I found a great shooting load for my 7mm Rem. Mag. shooting 67 gr. of Accurate 3100 and a 140 gr. Nosler combined technology ballistic silvertip but I have never shot a ballistic tip on deer before and I was wondering about penetration. I have heard some negative things then again I have talked to people that swear by them. It would be nice if this would be a good load for whitetail because I am consistantly shooting 1" groups with it at 100 yds.

Buckmaster,
I have been shooting them in my 270 Win. for a couple years now. they have done a bit of work on the jacket so they don't blow up on the rib bones like the first ballistic tips from Nosler did. I read somewhere that in the larger calibers they beef up the jacket even more but havn't shot any larger than .277. I wouldn't be comfortable shooting anything bigger than Antelope or average size Deer.

go a head and use them. i shot my last whitetail with the 140 ballistic tip. used 65.5gr of imr 4831.

I have taken over a dozen deer(many in excess of 300 lbs live weight) with the 140gr ballistic tip launched at 3500fps out of my 7mmstw's.I have also taken several pronghorn and bighorn as well.So far I have been totally pleased with the results and have seen no bullet failures of any kind.

Buckmaster,

In November 2001 I had a 140 gr. C/T Ballistic Silvertip blow up on an approx. 150# Whitetail.
The range was about 12-15 yards. I won't call it a bullet failure as the deer only traveled 20 yds.
or so but the damage was more than I am willing to accept ( Inside looked like a grenade went off & no exit).

The load was 63 grains of VV N-560 making it a
fairly mild load. I used it because it was a .75
MOA shooter & I really didn't think it would make the mess it did.

In hindsight when I take into account the close range & high velocity of a 7mm Rem. Mag. I chose the wrong projectile. I'll still use the C/T & Nosler B/T in my 7-08 Encore for hunting but not in the Magnum. They are still my favorite target bullet in the 7 Mag. though.

Good Luck with whichever bullet you choose,Bruce

I don't shoot them because I am not willing to pass on maybe the only shot I get if it isn't a broadside shot. If you are, then you've got a great deer load. I prefer the NP for it's consistancy & a bit of insurance if I want to make an angling shot. If you think about it, how important is a sub 1" group if you never shoot much more than 200yds? Terminal performance is probably more important than ultimate accuracy, otherwise we would all shoot Sierra MK's (forget I said that).

I can only get pie plate size groups with them out of my 25/06 but they kill none the less. That's from factory loads though.

Maybe one day I'll try loading them.

I used 180 grainers out of my 300 WSM that last season. Three shots, three deer. One shot penitrated as far back in the ribcage as you can go, cut the heart and lung to shreds, penitrated the neck and came to rest a little short of the ear. That was a new shot for me; a chest and neck shot all in one. The other two shots here side on shots and the bullets preformed magnificently.

I've killed 40+ deer with 140 gr ballistic tips out of a 7mm rem mag. Only one didn't go down in it's tracks and she didn't go far. None required a second shot. A 140 gr ballistic tip at 3250 fps or so is one deadly deer combination.

If your shots are 100yds and more use them but anything up close and forget it. Use the partition

The majority (35+) of my shots were under 100 yds. They still worked.

The velocity out of my 7mmstw's at 100 yards is at least equal to a 7mmremmags muzzle velocity and I have taken several deer at 100 yards or less with my stw's.

About three years ago I used some 140's in my 7MM Rem Mag on antelope, 180's in .30-06 on WT deer. The damage was devastating and the game didn't go far but being a long time (25 yrs) Nosler Partition user in 6 different calibers I opted to go back to the NP's simply because they gave more consistent performance and penetration. I can take a shot from almost any angle with confidence that I'll get the penetration needed to reach the heart/lung area. The Ballistic Tip bullets are very accurate but when I choose a hunting bullet I'll sacrifice a little accuracy for terminal performance. But then I know good hunters who swear by the poly tipped bullets. Hornady and Swift have upped the performance factor by heavier jackets and bonding the cores to the jacket. I'll be trying some Hornady Interbonds this season to see how they perform. Maybe they'll be the answer for a bullet that shoots like a Ballistic Tip and performs like a Partition.

Thanks for the information. I think I will try them and see how they do.

I use the 165 gr. B-Tip in an M-1917 Enfield .30-06, and they have never let me down on deer or anything else, even the diminutive woodchuck. I'd even try a heavier one for bear. But as far as 140 gr. bullets I use a Rem. 140 gr. Core Lokt in my 6.5x55 Swedish. I have some 140 gr. Partitions, that I want to load for my 6.5x55mm. I wish Nosler would get on the bandwagon and make either a Partition or a B-Tip for the .303 British. And a 140 gr. B-Tip in the 6.5x55mm. Any company out there could make more ammo for the 7.62x54Rmm. Although it would be a toss up for the Finn rifles vs. the Russian as there are different bore sizes. So then they could make two different sizes, one in .311" and one .308", both in B-Tip and Partition. My M-39 would really shine with a bullet of either type, but as for now we are regulated to LVE or Wolf ammo in S.P. to hunt with, I have some LVE 202 gr. S.P.'s for hunting, but I want to try the Wolf fodder for grouping and for stopping power. Save the Norma ammo because of the price.

[ 04-26-2003, 14:22: Message edited by: Crazy Cledus ]

With proper placement a guy could probably use that bullet and load on ELK. I must be living in an area with really wimpy deer, as I have NEVER found ANY deer I've killed to be particularly tough.
I can't speak for the 7mm's but apparently the .308" BT's have been toughened up. A buddy uses them on two deer and an elk each year. He bought some new ones a few years ago and noticed a big difference. I tend to like NP's as I can estimate just what they can and cannot do from all the years I've used them. At times not as accurate as the BT's but I'll give up a bit of accuracy for a better bullet.

FN

Frank, You hit it on the head, " proper bullet placement ". I would not say you have wimpy deer, in Montana, I've been around that neck of the woods when I drove semi's coast to coast, and the deer were a lot bigger there, but as you said a deer is not that "tough", I'm not a big 7mm Mag. fan myself. Nosler did get their act straightend out with the .308" BT, a great deal! I used to talk to a man that once lived somewhere in MT, and he thought he was reinventing the wheel yrs. ago, he tried to reload a .300 Wby. Mag. with some 150 gr. BT's and he claimed miserable performance, Last Dec. I shot a nice big doe, a whitetail, and she dropped like a bad habit with one 165 gr. BT. Right clean through the heart, and she never moved.

[ 04-28-2003, 15:53: Message edited by: Crazy Cledus ]

I took my first elk with a 150 grain ballistic tip out of a 300 WM. Long range and no problem.

I've used the 140 Partitions on everything from feral cats to buffalo (bison) and they work fine.The bullet you are using might open too quickly at closer ranges.