Nosler Custom Competition

[Jud96]

I have been looking into buying a bulk supply of Nosler .30cal 175gr or 190gr Custom Comp bullets for long range shooting. My question is, how do these perform on game like deer? I have researched these for a while now and the only information I have found about using them for hunting is when they used J4 jackets awhile back. Has anyone ever shot any game with the newer Nosler Competition bullets? I will mostly be using them for practice and banging steel, but it would be nice to have an affordable bullet I can both practice and hunt with. Thank you.

 

[MudRunner2005]

No idea how they perform on game, but I have been shooting targets with them for years. They're excellent bullets. I've used several different ones .224 77gr, 6.5mm 123gr, 7mm 168gr, .308 168 & 175.

A quick search found a couple threads...

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/nosler-competition-bullets-52376/
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/nosler-custom-comps-antelope-160568/

 

[Jud96]

No idea how they perform on game, but I have been shooting targets with them for years. They're excellent bullets. I've used several different ones .224 77gr, 6.5mm 123gr, 7mm 168gr, .308 168 & 175.

That's what I hear. Everyone loves the accuracy of them and they are cheap compared to other Match bullets. I was looking at getting 500 or 1000 of them and they are almost half the price of other match slugs such as Sierra, Hornady, or Bergers.

 

[MudRunner2005]

That's what I hear. Everyone loves the accuracy of them and they are cheap compared to other Match bullets. I was looking at getting 500 or 1000 of them and they are almost half the price of other match slugs such as Sierra, Hornady, or Bergers.

They're consistent. I can definitely vouch for that over the years. I try to buy them by the 1K packs. That way you get 1000 from the same lot. I bought 2 of the 1000 packs of the 6.5mm 123's because I got them at factory overrun pricing, and bought both for under $300 shipped (which is nearly what 1 will cost at retail price shipped). So I couldn't pass that up.

As you know, I love Bergers. They're my go-to bullet. And I've shot Hornadys for most of my life as well, and still keep some on-hand for bolt-actions, and shoot Hornady exclusively in my revolvers (FTX and XTP) and Lever-actions (FTX). Not a Sierra fan. I used to use SGK's, but after a few deer having a lot of meat damage (both shoulder and lung shots), I stopped using them. Different people's experiences may vary. Same reason I stopped using Hornady SST's, after I had one grenade on a deer at ~100 yards. Haven't used one in a magnum caliber for hunting since, but have shot some at the range.

 

[Jud96]

They're consistent. I can definitely vouch for that over the years. I try to buy them by the 1K packs. That way you get 1000 from the same lot. I bought 2 of the 1000 packs of the 6.5mm 123's because I got them at factory overrun pricing, and bought both for under $300 shipped (which is nearly what 1 will cost at retail price shipped). So I couldn't pass that up.

Do their BCs seem to be true? I read one thread where a guy claimed the BCs were very accurate and in some cases were higher than what Nosler claimed. I have been looking at the factory overruns but the bullets are all out of stock on there. What do you shoot the 123s in?

 

[MudRunner2005]

Do their BCs seem to be true? I read one thread where a guy claimed the BCs were very accurate and in some cases were higher than what Nosler claimed. I have been looking at the factory overruns but the bullets are all out of stock on there. What do you shoot the 123s in?

I couldn't really tell you. I haven't had the chance to shoot them far enough since I started using them, to where BC would really even start to matter.

I bough the 123's for my 6.5 Grendel.

 

[Jud96]

No one has killed anything with these?

 

[Darkker]

I've killed a couple mule/whitetail deer with the 140's from my Creedmoor. Really comes down to your shooting abilities, and if you can reliably put bullets where you want.
They are match bullets with J4 jackets, meaning they don't take much to start coming unglued.

Here is the exit wound from a neck shot, just in front of the shoulders of a typical north Idaho whitetail.

As you can see, it came apart. The best I could tell, it had begun to rip chunks of bullet out as it was spinningng and tumbling. Destructive? Yes sir! Able to punch heavy shoulders and continue straight? No.

As for your BC question.
Litz has tested published(years ago now) in varmint hunter about various BC's of Nosler bullets. It's not hard to find current tested BC numbers to see for yourself. Generally of the bozos still using one G1 number, on bullets such as these: Nosler lies the most about BC, Hornady lies the most about absolutely everything else. But if you can swallow the notion of a single G1 to start with, you really can't complain about someone "not being close" with their BC number. Use Sierra G1 steps and you'll fly pretty closely.

 

[Jud96]

I've killed a couple mule/whitetail deer with the 140's from my Creedmoor. Really comes down to your shooting abilities, and if you can reliably put bullets where you want.
They are match bullets with J4 jackets, meaning they don't take much to start coming unglued.

Here is the exit wound from a neck shot, just in front of the shoulders of a typical north Idaho whitetail.

As you can see, it came apart. The best I could tell, it had begun to rip chunks of bullet out as it was spinningng and tumbling. Destructive? Yes sir! Able to punch heavy shoulders and continue straight? No.

As for your BC question.
Litz has tested published(years ago now) in varmint hunter about various BC's of Nosler bullets. It's not hard to find current tested BC numbers to see for yourself. Generally of the bozos still using one G1 number, on bullets such as these: Nosler lies the most about BC, Hornady lies the most about absolutely everything else. But if you can swallow the notion of a single G1 to start with, you really can't complain about someone "not being close" with their BC number. Use Sierra G1 steps and you'll fly pretty closely.

Thanks for the reply and sharing your experience with the Noslers on game. How would you compare their performance to other similar bullets such as a Berger?

 

[Darkker]

The 140 hunting VLD comes apart in a big way also. But in a more sudden and deliberate way. There Nosler is more of an uncontrolled shedding of parts and pieces immediately after impact.

If you can reliably make non bone-bearing shots, then the CC's are fine. If you need to punch bone and still have it do its thing reliably, then use a Berger. But I caution you, Berger's come apart very violently. Stay off of parts you want to eat.... Otherwise shoot a Hot-Cor.

 

[Jud96]

The 140 hunting VLD comes apart in a big way also. But in a more sudden and deliberate way. There Nosler is more of an uncontrolled shedding of parts and pieces immediately after impact.

If you can reliably make non bone-bearing shots, then the CC's are fine. If you need to punch bone and still have it do its thing reliably, then use a Berger. But I caution you, Berger's come apart very violently. Stay off of parts you want to eat.... Otherwise shoot a Hot-Cor.

Have you hit anything in the shoulder with a CC? Just curious what it would do to a whitetail at say 400 yards if it hit the shoulder. Thanks

 

[Darkker]

They come apart, but how, when, and in what direction can be sketchy. Sometimes it's very quickly, in an almost splash affair. Sometimes it's fine, as I said already.

If you can't reliably put a bullet where it needs to go without hitting bone, buy a bullet that is designed to deal with it.
The Custom Comps are great at what they are for, target bullets. They work as hunting bullets, but they aren't great at it.

 

[Jud96]

They come apart, but how, when, and in what direction can be sketchy. Sometimes it's very quickly, in an almost splash affair. Sometimes it's fine, as I said already.

If you can't reliably put a bullet where it needs to go without hitting bone, buy a bullet that is designed to deal with it.
The Custom Comps are great at what they are for, target bullets. They work as hunting bullets, but they aren't great at it.

Would you say they are better for hunting than a Sierra MatchKing?

 

[Darkker]

"better" is inappropriate, without setting some standards.
The CC jacket isn't as strong as the SMK, IME.
The SMK can be very violent, but it's impact velocity plays a very large roll in its disruption.