I made up some 55grain ballist tips load for a trip to Canada last Feb. I never got to try one on a coyote, though I did try a 70 grainer. It left a hole the size of a mandarin on the exit.

I figured the 55grainer would be fur friendly, and hoped they would not exit. So far I have used these 55grners on 3 pigs, all head shot and all exited, doing extensive damage to the skull, in one pig taking out the entire brain case and leaving a golf ball size hole on the other side. The other two just zipped through, leving small exit hole. I also used one on a roe fawn which entered the chest from front on and exited behind the shoulder with a smallish hole.

Is this what I should expect from a 55grain ballistic tip?

I'm going to assume that these loads would be anything but fur friendly on coyotes and foxes.

Hopefully I will be able to get myself a 22PPC and put 35grain V-MAX and 40grn ballistic tips through it, which I would hope do the trick.

Any comments on the 6mm b-tips? Why are they so "tough"?

My buddy and I were shooting are 22-250 into a snow bank back stop all winter. We used all kinds of bulletts v-max soft points & hollow points the only ones that did not fragment were the 55 grain v max the 40 & 50gr were all busted up. We could tell the 55gr because they were the only balistic tips that were flat base + their was a piece of the red tip still in the bulett. I know this is not a great test but the 55gr weere the only ones still in tack so I say they failed to do their job. Will have to try them on some chucks this summer to really know.

For frangible the best I have found is the Hornady SPSX in 50 grain. They almost never exit on raccoon sized game and up. A couple black tail deer in the brain cavity with no exit.

What is the Hornady SPSX? I wasn't able to find anything on the Hornady site.

SPSX -Singleshot Pistol Super Explosive. Try looking under their pistol bullet information. Hornady used to recommend them for nothing over 3000 fps and I've used them in my XP-100 in 223.

You didn't say what you were shooting the bullets out of. If you're shooting a 22-250 or swift at normal velocity with any bullet, its not going to be fur friendly. The hornady sx bullets in a .223 work pretty good on yotes if you don't juice 'em up too hot. But they will sometime exit a fox with impressive damage. I have more experience with coyotes than foxes but have heard that Hornets and the .17 calibres work pretty good.

Well, basically I don't think Nosler has their shit together in regard to the making of the Ballistic Tips.

Don't get me wrong, I shoot a LOT of Nosler bullets including selected Ballistic Tips, but they have some really screwed up bullets out there.

I tried the 55 grain 6mm BT bullets as soon as I could get my hands on some. I worked up a load in my custom 26 inch barreled 6mm Remington using H 4895 that had those suckers shooting VERY small groups at over 4100 fps! I went off to South Dakota for a prairie dog trip expecting to see a red mist created on impact.

Boy, was I dissapointed! I found that a 70 grain Ballistic Tip starting out at 3650 fps made a hell of a lot worse mess out of a prairie dog.

I came home and called Nosler and they basically did not want to hear it. They said they had tested the bullets and I did not know what I was talking about. WRONG, those 55 grain bullets did not expand as violently as the 70 grain versions!

If you want a truly dramatic light weight 6mm bullet try the 58 grain Hornady V-Max. Gee Whiz, what a mess that bullet makes.

And in the .257 caliber, I use the 115 Nosler Ballistic Tip a lot, having shot deer, antelope, wild hogs, coyotes, etc. with my 25-06. However, the current version of the 85 grain Ballistic Tip is SO fragile that it will not even get inside a coyote when shot in the shoulder. Come on, any of the 22 caliber versions of the Balllistic Tip are better coyote bullets!

As I said, I shoot a lot of Nosler bullets, and I have toured their factory twice now and am truly impressed. BUT, a few of their offerings are pretty sorry.

R F

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but here is my two cents worth. SXSP stands for, super exlplosive spire point, they have a very thin jacket and basically disintegrate on contact with just about anything. Including grass blades on the prairie.

Hornady recommends not trying to push them over 3500 f.p.s., I believe, because they will fragment from the rotation. This I can vouch for from experience.

I have used these bullets exclusively for P.D.s for many many years. They are devastating on little varmints.

Ballistic tips were designed to hold together at extremely fast rotational speeds and to create maximum fragmentation. I shoot them out of my swift at around 3600-3700 f.p.s. For optimum expansion they need to have the speed behind them. I have had very good performance with them on long range dogs.

