Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Nosler .270 160 gr.

I recently bought a box of Nosler partition .270 cal 160 gr. at a gunshow.This seems to be a little on the heavy side for the 270 winchester.I'm still looking for the right bullet to go elk hunting with and I don't really want to buy another gun with a larger calibur.Anybody have any experience hunting with a 270 and a 160 gr bullet? thank you

I've more than a bit of experience with the 160, tis one of my all time fav 270 bullets going.

Very accurate and incredibly capable when it comes to taking down game. And yet, it's incredibly under used.

Dober

I have thought of trying the 160 in my 270 as well.

Mark, what kind of velocities do you see with the 160 Partition?
Also, is it a semi-spitzer design?

Thanks!

I know of one brown bear killed with it......and more than a few elk,by friends,not me.

I guess not many are recovered....kinda like a slightly smaller version of the 175-7mm.....


.........why do we have anything under 30 caliber except the 270 anyway? .................

It's rare indeed to find anyone dissing the partition bullets and the 260 grainer in the .270 is as big as they come.....that said:

Nosler's partition has a strong tendency to shed the lead in the front core......and this causes loss of penetration.

Many agrue that this is intentional.....to which I hoist the BS flag!...it's not!!!!!

For elk with the .270 the finest bullet one can shoot is the A-Frames or the Northforks.....these bullets have the front cores bonded....they run about a buck a piece and are worth it!

Barnes may also have a fine option but my experience is non existant with them

As to the Nosler partition.....if ya got-em use-em....they have a solid reputation....but if you don't....have a good look at the Swift A-Frame

2800 is the range they've run for me in 22-23" tubes with R22 and as Bob mentioned you're not gonna find them very often.

Plus the accuracy for me has always been incredibly good.

Yepper it is the semi design which I kind of have a thing for. I have a fairly large stash of old 175 Semi's for my Mashburn...

Dober

Thanks Mark!


My SW had had a box or two of the 160s sitting on the shelf for months, I may go see if they are still there...

Same with our SW, they were about the only bullets that they had...grin

Dober

vapo: I would ditto what you have to say on NorthForks and Aframes, because I've been using their grandaddy(the Bitterroot,which is quite as good as either one)since the 80's....along with the Partitions.There ain't much "new" under the sun......

But, I suspect there are probably a million-plus dead elk that would take issue with the Partition being a chump-change elk bullet

In fact, the 160 Partition may penetrate further than the Aframes or Northforks, simply because it has a lot of shank behind the Partition,and may set up to a smaller frontal area than a Northfork or Aframe,which will likely be found balled up under off-side hide. This matters little because by then, the real damage has already been done.

Have you actually had a lack of penetration problem with a partition? The only failure I've had with a partition is a failure to recover the bullet. Mine have gone straight through.

Norm

The biggest "problem" with Nosler Partitions is the way many hunters judge bullets by how they look instead of how they work.

The North Fork is a fine a bullet and I've used them quite a bit, but Mike Brady told me himself that the little dab of lead in the front doesn't need to be bonded, since they will work the same way without the bonding. He only bonded the core because so many shooters insisted on it.

The one trouble that can occur with the A-Frame is due to the rea core NOT being bonded. This means it can shift forward on impact, expanding the rear of the bullet as well. This isn't usually bad thing, because the bullet then makes a bigger hole. But it does limit penetration, and in extreme cases the rear core can break through the partition, whereupon penetration is REALLY limited.

In various tests in different media, Nosler Partitions will just about always penetrate as deeply as either North Forks or A-Frames. hey work the same way on animals. This is because (as Bob noted) the frontal area is smaller, even if the Partitions don't retain as much weight. Frontal area has more effect on penetration than weight retention.

My first moose was taken with a .270 loaded with 160 gr. Dominion KlingKor bullets. Due to brush and presentation I had to try for a Texas Heart Shot. Was about 2" to one side.

When butchered the bullet was found in the front shoulder. If you know the length of a moose you will know how much penetration it achieved.

These KlingKor bullets were standard cup and core design. Used at a mv of 2800 fps they always penetrated well and did a super job.

I'll be the first one to admit the shot described above probably resulted in the bullet travelling above the paunch and below the spine. Regardless, a shot going 3/4ths the length of a moose by any bullet is as good as you need.

Jim

I've found this to be true of most bullets.

*cough* Barnes *cough*

Jim

I still have a box of those in 300 Savage 180 grains, in the old Dominion box. Planning on taking them (and my dads old 99EG) to the Yukon for moose one of these fine years.

I love the 160 gr. Nosler partition in the .270 and its on par with a 180 30-06 IMO...

I also am a big fan of Nosler partition bullets, I have never found a "better", only a few as good perhaps..those would be Woodleighs, Northforks, GS Customs...

I am not a Swift fan. The reason being that they mushroom perfectly, but a little too much of a good thing IMO as they mushroom into a very smooth ball with no cutting edges or tearing surface as one finds on many of the better bullets and I have seen animals make a lot of tracks and leave no blood when shot with them..In all fairness I have heard good things about Swifts from other folks, but I don't know what amount of experience they had. I discussed this with Swift and they told me that is one reason they developed the Sirracco for what ever thats worth..

I think the 160 part. would be a really good bullet for elk, bet it would shoot through an elk endways. But the only .270 bullet I've used on elk is the 130 gr. and had no problem at all killing them. Just use a good bullet and put it in the right place.

BRoper,
Is that the 130gr Partition that you like on elk?
The only reason I ask is that my 270 loves the 130gr partition, but I have been a little hesitant to try it on elk...

340: Whack him in the chest; he'll die.... If he doesn't you didn't whack him in the chest

Tim is in the place that I was just in until recently: the "yet to kill an elk" place. 'tis a cold, dismal, depressing and dark place. Not a lonely one, though <g>.

When you are in that place, you aren't really looking for the lightest caliber and smallest bullet that will work.

Right Tim? :-)

That, and the dude has a serious case of magnumitis, and I say that as someone who likes Tim a lot, not as a jab.

I would bet good money that Mr. Tim has some sort of magnum in his hands when he kills his first elk.

Just sayin'... grin...

Patrick James. I've never actually taken an elk with 160NP in a .270, but in a way I have. What I mean is that I've killed a number of nice bulls with a.280AI and the 160gr Nos Part. In the real world there would be zero differance. So load up those 160gr Partition, go hunting, be happy.