125 gr Ballistic Tip vs Whitetail

Finally got Dani's bullet weighed & measured. My good camera is still hiding from me somewhere in the mess, so cell-phone pix will have to do. Dani took a whitetail buck at about 120 yards with this bullet, using her .308 Win. I have not clocked the load, but estimate about 3,000 fps mv. High shoulder hit, instant drop.



Bullet flattened out and was recovered in the off-side hide, which frequently happens on a fast expanding bullet.

There is some bullet shank left, it's just hard to see since the bullet is so flattened. Recovered weight is 71.5 grains, expanded diameter is .56" roughly. There was still some lead left in the bullet. It's also accurate as all get out!





We didn't weigh Dani's buck until hanging the carcass with no head, no lower legs and no internals left. That carcass was 130 pounds, not sure what that translates to for a live weight.

This lightweight .30 cal Ballistic Tip certainly has proved its worth to me, though I still favor "my" 165 gr Ballistic Tips, which have shown equal expansion, yet better penetration. We went with this light bullet to keep the recoil of Dani's lightweight rifle tolerable, and she certainly shoots it well.

Guy

I guesstimate about 215-225 pounds, Guy. That is good performance on the slug.

Yeah, that is a pig of a buck for one, and while that bullet might not have exited, man, that bullet looks real good for such a low SD'ed bullet moved along so quick. I have used the 125 Sierra's in the 308 around 2850, and they worked excellent as well. I am betting the BT is tougher yet. Probably a perfect little load for deer.

Thanks for posting it up Guy. Great report.

The 125 ballistic tip is a little tougher than the Sierra. Your results with the 125 BT is typical of what I have experienced over the years. I have taken over 50 deer with it. Keep the impact velocity under 3000 fps and it is a real good deer killer. I have found that when your impact velocity gets between 2700 and 2800 fps it will start to exit after hitting a scapula. With impact velocity between 2900 and 3000 fps I usually only find just the jacket under the hide after it has gone through both scapula. With impact between 2800 and 2900 fps it looks just like your bullet. I have shot about a dozen deer with my Contender pistol 14" barrel 30-30AI muzzle velocity 2670 fps between 30 and 120 yards and all shots have hit at least one scapula and I have not recovered a single bullet. All have exited with a quarter size hole and all but three deer dropped dead in their tracks and those three did not go over 30 yards. I use the 125 BT in all my 30 cal stuff for deer. I have killed deer a little over 300 yards with my 308 rifle with it. BANG FLOP

1 Shot, I remembered your reports of success when I recommended Dani use that bullet with her rifle for whitetail hunting. Thanks for the input!

That was her first deer, from her first center-fire rifle. I'm just happy as all get out to have been able to help her accomplish her goal.

Guy

Tell her I said congratulation on that nice buck. Did you use the 46 grs IMR 4895 load? I have gotten a number of people to try that load and once they did that is all they ever use. Accurate and deadly.

No, I had 10 or 12 pounds of Varget on hand and no 4895, so guess what I used? :mrgreen:

I use IMR 4895 for the same reason. I bought a good number of 8 pounders really cheap a few years back and was given 7 lbs of it by a friend. It was pulled down from military 30-06 powder. Shoots the same as modern day IMR 4895. I have found that the 125 ballistic tip will shoot with about any powder you want to use that is in the proper burn rate for the caliber weapon you have. It is just an accurate bullet.

Looks like it has harnessed all the energy the .308 had and transferred it into the buck , I am guessing that this would be a great "go to bullet" and will work famously for you in the future!

Good performance.

35 Whelen":370dnjtb said:

Looks like it has harnessed all the energy the .308 had and transferred it into the buck , I am guessing that this would be a great "go to bullet" and will work famously for you in the future!

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm sticking with my 165 Ballistic Tips & Partitions for my .308, since I have roughly a gazillion of them, and I know the ballistics of the 165/168 gr bullets so well.

But for Dani, with her lightweight .308 and hunting mostly deer (and hopefully antelope in the future) I think this 125 may be the bullet of choice. If she wants to go for elk or bear, I'll load up some 165 Partitions for her.

Guy