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nosler ballistic tips
willie332
Member Posts: 23 ✭✭
Ive heard that Noslers Ballistic Tips have thicker walls than the ones made in the early 90's. Anyone know for sure? In 1991, I had one (.270) come completely apart inside a dandy buck at 90 yards standing in a wide open clearing, so I know the bullet didn't knick a branch or anything. Buck went 300 yards after a quarting away shot and took 2 hours to find because of no blood or exit wound. While gutting, I found 5 pieces off lead. I haven't used them since. But with the price of Partitions and Accubonds going up, Ballistic Tips might be worth trying again if they can stay together. Thanks for your opinion.
Comments
Problem is that typical range on the eastern whitetails I hunt is around 50 yards. I recently read that the B.T.'s shine at extended range, but may not hold together at high velocity. (i.e. over 3,000 fps.) So, has anyone had experience with the .257, 100 grains on deer size game with impact velocity in the 3K range?
Thanks,
Rob
Rob
I only have experience with .284 140 grain and .308 165 grain. I loaded the .284's in a 7x57 at 2850fps +/- and the .308's are in a lot of Ultramax 30/06 reloads I laid in several years back. Both of these produced many one shot kills on various sized deer at 150=300+ yards but ruined lots of meat at closer range. I would rate these early production bullets as marginal for any game larger than deer or if you expect an exit hole. A couple of coyotes hit by the 30/06 were DRT and showed a large exit at 250+ yards.
My advice would be do not use ballistic tips if your worried about ruining some meat. As far as your experience with one shot kills; that is precisely what the ballistic tip is about. A bullet that when used in the proper situation, it leaves nothing on the table. Speaking of coyotes; you should see what a 125gr ballistic tip out of a 300 win mag does in a good old fashioned "texas heart shot"! All I could say was WOW!
As far as ruining more meat, I can't think of a bullet, that when put through meat doesn't ruin it. Every single one of them causes hydro-shock. Even an FMJ. Hydro-shock doesn't necessarily travel through the entire body, but it pretty much always travels through the immediate muscle that the bullet hits. Therefore I shoot where the meat isn't. That is in the upper neck area and side of the chest. You have to wait for the shot though. I do my level best to not shoot any animal quartering too much away from or to me. I'll wait until he wanders a bit and I re-range him and try again. Or, just not take the shot. As far as that goes I'll say BT's are excellent bullets for hunting. By coming apart in the animal the entire amount of energy is expended into the animal. Not to mention several wound channels that will make it bleed out faster if it isn't an immediate terminal shot. I shot all my big game animals with bullets that were thinner jacketed than the BT's. And I haven't lost any of them. Nor did I ever have to throw much bloodshot meat away.
Before you squeeze, calm down, pick your shot, take it, and know you did it right.
If you insist on juicing them up to 3200 fps for your 300 UltraMangleum and shoot a 100-lb deer at 50 yards, then hellllll yes you are going to ruin meat. (A .270 at 90 yards isn't much different, willie.)
I understand that the BT's have thicker jackets now than in the past. I was told once that the Accubond and BT are pretty much the same jacket. I do know that Accubonds and BT's fly pretty much the same, so if you don't like using BT's for hunting then practice with them at less cost and use Accubonds for very similar ballistics. The Partitions are very different from the Accubonds and BT's. Much lower BC, much more drop at distance.
As far as ruining more meat, I can't think of a bullet, that when put through meat doesn't ruin it. Every single one of them causes hydro-shock. Even an FMJ. Hydro-shock doesn't necessarily travel through the entire body, but it pretty much always travels through the immediate muscle that the bullet hits. Therefore I shoot where the meat isn't. That is in the upper neck area and side of the chest. You have to wait for the shot though. I do my level best to not shoot any animal quartering too much away from or to me. I'll wait until he wanders a bit and I re-range him and try again. Or, just not take the shot. As far as that goes I'll say BT's are excellent bullets for hunting. By coming apart in the animal the entire amount of energy is expended into the animal. Not to mention several wound channels that will make it bleed out faster if it isn't an immediate terminal shot. I shot all my big game animals with bullets that were thinner jacketed than the BT's. And I haven't lost any of them. Nor did I ever have to throw much bloodshot meat away.
Before you squeeze, calm down, pick your shot, take it, and know you did it right.
No, the Accubond & BT jackets are not "pretty much the same". Whom ever told you this is wrong. The Accubond jackets wall (all the way up to the mouth of the jacket is considerably thicker), as well as the base of the bullet. The interior cavity is dramatically different also. Take a 30-180 Accubond & BT, and cross section each of them with a hacksaw. The difference will be obvious.
quote:Originally posted by sandwarrior
I understand that the BT's have thicker jackets now than in the past. I was told once that the Accubond and BT are pretty much the same jacket. I do know that Accubonds and BT's fly pretty much the same, so if you don't like using BT's for hunting then practice with them at less cost and use Accubonds for very similar ballistics. The Partitions are very different from the Accubonds and BT's. Much lower BC, much more drop at distance.
