BigGameHunt.net Hunting Forums

[expatriate]

Anybody have any experience with ballistic tips against larger game (deer and above)? They generally advertise better ballistics, but how do they fare in terms of expansion, penetration, and weight rentention versus a typical pointed soft point?

[ This Message was edited by: expatriate on 2003-01-08 20:03 ]

[2506deerslayer]

I like ballistic tips, but they are a little more expensive if you buy nosler bullets,
I use ballistic silver tips in my 2506 and like them, I get good groups at the range and they hit a deer pretty damn hard.

I never did get a full passthrough with them but when I gutted the deer there were nothing left of their lungs, needs to say, they didn't run very far!!

[expatriate]

Thanks. Appearances suggest the things are designed to open up with lower energy in order to help expansion at long range, which would suggest overexpansion or fragmentation at close range. You said you didn't get full passthrough. How long were the shots and what condition were the bullets in when you dug them out of the animal?

[ChesterGolf]

My experience with BT is that they are super accurate but are best left shooting paper. I have never used them on game and don't intend to. I have heard many horror stories about them fragmenting and not passing through often leading to extended tracks. I think there are better bullets out there to use so I do. I like the Swift Scirroco, the barnes X(un-coated), and the Nosler partitions. $0.02

[claycrusher]

I have had similar problems with boattail loads. On paper they shoot awesome but on impact with medium size game you get total fragmentation. In turn resulted in alot of wasted meat and at times a long track. I have found that my best loads have been the barnes-x or trophy bonded bear claw bullets.

[chechatonga]

Quote:
On 2003-01-12 15:19, claycrusher wrote:
I have had similar problems with boattail loads. On paper they shoot awesome but on impact with medium size game you get total fragmentation. In turn resulted in alot of wasted meat and at times a long track. I have found that my best loads have been the barnes-x or trophy bonded bear claw bullets.
What he said.

[2506deerslayer]

In my opinion, you don't need a full passthrough to kill a deer. The closest shot was about 150yds. and the longest about 350yds. but I did hit them in the lungs though and that will usually either drop them or they won't run far. I agree with you guys though, for anything bigger than deer you should get something with controlled exspansion to get more penetration!

[aussie]

Just a comment on the Ballistic Tips, I use them exclusively in my 22-250 Sako Varminter and they are awesome and kill rabbits ,pigs and goats with well placed shots like lightning. They do fragment and should not be used if you can't pick your shots. In my 25/06 and 257 roberts the 115 BT are great on game up to the size of red deer.
In the 30/06 ( my favourite deer/pig rifle)they are a bit dodgy. They just don't hold together well enough for the heavier game to get penetration.I prefer to use the Speer 165 grn.They are a good all round bullet for out here. They flatten wild donkeys, brumbies(wild horses) and scrub bulls.

[Jan M. Smit]

I had a lot of experience with the NBT in my .270 on medium size game. Closer than 125 yards they tend to fragmentate. They perform well over 150 yards, often exit. But try the new AccuBonds of Nosler. This bullet combines the accuracy of the Ballistic Tip and the controlled expansion of the NP. I got superb accuracy in my .270 Win, even better than the Ballistic Tip. Loaded with Hodgdon 4831/58; muzzle vel. 3050 fps, SD 11. Grouping average 0,58 MOA. Weight retention about 60%, in most cases exit on elk. My 'huntingrange'is mostly over 150 yards.

[mister_venison]

I've shot several deer with a 165 grain NBT. I have yet to have a pass-thru, and while the bullet does tremendous damage, it doesn't hold together well at all. My loads were moderate in velocity, and the deer were out beyond 50 yards but less than 100. In each case, the bullet was in tiny pieces in the body cavity. One would think a 165 grain, .30 caliber bullet would not explode like that, but all of mine have. One even hit further back, and missed all the ribs. It did the same thing. That being said, it sure does pack a whallop. I just don't like the fact that I may not be able to trust it going through a shoulder blade.

[OZSTRIKER22]

Hey Aussie, you said:

"In the 30/06... I prefer to use the Speer 165 grn... They flatten wild donkeys, brumbies(wild horses) and scrub bulls."

I have to ask... what do you do with a wild donkey???


[ This Message was edited by: OZSTRIKER22 on 2003-12-12 13:04 ]

[JTapia]

I used 165 grain Ballistic Silver tips in my .308 and 30.06 and really never had a problem with kills. In fact I haven't lost a deer or Wild Boar since I started using them.
On one 250+ lb Boar that I shot twice at about 100 yards, both shots landed within 1.5" of eachother, the bullet exited the otherside with a hole that I could stick my fist into without getting any blood on my hand. Completely destroyed a perfectly good ham.
They do fragment really bad and destroy lots of meat but I have always had the bullet (or most of it) exit the other side.
All shots were under 200 yards with a 310 yard shot exception.
They are still all I use unless I am swamp hunting with the .308.

[ This Message was edited by: JTapia on 2003-12-12 15:48 ]

[2506deerslayer]

Just for everyone to know, I'm not bragging or anything, I just got lucky, but just this deer season I shot a muley at 500+ yds. with my 2506 with a 115 gr. nosler silver ballistic tip, I didn't quite get a full passthrough but I found the bullet lodged in his hide on the opposite side still held together, I weighed it an it was 70 grns. so I would say that the ballistic tip did a fine job. He dropped in his tracks and when I gutted him his lungs were gone!

[mister_venison]

This is more what the BT is designed for. Reduced velocities at distance. My boxes of BTs are from late early 90s. Maybe they make 'em better now? It was pointed out that they kill reliably. I can't argue with that. Mine have all travelled a short distance or no distance at all.

[aussie]

Hey Ozstriker. Wild donkeys out here are a non native pest and can be shot without any form of permit, just need the land owners permission.They are considered to do alot of damage to native desert and marginal country as well as damaging waterholes etc.There is not much you can do with them apart from using them as pet food as they taste bloody awful.In some places they run in groups of fifty or more per heard.Most of the ones I have shot have been in the Northern Territory in marginal desert country. No towns or shops for 2 hundred kms or so. Makes it difficult to keep the meat or skin as the temperature is usually in the high 30's.