Hi all. I have a 25-45 Sharps AR that my daughter and i have been shooting all summer. We have been shooting mostly 85gr ballistic tips because a) that's what Scheels has in stock and b) its about the only bullet that correctly fits the case. The only problem with using that 85gr pill this Saturday, is that its light jacket- varmint variety. Sheels also has the 100gr big game ballistic tips but they are just a tad too long to fit the COAL at 2.245. I was thinking that sanding the Tip down to the the plastic/copper junction would lend them usable and free up some case capacity to boot. My only worry is how the loss of the tip would affect its performance on northern deer sized game. Just wanted to check in and see if anyone has tried this before.

the tip helps the bullet fly through the air better.
but it also initiates expansion.

removing the tip will make the bullet penetrate better, but could inhibit expansion down to almost nothing.

just filing it flat shouldn't change how the bullet works on game enough to notice one way or the other, but might or not affect feeding.

It seems to me that filing the tip flat would help make your bullet expand more quickly. Have you tryed to just pull the tip out and make them hollow points? In my opinion 100 gr. hunting bullet would be better than a varmit bullet for deer of the size we tend to have in this part of the country.

I have always been told the following:

How deep the cavity in the bullet, opening at the nose, and thickness of jacket have more to due with expansion than the polymer tip.

The Ballistic Tip has a pretty good jacket thickness. Varmit Ballistic Tips have much softer jackets.

Should be fine

If you are looking for a tougher bullet than the NBT
look at:
the CEB.s
https://cuttingedgebullets.com/257-70gr-esp-raptor
https://cuttingedgebullets.com/257-80gr-esp-raptor

or
the the 80gr TTSX barnes

I was able to get out to the range today to test them out. They grouped just a little under 2'' at 100, only slightly worse then 85gr tipped bullet. The nice thing is that I was able to fit an extra 2gr of powder in the case. So next step is to see how the perform on game, which will have to wait until this weekend.

DuggaBoye: I realize there are several other bullet offerings for big game fit the case with out having to chop anything off. I just wanted the convenience of being able to purchase at a local store. If, by some chance, these dont work out CEB's are at the top of my list to try next.

copy that

Removing the tip will not affect the trajectory up to any range you are likely to shoot a deer in Wisconsin.
It will have no affect on expansion either. Before the "ballistic tip" was invented, guess what we used to kill game with?
Lead tips. Just more hype sold to new shooters.
Oh yeah, we had Silvertips.

The last box of 160 grain Accubonds that I loaded in my 7mm RM had 4 bullets that had their tips broken off. If I load them, I'll probably just shoot them in practice.

I would think that a plastic tipped bullet without the plastic tip might even expand more than one with the tip, because it is then just a cup and core bullet with a large hollow point.

The accubonds and ballistic tips tend to loose their tips as a matter of fact, no since in grinding just pull them out with pliers..they performed the same on some antelope this year by some folks I know who because about 12 out of 100 lost tips in the box, so they pulled the tips on all and said they performed the same as far as they could tell.

They worked just fine. I took a small doe today. Quartering toward me the bullet broke the front shoulder and took out the lungs but did not exit. I suspect the bullet came out with the gut pile because I never found it.

I used the Sierra 90 grain HPBT Gameking in my 25x45 this year, CFE223 powder and it worked great.
2 shots 2 dead deer and both bullets exited the animal, one a 168 yard shot the other 290.
You might give that bullet a try, shoots to the same point of impact as my 87 grain Speer varmint bullets.
I have experimented with the removal and flattening of the plastic tips by sander/grinder. I've not noticed any accuracy loss or failure to open but I got tired of the extra labor.

The Sierra Hollow Point Boat Tail is a very under rated bullet.

The 90 gr. Sierra bt HP is a sudden deer killer in my 250-3000 and the most accurate bullet in all my 250-3000s (3) I like the 87 gr. Speer also for deer..The 80 to 90 gr. bullets as arule are better deer killers than the 100 gr. bullets contrary to some magazine articles Ive read over the years.. Id choose the 100 gr. Accubonds on big Idaho trophy Mule deer, but wouldn't feel undergunned with the lighter bullets on those big deer..