What happened to Nosler?

Dultimatpredator

Dultimatpredator

Well-known member
I can tell you when I first started reloading back in 99’ I can walk into Gander Mountain and buy any size ballistic tip per 50 for $16.99 or less. Ahhh…those were the days lol. Well, I can tell you the last 15 years I never see Nosler ballistic tips anywhere I go shopping. It used to be stockpiled at Gander Mountain, which is long gone and out of business. I haven’t been to a Scheels in a while Used to have piles of them as well. Last time I went, they were real light in inventory on them a couple years ago. Cabelas used to have them piled on their shelf as well. The last couple years I’ve been to Cabela’s they don’t have any. The local Fleet Farm had 125 grain .308 ballistic tips. Stopped into a small local shop when I was out of town for Christmas the other day and they had a couple boxes of 125 grain .308 ballistic tips. They are basically nonexistent in retail stores anywhere for the last 15 years around me. Just wondering if they went to online selling only or if they’re hurting and on their way out? I can tell you I always see piles of Hornady Vmax for $22 per 50 on average with the shelves full. Just wondering if Nosler has lost contracts with retailers or what’s the deal? I know it’s there about 40 bucks, or more, per 50 now so they’ve taken a price hike when I see them on the shelves. Also the partitions are $2 a piece everywhere I see them. I have a bunch of portions I bought about a decade ago for 2/3’s the cost. When I run out of them I’m done with partitions. There’s just as good of bullets out there for less than half of what they are asking for them now. I shot a few deer with cheap cup and core seirras that dropped deer faster than partitions do and are more accurate to boot. I think I’m gonna be switching over to Hornady in the future when I run out of my ballistic tips sick of having to jump through hoops looking for ballistic tips. The last couple times I needed them I just ordered online in bulk which gets a little heavy on the pocket book. It was nice to be able to walk into somewhere again, and buy a box of 50 or 250 when I need them.
 
Yep I have to order my Speer’s online too. Started casting bullets about 5 to 6 years ago. I can run them as fast as jacketed but they just don’t have long-term accuracy after 200 yards so varmint hunting they are definitely out. Mainly use Cast in .358, 430, and .452 In my 35 rems, 35 whelen, 44mags, colt 45, and 450 BM. Getting tired of having to waiting for limited runs of Nosler ballistic tips for sale anywhere in stock for a long time. I’m just wondering if they’re going belly up?
 
Well, big John passed in 2010, with out his innovation it would be hard to stay on top. Lots of things have happened in the bullet world since 2010.

Yes I cast for multiple things also. .358 and up. Easier to cast consistent bigger boolits. Sometimes I want a heavy boolit at a slower velocity.
 
Nosler must have recently done a (rare) run of 6mm 70 gr. Ballistic Tips. I got some from Grafs a couple weeks ago; looks like they have a few boxes of 100 left at this posting.
Been seeing more Nosler brass popping up, too, especially in smaller calibers. Powder Valley today had .204 Ruger, .221 Fireball. .222, even .220 Swift; some on sale.
 
lewwetzel said:
Nosler must have recently done a (rare) run of 6mm 70 gr. Ballistic Tips. I got some from Grafs a couple weeks ago; looks like they have a few boxes of 100 left at this posting.
Been seeing more Nosler brass popping up, too, especially in smaller calibers. Powder Valley today had .204 Ruger, .221 Fireball. .222, even .220 Swift; some on sale.
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That was my goto bullet when I started predator hunting. Haven’t bought any in years. Think I’ll wait till I can find a 250 pack for the same price as 2, 100 packs. I think a have a box or two of the 100 packs laying around. Had to order a bunch of the 55 grain CT versions when they were discontinued around three or four years ago from Natchez shooters supply for $19 a box Per 100. Bought a good 8 plus boxes if I remeber. Think the 250 count was around $49 so I might have bought those instead, don’t remember but it was a really good price. I’ll wait till prices go down or Wait till I can find 250 boxes of 70’s. If not I’ll switch to a comparable vmax equivalent since there are piles of them at fleet farm and have been for the last year and half with a $22 price tag. They may not shoot as good but I’m not going to jump through hoops any more and pay double to four times normal retail for a bullet or primer
 
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Dultimatpredator said:
pay double to four times normal retail for a bullet or primer
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Around here paying about 30% more since the last time I bought primers, powder, bullets and ammo is the "new normal" retail price.

I end up ordering all of my reloading components because the closest store that may have the components is about 80 miles away. I get better prices when ordering and can normally find free shipping. Paying for shipping is cheaper than the gas money to drive a 160 mile round trip.
 
They haven't made any 6mm 55gr BT lead free since 2017, been out of stock since 2018. I've called a few times and they always say they're next up for production just waiting on a delivery of raw material.
 
