Ballistic Tips

[Dr Ray]

Not all plastic tip bullets are created equal

I agree with you on that. However in calibers other than 22 I won’t be using any plastic tipped bullet again.
If I go back to competition shooting I probably would however.
Mind you after hearing from Baz who uses a plastic tipped bummer in 257 Weatherby and hearing about the results I may have to amend my blanket statement.
Well first I’d have to get a 257W,

 

[CBH Australia]

Ok, does none know how we can cross section a projectile it’s decent results? We can maybe compare old and new Nosler and others . We can resolve this. We can answer all of the pertinent questions.

The example above a Zmax and a Vmax, sometimes said to be the same in certain cals pending the different online references.

I shot 3 pigs last week at no more than 50 m with Nosler 150 gn BT Hunting projectiles. No bullet recovery or Necropsy but of 3 all went straight down and died of a single fatal shot.

No bullet blow up that I have seen with a .168gn Zmax observed previously from same .308. (Hit at close range suggesting high velocity and hitting on the shoulder the projectile appears to have shattered on impact leaving. Nasty superficial wound with possibly minimal penetration)

 

[Dr Ray]

Getting gunshots guys on cairns to dissect Woodleigh Bullets etc
Must follow up the results

 

[Fastrig]

I agree with you on that. However in calibers other than 22 I won’t be using any plastic tipped bullet again.
If I go back to competition shooting I probably would however.
Mind you after hearing from Baz who uses a plastic tipped bummer in 257 Weatherby and hearing about the results I may have to amend my blanket statement.
Well first I’d have to get a 257W,

As noted above, not all tipped bullets are the same. With the new generation of copper and “eco” rounds I believe the tip is often integral in their design and needed to produce the flowering/pedal expansion across their velocity range. The initial field reports I’ve read on the Norma EcoStrike and Federal Trophy Copper have been pretty good and some of the Barnes bullets are now tipped. Don’t think being tipped is a necessarily a negative, so long as the round has been engineered with the tip as part of its design from the onset and not just added as part of a marketing campaign or fad.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

Ok, does none know how we can cross section a projectile it’s decent results? We can maybe compare old and new Nosler and others . We can resolve this. We can answer all of the pertinent questions.

View attachment 352233

The example above a Zmax and a Vmax, sometimes said to be the same in certain cals pending the different online references.

I shot 3 pigs last week at no more than 50 m with Nosler 150 gn BT Hunting projectiles. No bullet recovery or Necropsy but of 3 all went straight down and died of a single fatal shot.

No bullet blow up that I have seen with a .168gn Zmax observed previously from same .308. (Hit at close range suggesting high velocity and hitting on the shoulder the projectile appears to have shattered on impact leaving. Nasty superficial wound with possibly minimal penetration)

Thanks Chris!

Both those sectioned bullets don't only have a jacket profile different from each other, but also from a sectioned bullet seen in some photographs of vintage bullets, both recovered and alongside a sectioned unfired example. I'm guessing the bullet displayed in the center of these 3 examples is a specimen from when the words "solid base" and "ballistic tip" were simultaneously displayed on the package label.

Vintage Bullets 6

• Mr. Zorg
• Jun 2, 2020

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Thanks Chris!

Both those sectioned bullets don't only have a jacket profile different from each other, but also from a sectioned bullet seen in some photographs of vintage bullets, both recovered and alongside a sectioned unfired example. I'm guessing the bullet displayed in the center of these 3 examples is a specimen from when the words "solid base" and "ballistic tip" were simultaneously displayed on the package label.

Vintage Bullets 6

• Mr. Zorg
• Jun 2, 2020

@Mr Zorg
You are 100% correct.

 

[RayAtkinson]

The partition is a better bullet IMO than most anything out there and Ive just shot too many animals to buy of on todays new stuff, although I keep trying new bullets because Im a dyed in the wool bullet digger, it the bullets in the carcass I will find it if it takes all day..My favorite bullets other than the Partition are GS customs HP, North Forks, Woodleighs, Win. PPs, and Rem corelokts to name a few..LOts of good bullets out there today and all are invariably judged by the Nosler Partition, that's your first clue..Last but not leases, it depends on what animal your hunting as the best bullet and that's the least consideration by so many folks..On deer I want fast expansion and almost to the base, on buffalo tip expansion about 1/4 down the length of a heavy bullet for instance..

