I dont reload (yet) and have to rely on factory
cartridges for my 7mm.rem. and would like to know
if anyone can give me an opinion federal premium
150gr. nosler ballistic tips? For deer,elk,and bear under 250yrds.

Jamie,
For deer and black bear yes. But for elk i would go with a 175gr. Nosler Part. or a Swift A-Frame. At times they can be Very hard to put down and sometimes the shots aren't great so you need a bullet that will reach the vitals and put them down now! Depending on where you hunt every hour they run is a days packing.

Jamie,

For the deer I would use the 140gr ballistic tips. Elk and bear definitely the partions, probably 175gr. I used the ballistictips on a many of whitetail.

Scrappy said it best, don't pay too much attention to the bad press the ballistic tips get on here, I've shot them for years and have yet to have one fail or "destroy" a shoulder. Broken and penetrated, yes, mangle to the point of not edible, no. Partitions will never let you down in any case if you just want to be a one load man.
Yardbird

I've used the 150s for several years in the .280 with great success on deer. With proper shot placement not one has taken a single step.

The 6.5mm 120 gr and 7mm 150 gr have never failed to kill deer for me.

I have taken several Deerwith 140 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips but I would not dream of hunting Elk with them. For Elk I would use at a minimum the 160 grain Partition but would recommend the 175 grain Partition for Elk or Moose.

Advice so far is reasonable. I would add that black bears are typically much smaller than most people think them to be. A typical springtime blackie is usually no more than 200 lbs, which puts it well within the category of game appropriate with a 150 grain Ballistic Tip. If you are hunting in an area known for very large blacks, such as some coastal areas or areas where abundant agricultural crops are available to them, then a black might run much larger and the heavier Partitions or similar bullets might be more appropritate.

I'm with over.40 and handloader on this one. For the 7mm on elk, the 175 noslers definately out perform the others.

I use the 140gr ballistic tips on deer and the 140gr partitions on moose and elk.Both do great job.

My main pet hate with ballistic tips is not there performance, if there chosen for there correct purpose they will behave exactly as they were designed to.

My complaint is how easy the nice little point on my 165 gr .308 cal ballistic tips flattens out due to the recoil in my little ruger 30/06

I figure once that little tip flattens out I lose a little of my BC which probably brings it performance back to the BC of a woodeleigh.

Over the years I have seen nothing but trouble with Ballistic tips. I personally wouldn't even consider using them for any big game hunting ever in particular out of a 7mm as they are so fast and they can and will eventually explode on impact on a front shoulder. Honestly, I've seen this many times. And it was a real hassle chasing wounded game To many other choices out there to risk it IMO. No matter what you decide good luck to you.

In my opinion a 150 grain bullet is too light for anything out of a 7 Mag. A 160 grain bullet would be a good choice for deer, elk, and bear. If you look at the ballistics and compare the 150's with the 160's, you'll see you're gaining nothing but a little extra velocity up close and that does nothing but but destroy more meat if you happen to get a close shot. I also agree with some of the others that a 175 grain would be ideal for elk. If you decide to use the 175 for elk, you could also use it for deer and bear, and it'll work just as well as the 160's. Sure it may drop a couple more inches at 400 yards but that isn't likely enough to make enough difference in hitting or missing an animal. There is one advantage to using a 150 grain bullet and that would be less recoil. If you choose to use a 150 for that reason go with something like a Barnes X or a Swift A Frame.

I've had nothing but excellent results with 140 gr Ballistic Tips in my 280 at 3170 fps. Whitetail deer shot behind the shoulder drop in their tracks from 125 to 150 yards and every time the bullet exited leaving a 2 - 3" exit wound. This rifle has a fast barrel and would approximate many 7mm Rem Mag velocities with this bullet. This rifle and load averages under .5 moa. In many of my rifles, load development always starts with Ballistic Tips due to their excellent BC and near match grade accuracy.
You may want to check out the new Nosler Accubond Ballistic Tips. They offer a 160 gr bonded core bullet in 7mm and from their ads, I understand it is designed to take advantage of the high Ballistic Coefficients of the BT line in a harder bullet. Of course they are not designed to have the penetration of a Partition, but should fill the need for a deeper penetrating expanding bullet. There was a posting on this in the Reloading section yesterday.
Good luck and good shooting.

