I've read a lot of post on various forums about the effectiveness of the 7mm 120 Ballistic Tip on deer. I did several searches here and wasn't able to find much on this subject. I've never hunted with these but just tried them out in my new custom 7mm-08 and the accuracy was incredible (groups 1/4" ctc @100 Yds).

In the post that I have read, folks either love or hate them. Most folks citing bullet "failure" included jacket separation, lack of complete pass through, or excessive expansion/minimal or no penetration. I also noticed that most of these "failures" seemed to result from excessive impact velocities. Other "failures" were from the time frame before Nosler toughened up the 120gr BT.

I'm considering using these for deer and hogs here in central Texas. The vast majority of my shots will be right at 100 Yds. I haven't checked velocity on my chronograph yet, but am using a max book load of 50.5 gr H414 in a 24" barrel. Nosler's manual, using a 26" barrel list velocity at aprox 3,180 FPS. I figure that should put me in the 3,100+- FPS MV range and aprox 2,865 FPS @ 100 Yds. So I should be well within the operating parameters of this bullet.

So, my question to all of you that have experience with the 120 BT is how has this bullet performed for you in the past on our Texas deer and hogs?

my buddy shoots the 120 grain BT in his .260 and he has made 1 shot kills all the way up to 400 yards.

I think 95% of the bad press about BT's nowadays is stories "that I heard from a guy" about the bullets made back in the day when they still had thin walls. nowadays the only difference between a BT and a regular soft point is the plastic insert at the tip replaced the exposed lead.

I had a client who killed a pile of deer with the 130 grain BT's from a 7mm-08 and killed them deader than carp. every deer I watched him shoot was DRT.

I use a 140 grain BT in my 7mm mag and I shot a deer in the heart at 70 yards, bullet passed thru him clean and deer was dead within 30 yards.

they are good bullets

txtrophy... that is very encouraging!!

Its from a couple years ago when they where thinner walled. Decent bullet for 6.5 cal and bigger and as long as it isn't ran to fast

the rule of thumb was anything faster than 3300 fps, use a stouter bullet. is that what you follow as well bobo?

Over 3200/3300 and smaller than .27 o r under 130gr in big caliber

7-08= yes
7stw= not under 100yards

Biggest thing with BT, SP, amax, VLD, GK etc just try to stay away from the shoulder if you have a bunch of velocity still at that range. Results could go either way... great or blew up on contact.

If in dought use a AB, IB etc

At same token I wouldn't push a TTSX or GMX at lower velocities or extended range unless you still got a bunch of velocity at impact

My personal limits and thoughts atleast

I agree. I've had problems with guys using standard weight TSX and TTSX at low impact velocities. Rule of thumb on those was to drop down 2 bullet weights I believe

Yelper. Faster the better IMO.

I have used the older BTs and wanted a bit more bullet from the 7-30 Warters, with the change to the Accubond style thicker bullet it has improved a lot. Let the rest of us know how it works.

In reading John Barsness stuff elsewhere it seems that the 120gr .284 was changed in response to a request from the primary user group of steel target shooters couple years back.

Bottom line is that the jacket on the 120gr .284 is as thick as the 140gr BT from the base upward and the left over thinner front end is folded in to make room for the delrin tip's plug...making the 120gr exceptionally stout for a BT.

Look in some of the Nosler manuals Caliber introduction & information pages and at Handloader magazine where John is an editor I think, to see who John Barsness is.

FWIW After the intial intro of BT's lots of years ago, and the continued reports of shallow front side blowups, offside blowouts and a reputation for failure to penetrate...starting with 30 calibers and now extending from either 277 or 284 thru the remaining larger calibers ALL BT's were given thicker "Hunting" jackets to enhance penetration. I have some of the last 250gr 9.3 BT's I picked up 10+ years ago when I started with the 9.3x62 Mauser that are outstanding on WTails but I wouldn't use them on anything but mebbe Elk or Black Bear and similar thin skinned African critters....but then I've never recovered any 9.3 bullet I ever shot at game and even the ancient designed 270gr Speers with a 2200fps recc max impact shoot MOA in my CZ and leave nice neat half dollar sized exits.

I know the 130gr 277 1st Gen BT I hit the 200lb++ WTexas Muley on my wall above me right now at about 60-70 yards as he was haulin Arse away from us, loaded 3 gr's over max completely destroyed itself on the topside pelvis at the left hip joint on impact, & I recovered shrapnel coming thru the brisket...and everything in between was jelly. I had held on the knuckle at the base of his neck and dang near missed like my partner had.

That 24" barreled AIII SAKO Classic Grade never gave me pause or a sticky bolt, but the load was so hot I got ejector marks, primer flowage and loss of headstamp print on brand new WW brass... but it shot like a 7Rmg in maxed out 120's only without the recoil & in bughole dimesize 5 round groups.
Ron

I used them a few seasons ago with ok results. I lost one pig but figured it was an over expansion caused by high velocity and extreme close range. The deer I shot that year I got a no expansion experience which was very odd range was a touch over 250 so velocity should have still be acceptable. I'm not sure why it performed that way. I switched to a heavier bullet after but have friends that use the bullet with great success.

