Same or Different?

[IdahoCTD]

I cut .270 130's and 7mm 120/150's as well as those 150 .30's and all were very thin jacketed compared to the .30 180gr, .338 200gr, .35 225gr, and 375 250gr bullets I cut in half so I tend to believe what I was told. I would bet even the new version of BT's is thinner than those heavier bullets. The heavier jackets are significantly thicker somewhat similar to the Swift Sciroco.

Like I said....I'm sure there are pictures on here that I posted of the difference.

 

[Ridge_Runner]

packaged 100 to the box, they are just a cup/core bullet, prone to failure on higher velocity impacts, those packaged 50 to the box are the same makeup as the solid base boatails just have the nylon tip.

 

[cloverleaf]

THIS^^^^^^^

I have heard the same from people who have shot the BT"s, longer than myself. As has been stated, they usually well on deer and antelope. I hear that coyotes really had a bad day when they got in front of one! CL

 

[phil]

When I start load work for a gun i go to ballistic tips first. No matter what I intend to use after that.
If it won’t group BT’s to my liking it has an issue of some sort!

 

[TackDriver284]

When I start load work for a gun i go to ballistic tips first. No matter what I intend to use after that.
If it won’t group BT’s to my liking it has an issue of some sort!

This ^^^^^

 

[TXbaldhunter]

Those 90's 150gr 7mm boxed at a 100 were very explosive.I shot them in my 7mag.They had excellent accuracy,but didn't hold up well in my 7mag.I shot a whitetail buck in the shoulder at 250yds and the bullet never penetrated the scapula.It knocked him down,blood coming out of his mouth and nose,I thought he was done for and would die rather quickly.I walk down to the buck and when I got about 40yds from him,he got up and went into the brush.He went about 50yds laid down and I shot him in the neck.When I field dressed him I notice there was no blood or bullet hole into the chest cavity.What the heck?????I guess the impact from the 7mag hit him so hard that it caused him to bleed from his mouth and nose,because the bullet never caused any internal damage.When I boned out the shoulder,I found several pieces of bullet at the surface of the scapula bone,none passed through it.Had I shot the buck with a smaller cartridge and the bullet blew up like that,I doubt I would have recovered the buck.I never used Ballistic Tips after that hunt in 1994.After the Accubonds came out.I noticed they had heavier jackets and also noticed the Ballistic Tips had a thicker jacket too.I decided to give them another chance in 2012.They are now my favorite bullet.One of the big problems with Ballistic Tips these days is,there is still a lot of hate from the old Ballistic Tips that hasn't gone away and there are still some of those old bullets being used today and the hate continues.I can't speak for all calibers,but the 7mm,.308 and 338 Ballistic Tip looks like they have the same jacket as the Accubonds,just not bonded.They are much tougher than they used to be for sure.Here is a picture of the fragments I recovered from the buck I shot in 1994 with the old style bullets. The impact velocity at 250yds was probably around 2650fps.For the jacket to blow apart and roll all the way back to the solid base shows you just how explosive they are.I shot a doe with one out of my 7mag at 125yds.It was a bloody mess.There was a red cloud of blood mist when the bullet hit her.The ground where she stood looked like red rain.Both shoulders were un-salvageable.I decided never again would I use this bullet again. Hog hunting was getting to be a popular sport at that time.People were having such poor results with these bullets that some ranches actually banned their use.

 

[300WSM]