Thanks for the info. I shot a bull elk this year with the nosler ballistic tips at about 250yrds. first shot behind the shoulder and followup hit him in the neck takeing out the spine. When I guted the bull there wasnt the tissue damage of the vitals I expected to see and it conserned me about this bullet. You guys have helped make up my mind to try something els mabey the nosler partition in a heavier bullet than the 150's.

Changing to a partition will make far more difference than adding weight.I have found from actual experience on game that if a premium bullet such as a partition is used it is not necessary to use a heavy bullet.I have killed several elk and moose with the 140gr partition and only one bullet did not exit.

Sorry hunter's, I won't use a Nosler Ballistic Tip
on any big game animals. I have had several bad happenings with them in the past. It is far better in my eyes to use a premium bullet and not have to worry about the outcome of weather or not the bullet did its work.

I've personally seen two failures with the BT's yet have used them succesfully myself several times on deer and antelope. They are very accurate but theres more to a good hunting bullet than accuracy.
Personally I like the partitons as a universal hunting bullet that will work the vast majority of the time. The BT's are just too much of a gamble. Especially after the last failure I witnessed. (I'm speaking of .284" and .308" BT's)
I would NEVER use them on elk or moose.

FN in MT

I shoot ballistic tips all summer long, but will not use them for big game hunting. The exception is that I will use them on some handgun deer hunts where I know the velocity of the bullet will be low enough that the bullet will stay together.

I've never had a ballistic tip fail me!!! I will say that the only caliber I've tried them in was .270. I've shot 10-12 mule and whitetails with them, some as close as 75 yards with not a hint of a failure. Several were neck shots, breaking the spine and exiting in a 2-3" diameter hole, leaving only skin holding the head on. What more can you ask for ??? These were handloads loaded to about 2850 fps. Now you want to talk blow ups, how about Winchester Silver Tips, the lead ones, NOT the Combined Technologies. I've seen those blow up on shoulders, completely taking the leg off from my friends .270. I wouldn't use them for woodchucks !!!!

bowhuntr

I have recovered several 160 gr. and 175 gr. Nosler partitions from elk and moose, and one from a mule deer. For either bullet the recovered weights were 101 to 104 grs. I think this is because the partition is the same distance from the base for either bullet. Penetration seems to be slightly better for the 160 gr., probably due to slightly higher velocity and the same retained weight. Either bullet has killed extremely well in my experience. The front of the partitons also open well and expand on light critters like antelope and coyotes.

I guide part-time for an outfitter in NW Colorado, so I get to see how a lot of different bullets perform. The only time I have seen ballistic tips perform well is on long shots. I saw several bull elk killed with the 180 gr. BT from a .300 Win. at 300-350 yards, and bullet expansion was perfect, but they would usually not exit. I like a bullet to exit so there will be a blood trail. For close shots where the velocity is higher they don't maintain enough weight for good penetration. I do like ballistic tips in handguns, especially the 7-30 Waters, where they seem to match the velocities.

I have used the 150gr Ballistic tips and think they are great. But I use them below 3000 fps
in my rifle. Shot placement is also critical in getting your game,using these bullets. Just my
2 cents worth.
Straight Shooting
Budweiser

180 gr BT from a reindeer shoot in the neck at 200 meters from a 300WM.

S�lvi

I used 140 grain Balistic Tips in my 280 because they shot so well out of this particular rifle. I shot a few deer with them with good success but I had one fail misserably on a 300lb mule deer. It blew up on a rib penetrated about 2". Luckily it damaged enough of his lung to kill him. A BT has never been down the barrel of any of my rifles since.

chuck

I used to have a 7 mag and the 140 ballistic tips definetly kill but the shock damage to meat was horrendous the bullets are designed to completely blow up even on a rib shot I dont know what they would be like on a shoulder shot. For an all around load 160gr lead, I shot 5 elk with the 160 sierras and was always pleased and they are reasonable priced

The BT is a great varmit bullet

In my experience, the Nosler Ballistic Tip has great accuracy, especially at long range, great knockdown power but it damages too much meat. I have just about used up what I have left and probably won't use them again unless I'm looking for real good long range accuracy.

Just what I've personally seen with hands on experience. Just my 2 cents, nothing more.

I don't think I will use it on large game but should work well on the smaller game

I used a 180gr BST for whitetail in S.D. this fall. Took a quartering away shot at 298yds. The bullet entered a few inches behind the last rib and ended up just under the skin on the opposite shoulder. I haven't weighed the bullet but it appears to be around 100grs. This is my only experience with the BST and the only reason I used them is because of the distance of some of the shots.