New BT load, performance on game?

[Samson]

New to this forum.

Been reloading for a long time but just started reloading for my 270 Win (Tikka T3)

Seems about par for course that 59.6 grains of H4831SC and a 130 gr BT shot really well!

I have never used a BT before, only have used standard cup and core soft points. I hear lots of mixed reviews, it’s either DRT or they run with ZERO blood trail.

Has me a little hesitant to use it next week when rifle season starts. Am I over thinking it?

 

[salmonchaser]

I love Ballistic tips on deer. I try to stay off the big bones. With my crew we’ve killed well over 100 mule deer with a variety of BT. Never lost an animal, including a couple that were hit in the Rumen. Hit in the lungs or heart they are devastating.
My favorite hunt area puts me on a high steep ridge and I get into a good bedding area about 200 feet vertical above the deer. Shot a bunch of them between the shoulder blades, centering the spine. Deers spine will destroy a ballistic tip, but the fragments of bone and bullet Cary through into the lungs. Surprising how little blackstrap is lost.
Good luck, that is a good load I’m sure it will work just fine.

 

[JD338]

Hunt with confidence. Put the BT where it needs to go and let it do it's job. If they run, it's never very far. Shoot through the slats and there will be plenty of blood
You have a classic load for the 270 Win, it's a deer killing machine.

JD338

 

[300WSM]

You are overthinking this indeed.

I've killed a lot...and I mean a lot of deer and deer sized game with ballistic tip bullets.

A footnote..
I always and I mean ALWAYS...when starting a new load with ballistic tip bullets I always seat the bullet .010 below the published COAL.
In your case 3.310 is my start for depth and many times it's great right there.
An older guy who taught me how to load told me that and I've always had success with it.

Good luck.

 

[Samson]

You are overthinking this indeed.

I've killed a lot...and I mean a lot of deer and deer sized game with ballistic tip bullets.

A footnote..
I always and I mean ALWAYS...when starting a new load with ballistic tip bullets I always seat the bullet .010 below the published COAL.
In your case 3.310 is my start for depth and many times it's great right there.
An older guy who taught me how to load told me that and I've always had success with it.

Good luck.

I second that, the full reading on the COL is 3.309 +/- .001, so pretty much spot on to what you’re saying.

 

[Samson]

Hunt with confidence. Put the BT where it needs to go and let it do it's job. If they run, it's never very far. Shoot through the slats and there will be plenty of blood
You have a classic load for the 270 Win, it's a deer killing machine.

JD338

Yes, I love the 270 and have probably killed about 12-15 deer with it so far with 130 grain Federal Fusions, does great, just running low on the fusions and I reload for everything else I shoot.

 

[Samson]

So hypocritical, say you take a quartering to shot on a large deer and hit large shoulder bone, is the 130 BT going though?

 

[SJB358]

Hunt with confidence. Put the BT where it needs to go and let it do it's job. If they run, it's never very far. Shoot through the slats and there will be plenty of blood
You have a classic load for the 270 Win, it's a deer killing machine.

JD338

I am not sure of a better deer killer myself. The fella's laid it out well.

 

[SJB358]

So hypocritical, say you take a quartering to shot on a large deer and hit large shoulder bone, is the 130 BT going though?

It is going to go pretty deep at your speeds. Not sure if it'll go through, but I'd bet it won't go far!

 

[JD338]

So hypocritical, say you take a quartering to shot on a large deer and hit large shoulder bone, is the 130 BT going though?

Years ago I shot a big doe quartering away from me with a 140 gr BT from a 280 Remington. The bullet entered the middle of the rib cage and exited the off side shoulder. DRT
Last year I shot a good buck, similar quartering away shot with a 260 gr E-Tip from a 375 H&H Mag. I found the perfectly mushroomed bullet poking out the hide just in front of the off side shoulder. DRT
To answer your hypothetical question.... I can't say what the bullet can or might do. I can tell you that if you put the bullet in the right spot, they don't go anywhere.

JD338

 

[300WSM]

So hypocritical, say you take a quartering to shot on a large deer and hit large shoulder bone, is the 130 BT going though?

Well..
Impossible to answer exact with your caliber and speed.
Reason why...
The angle.
An acute angle 200 yards in. No problem with your caliber/bullet. Right angle same same.

An obtuse angle shot is where it can get tricky.
All sorts of quirky things can happen at an angle like that but that's a problem not exclusive to a BT.

 

[Hunter26]

While not the exact bullet, my Dad's favorite 270 Win load was the 150gr Ballistic Tip over IMR4350. He killed truckloads of deer and hogs with it and I can't recall him ever recovering a bullet. That included our smaller coastal whitetails to a couple giant Saskatchewan whitetails. He never thought twice about the Ballistic Tips. Most deer didn't run far if at all and blood trails were good. If I was you shooting the 130's at those speeds, I'd just avoid double shoulder shots. Other than that, have at it! If you're still not convinced after a couple deer, you could always step up to the AccuBond, which is one of my all time favorites.

