I don't think you can go wrong with the Noslers. I plan to try them myself soon for my X7.

I hope so , I dont claim to be the best shot but if I can shoot a bullet that wont add to my ineffencies then with practice I think I'm moving in the right direction.

loadbreak
We all talk about bullet placement as being the key to success... but I have found in my many years of hunting that I have not always been able to get the game to cooperate and offer the 'pose' or for me to be at the right spot at the right time to take advantage of the 'pose'. Most often I have found that I have to take advantage of the situation as it is or pass on the shot. It is my feeling that the Noslers offers you a margin of error and still harvest your game. Everytime I pull the trigger on an animal - I am aiming at the spot that I want the projectile to hit at what ever given range. But when shooting a ML there are far more varibles than shooting a centerfire - in most circumstances - the Nolser allows me to miss my mark a bitand still drop the game. When I sight the gun in I use a technique with 6" point blank range built in. From 0 yards to 175 yards (for the bullets I use) the most I can miss by aiming dead on is 6" - 3" up or 3" down.... Sounds good but the othervariables in theequation can change it also - wind being the biggest factor and angle of the shot being another. Still the Nosler allows the larger margin of error - not that i want any error but it doesoccur.

Well said. I do exactly the same 3" high at 100 yards with all my MLers, put you at 170 or so MPBR. Chap

Any one ever pull the tip out of an SST? The hollow point is nearly 1/4" deep. The only SST I ever recovered from a deer expanded well and the base was intact. It hit a lot of bone (5 ribs) and was found under skin. Without the tip they should expand quickly. Just a wild thought. I am sticking with Noslers.

Charlie

Don't be deceived by the "pointy" look of the SST. Plastic tips in bullets can HELP them expand. That poly-tip is forced back into the hollow cavity behind and starts the expansion process. A poly-tip bullet and a pointy bullet where the copper jacket extends almost to the tip are very different animals.

How many centerfire varmint bullets are so designed??? Most of them.... They expand very quickly if the area behind the poly-tip is appropriately designed...

There was a study on hollow point bullets in one of the books I have read, it claimed that the biggest problem and the reason that two identical bullets could react different to the same circumstances was that the hollow point would sometimes cut a hide plug that filled the hollow point, and that the hide plug would keep it from acting like a hollow point. I believe that part of the job of the plastic insert is to keep this from happening. Lee

Spaniel-I see what you are saying,but varment bullets are in a whole nutter class,speed wise.I have had problems with SST not expanding unless they impacted bone,as have others. Just like most things in life some swear by them,some swear at them. I have not been happy with SST,performance rate was 50%,although I recovered all the deer. I think maybe they would perform better at lower speeds and shorter ranges with the tips removed.I may be all wet though. They might blow up.

Charlie

you could be right.

i like the 295 pb hollow pointwith my HAWKINS .50 CAL FLINTLOCK.

it does shoot very good,loads great,i can LOAD DOWN not upand my shots are never over 75 yds usually.

it works real good on a buck but i only shoot behind shoulder or buck walks.

How did you verify that the bullets did not expand? Unless it is recovered it's very difficult to tell what is happening from just looking at the exit wound. I recently posted a pic of an XTP I found that had exited a deer and was laying on the snow behind. The exit wound was relatively unimpressive and one could have argued the bullet did not expand but in fact it did, I only know because I recovered it. I've seen a lot of SST/SW wounds and I can't say I've yet seen an exit hole that looked 40/45cal and nothing more. I've also seen some of the smaller exit holes have phenominal damage inside the animal. I can't explain the performance of every bullet shot by everyone here, but I am surprised by the disparity between some people's experience with this particular bullet and what appears to be most of us having fine luck. Sometimes I wonder if it's just a result of the fact that this bullet is probably being used by more people than other options?

Depending on the exact bullet you are talking about, I've heard more complaints personally about the 250s blowing up than not expanding.

I'm a little confused on your point with the varmint bullets. It looks like you are implying that they are a different animal because they're traveling faster, but you think an SST will perform better if you shoot it SLOWER? That strikes me as opposites.

My point by bringing them up is that plastic tips are often used in designs to aid in expansion. As someone shares earlier, I think it was Hornaday is coming out with modified XTPs that utilize a plastic tip to keep the hollowpoint from filling up with clothing and not expanding. Indeed, Corbin sells polymer balls you can swag into the tips of the bullets you are making to help them open better. Those poly tips are actually harder than the lead behind them, and drive backwards to force the bullet to open outwards.