Ballistic Tips....

[BKMFR]

Anyone using .30 cal 165 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips for hunting? If so, any results?

[elkaholic123]

I have used them in 300wm with explosive results, in a slower round like 30.06 .308 they would be fine I think, or even light loads in 300.  They did  extreme damage to a couple elk when they hit bone 

[Jonathan_S]

I have used them in 300wm with explosive results, in a slower round like 30.06 .308 they would be fine I think, or even light loads in 300.  They did  extreme damage to a couple elk when they hit bone 

That's pretty much how it goes in my experiences with ballistic tips.  With the 300 WM, we always run 180s and 165s through the WSM.  In my opinion, if you need a ballistic tip to ensure proper accuracy, you're shooting way farther than I ever will.  With soft points, HPs, and all copper bullets, we've got good groups well beyond 300 yards and out to 500 which is farther than I would shoot a deer, elk, or bear.

[syoungs]

we had some ballistic tips loaded up in a 30-06 pretty hot, and experienced the same explosive, yet not impressive, results on a deer and an antelope, both at 300+ yds. I wont use them for big game any longer, lots of bullet choices out there that perform much better on impact imho.

[jkononen]

i shoot 150 combined technology out of 30-06.  Explosive? yes. but puts deer and bear down, on the ground, fast.

[Heredoggydoggy]

Ballistic tipped bullets are made for explosive expansion on thin-skinned varmint type critters.  Other bullets are better for big game animals that require a bullet that retains its weight on penetrant resistant thick bodies. 

[jackelope]

My buddy shoots them out of his 7mm Rem Mag and they splatter on impact. No good for saving meat, that's for sure. He shoots lights out and kills deer DRT but they ruin venison.

[Biggerhammer]

Used lots of the in a .300 Win Mag before the Accubonds came out. Never had a Mulie stay on his feet after a hit, they do some damage under 200 yards. But I shoot deer just above the heart in the lungs. I don't care if I blow his whole rib cage out the other side. Now where they shine is 200 yards and out. They bleed of a little speed in flight and expand almost like a bonded core bullet. Very accurate to boot.

[bobcat]

Just having a plastic tip doesn't make them "explosive." Look at all the bonded bullets with plastic tips, such as Accubonds and Interbonds. But yes, Nosler Ballistic tips generally open up fast. They are great for long range shooting since they will still expand reliably at lower velocities.

I shot an antelope with a 270 and 150 grain ballistic tips. 320 yards, broadside shot through the lungs, he didn't go anywhere but down. What surprised me is the bullet never made it to the far side of the body cavity. Not even a fragment, and the bullet only clipped a rib going in.

Ballistic tips are definitely not the bullet to use if you need lots of penetration.

[Jolten]

I use Barnes ttsx in my 243 and never had one blow apart on shoulder impacts.

[andersonjk4]

165 grain Nosler BT are all I shoot in my .06.  I have killed many whitetails with them.  All of them have performed very well.  All shots between 100 and 400 yards.  In front of 56.5 grains of IMR4350 out of my Weatherby Vanguard they are tack drivers.

[mountainman]

 They dont work when you hit a deer in the nose, but properly placed, they are lights out! 

[Rick]

My brothers and I have killed a bunch of deer and elk with Ballistic Tips. 130s and 140s from a .270 Win. 150s, and 165s from an '06 and 150s from a 7mm Rem mag.

We've recovered one single BT. A 165 from an '06 that hit a spike bull at about 50yds. Broke the near shoulder, and stopped just under the hide on the far side.

Other than that,they've all been pass throughs.
 

[Easy-E]

i quit using them about 10 years ago after I completely destroyed both front shoulders of a whitetail deer. That was with a 165 gr. handload out of a .30-'06. I didn't like all the shrapnel in the body cavity either. But I've been told that Nosler improved the design after I quit using them, so maybe they're better now than they used to be.

[HawkCreek]

165g Ballistic Tips are all I shoot out of my .30-06, I've never lost an animal I've shot with one nore needed more than one shot. I've never had a BT explode in or fail to exit a mule deer and I've shot them from inside 20 yards to over 300.  Nothing at all wrong with a BT at non-magnum velocities.