Balistic Tips

[greenshovel]

OK here is my delema let me know what yall think my Rem 700 30/06 shoots Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silver Tips the best in 150GR...............I have heard that these explode on impact never had this happen in SC at Ft Jackson but the whitetails are larger here..........any opinions on this? Also my new TC Encore 7MM Rem Mag likes the Federal Nosler balistic tips in 150 grain the best. I did try the Winchester, Remington and Hornady ammo. Agian will these shatter or blow up on impact has anyone experienced this in the past? Thanks

Steve

[Athabasca]

OK here is my delema let me know what yall think my Rem 700 30/06 shoots Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silver Tips the best in 150GR...............I have heard that these explode on impact never had this happen in SC at Ft Jackson but the whitetails are larger here..........any opinions on this? Also my new TC Encore 7MM Rem Mag likes the Federal Nosler balistic tips in 150 grain the best. I did try the Winchester, Remington and Hornady ammo. Agian will these shatter or blow up on impact has anyone experienced this in the past? Thanks

Steve


Dont mean to beat a dead horse but this topic seems to come up every month or so.

A 150 grain ballistic tip out of an 06 will kill any whitetail ever born. (usually dead in their tracks)
If the range is 25 yards to 400 yards the results that I've seen are usually the same,instant lights out.
A 150 out of a 7 mag is pretty similar to a 140 grain out of a 270. (again usually dead in their tracks)

Ballistic tips in the .22 ,24 and 25 caliber lighter weights are varmint bullets. They come apart quick and anchor coyotes like nothing else I've tried.

The heavier 25's 270's and up are still some of the best,most accurate deer bullets on the market in my opinion.
Consider that before the introduction of the BT ,Nosler marketed the same bullet (minus the polymer tip) as the Nosler Solid Base.
They worked just fine on whitetails back then if you chose a weight and caliber suitable for big game.
If you shot a 22,24 or 25 caliber lightweight Solid Base they came apart much the same as a lightweight BT.

[greenshovel]

Dont mean to beat a dead horse but this topic seems to come up every month or so.

A 150 grain ballistic tip out of an 06 will kill any whitetail ever born. (usually dead in their tracks)
If the range is 25 yards to 400 yards the results that I've seen are usually the same,instant lights out.
A 150 out of a 7 mag is pretty similar to a 140 grain out of a 270. (again usually dead in their tracks)

Ballistic tips in the .22 ,24 and 25 caliber lighter weights are varmint bullets. They come apart quick and anchor coyotes like nothing else I've tried.

The heavier 25's 270's and up are still some of the best,most accurate deer bullets on the market in my opinion.
Consider that before the introduction of the BT ,Nosler marketed the same bullet (minus the polymer tip) as the Nosler Solid Base.
They worked just fine on whitetails back then if you chose a weight and caliber suitable for big game.
If you shot a 22,24 or 25 caliber lightweight Solid Base they came apart much the same as a lightweight BT.


Thanks that makes me feel a little better, lol.

[Athabasca]

Thanks that makes me feel a little better, lol.

No problem Pard. You may have guessed by now that I'm a bit of a Ballistic Tip fan.
I shoot several hundred a year in 22-250 (55 grain) 257 Roberts (100 grain) 270 (140 grain) and in the 300's (180 grain)
I like em. Like em a lot.

[greenshovel]

Sounds good to me...I have been shooting them for about 7 years but in other states I get here to Texas and retire and everyone is telling me that the yshatter on impact and that they are junk...........so I had to ask.

[Athabasca]

Sounds good to me...I have been shooting them for about 7 years but in other states I get here to Texas and retire and everyone is telling me that the yshatter on impact and that they are junk...........so I had to ask.

The only BT I ever had fail on me was an 85 grain job I launched at 3000 fps out of a 250 Savage that I was playing with a few years back.
I knew the bullet was too light for big Northern whitetail but I wanted to duplicate the original ballistics for the 250 savage.
It blew a silver dollar sized hole in the ribcage and peppered the lungs with fragments. Deer went 50 yards and expired stone dead.
Upgrade that bullet to 100 grains at 3000 fps out of a 257 Roberts and it becomes a far better killer on whitetails.
The fact that you've had good success with them for 7 years speaks volumes.

Yes there is more heavily constructed bullets to choose from but I've seen more whitetails run over the horizon shot through and through with 175 grain heavily constructed bullets out of 7 mags than any other gun.

I always like to bring up the old saying "No one ever recovered their failed bullet out of a dead animal."

[greenshovel]

I always like to bring up the old saying "No one ever recovered their failed bullet out of a dead animal."

That has to be the truest statement that I have ever heard, lol. Thanks :o)

Steve

[Athabasca]

That has to be the truest statement that I have ever heard, lol. Thanks o)

Steve

Been good talking to a fellow shooter who has used them ,not just read about them.
Have a good evening Pard.

[greenshovel]

Thanks and the same to you.........and good luck this season with whatever you hunt :o)

Steve

[Riverbottom]

I have used the Winchester Ballistic Silvertips for about three seasons now. I have never had any "fail" or just blow up even with direct contact with heavy bone even with impact ranges past 200 yards. Every one has performed just as promoted. These have all been on whitetail deer. Never used them on anything larger. I think since your gun shoots them well ( as mine does too). I would give them the nod and feel very safe knowing they will do their intended job just fine.

Best wishes this upcoming season!!

[dubyam]

Just about the only two issues with BT's are from misuse. As Athabasca stated, some of the BT's are designed for varmints, and as such will not fare well on medium or big game. All the varmint BT's are .257cal and smaller. Anything larger than .257cal (6.5mm and up) are going to be rated for medium game, also referred to as thin-skinned game, like white-tails, muleys, and pronghorns. The largest BT still made, the 180gr .323cal (8mm) is actually designed for 'up to elk-sized game' according to Nosler's technician I spoke with.

Where it gets interesting is with the smaller calibers, however. Not everything .257cal and under is a varmint bullet. Some of these are hunting bullets, and have construction similar to the larger BT's. These include the heavier weights in .243 & .257.

Now, the second issue with misuse of BT's involves not understanding the limitations of the bullets themselves. These bullets are designed for impact velocities of less than 3000fps, according to Nosler. What this means is that you want to be sure that if you're hunting at ranges of 25yds and out, you better not be doing 3200fps out of the muzzle, or your close shots are not going to be pretty. As was said earlier, the Nosler Solid Base is the precursor to the BT, but the main difference is that expansion on the BT is initiated much faster (and more violently) by the plastic tip slamming 'backward' so to speak into the core of the bullet causing rapid expansion of the bullet. This is why I don't shoot BT's out of my 270Wby. You should be pretty careful shooting them out of your 7mmRemMag, except that I believe the 150's should only be doing about 3000-3100 from your gun, so you're right on the line for close impact velocities.

There's no magic to bullet selection. Just use what shoots well within the design constraints of the bullet. If you like the BT, you might also like the Accubond from Nosler, which has pretty much the same shape and profile, but a bonded core and a higher max impact velocity. Good luck.

[Athabasca]

Good reply there Dub.
I guess another way of putting it is "All Mallards are ducks,but all ducks aint Mallards."
Same thing applies to Ballistic Tips.

Doug