NEW PRODUCT: Nosler Launches Whitetail Country Ammo Line

Famed bullet manufacturer Nosler cooks up a new series of cartridges aimed squarely at whitetail hunters

by the Shoot ON staff

Rifle season, buck season, deer season…whichever term you wish to use…is about to hit high gear across most of the country. That means hunters are heading to the range to check their zeroes and ensure everything is in order. Before you do that, though, you might want to consider a trial run using one of several new cartridges developed by the folks at Nosler.

A couple weeks ago, Nosler introduced a new line of ammunition developed specifically for whitetail hunters called Whitetail Country. These cartridges, offered in the more prominent hunting rifle calibers, feature select bullets and ballistic tuning intended to provide optimal terminal performance on “lighter” big game animals like whitetail deer.

Whitetail Country Solid Base

For rifles shooting bottle-neck cartridges, Nosler has resurrected its Solid Base bullet — long a favorite of discerning hunters for its hard-hitting penetration and controlled expansion.

The Solid Base is similar in construction to Nosler’s heralded Ballistic Tip bullet. The difference is that the exposed lead core extends beyond the jacket to form the tip (versus the Ballistic Tip round’s polymer tip).

New Product: Nosler Launches Whitetail Country Ammo Line — Bullet cutaway, left to right: 6.5 Creedmoor, .270 Win., 7mm-08, .30-30 Win., and .30-caliber (.308 Win./.30-06 Springfield).

The Whitetail Country Solid Base ammo is offered in 6.5 Creedmoor, .270 Win., 7mm-08. 30-30 Win., .308 Win., and .30-06 Springfield. As you can see from the cutaways above, these bullets are comprised of a fifth-generation tapered jacket form-fitted to a lead core. The jacket base is substantial, providing a robust foundation for the lead core as it expands and pushes into the target. The exposed soft points help initiate expansion upon target impact and work with the boattail profile to maximize longer-range ballistic performance.

Whitetail Country Straight-Wall

In addition to the Solid Base ammo, Nosler developed a separate, all-new bullet for straightwall cartridge fans. Options are limited to two calibers as of this launch. Whitetail Country Straight-Wall debuts in .350 Legend and .45-70 Government.

Because of the lower velocities of these two cartridges, Nosler designed the new Straight-Wall bullet to ensure enhanced expansion at slower terminal speeds. Since these are closer-distance cartridges (effectively speaking), Nosler opted for a flat base to harness all available propellant gas rather tha a boattail profile, which would gain nothing in the expected 100- to 200-yard range.

The jacket is a cup-and-draw design instead of impact extruded. This allows for a thinner jacket to promote more uniform lead core expansion at lower velocities. Furthermore, the truncated nose and modified ogive profile are conducive to reliable feeding into the chamber.

All bullets are designed to meet straight-wall cartridge regulations for their specified caliber.

And here’s a surprise. Nosler is a premium hunting brand (no, that’s not the surprise). That the company is able to offer this ammo with an MSRP of $34.95 for a 20-round box ($39.95 for the .45-70 load) is what’s remarkable. With sticker shock running rampant along ammo aisles across America these days, this is a price that doesn’t sting.