Nosler Ballistic tip 125 gr.

I would go 165 light enough that you wont notice the difference

I am not a fan of Ballistic Tips for hunting larger animals due to one blowing up into splinters on a 180 lb. buck. It hit his shoulder and destroyed it plus a lung and sent small fragments of lead into everything (loins, opposite shoulder, even in one ham). And, yes, I did use a "hunting" Ballistic Tip not a varmint model.

If you use one, make sure it's a pure lung shot or you might have a lot of ruined meat.

Patocazador said:

I am not a fan of Ballistic Tips for hunting larger animals due to one blowing up into splinters on a 180 lb. buck. It hit his shoulder and destroyed it plus a lung and sent small fragments of lead into everything (loins, opposite shoulder, even in one ham). And, yes, I did use a "hunting" Ballistic Tip not a varmint model.

If you use one, make sure it's a pure lung shot or you might have a lot of ruined meat.

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I've had very different experiences with the 150 BT. I've gotten stem to stern penetration on a nice buck with a nice exit wound in the throat (yeah, Texas heart shot). After THAT I've taken 5 pigs with that load shoulder shots with exit wounds, no bullet recovered. It's very accurate in my rifle and ain't broke, so I've never fixed it. I'm pushing that bullet at just under 2800 fps from a 20" barrel. Maybe velocity has something to do with it? I don't know, just know it works for me.

That same bullet has also taken 5 deer for me from a .30-30 contender at 2150 fps.

My suggestion for sub 150 grain bullets is use a controlled expansion bullet like the Barnes TSX. I have a Barnes 140 grain load I shot a couple of pigs with. It worked fine, but they're expensive and I went back to using the BTs after I proved to myself they wouldn't "blow up" as the rumor had it and would, indeed, penetrate well.

As long as the muzzle velocity is controlled the Nosler BTs can give exemplary performance on deer-sized game. My hunting partner and I shot dozens of Kodiak Island blacktails with our .300 Savage Contenders with the Nosler 150 BTip at around 2400 fps. Bullet performance was always exemplary, complete penetration without excessive meat damage from 5 yards to over 175 yards. As long as you don’t push the 125 BTips too fast they should perform very well for you.


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I like the 150 grain myself,, no need for nothing more .. Also love neck shots DRT ; )
Y/D

I've used the 125s from my 06 and .300

the largest animals ive shot were about 150lbs, but I didn't have blow up issues even with the .300s
I don't generally take shoulder shots, and don't expect an exit with lead core bullets that light for caliber.

with launch velocity in the 25-2700fps range they should perform in a more conventional fashion.

that's about ideal for the 125s I think. load them down to 2650-2700s and they will perform wonderfully.

We load Hodgdon youth loads with 125 grain BTs for my father. He's getting more recoil sensitive the older he gets.
He has killed several deer with them. They don't run any farther than they did when he shot full throttle loads. So far at least.

The BallisticTips got a reputation for explosive over expansion some years ago. Nosler has addressed the problem after complaints and the BT's made within the last 8-9 years have thicker jackets. I've read some reports that they now perform almost as well as the Accubonds, but at a cheaper price.

ANY conventional cup and core bullet, of any weight, that impacts at 2800 fps or faster stands a good chance of over expansion. Loaded to their full potential the 125's will leave the muzzle at 3000-3100 fps. That is too fast for close work with that bullet. Slow it down and I think they'll be fine.

I’ve used the 125gr in .300BO and 7.62x39.
I prefer the 125gr Speer TNT hp. 1/4 as expensive as the Nosler and similar performance. Second is the Sierra’s 125gr ProHunter. 1/2 price of Nosler. Nosler also makes an AccuBond at 2x price. $40+ for 50! Not needed for smallish deer or pigs to #200.
In the .308, use the same powder charge as fo 150gr. It will approximate the trajectory of the 150gr to 200+ yds. Just check Zero- poa/poi.

125 gr BT's is exactly what I used in a .308 for low recoil loads for my grandsons. Worked wonderfully..


I also use them in my TC Contender super 14" in 30-30 WIn. They will kill a deer nicely and have done so many times. I've shot nothing bigger/heavier bodied though.

A 125 Nosler in a reduced load .308 will be a great deer killer. Nosler has hit a homerun with the 125 grain Ballistic Tip and especially the Accubond. I load the Accubond to ~2800 fps and they are accurate and perform very well. Those bullets expand, completely penetrate, and make jelly inside. Won't shoot any other bullet at game in my 30 Rem AR. I use the 125 Ballistic Tip for practice and just load the white tips for game.