[ 04-02-2003, 06:23: Message edited by: shooter ]

...I am shooting them out of a 6PPC, I have not run them through a chronograph, but the load is 28grains of VV N133 so fairly hot.

If I can get the 22PPC into the country I may abandon the 6mm as a fur/varmint rifle, I don't think I should have too many problems with .22cal 35grain V-max or 40gn b-tips, should I?

If I was going to use it for roe the whole time, I would go with the 70grain bullet, it would give you the chance to take quartering shot with more confidence, I think that one day or another one of these 55grainers will actually perform like a varmint bullet and not work on a small game animal like a roe.

The ballistic tip (55 gr. 6mm) is pretty fragile, when I shoot it over snow, it breaks up pretty dramatically. Problem is, it is still a "solid base" bullet, so the bottom pretty much keeps on going, because it is so thick. If you can get it up high enough in speed, it stays inside a coyote, but at lower speeds, the front will "explode" and the back will keep on going.

Bang for bang, the Sierra Blitzkings are the most explosive, from what people tell me. HTH, Dutch.

I shoot Hornady �Spire Point Super Explosives� (SPSX) at 3900 fps with no problems. Part #2240 I just bought 5 more boxes and none of them had a speed warning in there like they did in the early 80's when I started using them. I had a buddy who never ever cleaned his Ruger Varminter that started having trouble with them coming apart after 1500 to 2000 or so shots. Rather than clean it he just sold it. I have had intermittent success with Blitz Kings, Ballistic Tips, V Max�s but the SPSX's come apart the best. My 22-250�s just drink these with lots of H-380 and CCI-250 primers.

In response to Chao, I am very sure I did not mix up the ammo in question. I am quite carefull in the labeling and record keeping department being a Clinical Scientist by profession. However, I in no way doubt your experiences.

A good friend of my father has also had good luck with the 55 grain BT bullets in his 6mm Remington.
The ones I had, however, were of too tough a construction for good expansion. I did get performance like you mention when using the 58 grain Hornady V-Max.

What I think this all boils down to is an inability by Nosler to control their bullets as well as they should. Again, I have toured their plant and it is very impressive and they are serious about bullet making. BUT, from time to time I see serious differences in their bullets from lot to lot.

The difference in older lots of the .257 caliber 85 grain Ballistic Tips and the current lots is quite dramatic! The new ones are MUCH more fragile.

My buddy and I both shot antelope in Wyoming last fall. I used a 25-06 and my friend a .25-284. We were both shooting Nosler 100 grain Partitions right at 3400 fps. I recovered my bullet from my antelope and it looked like a Nosler magazine ad.
It had doubled its diameter and retained 65% of its original weight and was found under the hide on the off side of the animal.

My buddy experienced what I would consider total failure with the bullets he used. He shot his antelope at about 150 yards and had to keep shooting it. After being shot 4 times, the poor thing was still alive. Those bullets were blowing up on the surface, making huge entry wounds but not penetrating.

To say that we were amazed at the results would be an understatement. My friend was devastated, he loaded the 100 grain Partition at my suggestion. (Which was based on my good success with that bullet on everything from coyotes to wild hogs.)

When we got home I had another friend mill some of our bullets in half. The lot that my friend used had MUCH, MUCH thinner jackets and partitions!!

So, Nosler occasionally experiences quality problems, I think. And again, this is not to bash Nosler. I am going elk hunting this fall and will take along my .338 Win Mag. What will it be loaded with? Most likely 225 grain Nosler Partitions.

R F

I use the Nosler BT in 1-9 twist barrels in Savage and CZ 223s. Ive tried making doubles on PDs out at 235 yards and failed to make them because the bullet blew up the front PD and never touched the one behind. I go through about 2000 rounds of these bullets a year and I'm happy with the performance. The Hornady 55 grain Sx was my standard load when I was using a Winchester 223 with a 1-12 barrel...great bullet. However, in my fast twist rifles the bullet would often break up in flight before it reached a 100 yard target.

I think Dutch has pretty much nailed the performance quirk of the 6 mm ballistic tip . The solid base will not fragment many times and punches on thru . I like the 55 gr. on yotes , but they are not fur friendly in my experience. Typically a broadside shot gives you a gaping exit with lung tissue blown right out of it.

If you really want to be gentle on the pelts , I think a 17 caliber is in order........or maybe something like a Hornet......

