Has any one tryed the new Lead free Ballistic tips. Just woundering how they do on animals. Do they blow stuff up like the old Ballistic tips. I just loaded some and have not had the time to try them out on animals. I got them to group good on paper, Just can't wait!!! Thanks

don't know for sure,but it still seems like a hollow point with a nylon wedge in it!!!
Patriot

I'm curious too as I wasn't impressed with the varmint grenade and just bought some as well. Have yet to even load them. Mine are intended for use in a .223 and if they hold together there I may try them in the .22-250.

I have a friend who is a pretty competent handloader and shooter. He tried some of them and couldn't get them to group. Could be that his gun simply doesn't like them, but Nosler has had them on sale at a rather low "leader" price, which leads me to believe they are not as successful as one might hope.

I'm loading the .223 Remington with 40 grain Nosler Lead Free BT bullets right now (P/N45160). These show groups of .5" shooting from a bipod for 10 shots at 100 yards, statistically there will be 1 or 2 flyers that open the group slightly usually due to shooter error or poor wind doping. Rifle is a Savage Precision Target action with a 24" PacNor 1:9" twist polygonal barrel and laminated pillar bedded stock. I assemble all my rifles to my specifications.

The problem with all lead free bullets is related to barrel twist and throat dimensions. Lead free bullets must be longer for weight than lead core versions so they have some semblance of practicality. I am using the Nosler 40 grain BT bullet to replace the Barnes 50 grain Varmint Grenade. Barnes recommends a twist rate of 1:10" or faster for the Varmint Grenade, while Nosler recommends a twist rate of 1:12" or faster. The 1:9" twist of my barrel is adequate for both according to the stability calculator at www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi. The Barnes Varmint Grenade has a stability factor of 1.424 at 3000 fps (with 1.2 or higher the minimum, closer to 2.0 is better) while the Nosler 40 grain BT has a stability factor of 1.838 at 3000 fps.

A 1:12 twist would result in a marginally stable 1.034 for the Nosler and an unstable 0.801 for the Barnes 50 grain Varmint Grenade. A 1:14" twist would be even worse, requiring the shooter to use the lightest lead free bullets in the 36 to 35 grain weights with no guarantee of success.

The throat dimension (call it freebore if you like) of the standard .223 Remington cartridge is standardized to perform with bullets seated to function through detachable magazines, this limits OAL. Lead free bullets also prefer to be seated .020" or more from the lands, further exacerbating the short throat problem. The Barnes 50 grain V.G. will be seated well below the shoulder when seated to recommended OAL. This is not conducive to best accuracy. Some powders will not allow seating to the recommended factory depth due to compression. In some cartridges I use a throat reamer to lengthen the lead until a bullet seated to just above the bottom of the neck will chamber with .020" clearance. By using the shorter 40 grain Nosler, I avoid having to ream the throat. I have found that Reloader 10x works best with both bullets due to fill volume vs velocity.

Same for the .204 Ruger, except that factory throat dimension seem to be a little on the long side eliminating this probem. I use a 1:12" twist, but have found that a 1:8.5" twist handles bullets from 26 grains right up to Berger's 50 grain HPBT (lead core) bullets.

Sorry for the long post, but bottom line is use the lightest lead free bullet if your twist is "standard" for the cartridge. Most AR platforms have quick twist barrels, so this may not be a problem.

I got the VG's to shoot fine. It was performance on coyotes I wasn't impressed with. I didn't see the quick kills I used to get before I had to go lead free.
The tsx 53gr works well and drops the quick but it makes a bigger hole and are way more money.