Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game when is a Nosler Partition not adequate?

Problem is, wind speed is always unknown. Even with a wind meter. So less drift does make a difference when the wind speed is either mis-judged or variable between the shooter and target. It means the effects of the error in judging wind speed are minimized.

Some people that live in wide open spaces where there is a lot of wind get hung up on having the highest possible b.c. to the point where it becomes ridiculous (see some of the 270 vs the 6.5's and 7mm's for example) . I'm sure there were many hunters in the past that were successful before the appearance of the new bullets out now. They are free to do so if they like of course.

Lot's of us like to try different bullets for different purposes instead of getting hung up on only certain types of bullets and becoming close minded. I can tell you one thing, in some of the areas here where there are lots of grizzlies there is no way I want a Berger, ELD-X, Scenar....etc. I'll take a Partition, TTSX, Accubond and the like every time.

In that setting, yeah.

Me, too.

DF

People who shoot long distances in wind wanting high BCs is no more ridiculous than people who think they need a "premium" bullet to kill a deer.

WT's aren't that tough.

Gerrygoat added the Griz factor which does alter the equation.

DF

Agreed. In recent years the 6.5mm and 277 Ballistic Tips have been great for us. Last year the 6.5mm Sierra 130 gr HPBT brought home a deer for me as well with no complaints.

Sure it alters the equation, but when you go allllll the way back to the OP, the question/premise was pretty simple.

Someone got the ball rolling by responding to the effect, "when you're shooting long distances in wind."

That seems pretty simple to me, and I'm not a guy who shoots big game at long distances in the wind.

I hear ya but at the end of the day I'm not a fan of shooting game at long distances as I define it - 500+ yards. My point is wind is not constant, nor is it known at all points between the shooter and target. I've shot a bit at long distance and know for me I'm not comfortable doing it. Not because of a lack of skill but because of the unknowable variables. Misread the wind and your bullet doesn't land where it should. Higher BC decrease the drift and in effect increase the margin of error - but it's still a widely variable variable. 😁

I don't shoot long distances in wind because I'm not good enough at it. But that doesn't mean there aren't some who are good enough.

Wind can be an issue. One could make a case for a round like the 26 Nosler. It shoots high B.C. bullets pretty fast. Of course, the quicker the bullet gets there, the less time wind has to create havoc.

I'm not a fan of 500+ yd. game shots, but if that's the only shot I was gonna get at a trophy, all or nothing, I'd feel pretty comfortable with my 26 Nos, a good bullet, Z3 BT twisted to the determined range, as solid a hold as I could come up with and BANG...

No substitute for lots of practice, but good equipment does offer an edge.

DF

Maybe it's a millennial thing, maybe it's a simple math thing, maybe it's a baby boomer being slow on the uptake thing.

For me, these bullets perform pretty good on critters....

I do want to try the Scenars in my 260 some day those look good, how far were the critters away that you recovered those? The areas we hunt deer have no grizzlies so I wouldn't mind trying them out.

I won't even start hunting deer until mid october because of the numbers of brown bears here. In some places its almost suicide to shoot a deer by yourself because of the amount of bears. Brown bears are a serious problem here at times.

Likewise. I've gone back to c&c mostly myself. Those too get the job done for me.

YMMV.

Agreed - I had this pecker-shot caribou... pre laser ranger - but the wind was also in play.

Ouch

That is actually pretty funny.

I think this thread boils down to is those that have used Partitions for a long time and tend to keep their shots inside 500 yards vs those that tend to shoot longer ranges and can harness the benefit afforded by a higher BC. I'm still not a fan of shooting game beyond 500 yards because of the aforementioned wind variable. I've seen wind do weird things and know many times it is not constant. I hope those that advocate long range shooting have the ethics to pass on those situations.

I'm also for utilizing all the margin one can gain - it makes sense. I do think when big bitey issues arise, I'm mostly done looking at BC. I want a bullet that will work when Big Bitey shows up. This is where Partitions shine. They work close and far. They may not be the best for longer ranges but they don't suck either.

The only thing a Partition has going for it is cheap seconds at SPS.

I'm honestly curious on 2 points for those that don't like Partitions. First, what is the bullet of choice and conditions your bullet excels at. Second, what is 'wrong' with the Partition.

Don't want to start a pissing match, but I am curious.

Can't answer for others but I like partitions just fine and I'd use them in situations where bullet construction is more important than accuracy and external ballistics. Honestly though, that's not a lot of my hunting.

My favorite bullets for most of the stuff I hunt are Scenars because they're generally more accurate, better in flight, and cheaper than premiums like partitions.