When you get to Africa, try that combo out and let us know how it works for you. It's your safari. You pay your money and you take your chance.
The part of the NP that penetrates is the metal cased wadcutter that's left after the front portion comes apart. It acts like a small solid, where a TSX or A-Frame keeps chugging along with a larger than caliber mushroom at the front end. Essentially, an A-Frame is a partition with the front portion of the bullet jacket bonded to the core so it doesn't come apart.
African animals have a deserved reputation for being tougher than North American game. Go on safari and judge for yourself.
Thanks for the bullet lesson
......I will keep it all in mind...
I have flung a Partition or two over the last 40+ years,in calibers from .25 to.375, in the direction of North American BG animals from Alaskan Brown bear down to coyotes,and am well familiar with the "wadcutter" effect....also the broken bones and deep, straight line penetration (farthest I've seen was from a 200 gr 30 cal Partition that went from just forward of the right ham of a large bull elk to the off side shoulder, breaking it and exiting).And as yet can't recover any 160 7mm's fired into shoulders of bull elk. Or could possibly relate similar experiences using them both out to longish ranges here,as well.
This performance may not be Africa worthy, I dunno.....I guess a mature bull elk sorta pales in the toughness department compared to African plains game....
If you could relate your own experience with the 7mm Magnum and Partitions, shooting African game with them,demonstrating the inadequacies, it would be helpful.Might save me some money when I get over there.....How many animals have you lost over there with a 7 mag and Nosler Partitions?
I could repeat the same experiences (maybe just as much)on the same type North American game with the Bitterroot Bonded Core in calibers from 270 to 375,of which the Aframe is a "copycat"....having lots of BBC's, I have had no need for an Aframe, which is a great bullet, but have not gotten around to my stash, beause anything the Aframe will do, so will the Bitterroot, and maybe "better", but who knows?I think Lee Reid had the BBC in mind when he worked out the Aframe.You may or may not know this... Figure I will stick to the original until I run out.....
Another aside, but a Barnes X, TSX, or TTSX will also shear off those frontal petals under the stress of high velocity impact, giving the same "wadcutter" effect as a Partition.....but of course you knew this, too.
As to the toughness of African game,as noted I have no basis for comparison other than anecdotal;but based on the opinions of some pretty worthy gents who have(I will bet)a lot more combined experience than you on
both North American, and African game(and a lot of it with Partitions and 7 mags) in such flimsy performers as the 7 mag,270,and 280 on stuff up to eland, I'd be inclined to swing in their direction and not concern myself with the "toughness" issue...
These guys all disagree with you, including one well respected and experienced writer who you managed to insult with your own pontification; one reason I am having a hard time taking seriously anything you say....
If, as you say, African animals have a "well deserved reputation" for being tougher than North American game, pound for pound, I wonder how you know this if you have not shot much North American game.Is it because someone told you or have you seen it for yourself by shooting and hunting here in North America as well? Just curious....
Otherwise, thanks for all the wisdom.