 

[RL338]

I am not sure of a better deer killer myself. The fella's laid it out well.

Yes , good advice had been given by all.

 

[300WSM]

While not the exact bullet, my Dad's favorite 270 Win load was the 150gr Ballistic Tip over IMR4350. He killed truckloads of deer and hogs with it and I can't recall him ever recovering a bullet. That included our smaller coastal whitetails to a couple giant Saskatchewan whitetails. He never thought twice about the Ballistic Tips. Most deer didn't run far if at all and blood trails were good. If I was you shooting the 130's at those speeds, I'd just avoid double shoulder shots. Other than that, have at it! If you're still not convinced after a couple deer, you could always step up to the AccuBond, which is one of my all time favorites.

Where's your threshold for the AccuBond and game size.

 

[Hunter26]

Essentially if it's whitetail deer or larger, I'll use a premium bullet as long as I can push it fast enough for reliable expansion, though I haven't dabled in mono's much. I think they're too much for whitetails around my neck of the woods. Also, the smaller the diameter gets, the more emphasis I place on a good bullet. Like my .35 Rem just plain works with about any cup & core bullet. The velocity and diameter is perfect for cup & core & fancy isn't needed.

 

[Guy Miner]

My son has taken quite a few mule deer & whitetail with the little 95 grain Ballistic Tip at 3100 fps from a 6mm Remington. Often the bullets are recovered, well expanded with about 50% weight retention.

My 25-06 has done a great job for me with the 115 grain Ballistic Tips loaded to about 3150 fps muzzle velocity. Mule deer, pronghorn and coyotes. Typically very quick kills, good accuracy. No problems. on mule deer & pronghorn most shots have been from 150 - 350 yards.

I loaded the stubby 125 grain Ballistic Tip for a friend's 308 Winchester. Muzzle velocity about 3100 fps as I recall. She flattened a whitetail buck from about 120 yards. The 125 went through both shoulder blades and was found well-flattened just under the off-side hide. BTW, exceedingly accurate in three different 308's now.

Most of my use of the Ballistic Tip has been with a 165 from either my 308, or mostly from the 30-06 loaded to well over 2900 fps. Cow elk, black bear, mule deer, whitetail, pronghorn antelope... Once in a while I recover a bullet, but mostly get exits.

You could say I'm a fan of the Nosler Ballistic Tip!

Regards, Guy

 

[cloverleaf]

You will OCCASIONALLY hear of a BT not making it through a shoulder blade or other large bone on this forum but it is rare. Weird things occasionally happen with bullets, be they 12 ga. slugs o ballistic tips. The advice you've heard here seems sound to me. 130 Gr anything out of a 270 should kill any deer not to mention elk. Dad used to run 130 Gr Speers out of his 7mm Mag. He was sold on the idea that the bullet had to fragment in a deer to do the most damage. Occasionally they didnt make it out, but nothing ever got away. Tracking is some times required no matter what you use IMHO. Deer are TOUGH unless hit in the CNS, but they are not armor plated! Load 'em up- practice- and go hunting. CL

PS_ Ive taken several antelope with 100 gr. BT's from 80 to 260+ yards. @ 2800 FPS muzzle velocity- No complaints.

 

[BruceP]

So hypocritical, say you take a quartering to shot on a large deer and hit large shoulder bone, is the 130 BT going though?

The 130 gr BT is all I've used on deer from the 270. Those shot behind the shoulder have been complete pass throughs and usually run from 30 -60 yards. I have also shot a few intentionally with a high shoulder shot and dropped each in there tracks. I have also shot one, a buck weighing maybe 140-150lb, quartering to me a little lower in the shoulder and recovered the bullet just in front of the far side ham. I recovered one other bullet from one of the high shoulder shots. Both of the recovered BT's weighed right at 60 grains and were mushroomed back almost to the solid base. All other shots including the rest of the shoulder shots were pass throughs. I have read some reports of BT's not penetrating on shoulder hits and no one can say it wont happen, but so far that has not been my experience.

 

[Samson]

Appreciate all the comments guys, guess I just need to go shoot a few with the BTs and see for myself self.

It’s funny how things get stuck in one’s head, back in the 80s my dad shot a whitetail with a 170 gr Winchester super X, good double lung shot but the bullet didn’t expand at all, acted like a FMJ. From that 1 example, back in like 83, my dad, uncle, brother, cousin, myself and my adult & teen boys all have the opinion that 170/180 gr in 30 cals don’t expand on deer…. Obviously there are tons of people who only use 170/180 grain in 30 cals and get expansions, dad probably just had a bad batch or something.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

I have used the BT from 243 to 30-06 good results and if a gun won't group a BT it's very unusual. When using a 7mmRM with the 150gr BT I shot a big doe broad side thru the mid shoulder on purpose just to see what would happen. Range was about 90-100yds. Complete pass thru, not an excessive amount of damage and she died. BTs will treat you right so don't underestimate them. Good hunting.
Dan.