Nosler Ballistic Tips

[Dutch]

Have little faith in my backordered Sierra 6.5 bullets getting here, so, I bought some Nosler Ballistic tips.

In general, how is the accuracy of these bullets?

Had Partitions that that I could never get to shoot in the 260, so, was a little leary.

[Deleted]

My heart ain't in answering you for obvious reasons. But this is one of my areas of expertise so I'll even help you. NBTs are the most accurate bullets I've ever found and they are what I use to accuracy test new rifles. They've outshot Sierra Match Kings for me and Accubonds. I've found no more accurate bullets.

[Deleted]

BTW, Partitions have a reputation for average accuracy. NBTs are a whole nuther animal.

[bigbuckdown]

I love Partitions for my 300 but couldn't get them to group with the 270 at 200 yards. Switched to ballistic tips and it shoots great. You won't be disappointed

[davet]

Partitions seem to be like mounting a tire.....and not having it balanced but still putting it on your vehicle. The BT's are pretty much awesome. I usually attempt to get the Hornady BT to work first....because they usually are the least costly (AKA....I'm just cheap) but if they don't work, I'll go right to the Noslers.

[Deleted]

The Accubond and the Partition are much superior big game bullets. NBT's come apart and blow hell out of game. But the NBT's are tops for accuracy and a great choice for long range hunting because the bullet will have slowed down and expansion will be uniform and not violent beyond 200 yards.

[dennyf]

100gr Btips are my favorites for the 25-06. Superbly accurate at long ranges, never any "failure" issues like some have talked about. Have also killed deer with the 30 caliber 165gr Btips from 30-06s. No problems.

Been shooting 50 and 55 grain Btips in my 22-250s for many years. As accurate as the Sierra Match Kings I once used, far more deadly on 'chucks.

[Deleted]

Denny, you will not have a "failure issue" when using the Nosler ballistic tips on such animals as whitetail deer or smaller. Where that comes into play is with bigger and tougher animals, and even on whitetails I have seen where the copper separated from the lead core. I would call that bullet failure, but if the animal dies cleanly and quickly it matters not. I tend to get more picky on bullet choice when hunting big bears, moose, elk, or the African plains game. My personal choice for whitetails is Sierra game king boat tails, and they are not a whole lot better constructed than ballistic tips. For a bit better bullet that groups well, try the Hornady interbonds. They seem to hold together and shoot very accurately. For my 7mm magnum their 149 grain interbond shoots pretty darned well.

[bud16057]

I think the ballistic tips got a bad rap from the lighter jacket design Nosler used when they were first introduced. Even those were quite adequate for the typical pa whitetail. I have to laugh at how excited some people get over bullets/caliber choice for pa deer hunting. Shot placement means more than either to me. The only reason I don't use the nosler now is because if the price, I get comparable performance from Sierra or Hornady's for less $$ spent.

[dennyf]

Jacket/core separations are fairly common with any such type of bullets under the right conditions and yep, whitetails are not all that difficult to drop in their tracks with any bullet - IF bullet placement is done correctly.

But "things happen" and not all shots result in good bullet placement. My assessment is that many poor shots resulted in many complaints and the bullet got the blame?

Btips did undergo some changes years ago, with many of the lighter variants in several diameters getting slightly thicker jackets. No complaints from me on the original 100gr .257 Btips.

I've only ever killed deer with one Nosler Partition and that was the 60gr .224 bullet they came out with some years ago, for use in 22-250s and similar cartridges. It was designed to shoot well in 1:14 twist rifles and shot very accurately in my 22-250. Others have complained that they couldn't get them to shoot.

Took me a bit of effort to hit the right load to get it to shoot well in my rifle, but no complaints. And it dropped deer where they walked.

When a huntin' bud first got a 25-06 (1973?), he elected to use the Partition in it for deer. First buck he ever shot at went down, got right back up and ran off. The guy that later killed it said that first shot went thru above the brisket area, resulting in nearly no damage. Bullet never expanded.

He never used a Partition again after that, went with a "cup and core" bullet from then on. We both used Sierras in our 25-06s until the Btip came out. Between us we probably killed in excess of two dozen deer with 25-06s over the years.