[ 04-28-2003, 17:56: Message edited by: sdgunslinger ]

Sorry BossMoss, If you were finding flat based bullets with red plastic fragments they were Hornady's not Nosler Ballistic Tips as all 22 cal Nosler Ballistic tips are boattails and have orange plastic inserts. Sory Just my 2 cents worth.

I think you guys might have hit on something that happened to me this weekend shooting prairie dogs. I was shooting my 22-250. I load the 55 SPSX with 37grns of H380. This is a grain or two below max. I just had a new 26" Wilson barrel in 1-9 twist on it. I was shooting some V-Max with very good results and some long hits. I changed over to the SPSX with same load and every time I would shoot my buddies that were spotting for me would look up at me and say, what were you shooting at. I was not getting hits out around 150-200 yards. They did say that I was getting alot of smoke out about 10 yards in front of my barrel. Could this be the bullets coming apart. Also the barrel I'm sure was dirty after shooting about 100 rounds that day. I'm not sure of the velocity on this load. I was just wondering with the fast twist and 80degree temps if the SPSX was coming apart.

Mike

Sure sounds like a disintegrating bullet to me. When we used 50 gr SX's in a buddy's .220 Swift, they would come apart. No downrange impacts, on p-dogs or dustclouds from misses. We started using Ballistic tips in the swift, but I love the SX's in my .223.

Keep hearing about this red mist thing with BT's.Can't get it with my 26" barreled .223 @3800fps with the 40gr. BT. Shot a crow one day at only appox. 100 yards and wasn't impressed. Rockchucks at 250-350 yards die but hardly blown up. Have had better blowups with the Speer 52gr.HP not the TNT and they are alot cheaper for the volume shooter.

Have found for me the best blow up calibers start with the .243 with about any bullet on chucks, etc. Now you see red mist...excuse me your spotter can. Wish we had PD's around here, those BT's might work better on them.

I did find that the 1-9 twist Wilson Stainless barrel likes the .224 60grn JHP from Sierra. They shoot straight and hit hard. Had a couple of med size P Dogs come apart in many pieces. I may try some more of them. I was told this barrel would like the heavier 60 & 72 grn bullets with the 1-9 twist.
I shoot the 55grn SPSX in all of my .223's and mix them up with some V-Max 55grn. I bought 500 of the 55 grn Dogtown bullets from Midway and they shoot good from the Contenders.

I have been pushing 55gn BTs from my PSS 1 in 9 , with two loads one a fair bit quciker than the other. I had considered that there may be a relationship between velocity and explosive impact, yet when i review my pictures the rabbits that were not vaporized by the slower load all were all hit in the neck or based of the head. Think it may be an issue of where you hit your target. I have seen rabbits blown 4 feet into the air and blown sideways 9 feet from where it was sitting when hit with a 55 BT at moderately high 223 speed. I am only using the warmer load now and no issues with performance. Then I thought maybee it has something to do with the "yaw" (??) of the bullet at close range, i am led to belive that the bullet isnt stable in the first 60 meters of flight and more likely to explode, again the head shot bunnies have all been at the 100 meter mark!

McClura: The "Smoke" you saw was indeed the bullet vaporising. When we first saw this happening I went off to the side and watched while my son fired. The target was at 100 yards and the bullets "vaporized" consistantly at about 80 yards. We moved the cardboard box closer and it dusted the target with fine lead and larger jacked fragments. On a PD hunt once I was using a Savage 1-9 and ran out of my BT loads so I got out some older ammo loaded with Speer 50 grain TNT bullets. I was shooting at a PD that was in some tall grass about 140 yards away. My friend was spotting for me and after three misses he asked what I was shooting at. I could not tell where I was hitting and was suprised that the POI was out of my field of view. He said I was three feet right on one shot a foot high on the next and way high and left on the last shot. I was kicking up dust but missing bigtime. We shot some more and when we shot at a hill about 200 yards out we did not see the impact. The PD I was shooting at happened to be at about the point where the 50 gr TNTs were coming apart. The thin skinned varmint bullets just don't like the 1-9 or faster twists.

A recent article in one of the Rifle magazines compares expansion and penetration of 40 grn varmint bullits. Sierra BlitzKings were the most explosive penetrating soaked telephone books a little over 2 inches. I just wish I could get them to shoot. The 40 grn Nosler BT penetrated over 5 inches. That is a big difference. I suppose if you want quick expansion, don't go with the 40 grn Nosler. However, I'm not sure that that would be the case with all of their BT's.

G AI