Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Niche for .308 diameter 150 gr. Partitions

Normally in my 30 cals I go with 180 grain bullets (Partitions usually) if penetration is a concern. What special property would a 30 grain lighter Partition bring?

Plenty of bullet for deer and such with less recoil and flatter trajectory over typical hunting distances.

For most of my reloads I try to keep the velocity in the "sweet spot" for cup-and-core bullets. Usually that falls between 2700-3000 fps. It simplifies the judgement of range and trajectory quite a bit.

If I am shooting a bigger (magnum) round I tend to increase bullet weight until the velocity falls in the range I want. The 150 grain .30 caliber bullets are just right for rounds such as the .300 Savage and .308.

In the .30-06 the 150 grain bullets are just a bit too fast to perform as I like so I usually load the slightly heavier 165 grain bullet......and for a "magnum" may go to a 180 grain bullet.

In a milder round (.308 or .330 Savage) the 150 grain bullets will shoot a bit flatter at longer range and perform perfectly.....where a heavier bullet (180 grain) might lack enough velocity to reach full potential on deer size game.

Less recoil, plenty of penetration for deer from any angle. Can't think of a better bullet for deer for .308s, '06s, and such. I bought 5 boxes of the CT version (with the little steel cups in the base) for $7.95 a box from a Grafs sale flyer a long while back. Wish I'd bought 10.

IMO, a 150 Partition is just right for whitetails. It is going fast enough for dynamic effect, will expand plenty, but yet still has that shank to keep things going for extra penetration on a raking shot. Best of both worlds for a lighter-constructed animal.

I'm wondering if the bullet is good for Elk and Moose too. I like 150's because they take a lot of the bite out of my 700 BDL with its metal buttplate. I thought about switching to the 150 Partition for all my hunting.

150s work on pigs just fine, too.
BMT

Lighter bullet for lighter animals, heavier bullet for heavier animals.

Your pretty sensitive to recoil if a 180 at 2800 fps kicks you noticably more than a 150 at 3000 fps. There are plenty of 150 gr. bullets out there that do just fine for deer sized game and don't have a Partition. I agree that in the smaller rounds a 150 may have a few advantages but I am not talking about the bullet weight alone, just the specific qualities of the 150 gr. Partition.

I used the 150 gr PT in a 30-06 in my early days of hunting.
WT Deer, Antelope and a Black Bear were all taken cleanly. Exits were the size of a quarter.

JD338

Quick momentum calculation:

18 x 28 / 15 = 33.6, so the 150 would need to be going more like 3360 fps.

.30 cal 150 partition sounds good for timber deer from a short barreled .308. I hunted for several years with a 7mm-08 with a 20" barrel shooting 140 grain partitions. .308 with the 150 grain version should do the same work.

moosemike - before I switched from 180s to 150s for heavier animals I'd get rid of that metal butt plate and replace it with a 1 inch decelerator or limbsaver. Critters don't die because the shooter got kicked, critters die 'cause THEY got kicked.

Tom

When trapping I carry a Kimber Montana 308 with 150gr Partitions, it's got the poop to drop a wolf or wolverine as far as I can hit them. Perfect for caribou too!
Here's a wolf I shot from the house with my 30 Gibbs with 150 NP.

IIRC, Roy E shot his Polar Bear using 150gn Partitions in his .300 Weatherby.

Wally Taber used to kill Elk, Moose , and African big game with his .300 Weatherby and 150 gr. Vennum killer bullets (whatever they were).

A hunting pard of mine uses the 150 NPT Protected Point loaded to 3000fps in his 300 Win Mag, a fairly mild load for a 300 Win Mag but very accurate one. Shoots everything with it deer ,elk ,and antelope but no niches. Nosler Partiton the origin of the concept "One size fits All" JFC we must be lost in space out there. Good grief Magnum Man

They're gold in a 300 Savage, specifically a model 99F I sold Pugs a year or so ago.

When I get the chance on an elk, I'll be shooting a 300 Savage loaded with 150gr partitions at about 2700 fps. Never a single doubt.

Happy Hunting!

It would seem to me that the best use of the lighter partitions would be in very high velocity rifles at the shorter ranges. At 2700 fps most standard cup and core bullets will perform just fine. That said a 150 gr. Partition will work very well also. At the longer ranges where velocity has dropped off a bit standard bullets work pretty good.