55 grain vs 85 grain ballistic tip

They make 85 grain ballistic tip? I've never seen ballistic tips higher than 60 grain, all the heavier bullets I see are soft point or HP.

IMO you need to use two seperate rounds for hunting and self defense. You want more penetration from your hunting round than your defensive round.

I'd get a pretty heavy soft point for hunting and a light hollow point for self defense. I'm sure somebody else has some more specific suggestions

55gr is pretty light for deer, as is 85gr, IMHO. I know you can kill them with a 40gr .22 round, but those ballistic tips are frangible and tend to explode on impact. Heck, I thought I was going light with the 117gr for my .257 Robts.

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55 grain vs 85 grain ballistic tip

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I have the chance to get both. Why would one need 85 grain ballistic tip 5.56 round? Wouldn't the 55 grain satisfy home defense(dear god hope it does not come to that) and hunting?

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JD,
I've never heard of Nosler making an 85 grain 22 caliber bullet, Ballistic Tip or otherwise. Just did a quick Google search to check; the heaviest 22 caliber bullet made by Nosler is a 77 gr Boat Tail Hollow Point Match bullet. This is a competitive, not hunting bullet. It's made for long range shooting w/ 5.56 or 223 Rem w/ a special twist barrel.

If the 85 grain bullet you're referring to is a Ballistic Tip, it's a caliber other than 22/5.56.

I've killed one deer w/ an 85 gr Ballistic Tip in a 250 Savage, but I wasn't impressed.