Why did I wait so long to try Ballistic Tips?

[Dand]

I only hunt moose and caribou and have to be concerned about having brown bears for visitors.  From what I've read, the Ballistic Tips in 30 caliber might not be the best choice for my 30-06  or 300 Win mag.  So I have used 180 and 200 gr Nosler partitions or Speer Hot cores.  I practice with Rem Core loks or Speer.

But last time I went shopping, the 180 gr Ballistic tips were on sale so I tried box.  For the 300 win I arbitrarily picked a  load using some H450 as practice loads.  Got ok results with Core loks, poor results with some Nos PP 180 (factory 2nd's).

And then I tried the 180 BTs!!!  WOW.  Out of a clean barrel, the first shot was about .75 inch off but the next 4 shots went into a little over  .45" ctc at 100 yards from the bench.  I tried 2 more rounds at a different target and they were just at .5 inch.  My gun is pretty decent and usually I keep my shots in 1.25  inch to 2 inches at 100.  But I've never piled that many shots that close together.  And this gun has fired over 2,000 to 2,500 rounds in its life.  Luckily I was out of ammo.  I might burn up the barrel if I could do that all the time.  Now I see why they became so popular.

Guess I better try some in  my .223 - lots easier on me and my powder supply.

I'll still use partitions for my hunting but the BT's might be my practice choice from now on.

By the way I usually get right around 1.25 with the pointed partitions - these second quality protected point bullets are the poorest shooters I have ever tried and I still was in the 2 to 3 inch range at 100 - good enough for moose and 'bou at short range.  But these seconds had a rounded heel compared to the sharp beveled heel I'm used to seeing. Has Nosler made a change lately?  I bought these seconds last spring whe I visited the Nosler Plant in Bend Oregon.

[corbanzo]

I am right with you on those.  I got the ballistic silvertips, and they are really good shooters.  I put them over 58.8 grains of reloader 22 in my -06, makes a really good load.  Those are what I'm using for black bear.  I'm thinking of loading some barnes-x for moose, cause I'm still not sure of the silvertips for weight retention. 

[Lloyd Smale]

Dand if you havent tried them try some hornady vmaxs in that 223. They are about the most consistantly accurate .223 bullets ive found and ive never been a big fan of hornady bullets.

[steve4102]

Dand if you havent tried them try some hornady vmaxs in that 223. They are about the most consistantly accurate .223 bullets ive found and ive never been a big fan of hornady bullets.

   I too am not a fan of Hornady bullets.  But, I have to agree, the 40 and 45gr V-Max out perform the Nosler BT's in my 221 fireball.  They are an excellent choice for plinking and varmints.

  Hey Dand,  If you like the BT's accuracy why not give the Accubond a try.  Same accuracy with better bullet performance.  Of course, IMO nothing beats the Partition for a hunting bullet.

[Dand]

thanks for the suggestions folks.  I probably will try the Vmax and .223 BTs now that I see what might be.

My Ruger 1B 223 has a very long throat and I have tended to prefer 55-65 gr bullets.  With some 55 gr bullets, I can't get close to the lands and still seat the bullet, so I don't know if it would be worth messing with the 40 and 45 gr Vmax.

[charles p]

They are very good target bullets, but I wouldn't recommend them on animals larger than deer because sometimes they don't do well on deer.

[LaOtto222]

I have no experience with ballistic tips in the bigger bores. All of mine have been with the 224 caliber bore. I stuck stubbornly to the soft pointed spitzers for years. I then bought a box of 50 grain V-Max bullets on a whim. I have gotten any where from good to eye popping accuracy out of them. I use them for my standard starting load development bullet now. I tried the 40 grain bullets, but they will not touch the rifling in my guns and I did not get as good of results with them. I was not aware that Hornady made 45 grain V-Max bullets. I have found 40, 50, 55, 60 grain bullets, but not the 45's. I would like to try the 45 V-Max in my 221 Fire Balls, they do well with the 50 grain V-max but I would like a little more velocity.

[Swampman]

They are very good target bullets, but I wouldn't recommend them on animals larger than deer because sometimes they don't do well on deer.

I agree, I now use Remington Core-Locs .

[Cheesehead]

I have used BT 180 grain in my 300 win mag on many large whitetail with instant results. I believe they would be very effective in a 300 mag on moose or caribou.

Cheese