180 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip on Elk

Thought I would share my experience with the 180 Nosler BT on elk….
I had a chance to take a beautiful Cow Elk at 45-50 yards this season with my .30-06 using this bullet. My first shot was broadside and went directly through the left shoulder….. she dropped in her tracks. When we walked up she was still moving her head so I put one more shot in the vitals to put her out as quickly as possible.

When field dressing I could not believe how well this “fragile” bullet performed. The shoulder shot absolutely exploded the scapula and continued all the way to the spine with approximately 10” of penetration (pretty steep uphill shooting angle). The second shot(10 yards) broke a rib on the way in and passed completely through. I have not had a chance to weigh to bullet but it looks to have retained 40%ish (how’s that for a scientific measurement). :lol:

As you can see in the picture the jacket separated from the core but considering it went through some heavy bone at very close range I think it performed very well. The meat damage was dramatic but very isolated and we only lost 4-5 lbs of meat in the front shoulder and small chunk of back strap…. Needless to say I will not hesitate to use this bullet again next year.

180 grain Nolser BT
55 grains IMR-4350
WLR primers
2750 fps?? never had a chance to shoot it over a chrono

Pretty good performance on a tough critter. Again, congratulations on a fine eating animal.

I have a buddy that won't try anything else out of his 300WBY because the 180gr BTs keep stacking elk! Great shooting, bullet looks excellent for that kind of shot placement. Scotty

The 180 gr BT is a very robust bullet. Congratulations on your cow elk.

JD338

Yes thanks for posting that. Does not look to bad at all for a BT.

Corey

If you cross section a 180gr .30 cal BT you'll see that they made the base of the bullet heavier because so many people were shooting elk and bigger animals with them. The 180gr and 200gr .338 BT's and the 225gr .35 BT were/are the same way. I haven't cut the .375 BT's, as I dont have any left, but I bet they were the same way.

Not too shabby considering impact velocity.

My Father has used 180 BT's out of his '06 on elk with success. He's shot several cows with them from ranges of 300 yards to a touch over 600 yards. They've worked well. He is very careful to hit them behind the shoulder however and not in the shoulder blade. However, he has started using the 180 grain AccuBond on elk since its debut. The BT is not for deer and antelope.

Congrats on the elk. I know of several people that shoot 300 winnies and weatherbys that use the 180 NBT and will not change because of the performance they gotten out of them.

Oh man! That was a bad typo! I did not mean *not* for deer and antelope, I meant to say the BT is *now* for deer and antelope!

Resurrecting a dead thread. Hey, I put together what you meant.

I was resurrecting a dead one! I hadn't caught that until now and figured I should clear up what I meant! Glad you were able to figure out what I meant though!

The 180 gr BT is a very robust bullet. It will cover gane from antelope up to moose.
If you want to bust shoulders on elk and moose, I think the 180 gr AB or PT would be a better choice.

JD338

JD is absolutely correct that the 180gr BT will take anything from an antelope to Moose using a 06, or 300 mag. Outstanding bullet with good BC and deadly on black bear for sure. My go to bullet for the 3006 for big game without worrying about the results is the 180gr BT one of Noslers best especially for the 30-06 and mine is fed either 56grs IMR4350 or 59.0grs W760 (CCI 250gr primer for the W760 load). These two loads have proven to be two of the most accurate loads so far in my Comparison Test with the Marlin XL7 and Ruger American which I should be through with my comparisons by the middle of this coming week.

These are the bullets my buddy and his PH were so impressed with in Africa, for plains game with a .300 Win mag. Said they did a great job on everything. No tracking, because everything just died right there when he shot.

Guy Miner":1s8fcym6 said:

These are the bullets my buddy and his PH were so impressed with in Africa, for plains game with a .300 Win mag. Said they did a great job on everything. No tracking, because everything just died right there when he shot.

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I bought a Ruger, 300 Win Mag, directly after checking into Camp Pendleton in 1997. Ordered some Winchester Supreme 180 CT's and went out to the zero my new rifle. I remember shooting over the hood of an old truck and seeing how well these shot.

That Fall I took a nice muley on base at around 300, maybe a little more and that bullet dumped him. Took a few more deer and a couple other varmints and that bullet never failed to exit.

This was before I knew it was a "soft" bullet! I love the 180 BT. It is a tough bullet, at least as tough as any Interlock or Game King I have seen, in similar weight or caliber..

To be as candid and frank as I can without wanting to offend those who have favorite bullets that perform all kinds of miracle (letting the dead walk or run for a ways), the 180gr Ballistic Tip is the best bullet for the 30-06 period for antelope, deer, elk, moose and black bear. For me to say this you know that is saying a lot, because the fore mention animals if hit in the boiler maker don't walk or run for a ways, they don't go anywhere, they are DRT, so the 180gr BT is not a miracle bullet (hitting something watching it fall to resurrect and walk or run for a ways), but they are the best for making something dead right there with an 06 or 300.

bullet":l1t4b1f4 said:

To be as candid and frank as I can without wanting to offend those who have favorite bullets that perform all kinds of miracle (letting the dead walk or run for a ways), the 180gr Ballistic Tip is the best bullet for the 30-06 period for antelope, deer, elk, moose and black bear. For me to say this you know that is saying a lot, because the fore mention animals if hit in the boiler maker don't walk or run for a ways, they don't go anywhere, they are DRT, so the 180gr BT is not a miracle bullet (hitting something watching it fall to resurrect and walk or run for a ways), but they are the best for making something dead right there with an 06 or 300.

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Given your assessment, and Guy's report of his friend's success, with the BT I'm inclined to stick with them in my .300 Win Mag.

Thank you for that as it does much to ease my mind.