Nosler ballistic tips too much for thin skinned game?

[scythefwd]

MCgunner, actually, I am asking about the 150gr BT and what appears to be the 168 gr CT (which has no max speed recommendation).

How well do the partitions work for the .30-30 and the .308. How much change in POI is there from the BT's that we have been discussing for the same bullet weight?

 

[Todd1700]

Seems like a lot of people acting expert than don't even shoot the bullet, let alone having tested it on game.

I've killed deer with them and seen many more killed with them. I have also seen bad experiences with them. When all goes well they can give you some of the quickest dropped right there kills you have ever seen. They look pretty too. But when it goes bad with them, it goes really bad. I bet 75 percent of the hit and lost deer stories I have had first hand experience with over the last 6 years have involved a friend or family member using a ballistic tip. Most have thankfully stopped using them. It only takes one time losing a good buck because of them to see the light.

They are basically just a hollow point with a plastic nipple inserted in the hole to increase the ballistic co-efficient. Hollow points are a common feature on pistol bullets. Know why? To get those bullets to expand even at slow pistol cartridge velocities. Put a hollow point on a soft lead projectile and accelerate it to high power rifle velocities and you get a lot of expansion. Sometimes too much.

As for what Nosler says about them, well what do you expect them to say? "Even at standard rifle velocities these things might come apart like a cardboard box in the rain" LOL! No company is gonna poor mouth their own product. But I have seen them fragment all to hell on a deer out of a 30-06 with a MV of 2800 fps on shots less than 100 yards. And the problem only gets worse at 7mm mag and 300 mag velocities.

They are a great varmint round however. But then I guess that would be because that's what they were designed to be in the first place.

 

[hillbillydelux]

I have already given my opinion but to elaborate a little. I have been using 150 grain ballistic tips in 30-06 for quite some time. With a 150 grain bullet there really is no difference between .30-06 or .308. I imagine I have shot close to 40 deer with that load from doe to some pretty decent bucks, from 50 yards to aroun 300 yds. I have never lost a deer and in fact most dropped in there tracks. I have shot some where the bullet did ruin alot of meat but it was because I hit them in the shoulder. In fact I shot a doe in the shoulder and it damn near tore her front leg off but at least part of the bullet continued into the chest and did its job. I had a nice buck run about 200 yards after being shot. I thought I made a bad shot or the bullet didnt perform but after gutting I found the top of his heart was blown off. I have had most bullets pass thru but some stop in the deer. I have never seen one explode or blow into tiny pieces or act even remotly like a varmint bullet. Not one has failed to do its job even if I didnt make a perfect shot. I agree there are stronger bullets out there but we are talking about little white tail deer.
I am not saying they cant fail or havnt been responsible for lost deer but I would say most deer lost while using ballistic tips were due to poor shot placement and not a failure of the bullet.

 

[Skoghund]

When i lived in England i was shooting 50+ deer a year. England has nearly all year round season on deer and no limit and i had a lot of very good hunting ground. Plus i helped with a cull of fallow deer in a deer park. From the first time they were introduced till 2003 i used 165grn NDT in my .308. I never found an problem useing them. Shoot them in the chest or in the case of shooting park deer all shots in the neck a great bullet.
Here in Sweden i use only Norma Oryx but then we have moose and boar a bit to tough for the NBT.

 

[hardluk1]

Killed a lot of deer with a NBT in 125gr 308 at 3000fsp and a early on with a 140gr 7mm rem mag. I like the round very much, just place your bullets in the heart/lung area and the deer will turn off at the impact. I have seen one case of liquid deer but with a 7stw and the shoot was a bit far back. I now shot the hornady sst factory loads in the 7mm but only because it shoots them so very well at long distance. The newer BT's are tougher than they use to be also. For deer both rounds are highly disruptive to tissue but do as intended. Never had to hunt a deer when shot.