Nosler Bts real spotty on deer

utahpredator_7

utahpredator_7

New member
My rifle with 115 Nosler Bts has shot 3 deer in the last 4 days. The first, a muley doe, got hit hard. She was 100 yards away, and quartering away. The bullet went through a rib, through the top of her lungs, and out. Saturday was the opener of rifle season, and my buddy shot a nice 4 with it. We found very little blood, but assume he hit it low. Probably not the bullets fault. Then, yesterday I shot my buck. He had a huge body! (check pics in big game forum) the first bullet hit him just an inch under his head, in the neck. I was getting occasional high fliers out of this load, contrary to the .75" norm. This may be to blame for this, maybe I was excited /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif The next shot hit him right in the lungs, perfectly. It never exited, and may have only got one lung. The deer now walked back into the clearing, and I broke a front leg out and blew the bottom of one shoulder out. He went down. I got my stuff together to go get him, and looked in my spotting scope again. He was up and moving! The next shot went through the bottoms of both front shoulders, he was finally down. Not real impressed, I'm switching to tsx. the shot in the neck didn't even exit, I found most of the core and some of the tip on that one. The gun is a 25 WSSM, and the deer was 300 yards away.
 
My only experience with the Nosler Bal.Tip bullets on larger game animals is with the .308 Winchester 165 grain at 2,700fps mv.

The five deer taken were all dropped in place with exit holes. One deer required a finish shot (initial shot taken at fast-running deer that broke both thigh bones). All shots taken at under 250 yards.

Good luck this year,

Karl in Phoenix
 
I havent had good luck with them with big game. I would switch to something that penatrates better and leaves a bigger wound channel. I found that it was either DRT or like you and four or five shots it was finally down. When shooting big game I want a reliable bullet that doesnt let me down ever. What just happened to you would make me switch in a heartbeat. My .02
 
thats odd, I have an AR-15 chambered in 25 wssm, I load them to 3000 fps, have tried every angle I have gotten a chance too, never had one fail to exit. head shots, broadside double shoulder shots, quartering away, have yet to recover one.
so your judging the bullet on 3 game animals, one hit well, one hit well on the second shot, after he was adrenaline charged, and trying to get away, and another your not sure where it was hit? I've took 10 deer with mine the first 2 years, all 1 shot kills, none made it over 50 yards.
the accubonds also do well.
RR
 
I have heard mixed emotions about the NBT's. I personally won't use them on big game because I don't want to take the chance. There are too many bullets that are almost a sure thing to use something that gives doubt. The TSX should do a much better job.
 
The first year I hunted with 130 grain NBT's in my .270 Win, (about 10 years ago)I killed four deer at ranges from 72 to 122 yards. All died in their tracks, but there was no exit wound on any of them.

But, starting the second year though this year, I've killed probably 25-30 more deer with them...all single shots...all pass throughs (at ranges from 65 to 376 yards).

One of the deer was quartering hard toward me at 160 yards, and I hit it high in the front shoulder. The bullet ripped right down below and to the side of the spine, breaking every rib on the left side (except for the two short ones in the very back) and exited the left ham, leaving a baseball sized exit. The damage was seemingly catastrophic. Surprisingly, that was the only deer I've hit with an NBT that traveled anywhere, and it went 60 yards through thick brush. All the others dropped on the spot.

The deer I shot at 376 yards was hit just behind the shoulder, and the bullet passed completly through, leaving about a 50 cent piece sized exit....much the same exit wound a more conventional softpoint would have left on a much closer shot.

They also work very well for me, in 6mm Rem 95 grain configuration, on antelope.

With the exception of the very first year I've used them, I've not experienced any lack of exit, and only one game animal I've hit with one has taken even a single step after the hit. I've had an extremely long run of beginner's luck with the NBT's....... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Mike
 
I also have heard mixed emotions on BT's for deer and such, I have also taken approx 50 head of big game with them.
some at mediocre velocitities such as the 25 wssm, some even rather anemic by todays standards such as the 7mm JDJ in a 12" contendor, and more than a few when I ask the bullet to do more than its intended, such as impact a black bears shoulder at over 3400 fps from a 7mm STW and I've never saw the failures I've read about, had a few that didn't exit when it hit shoulder bone but they've all performed splendidly.
Todays ballistic tips are the exact same bullet as the nosler solid base boattail with a polymer tip when you buy med game weights, you can tell by the way they are packaged, the med game bullets are packed 50 per box, the varmint ballistic tips are 100/250 per box.
I've even noticed that like all soft point bullets, the slower they impact the more they act like a controlled expansion bullet.
RR
 
Quote:

I've even noticed that like all soft point bullets, the slower they impact the more they act like a controlled expansion bullet.
RR



Exactly my point regarding the 376 yard deer I mentioned above. At that range, the velocity had bled off quite a bit, and examination of the wound channel on the deer looked as if (if you didn't know any better)it had been hit at much closer range with a "stouter" bullet.

