Bullet Performance Database

[MS 9x56]

The saying speed kills is true only if the bullet penetrates. If you adhere to the JOC camp I would humbly suggest you use all copper bullets. Myself I am firmly in the Elmer Kieth camp.

 

[PerH]

First moose I saw shot was with a Lapua Mega 185 grain . Factory loaded .

Bullet hit behind shoulderblade , but angled upon impact , turned sideways and went under the shoulderblade and exited up to left . Moose fell down , got a second bullet behind the ear .

Shot range was about 15 meters, no branches , trees in the way for it .

 

[Graham Hunter]

I have seen it happen twice. The first time was helping a hunter in a group using a .25-06 with Hornady Ballistic Tips. He wounded several animals in a row that were lost. The employer for the group was paying for the wounded animals, but asked me to go help this man. I watched him shoot a pig in the neck that stunned it for a few seconds. I followed up with a .308 and 130 Barnes TTSX, which put it down. Where he hit looked like someone took an ice cream scoop of flesh out, but no further penetration. That incident gave me a real disdain for the .25-06 and Ballistic Tips ever since. He used my rifle after that with solid results. He bought a .308 and did fine for the years that group hunted together. The bullet choice was 100% of the cause his poor results. I am told Hornady has toughened those .25 cal bullets in recent years.

The other time I was using a 7 WSM with a Berger 168. Placement was to the high shoulder. The bullet shattered on the scapula without anything penetrating through. The impact stunned him for sure, which allowed time for a followup up fatal shot. That was the last time I used Bergers. To this day that result still surprises me, but it did happen.

At this point in my hunting journey, Barnes TTSX’s are my go to choice. TSX’s were inconsistent on deer, but the TTSX has been very consistent in terminal effects, even with suboptimal placement from the kids on occasion. There has been only one long tracking job out of hundreds of animals including the young hunters. A 12 year old nephew shot a buck in rear half, but fortunately hit the liver. The blood trail started after about fifty yards and Stevie Wonder could have followed it. We found the buck very dead after he ran about 150 yards from the point of the shot.

Hornady never made the Ballistic Tip. Nosler made it. The original Ballistic Tip was a Varmit bullet that for some reason Nosler thought was a good idea to put in hunting rounds from 243 to 338. Supposedly the ballistic tip has been redesigned for hunting calibers?

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I have seen it happen twice. The first time was helping a hunter in a group using a .25-06 with Hornady Ballistic Tips. He wounded several animals in a row that were lost. The employer for the group was paying for the wounded animals, but asked me to go help this man. I watched him shoot a pig in the neck that stunned it for a few seconds. I followed up with a .308 and 130 Barnes TTSX, which put it down. Where he hit looked like someone took an ice cream scoop of flesh out, but no further penetration. That incident gave me a real disdain for the .25-06 and Ballistic Tips ever since. He used my rifle after that with solid results. He bought a .308 and did fine for the years that group hunted together. The bullet choice was 100% of the cause his poor results. I am told Hornady has toughened those .25 cal bullets in recent years.

The other time I was using a 7 WSM with a Berger 168. Placement was to the high shoulder. The bullet shattered on the scapula without anything penetrating through. The impact stunned him for sure, which allowed time for a followup up fatal shot. That was the last time I used Bergers. To this day that result still surprises me, but it did happen.

At this point in my hunting journey, Barnes TTSX’s are my go to choice. TSX’s were inconsistent on deer, but the TTSX has been very consistent in terminal effects, even with suboptimal placement from the kids on occasion. There has been only one long tracking job out of hundreds of animals including the young hunters. A 12 year old nephew shot a buck in rear half, but fortunately hit the liver. The blood trail started after about fifty yards and Stevie Wonder could have followed it. We found the buck very dead after he ran about 150 yards from the point of the shot.

May not happen often but can and does happen in rare cases. I have had it happen only once. Whitetail deer at about 80y. Frontal shot. I was exiting my tree stand to go home. Reached the ground and was traversing an open field when a spooked buck ran down the hill in front of me and entered the field running directly at me. It was a standing off hand shot and we were both surprised and the buck was already full of adrenalin from being spooked by one of my hunting buddies. When he stopped, I shot with my 270, using a 130g SST. My shot was high and left and impacted the upper right shoulder joint and skimmed along the upper ribcage. The bullet fragged and blew out a 6x6 inch chunk of flesh. Only one small bit of lead penetrated the chest cavity and punctured one lung.