As far as ruining more meat, I can't think of a bullet, that when put through meat doesn't ruin it. Every single one of them causes hydro-shock. Even an FMJ. Hydro-shock doesn't necessarily travel through the entire body, but it pretty much always travels through the immediate muscle that the bullet hits. Therefore I shoot where the meat isn't. That is in the upper neck area and side of the chest. You have to wait for the shot though. I do my level best to not shoot any animal quartering too much away from or to me. I'll wait until he wanders a bit and I re-range him and try again. Or, just not take the shot. As far as that goes I'll say BT's are excellent bullets for hunting. By coming apart in the animal the entire amount of energy is expended into the animal. Not to mention several wound channels that will make it bleed out faster if it isn't an immediate terminal shot. I shot all my big game animals with bullets that were thinner jacketed than the BT's. And I haven't lost any of them. Nor did I ever have to throw much bloodshot meat away.
Before you squeeze, calm down, pick your shot, take it, and know you did it right.
No, the Accubond & BT jackets are not "pretty much the same". Whom ever told you this is wrong. The Accubond jackets wall (all the way up to the mouth of the jacket is considerably thicker), as well as the base of the bullet. The interior cavity is dramatically different also. Take a 30-180 Accubond & BT, and cross section each of them with a hacksaw. The difference will be obvious.
101stguy,
The comparison was meant to show the similar external/flight ballistics of the two types of bullets...not the terminal ballistic effect. Yes, I know the Accubond is made to stay together under much more energies than is the BT.
as a bonus, they fly almost as true as match bullets.
Guys who lose deer using BT's will lose deer using any bullet[8] I have harvested literaly hundreds of deer on crop damage permits from 10yds to 600-700yds with balistic tips and never lost a single deer. Don't shoot for the shoulder, that is a lazy man's shot. yes it ensures a DRT finish, but wastes a ton of meat in the process. Shoot through the ribs and your balistic tips will make you a beleiver. They are just about all I use for deer.
as a bonus, they fly almost as true as match bullets.
+++ i never got why someone would sugest you shot throught he shoulder you just lose way to much meat that way. shoot through the ribs and hit the lungs or heart and the deer wont go far.
Where did you get the info about the BT walls being thicker now? I would like to confirm this.
The clincher for me was a 400 pound hog I shout with a 300 WSM and a 180 grain BT.
They changed the jackets some years back due to the jacket being more of a varmint jacket and responded to the hunter's request for it to be tougher.
As to the hog, a 400lb DRT is my definition of perfection. The thing about hydrostatic shock is that you LOSE a lot of it's harvesting power when the bullet exits. That energy is expended in the dirt rather than the animal. When the bullet violently expands and exits much slower or not at all, it expends the majority of it's energy in the animal. This is what drops them DRT, not the small perforation and blood loss. Those two things take time to work, and an animal can make it quite a ways before it succombs.
however, if you are shooting no more than 100yds in the thick, just get some remington corelokts and be done with it. They are cheap, and very violent as well as being accurate to boot.[;)]
quote:Originally posted by sandman375
Where did you get the info about the BT walls being thicker now? I would like to confirm this.
The clincher for me was a 400 pound hog I shout with a 300 WSM and a 180 grain BT.
They changed the jackets some years back due to the jacket being more of a varmint jacket and responded to the hunter's request for it to be tougher.
As to the hog, a 400lb DRT is my definition of perfection. The thing about hydrostatic shock is that you LOSE a lot of it's harvesting power when the bullet exits. That energy is expended in the dirt rather than the animal. When the bullet violently expands and exits much slower or not at all, it expends the majority of it's energy in the animal. This is what drops them DRT, not the small perforation and blood loss. Those two things take time to work, and an animal can make it quite a ways before it succombs.
however, if you are shooting no more than 100yds in the thick, just get some remington corelokts and be done with it. They are cheap, and very violent as well as being accurate to boot.[;)]
FYI; while the jacket of a nosler varmit BT is thinner, the main difference between the varmit & the hunting bullet is the pure lead core used in the varmit bullet compared to the 2 1/2% antimony lead used in the hunting bullet. Also, the biggest reason for the thickening of the jackets in the hunting bullet was to better fit the flood of "new" ultra-mags that were being introduced into the market that required a bullet that would perform admirably at much higher velocities.