Of course, tomorrow things may go downhill in a handbasket, but for ten years now, the NBT's have been my go-to bullet for deer and antelope.

Mike
 
muleys are not white tails, a little more gun would help. You asked a lot out
of the gun at that range. I think a partition may have dropped her with the
neck shot though.
 
Shooting a BT at 25 WSSM velocities is a lot to ask of the bullet at close range. A tougher constructed bullet will likely provide the desired results. You may want to consider the Accubond or Hornady Innerbond, Swift Scricco ect as an alternative.
 
That is a weird sequence of events. Of course I have a similar story to tell involving a doe antelope and 160 Barnes X-XLC bullets in a 7mm Mag. They all exited but it took five shots to bring her down, three of which should have been DRT's. Still can't explain it.

Ballistic tips have never let me down. I have shot the 150's in a 7mm mag, 150's and 165's in a .308 Bellm Contender, and 85 grain Ballistic Silvertips in a .257 JDJ Contender. I have multiple bang-flops to report on deer and antelope with these combos, the most notable being with the lowly 85 grainer. I shot a brutus of a muley doe, (she even had a spikey-topped mullet and had a chain on her wallet), at 212 yards and broke both shoulders. The bullet exited,DRT. That was performance far beyond my expectations for the little bullet.

I had a buddy experience a bullet failure with a 140 grain Nosler Accubond in a 7mm mag. Again a shot that should have been a bang-flop somehow turned into a chase.

I get you just never know..............

My .02
 
The big muley never ran. He never really went anywhere, just makes me nervous about hitting a shoulder. My gun has more than enough energy at that range, has over 1400 ft. lbs. at that range. I just wasn't impressed at all. My dad has shot them (180 grainers) out of his 300 WSM and has only had 2 exits, both on does. He shot a small whitey last year head on, the bullet made it just behind the shoulder and stopped. Is the .257 Scirocco out yet?
 
I"ve never had any problems with the 115g NBT out of a 25-06 at 3200fps on muleys or whitetails shoulders. I have yet to recover a bullet actually. I've shot them from 50-600 yards. Most have been DRT kills with the other couple running only 20 yards or so. The 115 NBT has been a proven killer for me so I see no need to change. I've shot quite a few deer, 1 antelope, 2 black bears, quite a few coyotes with the 115g NBT and bullet performance was superb on every instance.

Try the 110g AB. It will hold up a little better and penetrate a little further.

I believe the NBT to be one of the better thin skinned bullets out there in reguards to accuracy and performance.

What happened with the Wildcat bullets??
 
The Nosler BT worked for me and then they didn't work for me. I have heard that for years from several users and several calibers. I tried them for deer with 165 grain in a 30-06, and 140 grain in 280AI. The last year I used them with the 280AI I shot a buck at less than 30 yards and got full penatration while clipping both shoulders. The next weekend I shot a doe at 150 yards. This was a lung shot that did not hit a rib going in and still did not exit.

Enough for me. I'm shooting Barnes Triple Shock.
 
Quote:
My rifle with 115 Nosler Bts has shot 3 deer in the last 4 days. The first, a muley doe, got hit hard. She was 100 yards away, and quartering away. The bullet went through a rib, through the top of her lungs, and out. Saturday was the opener of rifle season, and my buddy shot a nice 4 with it. We found very little blood, but assume he hit it low. Probably not the bullets fault. Then, yesterday I shot my buck. He had a huge body! (check pics in big game forum) the first bullet hit him just an inch under his head, in the neck. I was getting occasional high fliers out of this load, contrary to the .75" norm. This may be to blame for this, maybe I was excited /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif The next shot hit him right in the lungs, perfectly. It never exited, and may have only got one lung. The deer now walked back into the clearing, and I broke a front leg out and blew the bottom of one shoulder out. He went down. I got my stuff together to go get him, and looked in my spotting scope again. He was up and moving! The next shot went through the bottoms of both front shoulders, he was finally down. Not real impressed, I'm switching to tsx. the shot in the neck didn't even exit, I found most of the core and some of the tip on that one. The gun is a 25 WSSM, and the deer was 300 yards away.