[Deleted]

I hunt with Nosler Partitions in all my deer calibers (.257Roberts, .270Win and .30-06. I have found that finding the right accuracy is a matter of testing lower/higher velocities with the Partition to find the right one. I have never had instance when the Partition didn't provide a double hole (in and out) regardless of where I hit a deer.

Hunting accuracy doesn't need to be "match accuracy" that many strive for.

[Dutch]

Yeah, I understand hunting accuracy FT, but, in my 260, years ago, best I could do was about 2.5 inches with the Partitions.

Got the Sierra 140 Game Kings into 1-1.25 inches.

Just took the BT's out, gonna try them. I like the looks of them.

Just realized that I use the BT's in my 220 Swift. Have not shot that in years and forgot what I was shooting. Danged accurate in the 220, thats for sure.

[dennyf]

I've seen dozens and dozens of "horror stories" on the internet over the years, about Btip failures.

Have to wonder how many were like a buddy's dismal experience years ago with them on elk and him swearing he'd never load another one.

Several of us cautioned him about using the 7mm 140gr Btip from his 7mm REm. magnum for elk and suggested a heavier choice, but he loaded them anyway.

First shot on a nice Idaho bull knocked the elk down, but it got back up and took off. IIRC he hit it two or three more times before finally killing it. So as a result, all Btips are now useless.

He's one of those guys you can't tell much of anything to, especially about shooting, loading and hunting.

Since he's been to Africa multiple times for plains game, hunted in several states for elk, mule deer, bears and one cougar, he's an expert on all kinds of hunting. Especially compared to a doofus like me who has only ever hunted in PA.

At last count I've probably killed three times as many deer in PA as he has. But according to him, that's 'cause there ain't any deer in PA.

[Deleted]

What type of bullet is the best is an argument similar to the one about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. It isn't worth getting all het up about, but like most who have some experience, I have opinions. That is not to say that someone else's opinion is wrong just because they disagree with my exalted one. stirthepot

I was on an elk hunt in Wyoming a few years ago. One of the guys in camp was using a Ruger #1 chambered for .257 roberts. He had an opportunity on a decent five by five bull and killed it with a single lung shot. I asked him what bullet he was using and he told me 120 grain Nosler partitions. It isn't my idea of a proper elk round, but I guess you shouldn't argue with success. Personally, I'll stick with my .30-06 with 180 grain bullets as a minimum for elk, and prefer to use my .300 Weatherby for both elk and moose. Such critters as elk, moose, and grizzly bear are not in the same league as our PA whitetails, but I've seen or heard of elk and moose being taken with calibers as small as .243 Winchester.  A whole bunch have been taken with the old thuty-thuty.  I did take one bull elk with my compound bow and mechanical heads (Wasp Jackhammers) and one PA black bear with the same head from my crossbow.

At one stretch I had seventeen straight one-shot kills with my .257.  About half of them didn't take another step after the shot.  It is still my go-to rifle for deer, but obviously not the only one I have ever used. I've taken deer with most everything I own from .222 up to .300 Weatherby magnum.  The .257 wastes a whole lot less meat than the .300 Wby.

The two trips to Africa where I took my own rifles, I shot most of my plains game with my .300 Weatherby. On the third trip I borrowed the outfitter's Mauser .308 to shoot a warthog, a gemsbok, and a black wildebeest. All three were one-shot kills, so I'm convinced that the .308 will do the job on most African plains game. The Cape buffalo was a whole 'nother story.

[Deleted]

Photo below is of Will Lloyd with his first buck, taken with my .257 roberts.

[dennyf]

Yep, hundreds of different bullets and dozens'n dozens of firearms roll deer in PA each year. As it should be.

I'm glad we don't have the restrictions on bullet diameters/cartridges that some states do. Although many states allow a broader range of firearms types than PA does.

My dad liked to heckle me with comments about "the one gun man" when I was younger. Told him once that it just meant a guy was too frugal to expand his horizons. That started when I acquired a second deer rifle, got worse as I acquired even more of 'em. He only ever had one.