I use Nosler BT's in my 220 Swift, 260, and 270. I killed some pigs with the 55 gr in the 220, but that's a varmint bullet and wasn't suited to much of anything larger than a coyote. I switched to the 100 grain BT in the 260. Works great on coyotes, pigs of all sizes, and Texas whitetail. The 120 grainer works well on all the above and gives better results on deer and large pigs than the 100 grainer does. The 130 grainer in the 270 (original version of BT and toughened version) was and is a laser beam killer of pigs (shot one 400 pounder at 60 yards and killed him on the spot) and larger Louisiana whitetail and the smaller Texas whitetail. I think I've killed over 200 deer with Nosler Ballistic Tips and have no complaints. I do recommend lung shots and that you shoot low enough to not destroy the backstraps. And try to avoid quartering shots that might cause you to hit a large leg bone. And I probably would not use that bullet on something the size of an elk or moose.

Like I've said to others, if I didn't get satisfactory results from Nosler Ballistic Tips, I would switch to another bullet (probably the Accubond) but I've been happy with that bullet since the day I started using it, which was the month or so after they quit selling the Solid Base Boattail for my 270. I forget the year, but it was a long time ago.

The BT's have improved but I would give the Accubonds a shot. The AB's will have identical BC if of the same caliber and weight. They should yield similar accuracy results (shoots great in every caliber I load it for) with very satisfying performance on game.

For deer and hog, it's always good ole soft point bullets for me. Simple, cheap, and very effective. It's all I've ever used in my 20+ years of deer hunting.

Y'all fellas are thinkin' too hard about all these fancy bullets when it comes to deer. Keep it simple.

Kinda like manual windows and standard transmissions...

I shoot a .270 130grn Nosler ballistic tip and my wife shoots a 25-06 100grn Nosler ballistic tip. Never had to track a deer yet. Most fall in place. Nothing wrong with a ballistic tip.

if they shoot accurately, then I'd say that's probably the most important part. We've killed a great many deer with a great variety of calibers and bullet types.

we shot a lot of deer with BT ammo 130grn thru a .270...it shot very accurately, deer were always DRT. my only complaint with it is that its a little messy. if you're shooting deer in the neck, then its no big deal, if you shoot them in the front shoulder...then you're tearing up a lotta meat. as far as killing only is concerned though....they were great.

Thanks to all of you for your input. The 120 BT's are so accurate in my rifle I've just got to try them in the field. All of your input here has made me feel a lot better about doing so.

I also plan to work up a load for the 140 Accubonds. Assuming they are as accurate as the 120 BT's, I will pretty much have all bases covered.

I've got a Zeiss HD-5 5-25x50 with target knobs sitting on top which I plan to keep set up for the 120 BT's and then just dial in for the 140 accubonds when ever I feel the need.

At 7-08 velocity's they should be killers. Good luck, look forward to pics

I have shot BT's for the past 5 years and LOVE them. They group more consistantly than any other rounds I have tried, and the deer are almost always DRT. Exit wounds are usually massive with the lungs and heart sloshing around like jelly.

However, on one deer I made a quartering away shot and hit the deer behind his ribs on his left side. The deer was DRT, but all I had was a tiny exit hole on the offside shoulder where the remains of the bullet exited. However, the size of the exit wound doesnt bother me at all since the deer was DRT indicating that the exit wound opening was a moot point anyways.

It's one of the few Ballistic Tips that I like, though I think the 7-08 just hits a sweet spot in velocity for that particular bullet. Killed a few hogs with 120 NBT in a 7-08 & had darn good performance, as well as with the 120 grain Barnes TTSX. Those two bullets will cover a lot of bases, but the NBT sure is cheaper to shoot.

Gangly & oulufinn

Thanks for the input. I always take neck or behind the shoulder shots on deer. Of the 15 or so hogs I've have shot, all but one was shot at the base of the ear. The "one" was running and I took him down with a shoulder shot.

I will probably give the Barnes 120 TTSX a try as well.... just because :-)

My old stand-by is the Speer 145 Gr Hot-Cor. Accurate, consistent, and deadly. I have never lost a deer (or hog) with them and have never recovered a bullet. Sooner or later I will get around to working up a load for them as well.

my all-time favorite bullet for medium size game on up is a nosler partition. I shoot a 150grn thru a .270 and a 60grn thru a .223. bullet always passes thru, large enough exit wound to allow for blood...not so large as to make a mess. I shoot the vast majority of my deer behind the front shoulder..most of them never make it out of sight. and I hunt in the south texas brush....so not to make it out of sight isn't very far.

the 60grn in .223....will pass thru both shoulders of a deer. deer is either DRT or seldom makes it more than 10-15yds. my wife shoots it. she took about a 190lbs boar this season....square thru the front shoulder....bullet didn't exit on the hog, but it broke the shoulder. hog made it maybe 20yds.

Erich

I've always like the idea of the partition because I like two holes, but I just never could get them to shoot as tight as some of the other bullets. I must admit though, I didn't spend much time at all trying different powders, ect. to get them to shoot better as I already had several good shooters. Maybe it's time to give them a real chance in my new custom. I think I'll put them on the list right after the Accubonds.

After all... the .gif under my signature is in fact a partition :-)

Will never shoot a BT at deer again. Shot a deer high shoulder with a 140gr Nosler BT out of my 7mm-08. Deflected straight up and had a really cool scar until someone else shot him opening weekend last year. TTSX, Accubonds, and Partitions for me from then on. Not one lost animal since.