Deer & Nosler Ballistic Tips

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Today I shot my 3rd and final deer for the season. All 3 of my deer where shot in the boiler room using .270 Winchester and my own hand loaded ammo. I used 56.0 gr of H-4350 with 130 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. My gun is Remington 700 SPS DM using a Redfield 3-9x50 scope.

Nosler states on the box that this is a hunting bullet that is good for deer & elk. The bullet killed all 3 deer very quickly as the lungs were usually hit. They usually went 20-30 yards before going down. The shots were in the range of 75 -100 yards for all 3 deer.

In the past, I always went for head or neck shots. This year I decided to do the proper heart-lung vital shots. Honestly, I found that these shots ruin too much meat. The bullets went in and came out the other side doing lots of damage to both front quarters. Should I use a different bullet? Were my shots too close for this bullet? What gives? I can understand doing some damage to one of the quarters, but both? Maybe I should go back to head and neck shots next year?
 
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When I was doing head and neck shots, I either had the deer instantly down or a total miss.
 
Well, you can aim a couple inches further back, bullet type won't matter when you hit the bone of a shoulder and expect to find remains for stew.

BT bullets do seem to be a bit frangible, especially smaller calibers.

A bonded or partition bullet may give the results you want.Through the vitals and ribs they still stay together very well.I'd stick with the boiler room shots less ruined meat on a lung shot than a neck shot. ;)
 
Dogleg said:
If you don't want to wreck shoulders, the first step would be to not shoot them through the shoulders.
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Yeah, like head or neck.....like I used to do before.

Last year I shot a doe in the eye and the bullet blew out the back of the head. No meat ruined there.
 
Kelly Timoffee said:
Well, you can aim a couple inches further back, bullet type won't matter when you hit the bone of a shoulder and expect to find remains for stew.

BT bullets do seem to be a bit frangible, especially smaller calibers.

A bonded or partition bullet may give the results you want.Through the vitals and ribs they still stay together very well.I'd stick with the boiler room shots less ruined meat on a lung shot than a neck shot. ;)
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A few years ago I tried nosler ballistic silver tips, but I didn't like them. I found that the accuracy of them were not as good as just plain ballistic tips.
 
I wasn't aiming for the eye. The deer walked straight into me on a path. It didn't notice me until about 30 yards away. I put the crosshairs on the head and pulled the trigger. It went in the eye.
 
You are using a bullet designed to fragment quickly for maximum "shock" - that also will destroy more than an average amount of meat in the process. Shoot for ribs, not shoulder bones and results will still be quick kills with less bullet damage. Or use a stouter bullet. Head and neck shots may kill cleanly, but also may wound and therefore are a less sure killing shot in my experience.
Another thought: much of what people assume is "bloodshot" meat is simply blood that has run in-between the layers of muscle tissue. It can be cleaned up and the meat need not be discarded. ALL deer shot in the shoulders will have a large amount of blood between the shoulder and rib area, regardless of bullet choice or caliber. Even bow shot deer will have blood leak into this space. Clean it up and enjoy the meat!
 
Longwalker said:
You are using a bullet designed to fragment quickly for maximum "shock" - that also will destroy more than an average amount of meat in the process.
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I use those bullets because Nosler recommends them for deer. Furthermore, my gun is very accurate with them.
 
The only time i even consider a shot to the head or neck is if i am under 50 yards from the deer, with the deer relaxed and no other shot is available.

I have seen more than a few with ghastly wounds that were caused by people taking iffy shots, i also will not shoot the shoulder on a animal as i think it is ridiculous to waste meat and consider it unethical to do so.

A shot placed in the boiler room takes the animal quick and clean without waste, why shoot anywhere else?
 
At high speed the bt will do lots of damage. If your shot is further out, speed is less, and less damage. For close range high velocity, I prefer a tougher bullet.
 
What kind of answer are you looking for here? Confirmation that Ballistic Tips can be destructive to meat? I think you figured that one out yourself.

Just a thought here, but perhaps a bullet with a more solid construction would destroy less meat? Try a Partition next year and report back.
 
NBTs kill like lightning, make a hell of a mess,lose a lot of weight, sometimes don't exit and are usually easy to get to shoot.

NPTs on the other hand kill like lightning, make a hell of a mess,lose a lot of weight, usually exit and can be a little tempermental about getting to shoot.

On a scrawny deer the choice can come down to whether you want an exit hole to go with the mess, or if you think a bit of accuracy is going to change your chances of success.
 
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