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30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance #5935862 09/19/15 11:31 AM
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Just a question borne of curiosity more than anything. I watched someone take a mature axis buck with a 308 at about 100 yards using a Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet. The shot placement was excellent, resulting in a quick and humane kill. The bullet exited the back shoulder with a small hole. I didn't expect this. My experience with Nosler Ballistic Tip on deer size game has always been quick kills with no exit wound. I'm just surprised by this and wondered if anyone had seen similar results. Again, no knock on the bullet. It performed well but logically it doesn't make sense that the bullet would have done so much internal damage to the animal and then exited with a small hole like it didn't expand. My only explanation is that what exited was a fragment, or what was left of the base of the bullet and not the actual intact bullet.

Thanks for any informed comments.

Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: Hunter Gatherer] #5935918 09/19/15 01:04 PM
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Not the 30 cal, but I've used the 140 BT's in my 7mm-08 to take axis as well as whitetail out to 200 yards. Exit wounds have been around 1" - 1.5" in diameter. Only one animal has moved any direction but down and that one only went about 10 yards.
The only one that didn't exit hit the shoulder blade and the spine.

In my experiences, if you punch them behind the shoulder and stay off of the large bones, they do what they are suppose to without coming apart or leaving a gaping exit wound.


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Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: Hunter Gatherer] #5935923 09/19/15 01:09 PM
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Being a user of BT's for many years and in several calibers, I'd guess that the base with some amount of lead exited. Looking back over the years at the deer and pigs I've shot with that bullet, the 130's in the 270 and the 120's in the 260 mostly exited. The 100's in the 260 exit sometimes.

I'm a big fan of the Ballistic Tip, but I don't try to shoot through bone with it and I try to avoid quartering shots. That said, a couple hundred deer and 1/3 that many pigs and I am still using the bullet. Part of the reason is that I have quite a pile of them. These days, if I was building a new pile of bullets, I might go with the Accubond, being a tougher bullet and probably just as accurate as the marvelously accurate BT.


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Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: Hunter Gatherer] #5935934 09/19/15 01:27 PM
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I ve had a few exited when only soft tissues were hit

Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: Hunter Gatherer] #5936046 09/19/15 03:44 PM
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I think velocity has lots to do with how a Ballistic Tip performs upon impact.

Seems I have read reports on this forum that if the bullets enters at very high speed it grenades inside without exit. 603Country's statement "The 100 gr. bullets out of the 260 Rem exit sometimes" is evidence of that.

I don't know how fast those 100 gr. bullets were leaving the .260 Rem, but 3000 fps + MV would not surprise me.


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Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: Hunter Gatherer] #5936097 09/19/15 04:21 PM
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http://www.nosler.com/ballistic-tip-bullet/


Look at the fps guide. If it retains more mass at lower velocity.

Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: Hunter Gatherer] #5936120 09/19/15 04:51 PM
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I think Fireman has a good point, though I think the answer (exit or not) might be a bit more complicated than just velocity. The 130 gr in the 270 is cooking along at 3000 fps, and it exits usually. The 100 gr in the 260, at the same velocity, most times does not exit, whereas the slower 120 gr mostly does exit. A slower impact velocity surely helps the BT hold together. But that's apparently just part of the puzzle. Maybe part of it is sectional density. Maybe spin speed of the bullet is a factor.

Anyway, I like the bullet and will continue to use it for whitetail and pigs. If I was gonna shoot something significantly bigger (elk or moose), I'd probably use the Partition. It's a proven bullet for use in big critters.


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Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: 603Country] #5936157 09/19/15 05:26 PM
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Originally Posted By: 603Country
I think Fireman has a good point, though I think the answer (exit or not) might be a bit more complicated than just velocity. The 130 gr in the 270 is cooking along at 3000 fps, and it exits usually. The 100 gr in the 260, at the same velocity, most times does not exit, whereas the slower 120 gr mostly does exit. A slower impact velocity surely helps the BT hold together. But that's apparently just part of the puzzle. Maybe part of it is sectional density. Maybe spin speed of the bullet is a factor.

Anyway, I like the bullet and will continue to use it for whitetail and pigs. If I was gonna shoot something significantly bigger (elk or moose), I'd probably use the Partition. It's a proven bullet for use in big critters.


Sd (sectional density) is playing it's part as well. The 100 6.5 has a lower sd then the others. This hurts it's penetration. It's a combination of sd and impact velocity.

Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: Hunter Gatherer] #5936233 09/19/15 06:46 PM
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chuck hawks on sd is a good read on sd.

Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: Hunter Gatherer] #5936368 09/19/15 08:58 PM
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I think there is a lot to the equation of bullet performance: velocity, SD, and path (flesh, bones, etc.) are at a minimum part of it. Like 603, I have been a BT fan for years - I think 1994 was my first year with them, and I have taken a semi-load of game with them since then. Although, the bullet "performance" characteristics have changed, the result is always the same...dead.

I actually shoot for heavy bone - 1/2 way up the body inline with the front leg. I actually love a quartering to shot. The typical results are instant death and MASSIVE internal damage. If I get an exit, it is usually some fragment/portion of the original bullet. 99% of animals have gone straight down. The few exceptions have piled up within 40 yards.

My brother has used the 130gr BT for years, but he shoots differently. He aims 1/2 way up the body about 4-6" behind the centerline of the front leg. This sends the bullet through the ribs and takes out the middle/back part of both lungs and then has a full bullet exit. His animals almost always run, but leave unbelievable blood trails to the crash site.

The one animal that I have shot with a .30 caliber BT (165 gr) was a 144 lb. (FD) buck quartering to with a 308. The bullet entered 1/2 way up in the front crease of the shoulder. The bullet was lodged just under the skin near the last rib of the off side. The best I remember, it was about 60-70% weight retention. The buck made a 20 yard half-circle then piled up.

So, in short I think there are a number of factors that effect "performance."

Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: Hunter Gatherer] #5936748 09/20/15 02:02 AM
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I suppose it sounded like I was not happy with that 100 gr BT in my 260, but that's far from the truth. That's the bullet I use here in central Texas. The deer are relatively small, so I use the 100 gr bullet for coyote, pig, and deer. Works fine, though I would be happy with more of an exit. Makes them easier to track, if tracking is needed. The last big pig I shot only went about 50 yards, and the big buck I shot last season went maybe 40 yards. No blood trail with either one. I keep saying I'll move back to the 120 gr BT, but I haven't yet. I probably should.


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Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: Hunter Gatherer] #5936839 09/20/15 02:46 AM
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Guys I appreciate the discussion. I really like the BT's as well. Thanks again!

Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: Hunter Gatherer] #5937092 09/20/15 01:36 PM
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One of my two pigs with one shot came from a 150gr Nosler Ballistic Tip out of a 30-06 at 120yds.


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Re: 30 Caliber Nosler Ballistic Tip Performance [Re: Hunter Gatherer] #5937368 09/20/15 05:37 PM
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That reminds me that I've killed 2 pigs with one shot with the 130 gr BT in the 270. I had forgotten about that.


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