Nosler Ballistic tip bullets -

[Willoughby]

who uses or have used Nosler Ballistic tip bullets , and what are your opinions on them - I had a elderly friend mentor I respected his opinions on a lot of things - he used them exclusively- and had good success with them - I tried them and had less luck than he , and haven't tried them again for some time now - If you have hunted with them what was your experience with them ?

 

[RCE1]

They're very good. At first, there was no competition, but then the VMax line came along...Nothing like a 40gr VMax or BT to liven up a triple deuce. LOL.

 

[ncageneral]

I loaded 6.5 120 gr BT's for my daughter in 260 to around 2800 fps for deer. The one she shot with those looked like some one had implanted a hand grenade under the skin and very shallow inside the rib cage. Lots of bruising and shock, no exit of course. We did recover the deer, with the help of my dog. If deer and this particular bullet are on the menu, I would not use them. They may be wonderful for others , I prefer a hole through and through.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

55gr Bt is a go to bullet for coyote fur out of my 22-250's. I don't like to sew, so no splash and small/no exit on shots 200 yards and under are desired.

 

[Steve morgan]

who uses or have used Nosler Ballistic tip bullets , and what are your opinions on them - I had a elderly friend mentor I respected his opinions on a lot of things - he used them exclusively- and had good success with them - I tried them and had less luck than he , and haven't tried them again for some time now - If you have hunted with them what was your experience with them ?

I use them in 4 different calibers from 22 to 7 mm for hunting .don't use anything else. Deadly everything I have shot is DRT.

 

[AckleymanII]

Humm.....

22 cal-40,50, and 55g Ballistic tips
6mm-55 and 70g Ballistic tips
25 cal-85g and 100g Ballistic tips
7mm-120 and 140g Ballistic tips
30 cal-165, 180g Nosler ballistic tips

All like to be seated very close to the lands.

Dang

Willoughby, if you have had no luck with ballistic tips, I really do not know where to begin!?​

 

[TGP]

I transitioned to Ballistic Tips when they became available and the old solid base bullets was faded out. For hunting it's the primary bullet I use, if the velocities are high ( 28 Nosler, 6.5 WSM, 6PRC) I change over to the Acurabonds.

 

[kcjim]

Ballistic Tips are very good deer and antelope bullets. I use them exclusively in my .25-06. The older Ballistic Tips of many years ago did not have as heavy of a jacket as the newer version. The newer version are very good bullets.

 

[CJ6]

For deer at even 308 speeds, try not to hit bone under 100 yds. You'll lose a lot of meat. I switched to bonded bullets because of this.

 

[Willoughby]

Humm.....

22 cal-40,50, and 55g Ballistic tips
6mm-55 and 70g Ballistic tips
25 cal-85g and 100g Ballistic tips
7mm-120 and 140g Ballistic tips
30 cal-165, 180g Nosler ballistic tips

All like to be seated very close to the lands.

Dang

Willoughby, if you have had no luck with ballistic tips, I really do not know where to begin!?​

Ive only used them once - I shot one deer 20+ years ago with a 165, at 25 yards broadside , it ran away limping -left a pile of hair like a barber shop - no blood , tracked for 2 days before I found it and put it down -the front shoulder was shaved .bruised and blue -I feel like the bullet blew up on impact , havent hunted with them since - just trying to see what experience others have had with them - they look to be very similar design to a Horn vldx or amax- I lost 2 days of hunting season and 2 nights sleep - but I hear others rave about them- maybe the new ones are better like kcjim says

 

[DirtySteve]

I shot a few deer with them.. All were one and done..
I love them..

 

[Willoughby]

I shot a few deer with them.. All were one and done..
I love them..

was it in last few years ?

 

[Willoughby]

I may have just been to close

 

[DirtySteve]

was it in last few years ?

Um, I think you really want to know when the bullet we made.. When I find a bullet I like I buy a ton of them. The bullets used were bought back in 1996-2005.. Heck I am a bullet whore. I have Z-max bullets still.. I have the Nosler Long Range BT as well that I bought bunches of. But to answer the question, The last one shot was 5 years ago.. I moved and have yet to hunt up here...

