Nosler Balistic Tips

[Catskinner]

Has anyone ever used the green tipped Nosler Balistic Tips for hunting Elk? The Balistic Tip and the AccuBond look like they are built exactly the same as far as the way they designed the copper jacket and the lead core. They have the exact same Polymer Tip except for the color. Any info would be helpful.

 

[JohnCushman]

I hand load Hornady SST's, which are a similar design (sorry Federal). They are devastating on elk and deer and antelope. They fly great and pack a great punch.

 

[Big Fin]

I would caution anyone from using a hyper-fracturing bullet (SST, Ballistic Tip, others) on heavier game such as elk. I know I will get flamed for this, but have seen too many bad things.

Accubond has a much better retention build than a ballistic tip.

Example. I watched a bighorn sheep take two bullets on the shoulder blade. One on each side. Damage was done, but until a Nosler Partition was put through the sheep, he was not going to die.

It was going to be a full body mount, so we did a full autopsy and quartering. The two ballistic tips were perfect hits on the front shoulder. Neither penetrated the shoulder blade and rib cage far enough to affect vitals.

Had the shot been further back and only hit ribs, some would have made it to the vitals, and it would have eventually killed the ram without need of a followup with a Partition. But, these shots were a couple inches further forward, and it was a near disaster.

Anyone who is hunting sheep/elk/moose/goats with hyper-explosive bullets is just asking for trouble. Maybe not the next animal, or the one after that. But sooner or later, it will be a mess that is regretted. Especially when bullets with stronger frame can give you accuracy beyond what most guys shooting skill can max out.

 

[JohnCushman]

Thanks for the info, Big Fin. It's certainly something to think about next time I'm at the reloading bench.

 

[wingman1]

When they first came out I tried them on pronghorn. I shot a pronghorn at 150 yards with a 270 behind the shoulder. All you heard was a loud whopp and the animal hunched up and walked away until I had to shoot it again. Upon dressing it I found the bullet exploded inside only taking out one lung. They are good for varmits but bad for big game. Imo

 

[JohnCushman]

Is there a more solid Federal bullet for reloading anyone would recommend? I've used store bought Remington Core lokt bullets before, but my rifle just didn't like them. Maybe I could find a hand load that it would like. Last time I used a Federal bullet I shot an antelope doe and the thing looked like it exploded and blew the offside shoulder and ribs apart in a hole the size of 2 fists plus some. So, I've been leary of using Federals again.

 

[wingman1]

Is there a more solid Federal bullet for reloading anyone would recommend? I've used store bought Remington Core lokt bullets before, but my rifle just didn't like them. Maybe I could find a hand load that it would like.

Bear claw by speer ATK

 

[----]

Is there a more solid Federal bullet for reloading anyone would recommend?

The bullet used in the Fusion ammo is on the market now, although I don`t know what it`s called offhand. I`ve been really impressed with the Federal loaded Fusion stuff so far. The price is awesome too.

 

[Summitthunting]

I shot a cow with a 180gr ballistic tip out of my '06. The bullet centered a rib and split into 3 main pieces which hit the lungs, liver and guts. She went about 70yds and piled up. It was a 60yd shot and there was no pass through. There was a lot of shrapnel throughout the body cavity though. On smaller critters they seem to work fine, but the come apart violently no matter what size the game is. The bonded ballistic tips seem to hold up a little better and you can’t argue with accuracy. I've been shooting 180gr triple shocks out of by .300wby and penetration is awsome. The only thing you need to know is that your going to have to track the animal even with a good shot. Big Fin is right, for an elk bullet I would look to something different.

 

[wgiles]

There are now three types of Nosler Ballistic Tip Bullets. The ones that I use and am familiar with are now called Ballistic Tip Varmint and have a fragmenting core. There is also a lead free Ballistic Tip fragmenting bullet. Last is the Ballistic Tip or Ballistic Tip Hunting. Nosler is not very precise about the name. Different caliber bullets have different color tips. Nosler claims that the Ballistic Tip Hunting bullets are controlled expansion and are suitable for game.

 

[wgiles]

My current favorite game bullet is the Barnes TSXT, Triple Shock X bullet, plastic Tip. Solid copper, but open up nicely.

 

[Wally Dog]

I'd surely not use 'em on bigger game. I tried some 130 gr out a .270 on speed goats and they are so frangible pieces were coming out at 90 degrees from the entry point and never a pass thru.
I switched right back to partitons and yep the performance is there.
WD

 

[1_pointer]

Not all the Ballistics Tips are made the same. For instance, the 120gr 7mm version has a much heavier jacket than the 140gr version in an effort to toughen it up for metallic silloutte (how ever that's spelled) shooters. The 180gr .308" version has been toughen up because people started shooting game bigger than elk with them. The 200gr .338" version has the jacket making up around 60% of the total weight. FWIW...

I have shot pronghorn, deer, and elk with a 200gr .338" BT and have had nothing but good results. One elk at 300yds broke 3 ribs and the sternum going in and went out the shoulder blade. I would use them again and would take any shot angle offered on anything smaller than elk.

