Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Heavy bullets in the 6.5mm and 270 cal

That is quite a resource, thanks for your work. There are a lot of great bullets out there, the 140 gr Partition still looks great. The 120 gr Ballistic Tip looks good and I bet the 140 BT will work great too. The 129 gr Hornady Spire Point is another one that looks great and we have some of those. I have to say the 155 gr Lapua Mega bullet looks outstanding as well.

gerrygoat can't speak personally because I have never used them; but a few friends from years past used the 160 Partition here and there, killing elk and moose with them from NH and Maine to Wyoming (where I have seen them used myself),and one old friend used it in the 270 to kill an Alaskan brown bear.

According to the account there was little drama; the bear took a convulsive leap at the shot, and piled up.

Don't know anyone who has recovered one.

My 270/160 load burning Win 780
700 Ti 22" barrel

Win Primers, Nosler brass

58.5 grains 2,900..........mv

sub moa


(This is Hodgdon data.........58.0 2833 62,000 PSI)

I've had no problems with this powder. I like it and use it in other cartridges.



For the 6.5x55 fill the case full of RL25 with the 140 NP.
I think you'll like it.

Another bullet that has not been mentioned that seems to knock the snot out of anything is the Hornady 160bg RN. This one has impressed me so much that I don't even think of Partions. Excellent accurracy out of my Steyr 6.5x55.

I recently shot two feral horses, big ones with the 270 Win and the 160g Partition loaded to 2820fps. Range was about 80y.

First one dropped dead without a step. The second larger and very spooked horse took a quick second shot to put it down.

Both were shot (in the case of all three rounds I fired) right in the heaviest part where the shoulder joint is.

No exits but very impressive killing power.

I shot and have hunted quite a bit with both a 270 and 6.5 x 55's I still have a 6.5. My take on it is that 270 bullets were made for the performance level you got out of the winchester cartridge. So pretty much all the bullets performed well for the intended uses. I only shot three head of game with the 160 gr 270 Nosler Partitions, and it was so long ago, that those bullets were made on a screw machine. The Newfoundland moose didn't care. As for 6.5 x 55 I found the 160 gr Hornaday RN's to be very very accurate on paper. on game they tend to fly apart some when you strike bone, at least that was the case with some of the white tails I shot with them. I like that bullet weight. Thou you get just as good if not better performance and flatter trajectories with a 120 gr Barnes or 125 gr Nosler Partition. It really dose not make much difference. Heck I still have a huge supply of 120 gr 6.5 mm Remington Core Locks that I bought in Bulk some 20+ years ago. Accurate cheap and they work just fine.

Well a standard 150 corelokt did this out of my friends 270.


Last year Nilgai that weighed more than any of his Brangus heiffers. Admittedly his first shot was in the neck and it ran. Second in the breadbasket put him down hard and for good.

Man that's a big beast.

I'm enjoying this discussion and hearing all of your experiences.

I would like to see the head on that Nilgai. How much did it weigh?

Geezus! That thing looks like an eland!

Deer and elk have fallen to the 260rem with 140 Partitions in our home with no issues what so ever..

The Partition as always expands violent enough that lunged deer don't go far. I'd go with them as a deer bullet any day. IME one of my favorite things about the Partition is that I haven't owned a rifle yet that didn't shoot then as good if not better than any other bullet I've loaded. The 140 AB was also accurate but I never did get the velocity I'd hoped for.

My .270 loved the 150gr Partition! Put everything down with what appeared to be with retaliative ease. The .270 with 150's left me wanting more. The way I loaded them I was only getting around 2850fps so I ended up dumping said rifle for a .308 which pushed the 150gr Partition to the same 2850fps but did so with less powder and a larger diameter bullet.

The Partitions I used in the .260rem and .270win never exited and all were found against the offside hide but because of the Partitions design I've never needed an exit. As sid critters only made it 20yds tops.

Big partition fan! If I was going to load for deer again in the 260 I'd like to see how the 130gr Accubond and the 125gr Partition performed. If .BC is a big deal to you you could always try a 150gr Interbond in the .270 it's .BC is .525 and shot well in mine.

Depending on range of shots the 140NP grouped just as good and better than the 140gr Accubond in the .260rem to 300yds in my rifle. Never compared the two farther as the Partition was all I really wanted...

...and an Eland it was. why did I say nilgai? I want to say something like 1500 pounds but I may be a little off. (1700??- I will have to ask) It was a little bloated in this pick unfortunately. He was thrilled to get it but my response was better you than me buddy.
He had just traded up to a 270 from a 243- mostly cuz I am an enabler and he liked the looks of wood- stainless Weatherby....so I found him one and prodded. He is a box of ammo every few years guy. I made him buy 130's and 150's and we tested. Thankfully it liked 150's better and that is what he had loaded. He had an ancient Redfield he thought was 'fine' but I mounted a screamin' deal of a Bushnell 4200 for the new rifle. Shot was in very low light....not sure he gets it but I know the part I played in it and could not be happier about it all.