Thanks emt, that's good info. For this year I have switched to 150 gr. NBT's (same as Silvertips?) being pushed out of my .308 at ~2950 fps, a hot load for a .308 but seems to be ok in my rifle. Unfortunately haven't had much opportunity to hunt yet, but will get a week in Alabama soon to hopefully try it out. I've avoided NBT's for a long time due to a firsthand account from a friend years ago, with a .308/150 gr., who experienced a dramatic failure on a small doe at only 80 yds. Bullet jacket was found on the ground where the deer had been standing; it looked just like my SST jacket- a mushroomed, empty cup. Deer was never found. Good to know that some folks have great success with the NBT's because I sure like the way they shoot and would really like to see them work well if I can manage to put one into a deer. Here's a pic of the SST jacket from my deer:
And the kind of groups the NBT's deliver in my rifle- of course they're not all like that, but close:
I want to stress that I'm not calling the SST's "junk" or downing Hornady products in any way. I love their AMax bullets and have used them on hogs, with head shots, with great success. But I'm just not real comfortable with a bullet that is likely to part company with half of itself immediately on impact. If that bullet core had taken a left and went into my deer's stomach, instead of taking a right and severing it's neck, the results would surely not have been good, with no blood trail at all in really thick cover. I respect the animals I take too much to take unnecessary chances with bullets that may react unpredictably. Also, I had to throw away the entire off shoulder, and the entire neck, due to all the tiny lead fragments in the meat.
Originally Posted by barrel-nut
Thanks emt, that's good info. For this year I have switched to 150 gr. NBT's (same as Silvertips?) being pushed out of my .308 at ~2950 fps, a hot load for a .308 but seems to be ok in my rifle. Unfortunately haven't had much opportunity to hunt yet, but will get a week in Alabama soon to hopefully try it out. I've avoided NBT's for a long time due to a firsthand account from a friend years ago, with a .308/150 gr., who experienced a dramatic failure on a small doe at only 80 yds. Bullet jacket was found on the ground where the deer had been standing; it looked just like my SST jacket- a mushroomed, empty cup. Deer was never found. Good to know that some folks have great success with the NBT's because I sure like the way they shoot and would really like to see them work well if I can manage to put one into a deer. Here's a pic of the SST jacket from my deer:
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