Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Hornady Interlock vs Nosler Ballistic Tip Hunting?

I’ve a pile of great experience with Hornady Interlocks but not much with Nosler Ballistic Tips.

Reason being that back in the late 80’s I had a ballistic tip blow up on the entry side of a medium Blacktail. - never tried them again. Time has passed & improvements have occurred. I could use your thoughts in comparing the two.

Especially curious how a 150gr .308 IL compares to same BT?

In my experience, for many years they're worked very similarly on game. When recovered, both tend to retain 40-60% of their weight--but both often exit. This is from using the same diameter/weight of each on similar-sized animals.

For me if I've had years of great experience with the Interlock---I'm not changing a thing. Why fix what's not broke. Maybe winter doldrums ?

Pints same thing happened to me same time frame with 130 gr 277" btips was 20 years before I used them on game again. Only because JB said nosler had fixed the problem and he has more credibility than nosler. Mb

Keep impact velocity between 2000-2800 fps with either, and you’ll be fine.
The old NBTs in the 100ct boxes tended to blow up. Problem fixed in the early 90s.
If you push the Interlocks hard, they can expand past the interlock ring and come apart.

Thanks JB! I was hoping you’d chime in.


100% winter doldrums + healthy curiosity!

The 30 caliber 180BT is much tougher than the 30 caliber 180 hornady BTSP.

which one can you get....i guess price isnt much of a issue if you just hunt with them
in my experience dead and dead

I have been using the BT’s hard for the past few years in multiple calibers with no complaints. They are a go to for me.

GreggH

I started using BTs when they 1st came out, they were great for double lung shots, fragmented badly on any shot that hit solid bone.

The newer "Hunting" BTs are a great bullet, I've yet to recover one from a broadside shot, and they hold together better than the earlier ones. Importantly, they're a very accurate bullet in every rifle I've shot them in; .223, .243, .260, .270 and .300WM.

I've used 150 Interlocks in .308Win, and they also worked well on whitetails and pigs. I just prefer the BTs.

I started out using 150s/165 NBT in 308 & 30-06 when I first started handloading. Also used them a bit in 7x57 and 250Savage.

Switched to the Interlock 5-6 years ago for no other reason than they were available. The NBTs always worked well but I do like the 150Interlock. Accuracy has always been great as has performance. Used it on quite a few deer, pigs, a leopard and a kudu. Zero complaints and won't be switching in my .308 Win anytime soon.

I don’t really shoot or hunt with either. So I can’t say too much.
But I do have some laying around from having traded or what not.. I filed each one down to see the cross section and you can clearly see the thicker copper jacket on the BT. Very similar to accubonds. The interlock has a very small “lock” I’d be surprised if it’s even a 32nd of an inch. of a lock and the jacket is not that thick. Pretty standard with all the other cup core soft points. Like core lokts.
I’d choose the ballistic tip Any day of the week. Plus it has a boat tail to boot.

I recovered pieces of the old 150gr Ballistic Tips after it exploded on the scapula of a buck from my 7mag

I recovered one of the newer 180gr Ballistic Tips shot from my 30-06 after a lot of bone contact on a red stag.The jacket weighed 70grs.This is the only newer Ballistic Tip I was able to recover after more than twenty head of game,all others exited.




Hole through the scapula of a red stag from a 180gr Ballistic Tip fired from my 300 Win Mag.Bullet exited behind offside shoulder.


I shot four whitetail does with a 165gr Hornady Interlock from my 300WSM.All were shoulder shots at ranchers request.None of the bullets exited and I have to say,the meat waste was much worse than any bullet I have ever used.I think it had to do with the lead core hardness.The lead core is not the same in all bullets.The amount of blood shot meat was far worse than what I ever get with the newer Ballistic Tips.

I had the exact same experience with the 130gr 277 bullet in the 80's. Violently expanded on a WT. Got the deer, but Dad was pissed I had ruined so much meat.

Tried them again after MD stated they were better. Have shot a few deer/antelope with the 130gr 270. Deer and black bear with the 338 200gr ballistic silvertip. No issues

That's what I would expect from most any cup-n-core on a shoulder shot out of a 300 magnum unless at long range or a significantly heavier for caliber bullet. That's not to say the lead cores couldn't have been soft though, and not discounting that they performed worse than other bullets in your experience either.

Well said.

The only apples to apples comparison I can make is 55gr Btip and 60gr Hornady SP out of a .22-250rem. I had very good results on deer and small hogs with the Noslers and great performance on coyotes. However on large 200+ hogs they were a little too fragile causing a few tracking jobs. The 60gr Hornadys seem to be much tougher. I haven't caught one in a deer or coyote yet.

I use the 140’s out of 7 mags, haven’t lost a deer or pig, killed a couple of 200lb or heavier aoudads too. I haven’t recovered one.

I have killed around 40 elk with a 165 grain Hornady Spire Point bullet with great success. It worked better than most would think among those that place the highest value on Nosler Partitions. Nosler Partitions do perform well, but I haven’t ever felt I needed them when the 30-06 and a 165 grain Hornady worked so well.

After getting bumped out of a stalk on some elk, I decided I needed a longer range 30 caliber cartridge and went to a 300 Weatherby with 200 grain Accubonds, before my brother talked me into a 30-378. I shot the 200 gratin Accubond bullets in the 30-378 and only shot a few elk with it before I realized it was too much gun.

I went back to the 300 Weatherby and 180 grain Ballistic Tip and have killed dozens more elk with about the same success as the 30-06 and the Hornady bullet. I have concluded that it isn’t necessary to shoot bonded or partition bullets to kill elk…

I shot four whitetail does with a 165gr Hornady Interlock from my 300WSM.All were shoulder shots at ranchers request.None of the bullets exited and I have to say,the meat waste was much worse than any bullet I have ever used.I think it had to do with the lead core hardness.The lead core is not the same in all bullets.The amount of blood shot meat was far worse than what I ever get with the newer Ballistic Tips.[/quote]

My experience has been just the opposite. I see far less meat damage in the animals that I shoot with Interlocks in .264, .284 and .308 cals, than I do the animals that my buddies' take with BTs., I should state that I prefer high shoulder shots whenever possible. Both bullets put animals on the ground. I prefer the Interlocks.