My experience with Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets is rather limited, just two deer and a coyote. I've also taken the same number of game with Core-Lokts. Honestly, I don't notice much difference in terminal performance. One deer ran about the same distance when shot with the Core-Lokt at nearly 300 yards as another hit with a Ballistic tip at about 100. Both coyotes hit the ground dead almost immediately. That's not to say that any of them ran that far, just that they ran about the same distance of about 20-30 yards or so. Although I have even less experience with them, I've noticed Winchester Power Points performed a bit better out of my 270. I've got a few boxes of 130 grain SST's, but I haven't had the opportunity to try one on a deer yet.

The one deer I've shot that went down almost immediately (barring a spine shot muzzleloader buck) was my first handgun buck, which I shot with a 155 grain A-Max at 98 yards out of my 300 Win Mag Encore - roughly equivalent in power to my 270 rifle. I hit that deer perfectly broadside, and it took two steps before it fell over dead. Now, while the A-Max is technically a match bullet and not designed for game, it performs about like a Nosler Ballistic Tip on game. I don't always pay that much attention to meat damage, but I know that A-Max ruined a lot of meat. Not that I shot a 4 1/2 year old buck for the meat, of course, but it's something to consider.

If you want a ballistic tip that might do less meat damage, you might try a bonded bullet like the Hornady Interbond or Nosler Accubond. Or maybe even a ballistic tipped copper bullet like a Hornady GMX or Barnes TTSX.