Ballistic Tip Reviews

[Guybo]

I've been browsing the web the last couple days looking at the reviews of different bullets. I've used bt's in several different calibers over the years and still have quite a few in the cabinet. I've had good luck with them in both accuracy and on game performance. I know it's all personal opinion but I noticed something about the ballistic tips. It seems that the reviews were not so good back when they were first introduced but as I look at the dates and years of the reviews they seem to have gotten better and better.
My question is did nosler revisit the ballistic tip and do something to improve the performance after they hit the market or did people just start making better shots? Thank You! Mike

 

[Thebear_78]

I think they thickened up some of thier jackets. They seem to have gone from a tad explosive to about perfect. I couldn’t think of a better deer bullet.

 

[DrMike]

You are correct in your assessment of the reviews, Mike. Nosler responded to field reviews by making the jackets thicker. The first BTs were somewhat explosive, and thus, a problem. The more recently manufactured bullet is a fine bullet that will stand up to the real world.

 

[Guy Miner]

Absolutely the Ballistic Tip has changed!

I don't know the details, particularly re the question of when, but yes, they're a different bullet now.

The B-Tip first hit the market in the 1980's and instantly I did not like them! Why not? Because I loved the Nosler "Solid Base" bullet - a lead tipped predecessor to the Ballistic Tip. That Solid Base bullet was accurate and quite a performer for me, in 6mm & .30 caliber.

So... Eventually I had to try the Ballistic Tips, because I ran out of my then-small stash of Solid Base bullets. They were advertised as the perfect deer bullet. Accurate, and expanding readily.

What I found was that the new B-Tips were MORE accurate than my old favorite. Hmmmm... Then I tried them on varmints and found they worked well. Then we got to bigger game... And as usual back then, I was loading them hot, up to max, maybe a little over... And I started seeing bullet blow-ups. Oh, game fell, but dang... What a mess... My experience was largely with the 165 gr Ballistic Tip, and the .300 Win mag, loaded hot, to what was probably about 3200 fps. We dropped mulies, but... And at longer ranges, where the velocity had fallen off, they did rather well. Hmmm...

Early on the 6mm 95 grain Ballistic Tip seemed "different." It penetrated right on through, opening up nicely, but hanging together and penetrating. I've read that the 95 gr was the design of one of Nosler's best bullet gurus, and that the base was thickened up considerably.

Other B-Tips were improved over the years.

The 165 gr .30 cal Ballistic Tip I've used in recent years is much tougher than the old version, and just as accurate, if not more so. Normally they expand readily, yet keep on punching through. I like that.

I've read that Nosler toughened up the 180 gr .30 cal Ballistic Tip, because so many hunters were using them on elk. A buddy of mine took them to Africa, with a .300 Win mag. He and his PH both preferred the quick kills from the Ballistic Tips, rather than the Partitions. That was a shocker to me.

These days, I'm having great success with the 115 gr Ballistic Tip from my .25-06, normally the bullets expand, yet punch through. I did recover one, from a pronghorn I shot end to end, front to back, with the .25-06, it penetrated a lot of that critter!

The little 7mm, 120 gr Ballistic Tip is legendary. Apparently it uses the same jacket as the 140 gr, but has less lead... I know that Storm and Steven used them to excellent effect on our 2012 Wyoming hunt for pronghorn & mule deer.

So, there ya go. My coffee-cup, early morning, info on the Ballistic Tip. Yup, they've changed. I thought they were always good, but a little touchy at high velocity. I don't worry about them at all anymore.

Check our "bullet test" section here for more examples of B-Tips - interestingly, I think you'll find the weight retention, expansion and penetration are very similar for Ballistic Tips, Accubonds and Partitions of the same/similar weights... Food for thought.

Regards, Guy

 

[Guybo]

Thanks for the replies, and yes the bt is a great bullet no doubt. I had success with them early on but find myself using them more and more. I just wish suppliers could keep them in stock. I've been waiting for the 120bt .264 for my daughters .260 rem for quite a while. I have several product notifications out there hoping they will arrive any day now. Again, thanks for the imput.

