I love the Nosler Ballistic tips and the Hornady Super shock tip Bullets.This year im going to try the new bonded tiped bullets.I have killed around 20 to 25 good sized deer with this type of bullet from 35 to 375 yards with awesome results every time.most of my shots were in the carburetor.from all different angles.the longest death run I have ever had was around 50 yards which is ok with me. some of the other ones have been shot in the shoulder and some in the neck.out of these deer there wasnt a step taken they just went down.I guess what my question is why do so many people hate this type of bullet?I do know you can ruin a lot of meat if you put a bad shot on one and I once saw a young boy have to gut one that he shot in the gut.YUCK .What is it about the little piece of plastic that drives men to shiver in there boots and shake there head.As far as im concerned they do just what you want them to do and they do it well.help im lost :confused:

OK on deer, if a tad destructive.

Tend to blow up on hogs, and make an ungodly mess. BIG problem if the pigs run off, with no exit hole they're very hard to track.

I prefer to use a bullet that works for all game animals that might show up, under all conditions.

Shooting pigs at night, sometimes you can't be so picky regarding shot placement and have to aim for the 'middle.'

If my pig bullet works on deer, great. If my deer bullet won't work on pigs, forget it.

I was NOT impressed that some 180gr. BTs from my .30-06 would not go completely through a 90lb whitetail deer, nor the neck of a hog that could not have been much over 100 lbs.

I love the Balistic-Tips for groundhogs. As far as accuracy, I've had at least as good, and most times better luck getting them to shoot good in a lot of different rifle/caliber combinations.

For deer, I don't really see a problem. They might not penetrate good enough for elk sized game, but most of the deer I've seen shot with them had the bullet pass completely through, even on shoulder hits at times. They do tend to make a mess of the meat at closer ranges, but so do a lot of other bullet designs, that people have sworn by for decades, including the famous Partitions.

I'm kinda partial to a plain old SP bullet in a rifle myself for deer. I've killed loads of them with SPs, and generally the performance is consistant from one deer to the next, which means a lot to me.

I actually hunt more now on the other side of the scale from you. I do at least 95% of my deer hunting with either my 357 magnum Blackhawk, or open sighted Marlin 357 magnum.

If I'm playing with a new rifle, and I want to know how accurate the barrel is, the first bullet I work up loads for is the Nosler BT. They seem to be consistently accurate in about any caliber.
I've used them on deer, and I like them - they work.
I do believe they are designed as a deer bullet, and I'm not so sure I'd use them on anything bigger or more heavily built. That's what Partitions are for.

The Ballistic Tips are used for accuracy benchmarks in the rifles. Those used for hunting will then have either regular Hornady SP's or Nosler Partitions loaded for hunting purposes.

The new Hornady bonded plastic tip may have good game potential, though.

I like the Nosler Ballistic Tips for whitetail. They are great for shooting across fields here in michigan and perform well on deer. I've seen quite a contrast in the bullet performance on the two deer taken this past season. One was taken by my son (his first buck) at 75yds with fantastic results. It ran 50yds spray painting the field grass with red. I took a doe at 165yds offhand in fading light with the scope on 5X. The accuracy was spot-on (I love shooting and practice enough at 200). The hit was like a bass drum and she went 3ft...straight down. Terminal ballistics. No exit wound. Took out 3ribs, heart and lungs...just exploded inside the chest cavity. 2000lbs+fpe completely expended.


Perferator

I love the Nosler Ballistic tip bullets. I use them on varmints and deer. If I am going after a big bodied animal or dangerous animal, I go to a lead tipped bullet or one that will give my good penetration with good expansion. Bullets have to be selected and suited to the game you are after. When deep or complete pass through is need, the Ballistic tip is not the bullet of choice. Solid copper, hard cast or soft pointed bullets are the choice. :cool:

Agree with Red. Penetration or expansion by themselves is not what kills, destruction of the vitals is what kills. We have to think on the best way to destroy the vitals for any given game animal, terrain, distance, condition, etc. and then pick the right medicine.

There are instances where pentration is by in large the most important aspect of destruction. Close in shooting where we are not assured of getting a perfect broadside: Stand hunting the scrap lines, stil hunting in the hardwoods, etc. Here a fellow needs to know that his bullet is going to defeat the shoulders, destroy the vitals, and allow for an adequate blood trail.

There are also instances where expansion is far more important, open field hunting of a light skinned animal, where one can take his time and precisely place the bullet. If I am fairly certain I will gain unimpeded access to the lungs, I want a bullet that flies true and opens quickly.

Depends on the circumstance, but I personnaly am a big fan of plastic tipped bullets, both Nosler and Hornady.

Steve