thing to mention, if it matters to anybody, is that I do not get exits on pigs that are medium to large size. They don’t go far, but don’t expect a big blood trail to follow.

I load SSTs for the grandson’s 308, and they seem to work fine. I just have no personal knowledge or opinion that would let me compare them to the Nosler Ballistic Tip.

When I hunt deer or pigs with the 223, I use the Nosler Partition or the 65 gr Sierra GK. I don’t have enough use data to say one works better than the other, though for pigs I’d probably choose the Partition.

Just curious what you expect out of these bullets and short range impacts at high velocities?

7point62magnum,

Here's a quote from your latest post:

"It's a usage report from my usage. My friends and I tried them in a .243, .264, 7 RM, 7 STW, .308, .300 WM, and .338 WM."

I would be incredibly astonished IF you or your friends actually had a 200-grain .338 Ballistic Tip blow up or fail to pentrate sufficiently from a .338 Winchester Magnum, for two reasons:

First, the 200-grain .338 was the original "heavy jacket" Ballistics Tip, introduced in 1992 in part to address the penetration problems of some (not all) early Ballistic Tips. It was given a jacket that was approximately 3/4 of the weight of the entire bullet, with an extremely heavy base. In fact, some people considered it a semi-monolithic with a little lead behind the plastic tip to facilitate expansion.

Second, I used my first one in 1992, and used a bunch more after that. The first one (from a .338 Winchester Magnum) killed the biggest-bodied bull caribou I've ever taken, out of a dozen from Alaska to Quebec. The range was 200 yards. The bull was almost broadside, so I put the bullet in the pocket behind the near shoulder--and the bullet broke the heavy joint of the far shoulder before exiting. The bull was about the size of a typical 5-point bull elk.

After that I used them on a bunch of both big game, both in North America and Africa. One was a bull gemsbok about the same body-size as that caribou--but gemsbok have heavier and harder bones than caribou, especially in the shoulders, which are also covered with tough, inch-thick hide. The bull was quartering toward me at about 150-175 yards, and the bullet broke the near (right) shoulder above the joint, then broke the spine. The bull collapsed--and the bullet was recovered under the hide of the left ham, retaining over 60% of its original weight.

Have also seen the same bullet break both shoulders in similar-sized elk and other African plains game--and exit. The ONLY one recovered was the one that essentially penetrated that bull gemsbok lengthwise.

Since then Nosler has applied the same heavy jacket to every Ballistic Tip from the .30-caliber 165-grain on up.

I've got to wonder if 762 has ever shot anything with a BT.

For a few years that's all I used from a 308 30-06 and 7-08. During deer season and several dozen crop damage kills.

150s in the 30s and 140 in the 7. All.but a few were bang flops and even the ones that weren't only ran about 100 yards. The runners we're attributed to adrenaline due to the bullets hitting the hearts.

I PM'd Mule, but I'll write it here too. When I typed ".338 WM", it was supposed to be ".325 WSM". I never tried a BT in a .33. I also told him, I've not used BT's in several years. I'm going to order some for my sons 7-08, and for my .300 Win Mag, and try them again.

I know, even then, the Ballistic Tips killed well, unless the shot wasnt ideal. I just prefer a bullet that doesn't shred on impact, which is the reason I don't use Bergers for hunting. I use Partitions and Interlocks when my guns will shoot them MOA or better. I know my choices aren't everyone's favorites either.

2 1/2 hrs ago I witnessed my daughter take her first deer.
She shot it with a .243 win
70 grain nbt
The deer travelled maybe 40 yds after the shot.
She blew the heart out.

I fired my last four "old" .277 140s the other day after dialing in my FN .270. Believe I cranked that batch out around 1995. Might still have one in the box because there were 101 in it.

I cracked a spike head-on in the neck with one of those at about 20 yards, and there was no exit.

I had several boxes of early 139 sst's that were really soft. I shot a lot of them at varmints from a 7-08 and they worked well for that. If they've improved them I'm not sure when it was or how to know which ones you have. I know all my NBTs are the thicker jacketed ones.

I used to really like the regular interlocks from hornady for a good all around non premium bullet. About 10 years of so ago I noticed some big differences between old lots and new lots. New ones had thinner jackets and the interlock rings were smaller and further back. They seemed softer than older ones.

I used to keep a lot of the 308 180 interlocks as an all around for all my older mauser 30-06s and other 30 cals. After being frustrated with a softer lot I took advantage of a sale at SPS and stocked up on 180 partitions. Now that's my all around load for my older stuff I don't shoot much but keep some ammo ready for them just in case.

It would be cool if bullet makers were upfront about changes and you could look up lot numbers and see what you have.

Bb

There was an exit hole too btw.
About the size of a half dollar.

OP here and I appreciate all the input and the details of what happened and exit size etc. I've had exits where I had to part the hair to find an exit and while the deer died, they ran farther and bled less. That was back in the days when I thought that "my" deer deserved to be hunted with a premium bullet which in most cases were too hard for a deer.

Congrats to your daughter! For this season, I got my step son a Ruger American "Go Wild" edition in 7mm-08. He has zero experience with a rifle, so I'm glad this one has a brake. I hope to see him take a deer like you did for your daughter. I have PM'd Mule and asked about the 120 BT. Choice Ammunition loads the 120 to 2950 in 7mm-08.

Windfall, I'm sorry we ended up in a debate in your thread.