I had to track it for over 400y and about 2hrs before we recovered the dead deer. Failure? Well, the deer was dead with one shot (I missed all of my fast followup shots). In my opinion, it was more of a hunter fail than a bullet fail but I never used another cup n core bullet for deer until last year when I killed one with a 225g SST from my 338rcm. That shot was a perfect broadside and that is where the SST and Ballistic tips shine. With a well placed broadside behind the shoulder they deer is DRT. For any other angle you are better off with a bonded or a TSX in my opinion.

A few years later, my son had a similar fail with his 270. Again the deer was dead, so it is hard to call it a fail but it sure damaged a lot of meat. Not good. There are better bullets for that application.

 

[Tex .416]

Hornady never made the Ballistic Tip. Nosler made it. The original Ballistic Tip was a Varmit bullet that for some reason Nosler thought was a good idea to put in hunting rounds from 243 to 338. Supposedly the ballistic tip has been redesigned for hunting calibers?

Yes, you are correct of course, Nosler makes them.

The occurrence with the .25-06 definitely was a Ballistic Tip, so that should read that I heard that Nosler has toughened up that bullet.

Thank you for catching and correcting that.

Kind of spooks me that my brain crosswired that basic info after fifty years of loading. My wife may actually be right that I am starting to have memory issues. I’d rather blame short nights and early mornings and just being tired while out hunting yesterday.

One pig in the cooler last night courtesy of a .308 with a 130 TTSX. No wound photos - forgot to take any, further support for her point?.

 

[David jr]

That just does not happen.

It did happen when hornady brought out the new 375 , 300 grain boat tail spire point bullet 2400 FPS some time in the 90's.
I put 6 of these bullets into bull elk shoulder he just would not go down distance about 200 yards . When I walked up to the bull it was trying to get back up finished off with 44 mag 240 lead bullet in head .
When I started gutting and quartering all bullets had started blowing apart in the hair before starting into the hide only penetrated about 3 inches for all 6 rounds .
Same hunting trip mule deer at 15 yards broadside same hornady 375 300 gr bt sp bullet went through and completely ejected the liver spleen lungs and hart on the ground behind the deer . the exit hole was huge .
From that day on I will never use any Hornady products .
A 300 gr 375 bullet should never blow up on hair L.O.L. BUT IT DID .

David Jr

 

[curt672]

Hornady never made the Ballistic Tip. Nosler made it. The original Ballistic Tip was a Varmit bullet that for some reason Nosler thought was a good idea to put in hunting rounds from 243 to 338. Supposedly the ballistic tip has been redesigned for hunting calibers?

A bit confused by your statement, If you look at the Hornaday bullet it has a lead core and a polymer tip a lot like the Nosler -- But it is not bonded and I think that makes all the difference. I have used the Nosler accubond on many Plains game and had great results. Hornaday may not call there bullets " Ballistic tips but they do have the tip and design of one

 

[Graham Hunter]

A bit confused by your statement, If you look at the Hornaday bullet it has a lead core and a polymer tip a lot like the Nosler -- But it is not bonded and I think that makes all the difference. I have used the Nosler accubond on many Plains game and had great results. Hornaday may not call there bullets " Ballistic tips but they do have the tip and design of one

As do most all bullet company. Plastic tip are stuck in bullets by most bullet manufactuers. Ballistic tip is solely Noslers baby. Not all tipped bullets are the same.

 

[Tex .416]

A bit confused by your statement, If you look at the Hornaday bullet it has a lead core and a polymer tip a lot like the Nosler -- But it is not bonded and I think that makes all the difference. I have used the Nosler accubond on many Plains game and had great results. Hornaday may not call there bullets " Ballistic tips but they do have the tip and design of one

“Ballistic Tip” is a trade name for one of Nosler’s bullet designs. They are relatively soft and frangible. About twenty years ago (?), Nosler supposedly increased jacket thickness in at least some of them that were more likely to be used on larger animals.

Ballistic Tip® Hunting Bullets

We engineered the Ballistic Tip Hunting bullet to be very predictable and extremely forgiving. Whether you’re after Whitetails, Blacktails, Mulies or Pronghorns, Ballistic Tip bullets deliver the kind of accuracy, consistency and down-range punch required for putting down that buck in any situation.

www.nosler.com