to anyone,

im going to idaho muledeer hunting and texas/kansas whitetail hunting this fall and winter. i have loaded my 280 ackley with 140 grain nosler ballistic tips. i use 60.5 grains of reloader 22 at c.o.l. of 3.450. i usually do not like ballistic tips on deer due to the bullet splattering and making a mess. granted all the shots were 40 yards and closer. i have other loads but this load is tremendously accurate. ive shot .45" groups at 200 yards. i can cover them with a dime. please respond with any real life experience with these bullets on deer size game. im skeptical about using this bullet.

Accuracy sort of depends on the particular rifle. Some like different bullets/loads than others. However, I could not hunt with a bullet that I didn't trust, no matter how accurate the load. In my 280 AI, I use RL22 and the 140 grain Barnes XLCBT bullet. Accuracy is excellent, and I never have to worry about bullet performance.

All I can tell you is that I have over 20 deer on the wall that were killed with Nosler Ballistic Tips...from Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Kansas. I've never had a btip fail at any distance. I've used a 270, 30.06, 308, and 7mmRemMag. The latter I used on a few does in Missouri at less then 10 yards. I've never even witnessed a btip blow up...weird huh?



My brother is taking his custom 270 to Colorado this year, Rem BDL 700 with a 25.5" PacNor barrel and 130 Ballistic Tips over 57.0 H4831. He's killed more deer with a 130 Btip than me in Alabama, SC and Tennessee. He hit them in the shoulder all the time. I don't know what else to tell you.



Call Dan LILJA from Lilja barrels in Montana and see what he says. He told me that he'd use a Btip over the Accubond because it is more accurate. One of his favorite all time loads/rifles is his 270 Weatherby Mag, with 130 Btips.



Good luck.

Ps, I'm taking 3 Rifles out west with me this year to Wyoming, Colorado...Missouri, and Kansas. 2 270's, and my 300 Ultra.



1) 270: 130 Triple Shock over Re19 (Ruger/Hart barrel)

2) 270: 140 Accubond over Re22 (700 Broughton-Richards barrel)

3) 300 RUM: 200 Accubond over Re25 (700 Select match Shilen)



I put 12 bullets into one ragged hole, 5/8" at 100 with the TSX but it took me just over 2 hours while letting the barrel cool.



The 140 Accubond shoots even better at 100, but I only had time for 8 shots from it.



The 200 Accubond is 3/4". It is the only one I've tested at 300 yards. I got 4 bullets that gouped just under 5" while shooting from a prone position with my bipod. I was ok with that since I was out of breath half the time from swatting wasps and mosquitos and such.



If you Btips are that good, use them. But, as someone else posted, if you have any doubt or questionable confidence in the bullet, probably ought to get to the range and begin testing some tougher bullets.



Good Luck and have fun. Kill some big ones!

Between the deer I've shot with Ballistic Tips under .338 (none smaller than .257)and the deer I've seen and/or helped process that were shot with them the total is probably 100, plus or minus a few. No failures at all. Lots of meat damage, though.

However, if I were paying or traveling for a special hunt I would shoot a 154 or 160 grain bullet of slightly tougher construction so I could take an end-for-end shot with greater confidence. Just my preference.

If I had my 338-06AI with me I would take that same end-for-end shot with a 200 gr. Ballistic Tip with total confidence.

If you have the time try that same load with an Accubond and if the accuracy is there you get the best of both worlds.