I also used to use lots of nbt's. I never could get a partition to shoot decent, and don't see the need for them for deer. I still have a few bt's in the cabinet but I'm mainly all Hornady. Even those have gone up some, but are mostly settled in at reasonable prices. Most of my stash was obtained walking into the factory and buying blems out of their cabinets for between 5 and 10 dollars per hundred. This was only 4 or 5 years ago, and they have since quit selling them like that. Now they sell blems only through a local pawn shop or places like Midway and they aren't nearly the bargain they were.

Back in the 90's the bt's would outshoot the vmax nearly every time and weren't much higher in price. But I'm not going to bother working up a load for a bullet I have to go on a world wide search for each time anyway. Lately I've marveled at how low cost many of the speer options are, and considered stocking up on the tnt's as they are famed to be pretty accurate I guess. Not much experience with them to know for sure though. Sierra's were almost universally the most accurate bullets I've tried, but they're harder to find and priced pretty high imo. And bergers are excellent also when I tried them but I don't shoot any matches or anything important enough to need one. I do like the Barnes triple shocks and the successors to them and they drop game great, shoot great and don't leave any lead in your meat, so for serious big game hunting I usually call on them. Now for that purpose I'd probably give Hammers a try. But serious big game hunts are few and far between for me lol.
 
The ballistic tips were always easy to find a tight grouping load with, without much effort. Evert hornady I’ve tried it takes Alot of ladder testing with several powders to find that “one” load that will shoot almost as good as a ballistic tip. Just not going to try and give them my business anymore because it seems like they don’t want mine. I’ve looked for 180 grain .308 ballistic tips on shelves for about a decade with zero to be found. Just hate paying $15 shipping for one box.

What I’ve gotten a kick out of is the last two store ps I went into want $28 for a box of 100 40 grain vmax And every other size up in .224 ….and every other caliber offered is $22. My 24F hornet will have to wait till I find 35 grain projectiles.
 
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I think I have a few 165's you'd be welcome to, but no 180's.

I have some 125 bt's and accubonds I thought would be perfect in the 30RAR but the 125 sst's shoot so ridiculously well and are much cheaper and available that I kind of blew off getting serious with them.
 
The .308 125 ballistic tips are the only Nosler bullets I see laying around in people shelves for the last two years. Used them for deer and antelope back in 99’ hand Loaded in my 300 RUM when I was going out west and wanted the flattest shooting antelope round I could make. Loaded to almost 4,000 fps. They serviced their purpose but I’ll never use them again.
 
Dultimatpredator said:
The .308 125 ballistic tips are the only Nosler bullets I see laying around in people shelves for the last two years. Used them for deer and antelope back in 99’ hand Loaded in my 300 RUM when I was going out west and wanted the flattest shooting antelope round I could make. Loaded to almost 4,000 fps. They serviced their purpose but I’ll never use them again.
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They are very accurate round @ 2910 fps in a .308 and flat shooting, too; good on fur.......not so much. :cool:
 
I shot 2 pronghorn and one deer with them. I could see daylight through the pronghorn at 200 yards before it hit the ground. It had a hole completely through it I could clap my hands in. The other was a little over a 1000 yards. Poked through it like a FMJ at that distance. It ran 40 yards in a circle and tipped over dead. Both broadside double lung shots. I shot a 10 pointer directly under my stand on a full run comming right at me. Dropped at the shot and looked like bomb went off inside it. To destructive imo at the velocities I was pushing it but it works like Thors Hammer till it gets WAAAY out there and runs out of steam. Still killed just fine at that extremely long range shot that I would never take now but imo it doesn't expand and dump any energy at 1000 plus yards.
 
Good thing I’m on other forums that don’t like jacketed projectiles.lol. I just horse traded for almost 2 boxes of 90 grain ballistic tips, 60 of the 95 grain SST’s, and about 30 or so Speer 100 grain Speer grand slams for some lead Ignots. I have acquired a bunch of various sizes and grain of .243 projectiles over the years trading back and forth. Didn’t realize a have a pretty good pile of pulled 70 grain Nosler BT’s when I went though my stuff today. The 90’s i maybe have a 130 or so. I only use them for deer hunting now and use the 70’s and 55’s for yotes. I even wound up with some 68 grain Bergers and a bunch of 60 and 70 grain Seirra HPs along with a bunch of 80, 85, and 100 grainers. My have to horse trade here for Noslers.

I forgot I traded a bunch of my .224 jacketed bullets for 243 a few years back and basically just use 60 grain vmax and 40 grain Nosler ballistic tips in my 223’s exclusively. I traded some Cast bullets locally the other day for 650 .224’s so I’m getting a little head way again on jacketed stuff.
 
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