 

[JD338]

When the BT was first introduced, it was quite fragile. Nosler redesigned the BT line
and they are quite robust. Accuracy is excellent. In fact, I feel that if a rifle doesn't shoot a BT, it is
an issue with the rifle.

JD338

 

[RAY]

In fact, I feel that if a rifle doesn't shoot a BT, it is 
an issue with the rifle.


Jd338, I think you have answered my question I've been wanting to know about factory ammo accuracy.

They say whatever your rifle likes , (with a good rifle) , now I'm thinking it's whoever makes CONSISTENT ammo.

Since I'm perusing reloading and I have a digital scale , I have been weighing components and seeing what's really going on !

I've tried 3 brands of $20.00 dollar boxes of ammo and only one performed outstanding, that's the FED. Power shok maybe I got lucky or it was a good day at the factory.
The other two were fusion with a Speer bullet and Hornady whitetail, I don't know what or who's bullet Hornady uses for that line , but I couldn't do nothing with those two.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

I have used Nosler 120gr. BT in my .264 Win Mag & it's a great bullet. I will use them again this Fall for Mule Deer.

 

[nvbroncrider]

Do you have dates on the change? I got an older box of 7-140's I could dissect then jug test against the newer.

 

[SJB358]

I like the BTs a lot. Can't think of a better deer bullet and a few of them are just as capable as a AccuBond in my opinion. I shoot quite a few BTs as practice bullets and for the rifle if I'm actually hunting deer with them. Been pretty lucky seeing the BT's and PTs and ABs shoot relatively close to one another.

They are tough, thick based bullets. I think if you stick to their design limits they are tough to beat.

 

[1Shot]

Back when the BT first came out I switched from Sierra Game Kings to the BT 150 gr in my 30-06 for deer because they were just BUG HOLE accurate. I was running the a little over 2900 fps with 51.2 grs IMR 4064. The first deer I shot was right at 100 yards and I placed the bullet tight to the back of the front shoulder as it stood broad side for a perfect heart/lung shot. The deer just flinched and took off like a race horse. I was used to seeing them DRT with that shot from the Sierra. After about a hours time I went to look for the deer. NO BLOOD TRAIL. I knew there was no way I missed so I just used my experience in tracking deer and found the deer laying dead about 100 yards from where it was shot. The bullet had gone in and EXPLODED and did not exit. Vitals looked like they had been put in a blender and pulped. I though well this must have been a fluke. Shot a few more deer that year and had the same experience and decided to go back to my Sierra. After a few years I heard from others that Nosler had toughened up the BT and I gave them another try. BINGO, they got it right. Extremely accurate and as long as you keep the impact velocity under 3000 fps it really does a great job on deer. My favorite 30 cal deer bullet is now the 125 BT and I use it in my 308 Win, 30x47 HBR rifles and my 30-30AI Contender pistol. Wicked on deer. Bang Flop most of the time out to 300 yards so far. I have killed 100+ deer with this bullet. I have also used BTs in 270 Win, 25-06 Rem, 243 Win, 6.5x55, 8mm Mauser, 7mm Rem mag 140 gr which I was pushing too much and deer ran on it but that was nothing new. With the 7mm Mag I tried a lot of bullets and most of the time if the deer was inside 200 yards they ran off. I told people I could not carry enough flashlight batteries to hunt with that 7 mag I had to trail deer so far. I can't understand how a deer can slosh on the inside and run off 100 or so yards. Best 7 mag bullet I found that deer ran off less with was the 154 gr Hornady SP interlock. These deer were northeast NC deer that averaged 120 lb doe and 150 lb buck. I did control killing on a big farm for 15 years and learned a lot about different calibers and bullets for deer. From my experience the BT is great but if you are going to be using a Mag cal. the AccuBond is the way to go. It flies like the BT, is accurate like the BT, starts to open up like the BT but holds together and keeps on trucking like the Partition.

