Nosler Ballistic Silver Tips - anyone have a performance report on big game?

popcan

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I bought some of these Nosler Ballistic Silvertip bullets to try... 150 grain .270.

Turns out they shoot very well in my rifle, but I'm not hearing a lot of reviews on how they perform on moose or deer.
First hand knowledge on penetration, expansion, etc would be appreciated. I was averaging 2735 fps 10' from the muzzle.

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I would use them.at that velocity I would expect good results. might be leary of 130's at over 3000 fps but the heavier bullet at that speed to me is good to go.. I have been using the 200 grn ones in a 338 06. performance on bear was great. blew out the spine and exited. I don't use them in my 338 mag might be good but I go with a bonded.
 
they're just a coated Ballistic Tip. At that mild velocity they'll work just fine. Not as much penetration as an Accubond but they will kill
 
Heres my experience with the 180gr 8MM Version. .323dia fired out of a 8x57js mauser at approx. 2740fts cronied. Shot a good sized black bear( approx. 6foot 4 inches and weighing approx. 225-230lbs) at about 225 yards, the bullet entered the rib cage and some how deflected making a almost 90 deg turn, went thru the stomach and ended in the back thigh. So from the shot entrance to the back thigh is about 2.5feet. So im my opinion its a decent bullet.

here's the recovered bullet with comparison of a new bullet.

the lead bit was found with the bullet in the meat, and fell out once the bullet was removed from the meat.

this particular bullet for this cal has a thick jacket as you can see from the pics.







 
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I'm not one that thinks the 270 is light for moose - see it as a more than capable caliber.

But a Ballistic Tip or SST (which is pretty much the same) would not be my first choice for moose - great deer bullets.

Something a little tougher (bonded) like an accubond, interbond or scirocco would be better if you are looking for long range performance or a partition or an a-frame (or any of the mono's - TTSX, GMX, E-Tip) if your shots are somewhat under 300 yards would be better choices.

The BT's/SST's are meant to expand quickly, shed weight quickly etc - they generally retain 65-70% of their weight - fine for bambi, but if I'm after bullwinkle I want all the penetration/weight retention I can get with decent expansion.

So while these would work for a near perfect shot (not much can survive a double lung or heart shot), it would be the slightly quartering or shaky hand shot that would leave me doubting if I pulled the trigger.
 
I use a 168 Grain Ballistic Silver Tip in my .308 Win. It shot well out of my Rem 700 LTR and Savage 16FCSS and has killed many a deer. I have only every recovered one bullet out of a Whitetail Doe. It was a quartering shot (she was quartering away from me) and the bullet entered her right rear rib and stopped on her left front shoulder under the hide. The bullet expanded nicely but the lead core did separate from the jacket. If I can find it, I will post a picture. I wouldn't hesitate to use or recommend this bullet - it does what it is supposed to.
 
I shot my Whitetail buck with a 115 grain Nosler Ballistic tip (same bullet just not coated) out of my 257 Weatherby last Fall. 230 yards and the deer went down like lightning. Never recovered the bullet but the lungs were completely mush. I handload these with 69 grains of IMR 7828 and get 3300+ fps out of my gun. I wouldn't want to make a marginal shot as you could destroy a lot of meat with my 257 but they shoot great out of my gun (that's why I picked up 5 boxes when I found some in stock:). Good luck.
 
Two deer with the ballistic silver tips. 180gr 3006
1st was my first deer at 150 yards spine shot, dropped it but had to finish it off, did not find either bullet.
2nd deer was smaller and not so far off. One shot in the boiler went off like a hand grenade. Horrifying actually. Too big of gun and too big of round on too small of a deer at 75 yards. I never used them again. Not to say my experience speaks to anyone else's. I now shoot 165gr interlock hand loads. Great performance, no tracking deer.
 
I used off and on a .270 win, when meat hunting and culling in New Zealand, used only two loads a 110gr pmc, and a Remington 140g ballistic tip.
guessing around 300 deer, 1000 plus goats. (reds Mostly, sum sika, fallow and samber) never had problem with the old 140gr ballistic tip. worked great.
 
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