Nosler Partitions

[Gun Docc]

Howdy folks,

anyone ever recover a Nosler Partition bullet after firing and then finding the bullet still within the game animal while skinning ?

i Have shot these bullets in several calibers over the years and found them to excel in their use when hunting big game

last week i shot a good sized deer(170 lbs) at 234 yards with a 120 grain Nosler Partition from a Weatherby 257 Mag and happened to recover the bullet (first ever)the shot was made on a pretty steep incline and the deer was quartering to me slightly and i placed the bullet in the front portion of the left front shoulder(breaking bones) and then proceeded thru the vitals just under the backbone(grazing it slightly) and wound up just barely under the skin in the right hind quarter(there was one petal of the mushroomed bullet protruding from the skin)

have you ever noticed the size of the exit wound while using Nosler Partitions ?
most of the time the exit hole will be the same size as the entrance wound or slightly larger but only in the outer skin , once the hide is pulled off the exit wound is very massive

Nosler claims this is due to the design of the bullet and once the bullet mushrooms back to the Partition in the jacket that the bullet becomes heavier in the rear area then it turns around and keeps plowing deeper due to the weight retention and in doing so it cuts it's way thru the hide on the exit thru the game animal , they claim it does all this in approx. 12 to 14 inches of bullet travel

i have payed attention to this many times while skinning deer and noticed the small exit hole in the hide but having a huge wound channel once the skin is removed from the deer

below is a pic showing each side of the bullet merged together of the 120 grain bullet i recovered and it left the muzzle ahead of 69 grains of IMR 7828 at 3360 fps and as you can see in the pic , it held up very well

the deer never moved out of his tracks other than falling over so he never knew what hit him


the bullet weighed 77 grains after being recovered and held 64.1 percent of it's original weight of 120 grains ,also it done as advertised with the back portion of the bullet staying well intact after deep penetration

Ah the smell of burnt powder and now the fresh taste of deer Cube steaks.....hehehe

Later,

[Passthru]

It looks pretty mean! Actually i have not used them but have been reading and hearing alot of good about Partitions,and have been wanting to try them out. Thanx for the info about your experience with them,Did you ever find the lead core from the front half?

[Frank]

Yes Gun Doc, my friends & I have recovered various bullets from deer, including the nosler partition. The partition is a fabulous bullet to be sure.

I am semi into stats / research and often drive my hunting buddies dizzy, such as making them count the number of shotgun shells they have before and "after" the hunt, versus the number of birds they kill. They hate that! lol

With that in mind, usually partitions go clean through game, however, one friend shot a nice Idaho buck from stem to stern (entire length of deer). He might as well had been hit by a super lazer. Anyway, the results were like yours; excellent.

Now here's the funny / surpising part maybe?! The most devastating, destructive bullets on deer at least, are not the partitions. Reliable yes, however bullets that "keep" expanding, even dissinigrating will make a bigger mess.

While I have not seen one come completely apart, bullets like the nosler ballistic tip, win silver tips and some of the speers are incredibly violent, more so than the partitions. The most "unreliable" bullet on game I've seen were the Sierra's. Several recovered bullets on 2 Elk showed "no" expansion at all and reason why the animals had to be tracked down for long distance.

Good Note / Pic
Frank

[Eagle Eye]

Docc, I used the 150 gn. partitions for years in a 30-06 I had because it would shoot the tightest groups with them. Every deer I shot would either drop on the spot or stagger only a few yards.
A couple years ago I aguired a Model 70 in .308 and have spent this summer trying to work up a few loads for it. This is a finicky gun, it will shoot 1 1/2 groups with anything but it has been tuff to shrink the groups.
I finally switched primers and groups shrank to 1 inch.
I had planned to try out the Hornady SST's but inconsistant groups left me looking for something else, thats when I spied the half box of Partitions I had left, so I loaded a few and headed to the range.
BINGO! My 1 inch groups shrank to 1/2 , so I'm sticking with them. They will get the job done.

[Gun Docc]

Howdy folks,

over the years i have shot several different types of bullets in several calibers and the Nosler Partition is one of my favorites

one of the best things i like about them is that they do not mess up as much edible meat as a lot of the others do and i think this is due to them staying together better and not sending bullet fragments everywhere

you will find less bloodshot meat damage with the Partitions


Passthru,
your question ''Did you ever find the lead core from the front half?''
never a trace was found of the lead that's missing from the frontal half of the bullet


Frank,
speaking of other bullets and making a bigger mess , yeah i have noticed this too and it is one reason i stick to the Partitions
i like to eat deer meat and don't like to ruin no more than i have too...hehehe

Eagle Eye,
it seems you found yourself a good load there for the Model 70 and that size of group is impressive and the Partitions will get the job done nicely

my 257 Weatherby shoots very nice half inch groups also with the 120 grain Partitions

a good bullet and super accuracy is a deadly combination

Good Luck !

[Don]

I with you on this Gun Docc. I have shot ballistic tips before and they really take them down but they also make a mess. I have not tried partitions but they have good reputation.

I shoot barnes X bullets in my .270. They stay together well but they do make a large exit wound.

[Frank]

p.s. Gun Doc, I have owned 2, 257 weatherby mags and believe they are indeed an absolute, fabulous deer caliber. I still wonder why I ever let them go?

