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.

I would imagine in a very high velocity round at close range the 150 partition put through the front shoulders would be good for at least 20 lbs+ of bloodshot meat. If one is a meat hunter its not necessarily desirable.

My thoughts are it would be far more suited to 308 win velocities and in fact for close range deer loads I'd likely go with a fairly mild load.

A 308 win 150 partition loaded to around 2850 fps at close range will reliably put meat on the table up to and including moose and elk.

An uncle has been doing this for over 30 years using 47.5 gr of Varget. He claims its the holy grail of 308 loads for big game.

Shod

Quite easy to switch over to a Barnes TTSX or Nosler ETip in 150 grain for elk and moose.

But I wouldn't hesitate much with a 150 Partition either. Drive it as fast as possible, blow off the front end, and send the "wadcutter" on through to the far side hide. Pretty sure that'll work most every time.

Are these normally accurate with 1-10" twist barrels or better with 1-12"? Recommended powder for 22" barrel, range under 300 yd?

The stock has a lot to do with felt recoil..I can tell a difference in my Mcmillan Featherweight .270 WSM between 130's and 150's

In the wide well padded stock on my .270 Win not so much.

Mike

Either twist is great.

Which cartridge?

Was at the local Pawn yesterday and I got a new full box of 150 Speer HC's for $10. Happy camper!-Muddy

Bingo - that rifle/cartridge combo was my first thought opening this thread. Mine's an EG, but same applies...

150's kill elk just fine.

308win

Brain Litz has won some big 1000 yard matches with a 308 and he shoots a 9 twist.

Ya reckon ol' Leitz shoots 150 partitions?

Bryan Litz

Yup. I hear he shoots Noslers exclusively.

Yes, big ABLR fan

The 22" barrel doesn't require anything special, and the 308 Win. works well with a wide variety of mid speed powders. IMR 3031, 4320, 4064, 4895, W748, RL15, N140, Varget, H4895, TAC and numerous others.

The space occupied by that bullet at .308 velocities seems to be the opposite of a niche. A better question might be "what would it not work on." Stout enough for the largest non-dangerous game but mild enough to shoot prairie dogs with if you want.

the 150gr Partition works great. I would bet more are shot out of the 308 Winchester, By percentage. Than any other Cartridge. But 300 Savage, 30-06, 300 Win mag all shoot them well.

There's no Montana big game I wouldn't hunt with a 150 Partition from a .308. If they ever open the grizzly season I might choose something a little bigger, but wouldn't feel i had to stay home if that's all I had.

Well I tested the niche bullet some last year and this spring. Loaded some old style partitions, the off bronze colored ones with the groove and put them to use on feral hogs. This particular bullet seemed to loose all of the front of the bullet in front of the partition and the rear of the bullet exited leaving a caliber sized bullet hole. Almost non existent blood trails but killed well just the same. Very destructive generally. These bullets came in the original box but there were only 24 bullets in it. I sighted in with 11 and had 13 loaded rounds left with which I killed 6 feral hogs and still have 7 loaded rounds left. 2 were head shot and were very gruesome looking after being hit. 3 were hit in the neck/spine and the exits on these were pretty big but total penetration needed was 6-8 inches. Massive damage also. The one that actually needed what the partition is famous for (penetration) was hit in the ribs just behind the diaphram making a nasty mess of the liver, traveling through the intestines and exiting through the rear leg bone just under the hip joint and out the hog leaving just the 30 caliber hole. No blood trail but the hog only went 50 yards. This gnarley looking black and white hog was quartering to my left and rolling a hog toy, probably pushed forward just as I shot. He did not go that far but it was after dark and he got into some shinnery that I was not going into in the dark alone not knowing the hogs actual condition. I did a grid search and found him quickly the next day but not before at least one coyote had hog nuts and hindquarter for a midnite snack. I have since ordered 600 of the modern version of the 150 gr. Partition from SPS (blems). Will try to re run the testing with the new version of this bullet in the fall but right now fishing takes the lead in my spare time use.

Oh yes the rifle is a 308 and the load was a max load of BLC-2 so I was getting 2800 fps or so with the antique bullets. A blast from the past though I know the newer version will keep a larger frontal area. All shooting was inside of 75 yards, a couple were inside of 30 yards.

As others said, a natural for the .300 Savage. Might also be really fine for a .30-30 single shot, or a .30-40, depending on the throat.

I'm going to run the new bullets at near 3200fps out of my 300 Win Mag. Looking for a nice accurate load that doesn't kick too much and shoots flat enough for practical purposes. The hog I hit poorly weighed around 200 pounds so the bullet did get at least 20 inches of penetration. I had heard the early bullets were designed to loose all of the bullet in front of the partition, possibly one of the reasons for the groove.

The groove was for "pressure relief," the reason it's right over the partition.

The new Partitions are also designed to lose the front core. or at least they're designed to retain a minimum weight when expanded, while losing the front core. Some don't, but the early ones didn't always lose it either.

I knew the new ones are designed to mostly lose the front core but not turn into a caliber diameter wadcutter it appeared the old style bullet did on exit on that last hog. Possibly going through the thick piece of bone just before exiting wiped away whatever folded back bullet jacket material there was. Some European bullet designs use a groove to facilitate the loss of a section of the front of the bullet.

The old style Partition jacket (grooved) was a more brittle grain structure and not as malleable as the newer style jackets used on todays Partitions and introduced (IIRC) in the 1970's sometime.

The older style material was more inclined to shear off instead of bending under stress to hold more of a frontal area.