I've killed deer with a fairly wide variety of firearms and cartridges over the years. Others have gone far beyond what I have on hand. For many years I killed deer with nothing but a 25-06, some at fair ranges.

Now I prefer using open sighted relics for baldies. Pretty much right back whre I started, since my first deer rifle was a M94 in 32 Win. Special.

[Deleted]

The only gun I ever felt the need to run Partitions in was my .257 Weatherby magnum. They were 120's and accurate. But 115 NBT's were even more accurate. I watched my stepson take a pronghorn facing him at 200 yards with that rifle and the NBT's. That bullet penetrated that antelop bow to stern and it must have covered a mile. When we caught back up to it it needed finished off! That wasn't the first time I saw an antelope with an unbelievable will to live. A year earlier I gutshot a pronghorn with my .270 and it raced off and joined a band of 60 antelope a thousand yards away. There was no way to get closer so I waited them out. Four hours later it was still on its feet when a hunter spooked part of the band my way. I killed that goat as it ran by me at 90 yards.

[Dutch]

Maybe now is a good time to ask this question: Which is better, 30-06 or the 270?

Some good stuff from all three of you, but Denny, don't take that to mean I like ya or anything. LOL

[dennyf]

Whutza 270? popcorn

[Deleted]

Now I might mention I was forced to go Nosler. I was a huge Speer guy. I had my basement littered with empty yellow Speer boxes. Accuracy was second to none. Then every local shop quit carrying Speer. Broke my heart. I tried Hornady Interlocks and I wasn't happy with the accuracy. Then I tried Sierra bullets and wasn't impressed by them. I had to go to NBT's to get the accuracy level I came to expect from Speer. For a lot more money to boot.

[dougell]

My go to rifles for the past 20 years have been 30-06,.308 and 300 wsm with the .308 being my favorite.Since my son has started hunting,we've also killed about 8 deer with the .243.I like to tinker and have used BT's,hornady intelock's,accubonds,interbonds,sierra game kings and Hornady SST's.BT's work well at reasonable velocities but I had catastrophic failures three times in one season with 165gr bt's out of my 300 wsm.I bumped it up to 180gr SST's which are similar construction to a bt and they performed very well.My favorite .308 bullet used to be a 165gr interlock flat base.I had a lot of dramatic kills with that bullet but didn't always get an exit wound.Deer are relatively easy to kill with good shot placement but I've switched over to accubonds in every thing I hunt with.They're accurate,penetrate well and still expand without fragmenting.They've given me the most boringly consistent performance of any bullet to date.Also,in every rifle I've used them in,they shoot to exactly the same poi as the bt's.We practice with the bt's and hunt with the accubonds.I still wouldn't be afraid to use a bt on deer at reasonable velocities.

[dougell]

Sept 5, 2014 16:06:02 GMT -5 Dutch said:

Have little faith in my backordered Sierra 6.5 bullets getting here, so, I bought some Nosler Ballistic tips.

In general, how is the accuracy of these bullets?

Had Partitions that that I could never get to shoot in the 260, so, was a little leary.

I can't say about the 6.5 but supposedly,the 120gr bt's in the 7mm-08 are actually tougher construction than the 140gr bt.

[Deleted]

The 120 NBT's in 7mm are the toughest constructed NBT's made. That is because the metal sillywet (silhouette) shooters use them in their 7mm-08's and they asked Nosler to toughen them up. They are almost an Accubond.

[Deleted]

I guess the reason you can't find Speer is because Federal started using Speer bullets in its Power Shock line and Speer is focusing on that. Remington is using Hornady Interlocks here and there in its Core Lokt line too. Those are the only inner belted bullets you get in the Core Lokt anymore since Remington did away with the inner belt in the 90's but still kept the Core Lokt name. False advertising maybe?

[Deleted]

Sept 7, 2014 20:52:13 GMT -5 Dutch said:

Maybe now is a good time to ask this question: Which is better, 30-06 or the 270?

Some good stuff from all three of you, but Denny, don't take that to mean I like ya or anything. LOL


Neither has enough recoil to suit me, Dutchie.