What grain Partition are you using JGRaider? I shot 160's out of the 7 mag and 140's out of the 7mm-08. That exit looks a little lower than where I shoot mine and those lower hits bleed to the ground faster. I know that the front half of a Partition is soft and I've had lung tissue strain through my fingers when I field dressed them. I can only figure that the front half of the bullet is expanded fully early on and the back half is what is making the exit wound. Our deer are big here and usually close so the bullet velocity is high. I double lunged one once with the 140 Partition and if it wasn't for the scuffed up leaves, he didn't put hardly any blood on the ground to find him by. Another one with a .300 WM and 180 grain Partition went a hundred yards and zero blood sign. I wonder if the heavier fat and winter coat of a northern deer helps plug up the exit wound?
Primarily 160's in the 7mag, with an occasional 150. I didn't see any difference to speak of between the two. The 7-08 and 140's work great too. Listen, I'm not being argumentative here, but I have shot many mule deer with these combos, and believe it or not our big, mature sandhills bucks can weight 300+ on the hoof. Have weighed quite a few on old cotton scales that field dressed in the neighborhood of 270lbs. With that in mind, I don't think your big deer are the problem, but I can't explain your experience. The last few years though, I've become particularly enamored with the Accubond.
