nosler ballistic tips

[tony212]

I was thinking about using 150 grain Nosler ballistic tips in a .300 win. mag. for a pronghorn hunt this fall. When I checked the nosler manual, it said the normal OAL was 3.34. But if you use Nosler spitzer bullets you should not seat them to that depth. I called Nosler and the man told me to seat them 3.35. He also said that my Winchester model 70 has a shorter magazine than most rifles and the extr.01 may make them too long for the magazine.  Has anyone ever heard of this before or have any experience with Nosler ballistic tips?  Also should I worry about the extra .01 in my magazine? It sure seems like the magazine has enough play to make up .01. Let me know what you think.
Thanks;
Tony

[Robert]

If they seem too long for your clip, it will only take a quick bump in your die to seat them a little further.  You might want to check in your specific rifle how far they are from the lands, but they should be fine. They have a different ogive than many soft pont bullets and if you are seating them the same, I think they will be further back from the rifling.  You might even want to push for the maximum length that will cycle for you....just an opinion.

[jamie]

The guy at Nosler was exactly right.  The BT's, SST's and other polymer tipped bullets come to a pretty good point.  Your normal spitzer will be shorter because the tip is more dull and since most load data is for Spitzers the overall lenght between the two will be different.  This is not a problem if they fit in your magazine.

[Questor]

Considering that ballistic tips are available in commercially loaded ammo, I'd just use Nosler's data and forget it.  The loads are designed by Nosler to fit the maximum SAAMI cartridge OAL. If your rifle doesn't accommodate it, then the rifle manufacturer is at fault.  Make up a sample cartridge and see what you get.  Seating the bullet deeper than specified in the Nosler manual will likely increase pressures.