But this is a small point and as John says both are inclined to shed everything forward of the Partition. They may exit "small" but there is generally a train wreck between the holes.

I have seen the 150 work on game from a 30/06 and 300 magnums. I actually found the 165 to do more damage and penetrate better. From a 300 mag at 3200 it is an absolutely devastating killer.

Kinda makes me wanna try it in the 300 Wby. I happen to have a couple kicking around. Can't see an elk shrugging one off.

Love partitions. With most rifles I use, the only reason for not using them is because Interlocks work great too and they're cheaper.
I usually bring a back up rifle with iron sights for hunting away from home. This year's cow elk hunt I'll be bringing in a second year production carbine '06 700. It is one of few without 1" high tech recoil pad. It will be loaded with 150 grain Nosler Partitions.

I'm old, have bersitus, and arthritis. With a good recoil pad I can shoot big magnums just fine (IMHO). But with that steel butt plate, that 150 grain bullet will be about all MY shoulder can take.

Niche, no - a good bullet for a variety of big game IMO.

A local gun shop owner used the 150 NPT from his 300Wby on a KY elk several years ago. I think it was around 100yds give or take and the rear of the 150 was recovered under the hide after busting the offside shoulder.

That's pretty good performance. Going out to shoot some reloads in my 300 Win mag presently.

A few years ago I had the idea to use this bullet in my '06 at about 2800 fps to shoot does and hogs. My thought was it'd be a light recoiling load and a sure killer without the meat loss I sometimes get with cup and cores when I screw up and hit a shoulder. I never hunted with it, though, as I couldn't find a load that shot worth a hoot in my rifle. But I still like the idea...

Great for deer, antelope, etc.
Stay with 150's for elk but use ETip or TTSX. No need for heavier bullet.

These critters were taken with a 150gr Partition @2500fps. Both 1 shot kills!

Cool pictures!

you got that right!

I see another issue has been resolved.

Sounds like the correct niche is the area where the top of the heart and the lungs intersect, or that portion of the spine that can be bisected by lacing one through the top third of the shoulders...

Going to check which pill shoots best of out my new Montana: 150 NPT v. 150 AB v. 155 Scenar then go from there...

I shoot 150 partition bullets in my 30 06. 59 grains IMR 4350, kills deer and pigs very well

Waterrat

What chambering?

Just curious.

Rem 722 in 300 Savage, a family heirloom that has slayed countless brown bear & moose. 40gr of 4895 out of a 20" barrel.

Cool!

What's the general view of the 165 PT in the .308 as a do-it-all bullet? Any reason not to pick it over the 150 PT? Does it add enough extra for larger animals over the 150?

The 165 would have to work pretty good as an all around bullet in a 308.

Partitions are the best all around bullet out there. I have always wondered why they haven't put a plastic tip on them? The old bear claws were great too.

What mathman said.. I have used 150s on deer, sheep, and several elk.. 165's are great also.

Why would you need to put a plastic tip on them?

They do take a beating in some magazines...

It's preferred bullet in the .308. The last three or four deer I've shot with that combination went a total of less than 30 feet. But I hunt at short range by many standards. My load of RL-15 puts the bullet out at just under 2600.

I used the 150 partion for many years, and never had a failure on anything I hit. Then one day I happened to be out of that wieght and loaded 165gr instead. I think I saw a slight improvement in accuracy, so never went back. So except for my 30 Carb, 30_30, 300 Blk, and a few heavy 300 mag loads, its all I use now. I buy them in bulk to save money.

For deer and antelope 30 cal a partition isn't needed as most C&C out of a std cartridge at under 2900 fps will do just fine. However if you are shooting a magnum case in open country and wanting the flattest trajectory because you can get so you re exceeding 2900 fps then the partion might be appreciated when the deer appears at 50 yds . where the velocity is still higher than c&c performance levels.

Mrs. WaterRat appears pretty adept.....unless she's posing with your kill.

2550-2600 with a 165/168 class bullet approximates the old Lake City match 7.62x51 ammunition, and it works quite well accuracy wise with several mid speed extruded propellants.

I shoot a lot of this type load in a number of 308's. While not exactly a reduced load, it is milder on the shooter than full speed stuff at 2750 for fun shooting. Furthermore it's great for 99% of the deer hunting I do. I have other rifles and/or loads for pipeline right of way set ups.

I cannot add much to what's already been posted but I have to agree that Partitions are an awesome bullet. Before we moved to Alaska, Etta and I killed a lot of deer and elk with a 308, 30-06 and 300 H&H with 150 and 165 grain Partitions. I liked the 165's better in the 300 H&H but in the 308 and 30-06 I could go either way. Both great bullets.

A plastic tip is probably unnecessary from a practical standpoint, but I bet it would be a brilliant marketing move to boost sales. Heck I'd probably buy some of them myself, even knowing it doesn't matter much.

I agree with the others here; the Partition is generally my #1 choice too, whether it's needed or not.

Wow, I had severe failures of 180 partitions in a 300 wtby on smaller whitetails. Even on decent sized one.

Then I found Barnes.

In fairness John has told me since, I needed 200 partitions for a 300 mag.

The 180s simply didn't penetrate impressively on deer, and I was going to rely on them for elk.

But like I said, Barnes came along and solved all issues for me at once.

I loaded 150 partitions in my wife's 30-06 with 46 grains of IMR 3031 for about 2800 ft/sec. Recoil was fine for her. She shot a nice buck at 200 yards.

Then I discovered TSX Barnes, and with a 150 TSX, she dropped a nice bull moose in his tracks. Nothing wrong with a good bullet through the vitals even for moose.