That's my experience as well.
Have never recovered a 250-grain .338 Partition on animals up to around 1500 pounds in weight, but have recovered 210s and 225s. In fact, have seen one 210 stay inside a mature but not huge whitetail buck that a companion shot as it ran angling away at maybe 50 yards in timber. Came across the bullet when we skinned it, and he assumed somebody else had wounded the buck previously with a "smaller" Partition. But the buck only had one bullet hole, and the shank of the recovered bullet measured .338."
One 250 did stay inside an animal, a Cape eland. But it landed sideways, due to striking a small thorn-branch a few inches before landing right where I aimed, in the pocket behind the shoulder. In fact the entrance "hole" was a perfect silhouette of a 250-grain Nosler Partition. The bull ran into the neaby thornbush, and we found it in a clearing, still standing but with its head down, after trailing it for about 100 yards. I put another 250 in the chest, and it dropped instantly--but the first bullet was never found in the chest, despite considerable looking. Would have been very interested to see what it looked like!.