 

[tedthorn]

Here are a couple older .284 Nosler B-Tips alongside a .284 Accubond and a couple new production .308 B-Tips

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Here are a couple older .284 Nosler B-Tips alongside a .284 Accubond and a couple new production .308 B-Tips

View attachment 352300

@tedthorn
The 2 on the right are the old solid base balistic tip the accubonds ore a bonded version of them. Bring them back they were a great t bullet.
Bob.

 

[bruce moulds]

I agree that for lighter game lees bullet is often the best.
so where does this leave say a sierra conventional soft point?
same weight and calibre, I believe expansion is more consistent and predictable with the sierra, and in the field I cannot tell the difference in trajectory.
bruce.

 

[tedthorn]

@tedthorn
The 2 on the right are the old solid base balistic tip the accubonds ore a bonded version of them. Bring them back they were a great t bullet.
Bob.

The two on the right are brand new

 

[Hearties]

There are a lot of misconceptions about Nosler Ballistic Tips. The Hunting versions are essentially unbonded Accubonds with very similar jacket profiles and are excellent on medium game or at moderate impact velocities (below around 2600 FPS). The Varmint versions do have thinner jackets and are only available in smaller calibres.
There are also many “plastic-tipped” bonded bullets that perform fantastically with both consistent expansion and good penetration - Accubonds, Interbonds, Sciroccos, Bondstrikes etc...

 

[Newby]

@tedthorn
The 2 on the right are the old solid base balistic tip the accubonds ore a bonded version of them. Bring them back they were a great t bullet.
Bob.

No.

The two on the right are brand new

Yes.

A couple of you blokes could save yourselves a lot of time and speculation if you simply spent some time in the shed with some bullets. a vice, and a mill file.

That is obviously what Ted T has done

 

[tedthorn]

No.



Yes.

A couple of you blokes could save yourselves a lot of time and speculation if you simply spent some time in the shed with some bullets. a vice, and a mill file.

That is obviously what Ted T has done

Yep.....a belt sander
Guess I should have made a lengthy video

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Dr. Ray,

Are you asking about the Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet or bullets with polymer tips in general?

@Art Lambert II
I was going to ask the good Dr the same thing.
My experience with the 55grain Nosler balistic tip in the 223 has been everything from complete failure to expand even at close range to blow up shallow wounds and sometimes brilliant. I have seen the same thing with the 95 grainers in the 243.
The accubonds on the other hand especially in 35 caliber are absolutely brilliant ALL the time giving great accuracy and terminal performance.
I have used the SSTs in my 25 and my son's 308 and have never experienced a problem with them on any game shot, from rabbits thru to fallow deer and pigs as well as big billy goats.
I am looking forward to trying the Nosler combined technology silver tip in my 25 at 3,370 fps. I know it is just the balistic tip with a lubalox coating but I am hoping it works in my rifle. It sure groups well.
Bob

 

[Ray B]

I recall talking with a rep from Nosler and he said that the ballistic tip served two functions. If the bullet hit resistance at high velocity the tip shattered, becoming something of a pile of material that slowed contact of the target/animal to the bullet core, thus slowing expansion. the hoped for result was that the bullet could be used for game at close range where it would prevent bullet low-up. the second function was when the bullet struck the target/animal at slower velocity. at slow velocity the ballistic tip didn't shatter but held together, much like the old Remington Bronze Point, acting like a wedge that punched back into the core and speeding expansion. So Nosler was hoping for a bullet that could do both, hold together at close range high velocity yet give reliable expansion at long range slower velocity.

Being a confirmed user of WW PP & ST and if it really mattered BBCs, I haven't spent any of my limited shots at animals for testing of the Nosler theory. But maybe others on the site have and could relate their experiences to it's accuracy.

 

[Dr Ray]

This thread is great but I'm now totally confused. mY personal experience has had very mixed results - like on rabbits - fantastic. On deer - well every shot was so different I cannot say for sure whether they work or not. I've had them drill right through like a solid and others penetrate and then act like a grenade ruining entire off-shoulder.
My friend BAZ is delighted with the 100 grain ballistic tips driven very hard in his Weatherby 257. For target shooting I found they were extremely good.
I'll stick to conventional soft pints such as Woodleighs.