Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles whats up with nosler ballistic tip?

I've not seen any difference with the original issue 100gr Btips in my 25-06s, or the last ones bought several years ago.

Very accurate, all one shot kills from different 25-06s. Some out there 400 to 500 yards. Last big doe dropped at 200 yards, never exited the shoulder. That was a wounded deer someone else had hit, was gettin' away when I dropped it with a shoulder poke.

Lung shots were all pass-thrus, even at over 400 yards, deer dead on the ground where hit.

Up until my huntin' bud passed away some years ago, we'd taken over two dozen deer between us, with 25-06s and the 100gr Btip. All but one or two of his were one shot kills.

He went whacko one year on a doe scootin' around in creek bottom brush and hit it two or three times before it keeled. I liked to bring that'un up from time to time, he never liked hearing about it much. ;O)

Also killed several deer with the "original" 165gr Btips and assorted 30-06s. No issues, but I think subsequent 165s were made a bit tougher?

I use the 95 grain BT in my .243 for everything I hunt. I probably wouldn't use it on moose if I ever had the opportunity to go.

my wife uses a 70 grain in her 6x45 and killed a nice buck this year with it. love the BT's if your gun does.

Killed a bunch of deer with 243 95 grain ballistic tip. Never had one get very far from where I shot them. Most dropped within a few yards. Put it in the boiler room and they are going to whatever god they pray too. Honestly I have only had good experiences all around with the nosler ballistic tip. Just shoot something with it and you will see for yourself.

Some good info

I tried the 130 gr 270 the first time they were available to me. They were very accurate but did not hold up on impact period, for me on a 3x3 whitetail buck at 125 yds. It took 3 shots behind the shoulder in the ribs to put him down and keep him down. No exits only bone and bullet shrapnel peppering the lungs, large nasty surface wounds. I didn't need to see anymore evidence of their inability to get the job done. The NPT was a tried and true favorite as well as Noslers Solid Base. Corelokts and Hornadies never let me down either. It was 20 years before I tried the NBT again 120 gr in the 7mm Rem Mag. they worked fine then and I am trying some of the other calibers as well now. Don't buy any in the old black box with the metal reinforced corners only the newer ones and you'll probably be fine. I don't forget getting [bleep] over by anyone or anything, it takes awhile to try something that fails me as bad as they did. Far as I'm concerned if you didn't try the originals and witness their failures you don't even need an opinion about them. Magnum Man

Truly, the imagined issues with ballistic tips should be present, multiplied in AMAX BULLETS.
Mainly that they hyperexpand.
Oddly enough that's never been the case. Perhaps the person who takes the AMAX into the deer woods is better prepared to wait for a shot or pass whereas the person with the ballistic tips assume all angles are things since the projectile is marketed primarily as a hunting bullet.

Used the original 140gr in a .280AIand they worked fine and there is a good chance I've used each of the different generations and have yet to have a failure. One time it took two shots, but I missed on the first.

I think the AMAX users are usually shooting at longer ranges. I've never heard of anyone here in the east using them but NBT's are popular here and shots are usually close. NBT's don't hold together on close shots although they bring a deers life to an abrupt halt.

What's close and what cartridge?

If I loaded them it would be 243 and shots anywhere from 20 yards to 200

A few years back, shot a young buck in the shoulder with a 6.5 mm 120 gr BT out of a 6.5x55 at very close range. Didn't aim for the shoulder, but that's where it went. The bullet came apart in the shoulder and the deer got up a few times, would take a few steps, then fall down. An overall bad experience, but probably my fault w/the shot placement. When hunting close-range wooded areas, I've switched to TTSX's which have always worked.

When the NBT's first came out, I tried them in a 270 (130 gr), 7mm-08 (140 gr), 7mm Rem mag (150 gr) and a 30-06 (180 gr).

The 270 NBT's did good, by me, but both the 7mm bullets seem'd to explode on impact (never shot anything with the 30-06 before selling). Granted, the 7mm shot deer all died, but they did not leave much (if any) of a blood trail. These bullets would leave a HUGE "bloodshot" area on the impact side also. I found a few bullet jackets, but never any lead cores, while field dressing.

The newer "hunting" NBT's have a MUCH thicker jacket than the originals.

The .270 and 30-06. Under 100 yards.

You're saying you wouldn't use a .30-06 with a NBT under somewhere
around 100 yards?

I used a 150 NBT from a 308 on a cow elk this year. The shot was 175ish yards. The bullet entered the shoulder and I recovered the jacket under the offside hide. The jacket had punched through the meat, but didn't make it through the hide. I'm assuming the core exited, as there was a small hole just above the jacket. The cow went about 30 yards before going down. Meat damage was less than expected.

Excellent performance considering I busted bone upon entrance.

Entrance...



Exit....

A 115 BT from my 257 WBY on a pass thru shot was the best blood trail I've ever seen. I was always skeptical, but my son's .308 likes the 150 BTs the best. He stomped deer after deer with that combo. Never a reason to question it.
I do prefer the NAB, feeling that it is the best of both worlds.

I either want a bullet to come apart FAST or stay together all the way through.
So i'll use AMAX or interbond.

I have used them in my wife's 708 below 2800 with 100% success

Darrick,

I'm really not all that surprised that it did that well on your Elk.

The original ones I used in the .280AI did open up quickly it seemed, but they worked well every time. Perhaps I was just lucky. By the time I started using them in the 7mm-08 they must have bumped them up because pass thru became common. Truthfully, I didn't know any of this until I came on here. Most recent time I used one was this year on an average Doe at around 80, with a .308W. Blew thru with a nice quarter sized exit. She went around 30-40 yards. Not a lot of blood but I hit high on a quartering away.

Better than good Whitetail bullet and it has been around long enough that they have the kinks ironed out.

They hold together just fine for me. I use the 100gr version in my 25-06, and send them out the barrel at 3350 fps. I've killed about 16 PA deer with it, at ranges from 20 yards to 400 yards, most being 100 or under. I haven't stopped one in a deer yet.