Those 90's 150gr 7mm boxed at a 100 were very explosive.I shot them in my 7mag.They had excellent accuracy,but didn't hold up well in my 7mag.I shot a whitetail buck in the shoulder at 250yds and the bullet never penetrated the scapula.It knocked him down,blood coming out of his mouth and nose,I thought he was done for and would die rather quickly.I walk down to the buck and when I got about 40yds from him,he got up and went into the brush.He went about 50yds laid down and I shot him in the neck.When I field dressed him I notice there was no blood or bullet hole into the chest cavity.What the heck?????I guess the impact from the 7mag hit him so hard that it caused him to bleed from his mouth and nose,because the bullet never caused any internal damage.When I boned out the shoulder,I found several pieces of bullet at the surface of the scapula bone,none passed through it.Had I shot the buck with a smaller cartridge and the bullet blew up like that,I doubt I would have recovered the buck.I never used Ballistic Tips after that hunt in 1994.After the Accubonds came out.I noticed they had heavier jackets and also noticed the Ballistic Tips had a thicker jacket too.I decided to give them another chance in 2012.They are now my favorite bullet.One of the big problems with Ballistic Tips these days is,there is still a lot of hate from the old Ballistic Tips that hasn't gone away and there are still some of those old bullets being used today and the hate continues.I can't speak for all calibers,but the 7mm,.308 and 338 Ballistic Tip looks like they have the same jacket as the Accubonds,just not bonded.They are much tougher than they used to be for sure.Here is a picture of the fragments I recovered from the buck I shot in 1994 with the old style bullets.

That was the thing. We carried Nosler along with the other major bullet players and in the first half of the 90's there was a real problem with BT's

The tone from hunter gibberish just went like a brush fire.
These bullets were "explosive" and that was that. That was the theme. We got sales brochures (internal) admitting a problem but the problem was rectified according to Nosler. Any bullet from caliber X, weighing Y, and up from there was all made with a much heavier jacket.

That information wasn't sent to the public but the information needed to get in the hands of wholesalers and their reps to combat the very real Nosler objection.

It was in full swing right around the crime bill time, primer shelf life rumor, etc.

It was definitely a weird time in the industry.

 

[Guy Miner]

165 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip launched at 2940 fps from my 30-06, and recovered from a good size muley buck shot at about 140 yards in 2016.

.54" expanded diameter and 106.5 grains.

I like the BT's from both my 25-06 & 30-06/308, they've done real well for me.

Regards, Guy

 

[Ridge_Runner]

I started using BT's in the early 80's, in a 7mm mag, 140 gr. they sucked pond scum in terminal performance, but they shot awesome. so not sure of the year but they changed them, the BT's that were changed to provide better performance went from 100 per box to 50, the unchanged light weight varmint bullets stayed at 100 or 250 per box. I read later that nosler discontinued the solid base boat tail except for seasonal runs, and made the BT exactly the same as the solid base with the exception of the nylon tip.
Some years later I started shooting them again with very different results, today my go to bullet in my 6mm is the 95 gr. BT, in the 25 wssm, the 115 gr. BT, in the 7mm STW the 140 BT at 3550 fps, have taken many many deer and 2 bear with them with excellent results. I can't imagine a better deer bullet than the 115gr. BT at 3000 fps, and 140 hit a 200# black bear on the shoulder at 80 yards and exited, took another bear with the 95 gr. at 190 yards and did not recover the bullet, not an AccuBond but not a bit shabby.

 

[cloverleaf]

Forgot- Former poster "Dave in TX.- (I think- havent seen him here in a long time) swore by the more recent (80's on?) BT's in his 7mm-08. He claimed that the 120's utilized used the same jacket as the 140's. Dont know where he got the info but he swore by them and had a truck load of taxidermy to prove it. CL

 

[JD338]

Forgot- Former poster "Dave in TX.- (I think- havent seen him here in a long time) swore by the more recent (80's on?) BT's in his 7mm-08. He claimed that the 120's utilized used the same jacket as the 140's. Dont know where he got the info but he swore by them and had a truck load of taxidermy to prove it. CL

The 7mm 120 gr BT uses the 140 gr BT jacket cut down. This results in a thicker jacket for the 120 gr BT. This makes for a very robust bullet. The 7mm 120 gr BT is the only bullet that doesn't have it's own jacket.

JD338

 

[TXbaldhunter]

The 7mm 120 gr BT uses the 140 gr BT jacket cut down. This results in a thicker jacket for the 120 gr BT. This makes for a very robust bullet. The 7mm 120 gr BT is the only bullet that doesn't have it's own jacket.

JD338

That is very true.Even in the early Ballistic Tips,those two bullets did much better than the 150gr Ballistic Tips did.Just goes to show you just a little change in the jacket design can make a huge difference in bullet performance.