Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles tell me about the 165 BT

Got a buddy looking for a WT bullet in his .300 WSM. I happen to have a couple boxes of 165gr BT's on my shelf, but I've never used them for anything. My guess is they'll do great, but I thought I'd see what the consensus is.

What vintage?

not sure, but not the most recent. Red and green label.

Red and green (100 count?) will be the older, softer ones.

Ya - I'd be wary of over-expansion, especially at 300 WSM velocity. I loaded some of the old 165's for a buddy's 300 Win Mag many years ago - results on mule deer were ugly. We switched to a heavier, and stronger bullet. 180's as I recall, and results were much better.

The newer 165 gr Ballistic Tips have been wonderful in both my 30-06 and the 308 as well. Elk, black bear, mule deer & pronghorn, and all were quick kills with excellent bullet performance. The newer ones seem much tougher than the old Ballistic Tips.

Regards, Guy

In a 300WSM, I'd pass. That's going to be a blood shot making sob. Even the Hornady interlock would be a much better choice. Assuming you mean the ones that are in a box like this one:

These are .277 130's, but sound like the same era of Nosler BT.

There are many other bullets I've used and would trust in the 300wsm, to not use those. Step up in weight too. 180gr work very well in the WSM. Do you have anything else you could load instead??

The old 165 was a fine deer bullet at 308 Win. speeds.

My father used the old 130 in his 26" barreled 270 Winchester with a case full of H4831. Results were dramatic. However none "blew up on the surface" like you'll hear about.

They cause a lot of bloodshot meat though. I don't buy too much into this "blew up on the surface" bs. Maybe glance one off of a shoulder bone at an extreme angle, but damn near any bullet is going to penetrate, with a nice side presentation. Penetrate how far is another question. Generally I like my bullets to hold together and mushroom nicely. With these, they fragment a lot. I have shot the old solid base 165's into deer, with my 30-06's, and they never exited. They did do a lot of damage. Ended up going to a 165 Hornady interlock and performance was better. JMHO..

In a 308 that bullet is as good as any and better than many. I think a lot of the old blow up stories were from people surprised at what a fast expanding bullet can do. I would say try them.

In a 308 yes, in a 300 WSM, not so much.

thanks folks- I’ll look for something a bit different tougher

Accubonds

I do have a couple boxes of Speer 165 spbt. I expect they would hold together reasonably well.

The red and green,100 to a box Ballistic Tips made me quit using Nosler bullets for about ten years.I remember the first deer I shot with them at 125yds,all I saw was a red mist as the bullet hit the deer. The whole onside of the deer had tiny blood specs in the hair.I killed the deer,but lost about 5lbs of meat from bloodshot.The second deer I shot was at 250yds was hit in the shoulder.I was shooting a 7mag,mv 3150fps,150gr Ballistic Tip.The bullet put him down,blood coming out his mouth and nose.I expected it hit him in the lungs too.I made the 250yd walk down to him.He got up and went into the brush.WTF?I put the sneak on him and found him laying down about 40yds away.I shot him in the neck and killed him with that shot.The first bullet blew up when it hit the scapula of the the shoulder.None of it penetrated the scapula or made it's way into the chest cavity.I guess the shear impact of the bullet is what cause him to bleed from the mouth and nose.This was what I found when I processed the deer.The new ones are great and my favorite bullets.I really like the 165-168gr Nosler Ballistic Tips for deer.

They're on the soft side too.

Yep, like I said. At a minimum, I'd look at the Hornady interlock, if wanting to use a 165 in the wsm. I've used them at long range (600+ yards) and they worked very well. At less than 100 yards, I'm not sure. However, that's where the 180gr and heavier should be considered. The closer I'd expect to shoot a deer, the heavier I'd go. 300's shine with 200's in my experience. If wanting to use a C&C bullet. A bonded or premium controlled expansion is not required, but welcomed IMHO. This is at WSM velocities.

My older Speer book says the the boattails Speers are not "Hotcore" and the jackets are thinner.

A bullet that has good reviews is Speer Impact.It a bonded bullet that should work well in the 300WSM.Midway has them on sale at a very good price in 172gr and 190gr 30cal $25.89 per 50
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1021050618?pid=630812

Used the 300 wsm for a number of years. 180 gr. factory and later reloaded my own. 200 gr. partition. Caribou, moose, a couple bears. I'm in Alaska. I would give up the 165 idea, even for deer. Generally, heavy and slow gives less meat damage. 180s are supposed to be the size of choice for the wsm.