 

[belly-deep]

Has anyone ever used the green tipped Nosler Balistic Tips for hunting Elk? The Balistic Tip and the AccuBond look like they are built exactly the same as far as the way they designed the copper jacket and the lead core. They have the exact same Polymer Tip except for the color. Any info would be helpful.

To answer your question directly, while they look similar in construction, the Accubond's jacket is bonded to the lead core (hence the "bond" part of the name). The Ballistic Tip is not bonded. The bonding process strengthens the bullet and helps it retain weight, as the lead has a harder time separating from the jacket, and so it penetrates deeper. The Ballistic Tip is more likely to lose most of its weight. Both have their applications, and the Ballistic Tip's application is deer and pronghorn mostly. From what I understand, Nosler has modified the Ballistic Tips since the first came out, as the initial design expanded too easily even on deer-sized game. That's not to say they turned it into an elk bullet, however. There is one exception to that rule. I believe that everything above (but not including) .30 caliber has a heavier jacket and is designed for elk-sized game. I know at one time, John Barsness was quite pleased with the performance of the 200gr .338 cal Ballistic tips in his .338 Win Mag and he wrote a few articles about using them in Africa and here on elk.

I have been shooting Accubonds since about 2004 or so and have found them to be a great bullet for all-around use. The seem to strike a great balance between the accuracy and ballistic coefficient of the Ballistic Tips and the better penetrating qualities of a bonded bullet. I've used them on everything from antelope to elk, in guns ranging from a .280 on the "standard cartridge" velocity end to a 7mm STW at the upper velocity end. I have recovered several bullets and they retain a good portion of their weight, even after breaking elk shoulders.

I know that many like the all-copper bullets, like Barnes X or Nosler E-tips or Hornady GMXs because they typically retain over 95% of their weight, however I like bullets to lose a little weight during penetration. It seems to kill animals faster, especially the smaller ones like antelope. I saw a buddy kill an antelope in 2002 with the "blue" Barnes Xs, which are no longer made. It took him several shots at about 200 yards with a .270 Win. A few of the shots were in the guts and with no bone contact, the Barnes Xs didn't open up and just shot right through like a FMJ. I've heard that the Barnes was aware of that problem and corrected it with their newer TSXs, but I've yet to test them in a similar situation.

Like I said, the Accubonds are all about "balance" to me. They seem to expand reliably on smaller animals and still penetrate the bigger ones, plus they are usually very accurate and have a high B.C.

 

[Missoulaz28]

The bullet used in the Fusion ammo is on the market now, although I don`t know what it`s called offhand. I`ve been really impressed with the Federal loaded Fusion stuff so far. The price is awesome too.

The Fusion bullets are being sold as the Speer Deep Curl. They are starting to pop up in certain calibers with more to be released later in the year form what I have heard.

Like Randy said they seem to work very well on game and have been extremely accurate in factory ammo.

 

[Mudranger1]

now just a question here, I'm not a bullet expert or even claim to know anything about bullets. I have been using the winchester ballistic silvertips and seen nothing but total devastation on whatever they hit. florida deer/ Colorado elk...coincidence?

 

[belly-deep]

now just a question here, I'm not a bullet expert or even claim to know anything about bullets. I have been using the winchester ballistic silvertips and seen nothing but total devastation on whatever they hit. florida deer/ Colorado elk...coincidence?

Winchester Ballistic Silvertips and Nosler Ballistic Tips are the same bullet, just with different names and a different coating (on the Win version)

 

[174in]

I would go with an accubond for elk it is a hard bullet to beat all around.If you were only shooting deer,and pronghorn the balistic tip is great.The accubond will work for about anything in north america.

 

[174in]

now just a question here, I'm not a bullet expert or even claim to know anything about bullets. I have been using the winchester ballistic silvertips and seen nothing but total devastation on whatever they hit. florida deer/ Colorado elk...coincidence?

The balistic tip is designed to do alot of internal injury on game it has a thin jacket.It really shines on longer range shots with slower cartridges like the 308,it will still expand.Balistic tip is a great bullet until you start hiting game in shoulder blades ect at high velocities that is where people have problems. I have shot alot of deer with balistic tips and never lost one even shooting them through the shoulders, but 90% of the time the bullet recoverd will have core/jacket seperation not something you would whant on an elk.

 

[wgiles]

The balistic tip is designed to do alot of internal injury on game it has a thin jacket.It really shines on longer range shots with slower cartridges like the 308,it will still expand.Balistic tip is a great bullet until you start hiting game in shoulder blades ect at high velocities that is where people have problems. I have shot alot of deer with balistic tips and never lost one even shooting them through the shoulders, but 90% of the time the bullet recoverd will have core/jacket seperation not something you would whant on an elk.

This used to be true, but there is now the Ballistic Tip Hunting, which is not a fragmenting bullet. The Ballistic Silvertip is a fragmenting Varmint Bullet. I think that Nosler is doing themselves more harm than good by marketing different bullets under the same name, but they are marketing the Ballistic Tip Hunting as a game bullet, not a varmint bullet.

http://www.nosler.com/Bullets/Ballistic-Tip.aspx