Ballistic Tips

[Raptor 1]

Heading out west this fall for a Mule Deer/ Elk hunt. I like Fedeal ammo, and looking for some advice on the 180gn BT for Mule/Elk. I will be using a 338 Win Mag. The reason I thought the 180BT is I can also use the 338 for white tail after I return from Co. Any thoughts or suggestion would be very helpful....

R1

[stubblejumper]

I have seen the 200gr ballistic tips used in a .338win mag for moose and deer and the results were very good.

[windriverhunter]

I think you might be a little overpowered for your whitetail hunt. I wouldnt worry about the whitetails, just get a bullet that will be good for elk and mule deer. A softpoint boattail wouldnt be a bad choice.

[pharaoh2]

If you look in Noslers literature, they do not recommend using the ballistic tip on any critter larger than deer and caribou. the reason for this is it's not designed as a deep penetrating, high weight retention bullet as some might think...thats why they still have the partition. (And thats probably your best choice for the best all around chunk-o-lead). And that's the reason alot of people have a bad taste in their mouths about the ballistic tip. I've heard guys complain they damage too much meat. Their to explosive. well, I would rather blow the hell out of one shoulder (bad shot for a ballistic tip) and drop him there than having to track for 5 miles and risk not finding him at all! The best place to fire on with that bullet is the ribs, and your not going to get alot of meat there, and your also probably not going to eat the lungs anyways right? Hope this helps.

[bigbulls]

The BT's larger than 30 caliber do have thicker jackets for use on larger big game animals like elk and moose. However, I would definetly choose the 225 grain accubond for the .338. A whitetail will not pose any problem for any of the .338 bullets but a big elk or moose might. With the accubond you get the ballistic benefits of the BT and the hold together ability of the partition. A much better choice IMO.

[handloader1]

Use a 225 gr. Nosler Partition for elk. You can use the same Nosler Partition for deer also. Good luck.