Hey anybody running 125gr ballistic tips in a 308 for whitetail here?

I load them for my son at 2,350 fps for his 308. He and his cousin have killed about 20 deer and one hog using this load. Ranges have been between 10 and 200 yards. Never recovered a bullet, hog included. I don't have any idea what the bullet would do if loaded any faster but at 2,350 it is a very good mild kicking deer load.

not a whitetail bullet - great for windy day varmits, but that bullet is a thinly constructed thing. great accuracy, but not for use of big game

Down here in Texas where the deer are small the 125gr BT works great loaded with 49gr of W-748. We use that bullet and the 135gr flat base Berger.

YES! here in florida the deer are relatively small. the last deer i killed with my 308 was an eight point that weighed 129lbs field dressed. he was shot at just over 100yds. i got 100% penetration and he took about 20 steps. my pet load is 49.5gr of varget, cci primer,and remington brass. this gives me about 2900fps.
it's great.

i wouldn't use one on a northern deer; those buggers get awfully big and 125-grns looks like an invitation for disaster.

on very small deer such as those found in texas or on varmints, would probably be a good bullet, depending on velocity.

what velocity are you hoping to get, powerguy?

The 125 grain Ballistic Tip is constructed no differently from the 150, 165, or 180 grain bullet -- there's just less of it.

The solid base of guilding metal is the same in any of them, and is the feature that provides the greater-than-expected penetration.

I wouldn't want to use a 125 BTip at .300 Ultramag veloocities, but it is an excellent whitetail bullet (southern subspecies, at least) in cartridges like 7.62x39, .300 Savage, and at modest .308 velocities.

When loaded over blue dot you get almost no recoil, and easily achieve 2500 fps, and great accuracy. I wouldn't want to push it faster than 2700 fps, but from the reports of the single shot pistol users it is a reliable killer of deer, when velocities are kept modest.

quote:

Originally posted by Paul H:
When loaded over blue dot you get almost no recoil, and easily achieve 2500 fps, and great accuracy. I wouldn't want to push it faster than 2700 fps, but from the reports of the single shot pistol users it is a reliable killer of deer, when velocities are kept modest.

Bingo,

That is the secret.. keep the throttle held back on them and they will do a superb job...

We rifle types need to spend more time reading what some of the handgun hunters are saying about the successes that they have with certain calibers and bullets...

Encore Hunters, even when using something with a 12 to 14 inch barrel, seem to think the 30/30 with a 125 grain Ballistic Tip is a good combo for Elk....

And it is certainly a lot more killing power than a Bow any day of the week..

I've shot several whitetails with 150gr. BT's out of a Rem. 760-308, at about 2600fps, and they are devastating. I will probably be using a different bullet this year as they do too much damage if you hit anything more than just ribs. Hit the shoulder and you can slide a pop can through the entrance and exit holes (never did recover one). Just too much meat loss for me.

Chuck