My kids and I changed from BT's to Nosler Partitions for the exact same problem.

Martyn
 
I've been using 150 gr BTs in my .270 for years and they have worked excellent on mule deer. My shots average 250-350+. I haven't had any problems. It's rare for them to take more than a few steps.

I've never used 115 gr on a big muley though.

Good hunting
 
When I started looking at deep penetration bullets, I
started with Barnes XBTs, and Nolser Partitions. I could
not get the Partitions to shoot decent groups, out of 3
different rifles, where I got decent results with Barnes in
one rifle, and impressive results in the other two. My first
northern whitetail, taken with a 308 Win loaded with a
hot 130 gr. Barnes XBT, was a most impressive bang, flip,
and flop. The shot was at 30 yards /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif It looked
like a grenade went off in the vitals. Next up was the
25-06 Rem., with a 100 gr. Barnes XBT. This time it
was a 120 yard shot, and this was a double lung shot,
with the bullet entering between two ribs. The deer
stumbled 15 yards, and dropped. Again the vitals were
dark red jello. The third rifle is a 300 WSM, loaded
with 165 gr. Barnes bullets, which shoot sub MOA, and
is still waiting for that elk trip.

I have since switched to TSX bullets, in the 308 Win,
and the 25-06 Rem. and the only one to draw blood, is
the 308 Win. Last year I shot two management deer,
and neither went for more than 30 yards. The second
one took a step just as I pulled the trigger, and
I hit at the diaphragm. A marginal hit, and it should
have been a much longer trail than it was. I knew it
was a bad hit, with no blood trail, so I circled way
ahead of it, thinking I would cut a blood trail. The
place was so tracked up, it was impossible to track
a particular deer, without blood. After struggling
around in heavy conifers, I finally circled back to
the shot site, to reset. When I got about 30 yards
away, I stumbled on a very dead deer. Given it was
a total soft tissue hit, I expected a pencil through
wound channel. Again it looked like a grenade went
off in the liver, and most of the diaphragm was just
gone. Hard to breath without a diaphragm /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I am a very happy Barnes bullet slinger, whether it
be the XBTs, or the TSXs.

Oh, on Nosler BTs, I have never warmed up to an
idea that a hunting bullet can get poor penetration,
at short ranges, with high velocities, when bone
is hit on the way in. In hunting, things don't
always go like the Outdoor Channel shows, and I
hate trailing animals where bullet performance
is a contributing factor to a struggle to recover
the animal. I love Nosler BTs for the results on
varmints, and predators, where pelts are not the goal.
I don't trust them for across the board bullet performance,
in all big, or medium, game hunting situations.

Squeeze
 
I have taken well into the hundreds of deer on crop damage permits with NBT's. I have never lost one, and very rarely even have to look for one, they prety much just drop. I have killed them with anything from a 120gr in a 6.5x55, to a 125-165gr in a 30-06, a 140-150gr in the 280AI and 7mag, and will be trying out a 200gr in the 338win just for fun.

My shots have been from 20' to past 500yds. I rely heavily on the NBT and have never been let down. I love the NBT,close to match bullet accuracy, and spectacular one shot DRT hits.

I also took them to Wyoming on antelope and mule deer, both one shot harvests.
 
I never could get ahold of Rich or find a way to order, so I'm using other stuff. I'd still like to try the wildcats though.
 
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I don't use them on big game anymore. .257 Roberts 100gr NBT 3 shots. 150 yds, 50 yds and the finisher at 20 yds. 1st caught the back edge of the shoulder & heart, came running directly toward me, next shot right between both shoulders head on saw the hit, saw the blood start dumping out the front, just kept running right at me and at 20 I thought he ws going to trot right through me. 1 final shot into the other shoulder that or finally seeing me made him change course. Dang buck still had enough left in him to jump the fence to the adjoining property then die right on the other side. Both ball joints of the shoulder were toast, lungs were almost completely liquid and the heart was in chunks. Yeah some damaged meat in the shoulder brisket area. Honestly after the second shot that would have probably done just as well and had a bit less meat damage. I just kept thinking that he was going to run right up to me and stick me with his antlers or stomp on me for a few. I've stuck with Partitions or Sierra or Hornady Spire points since without issue.

I used the few boxes I had left like a varmint bullet on Coyotes and other varmints I don't plan on eating. I will say that it was a very accurate bullet in my .257 Bob.
 
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