 

[MAinAR]

Back when the BT first came out I switched from Sierra Game Kings to the BT 150 gr in my 30-06 for deer because they were just BUG HOLE accurate. I was running the a little over 2900 fps with 51.2 grs IMR 4064. The first deer I shot was right at 100 yards and I placed the bullet tight to the back of the front shoulder as it stood broad side for a perfect heart/lung shot. The deer just flinched and took off like a race horse. I was used to seeing them DRT with that shot from the Sierra. After about a hours time I went to look for the deer. NO BLOOD TRAIL. I knew there was no way I missed so I just used my experience in tracking deer and found the deer laying dead about 100 yards from where it was shot. The bullet had gone in and EXPLODED and did not exit. Vitals looked like they had been put in a blender and pulped. I though well this must have been a fluke. Shot a few more deer that year and had the same experience and decided to go back to my Sierra. After a few years I heard from others that Nosler had toughened up the BT and I gave them another try. BINGO, they got it right. Extremely accurate and as long as you keep the impact velocity under 3000 fps it really does a great job on deer. My favorite 30 cal deer bullet is now the 125 BT and I use it in my 308 Win, 30x47 HBR rifles and my 30-30AI Contender pistol. Wicked on deer. Bang Flop most of the time out to 300 yards so far. I have killed 100+ deer with this bullet. I have also used BTs in 270 Win, 25-06 Rem, 243 Win, 6.5x55, 8mm Mauser, 7mm Rem mag 140 gr which I was pushing too much and deer ran on it but that was nothing new. With the 7mm Mag I tried a lot of bullets and most of the time if the deer was inside 200 yards they ran off. I told people I could not carry enough flashlight batteries to hunt with that 7 mag I had to trail deer so far. I can't understand how a deer can slosh on the inside and run off 100 or so yards. Best 7 mag bullet I found that deer ran off less with was the 154 gr Hornady SP interlock. These deer were northeast NC deer that averaged 120 lb doe and 150 lb buck. I did control killing on a big farm for 15 years and learned a lot about different calibers and bullets for deer. From my experience the BT is great but if you are going to be using a Mag cal. the AccuBond is the way to go. It flies like the BT, is accurate like the BT, starts to open up like the BT but holds together and keeps on trucking like the Partition.

Yep, what he said! +1

 

[HTDUCK]

I had several jacket/core separations with 140 BTs in my 280 in the early days.
One stands out in my mind though.
Decent 8 point whitetail, broadside at about 100 yards.
Held low on the chest in the heart area and let it fly. I saw the deer flip sideways at the impact then
all four feet up in the air.
He hit the ground on his back with his antlers stuck in the mud and never even twitched.
I hit him right where I was aiming.
Found the jacket stuck in the off side rib cage. The core went north and broke his spine, exited between the shoulder blades making a rather large exit hole.

Conversely I've killed a pickup load of deer with the 165 BT out of my 26 inch barreled 308 and never had any issues at all, and always two holes

 

[Guy Miner]

HT Duck - yeah, I'd been using nothing but .24 & .25 cal rifles on deer for a while... Got used to smallish exit wounds.

Then a couple of years ago my son and I both picked up .30's for a change, both with 165's... My goodness! Talk about exit wounds... Nothing as dramatic as I see posted from time to time, but a BIG change from what we were used to seeing from his 6mm and my .25-06 for sure.

Guy

 

[FOTIS]

Do you have dates on the change? I got an older box of 7-140's I could dissect then jug test against the newer.

If you box looks like this it is the older stuff.

 

[SJB358]

I've got a box of 180 BTs that look like that Fotis... Not sure what I'd use them for other than some load work and maybe some practice.

I do like the new BTs though.

 

[Bruce Mc]

I still have a few of the 100gr .257 ballistic tips from the first year they came out. They were very "expansive" bullets. But then I still have some remnants of the old solid base bullets in several calibers. I sure wish they'd bring back the 162gr solid base in the 7mm. Just so Scotty could try some in that Mashburn.

 

[DrMike]

I sure wish they'd bring back the 162gr solid base in the 7mm. Just so Scotty could try some in that Mashburn.

Hmmm. I have a box of them on my 7mm shelf. There may be a second box squirreled away somewhere.

 

[HTDUCK]

I too have a couple boxes of 308 165 Solid Bases that someone gave to me.
Loaded on top of the same powder charge I run in my 308 that shoot to exactly the same point of impact as the Ballistic Tips.
Have yet to shoot a deer with one of them though.