 

[Willoughby]

Um, I think you really want to know when the bullet we made.. When I find a bullet I like I buy a ton of them. The bullets used were bought back in 1996-2005.. Heck I am a bullet whore. I have Z-max bullets still.. I have the Nosler Long Range BT as well that I bought bunches of. But to answer the question, The last one shot was 5 years ago.. I moved and have yet to hunt up here...

thank you sir , kcjim had said the newer ones had thicker shells

 

[Adam in WI]

Fall of '19 I shot a large doe at just under a hundred yards with a 90 grain from a .243. She went about 30 yards. No exit, and the meat damage on the entry side was minimal. This year I'll try out 115s from .25-06 and 130s from 270 WSM.

 

[AckleymanII]

I killed two bull elk with the first generation 140g Nosler ballistic tips out of a 7 mag, Browning A bolt stainless stalker, MV is 3200 fps, They died on impact, hit dead center of the body.

Hint: if you are using a plastic tip bullet other than TTSX, don't shoot for the shoulder, Grand Success is bound to follow!

Largest white tail I have ever killed was at 15 yards, 270 Win, 130g first generation 130g Nosler ballistic tips, 58.0gn of R#22 with fed 210. I grunted him in, and he came in charging wanting to fight, 260 lbs in Alabama during the rut.
Broke the left front shoulder, and the bullet was under the skin about to exit on the right rear ham.

The monster buck hit the ground, plowing the ground with his nose, going like a he had been shot out of a cannon. He got his horns tangled up in a thicket, and died within a few minutes. I have no idea how he kept going, heart and lugs were mush.

For shoulder shooters, Partitions, Hornady Interlocks, Speer Hot Core work well. For white tails, I like the diaphragm shots that take out the lungs and heart with cup and core bullets.

 

[Willoughby]

thanks for all the replies , looks like everyone is having successful hunting with them

 

[603Country]

I’ve killed a lot of deer and pigs with Nosler BTs, using a 270 and a 260. Over 100 deer, but probably less than 200. No problems with the bullets. I usually get an exit on deer, but not on hogs of any size, and I usually aim for the heart/lung area and avoid bones. They don’t go far. On coyotes I used 40 and 55 gr Ballistic Tips in the 220 and 223. I went to these bullets right after Nosler quit making the old Solid Base Boattail bullets. I used one of those first generation Ballistic Tips on a boar hog that was close to 400 pounds (said the rancher who was happy Imgot that hog), and the bullet was under the skin on the far side of the hog. I never had reason to complain about those gen 1 BTs. Worthy of mention is that I avoid quartering shots with those bullets, since you may not get an exit and a good blood trail.

If anyone has 120 gr or 100 gr BTs in 6.5 caliber and doesn’t like using them, I’ll be more than happy to pay you for them. I’ll use em in the Grendel or the 260.

 

[K22]

I've used them extensively for varmint / predator hunting, some limited use for deer hunting.

1. Varmints

- the 50 and 55 BT's are my go to bullets for varmints. Been using them for many years now and in my rifles, are the most accurate and consistent. I especially like to be able to purchase in 250 count boxes. HOWEVER - I haven't seen any on line or in local shops for over a year. The best bullet isn't any good if it isn't available. My back up in the 55 Hornady Vmax.

- While the 85 Sierra BTHP is my absolute go to bullet for all 243 work, I've use on a limited basis, the 70 and 80 Nosler BT's for varmint hunting. Very accurate - devastating terminal effect. But good luck finding them. Also, it's overkill at the distances I shoot, i.e., 300 yards and under.

2. Predators

- the aforementioned Nosler bullets work very well on predators if you are not concerned about the fur damage. Some limited use of the 125 BT in the 308 which creates little fur damage compare to the aforementioned Nosler bullet. However my predator experience is limited.
.
3. Deer

- Used the 90 BT in the 243 and the 150 BT in the 308 on a limited basis. Very accurate and performed well. However most of my deer hunting experience is with the 150 Sierra Pro Hunter in the 308 and the 85 Sierra BTHP in the 243 both of which performed outstandingly. When available - I use those Sierra bullets since they have never failed me IF I do my part.