Another hunting buddy of mine purchaged one several months ago, "soley" on the fact of knowing how the deer were layed out cold with mine. I thought that to be very interesting (& humerous). He too, was obviously impressed!

Frank

[marmot]

I have been using the Nosler Partitions for years. More often than not, they will separate but this happens after the energy is spent. They will blast right through heavy bone, no problem. It would look nicer if the front of the bullet would stay attached but the affect is the same.

I've killed, moose, Kodiak bear, musk ox, caribou, sheep, and lots of other critters with them and they always do the job.

[BubbaP]

I have shot Partitions in 243, 7-08, and 30-06. I have never recovered one, they always exit. I believe at closer ranges the front half usually breaks apart, but the rear core keeps on going.

[tmoniz]

They were definitely lethal in my 257 Roberts.

[goatman]

I'm with you Gun Docc. I shoot the 100gr. partitions in .243. Shot a muley last year with this load and recovered it. It weighed in at 63grs. No meat loss.

[Cordman]

We have shot two moose using 180gr Nosler partitions and both moose dropped virtually in their tracks. I have no problems with the partitions. They work real nice. As far as recovering a bullet though, we have not.

On a little side note. I have just bought some Hornady Interlocks and am going to give them a try. Does anyone have any experience with those. We'll be shooting them out of a .308, -06 and a 7mm-08 Thanks

[woodseye]

I agree 100% with you Gundoc!Have used paritions for years since federal hi shox and core loc failures.They do exactly as they are designed to do with bone contact not a factor.Have shot many large deer with them and they always exit to this point.Dropped a 196# buck in its tracks and an 800+# moose also in its tracks.Use them in my 243/100gr,308/180gr,7mm-08/140gr.waiting for federal to load them for my 300WSM.Cordman,woodcutter maybe? stop down the Maine state forum and chat a spell.Thing I got against ballistic tips is that sometimes bone contact causes them to fragment in weird directions,I also like an exit wound in case tracking becomes a factor.


woods

[huntducks]

I have been using Partitions for years now I even have several box's that are Yellow and several Red that where turned and still have the machine marks in them, I have yet to recover a partition, I shot 190lb boar last year with a 243 100gr and it was a pass thru.

I also liked there solid base bullets, but they no long make them in the calibers I shoot.

Everything I have heard about the BT bullets is there a longer range bullet and have a tendancy to explode at close range and higher Vel.

For the money you can't find a better bullet then the Partition, I have yet to have one not be accurate in any caliber

[41mag]

Well I have to follow rank and file on the Partitions. I have loaded them in just about every caliber from .22 - .338. Very rare situations over the past 20 years have I recovered any of them with most of the recoveries being from the lighter weight bullets or from extreem range shots on big animals, namely hogs.

In saying this I have also loaded the BT's in these same calibers and found this to be the norm. If you stick to velocities in the 2700 - 2900fps range they will work wonderfully at the closer ranges with out excessive blowups. This was a MAJOR problem of them back in the mid and early 80's. When they discontinued making the Solid Base bullets however they switched their process over to putting the poly tips on their solid base bullets, which had a slightly different jacket design. This helped out a lot with controlling the expansion.

I have a 25/06 that shoots the 100gr BT's at 3350fps, into a ragged hole at 200 yds, however it resembles a grenade when they hit a deer at this or any range under that. By the same token I load the 130's in my 270 at a midrange vleocity of about 2750 and they do wonderfully at enything from 5 yds out to 300.

As for the other mentioned bullets, I have found that some of the Sierra's will explode as much or worse as the Noslers do. Same things with some of the Hornady's. However I have also found with the Hornadies that they will generally shoot better in a variety of different guns than most bullets for some reason.

I loaded for some folks who hunted S. Tx several years back and they couldn't get enough of the BT's. For the other ones they went for the qualities of the Barnes X. don't ask me why just money over matter I guess. Of course these folks wanted something that would anchor a deer in it's tracks rather than have it run for 50 yds before piling up. After seeing what they faced when trying to track one thru the thorns and underbrush I definately understood. The damaged meat was of les concern than loosing a B&C class buck.

I now shoot the 115 Partitions exclusively in my 25/06 and have loads worked up for everything else that utilize different bullets for specific applications. All of them are sighted to hit the same at 200 yds. It is nice when you can take which ever one you feel like out, and know that just by swapping one load for another you can hunt a variety of game withough havine to go resight for each individual bullet. It takes some time but it is worth it if you hunt different game in different situations with different rifles. I always carry a backup and at least two loads depending on what is to be hunted.

My 243 is a perfect example, 95gr BT's, Patitions, and 90 gr Barnes X all sighted to hit the same POI at 200 yds. These all will group right at or under 1". It took some time and a little fiddling, but I can hunt hogs to muleys to whitetails all in the same day if I have the chance. I have complete confidence in those Barnes for stem to stern penetration as well as the partition. The BT's will put a neck or rib shot on a deer and drop it like a hot potatoe.

Bottom line in loading is to know what the intended ranges and quarry are, then go for the best all around load under those circumstances. It doesn't always need to be the fastest to be the best, and there are a host of great bullets out there which will preform well under a given criteria, you might have to comprimise some velocity however to bring out their full potential.

LAter,
Mike / Tx