I shot a doe saturday with 150 gr nosler BTs going 3350 out of my 7mm STW. the shot was about 80-100 yards, slightly quartering towards me. Entry hole just behind the sholder, exiting around the last 3 ribs. The exit hole was the biggest thing that I had ever seen. About 8" in diameter. The stomach and all of the intestines were hanging outside of the deer. the ribs were missing in that section of the hole. Has anyone ever seen this kind of performance before. I'm just glad I missed any edible meat. I'll try to post pics later.

Your lucky to have not hit the rib on the way in then you would have a three inch whole as the entry.This subject has been beat to death. Do a search for mountains of info.

You were far to close for that cartridge. Terminal velocity was too much for that bullet a 7-08 would have done the job with that bullet without all that damage. I wish they would publish what impact velocities the bullets were designed for.

Used within the manufacturer's recommendations, the BTs are the best medium game bullet ever devised. I have used them for years without so much as a disappointing performance. But when you crank them up to 3350 fps, you are asking for trouble...

I use them in everything from 10" TCs in the little TCU chamberings up through the 6.5-06. I use the hunting weight BTs in 6mm, .25, 6.5, .270, 7mm and .30 cal. They always expand well and always penetrate sufficiently; in fact, exits are the norm on any broadside presentation. Launch them at modest velocity, and you'll quickly discover their merits as well.

mete wrote: "I wish they would publish what impact velocities the bullets were designed for. "

Nosler does indeed. Nosler recommends the hunting weight BTs be driven no more than 3100 fps MV and for game up to the 350-400 pound range.

Another guy that needs a megga-manglum, at 30-30 ranges, to kill a deer.
Wrong bullet and the wrong gun for the job = operator error.

I don't know what else you could possibly expect when you drive a tipped bullet at that kind of speed. You may as well have been using a V-MAX.

chadr
Yep wrong bullet and wrong gun- try loading them down to 2900-3000 FPS, bet they work real well then. Perfect example of Mag explosion!! Just think of all the meat you would have lost if you had hit a shoulder!!! Those BT's will expand very nicely down to 1700 fps. I had the same thing happen with a Speer 165 gr in my '06
bullet entered just behind the shoulder and totally decintergrated in the lungs- 2800fps at 80 yrds! Called Speer they said the bullet hit at to high of speed wasn't made to take that kind of punishment. To thin of a jacket on them.

I've done the same thing except that I was shooting the 140gr B-Tip from my 7STW.

Not necessarily the wrong bullet for my magna-whatever. Just an unexpected shot opportunity. I set this combo up for shooting across two fields from an elevated position. One tree line is just under 400yds and the other is just over 450yds. But as you know, deer often fool you and apear in the most unexpected places. My buck walked out of the woodline @ 125yds. I placed the 140gr B-Tip (moly) just behind his shoulder and blew a rather large hole clear through him. That buck dropped on the spot, something I RARELY saw when shooting 140gr Barnes X bullets through deer. I'm not worried about eating right up to the hole, as some shooters say. I'd rather drop them where they stand. The B-Tip may be messy when fired from a high velocity cartridge but it sure cancels their ticket.

VH

The BTs seem to be @ their best @ impact vel. UNDER 2500-2600fps based on my tests in wetpack. This has been verified by my buddy who guided deer/elk hunters for several seasons. You're throwing handgrenades out there when shooting under 100yds. That's why I don't shoot BTs from my 7mag. If you know you won't have to take a shot under 250yds, stay w/ the BT. If you have no idea what range you'll have to shoot, move up to a bonded or NP (JMO).

[ 12-09-2003, 05:17: Message edited by: fredj338 ]

shoot want you wanna shoot. hell if you wanna hunt deer with a 458, it's your choice. the bottom line is meat in the freezer. back to the topic....i had the same experience with a 150gr BT out of my .308 winchester at 308 ranges (75 yards). i hit the deer right behind the shoulder. the exit wound was 6 inches with it's heart and lungs dangling outside of the chest cavity.

[ 12-09-2003, 07:09: Message edited by: exsanguinate ]

IN all of my experience, on game and testing on media, the Ballistic Tips, seem to be a great bullet at anything under 2700fps. However, above that speed, expect to have a lot of meat damage. The bullet just blows up like a handgranade inside.

A ballistic tip is also a flat shooting bullet, so it does not really need that high of a velocity to maximize its capabilites of a flat shooter.

Now that Nosler is relaunching the Solid Base bullets, and their is the partition or just a regular Hunting Bullet from Speer, Sierra, etc.
The smaller the animal gets the less you are going to have left when the bullet does explode inside after hitting it.

I also tend to agree with the gentleman that said, another hunter using a long range high speed magnum on game at a distance that the 30/30 would have worked just fine on. To each their own, but as ye sow, so shall ye reap.

Knowing your equipment and its performance parameters eliminates a lot of surprises like this.
JMHO