Saturday I hunted with my "wife's" NEF .30-30, loaded with 125 grain Ballistic Tips. I've read a lot about them from guys using them in .30-30 and .30-30 AI T/C Contenders and they've been accurate in my rifle.
I'm not a huge fan of Ballistic Tips based on what I've seen happen with them over the years when they hit bone, but I figured at 2672 avg MV the 125 might be a good deer bullet.
Long story shot-- I shot a coyote at 143 yds (measured) at 6:15 am at the edge of a creek. He fell in the creek, I decided to stay put and keep hunting and get him later. The wind picked up around 8:30 and I hadn't seen anything and figured the full moon may be messing with the deer movement anyway, so I went to get the coyote and get back to my thermos of coffee in the truck.
When I got to the other side of the creek I saw two does standing on the bank, ended up shooting one on a dead run (the deer, not me) broadside at roughly 75-80 yards.
As it turned out, the bullet hit right behind one shoulder and exited smack in the middle of the opposite shoulder, hitting ribs on the entrance, and ribs and shoulder blade on the exit. There was no blood trail for the first 20 yards or so, but after that there was an ample blood trail and I had no trouble finding the doe which had run about 80 yards through sage and some nasty briars.
The doe was 110 lbs on the hoof, the entrance hole in the ribs was about 2 1/2" in diameter and the exit in the ribs was smaller, maybe 1 1/2"- exit hole in the hide was small, probably .44 cal or so.
Granted, this is not the normal load for a .30-30 and most people who hunt with that bullet probably load it faster than it was going, but the bullet performed well and didn't come apart-- which the Hornady 130 Spire -did- on a 117 yard shot on a 130 lb buck two seasons ago. So I didn't know what to expect. The deer reacted about like what you'd expect from a .30-30, no complaints there.
Now, the case can be made that on a broadside shot at that range with that shot placement that ANY bullet from just about any caliber would have done well. Maybe so, and if it had been an angling shot on a heavier deer I'd still prefer the muscle of the .308 or the Brick Wall of the .45-70.
I'm not about to start loading Ballistic Tips in my other rifles, I still want my 165 BTSP in my .308, my 405 JSP in the .45-70, and the 145 spitzer in the .280, but this bullet exceeded my expectations.
And I have to give a shout out to the Simmons Pro Diamond reticle, that deer was headed out of there in a hurry and all I knew was that I had the shoulder of that deer in the middle of the diamond and that I had hit her -somewhere- (she humped up when I shot and I was afraid I had gut-shot her). I don't usually shoot at running deer and it may have been just pure luck, but that reticle helped me get on target quickly and the shot placement couldn't have been better.
I think I'll stick with this load for another deer or two and see how it does.
Rick
