Garandimal,
The 286 A-Frame actually isn't any tougher than the 286 Partition, despite the bonded front core. Or at least they both typically retain about the same amount of weight, because the 286 9.3 Partition is one of the heavy-duty models with the partition moved forward.
Also the jacket of the A-Frame is copper, with is softer than the gilding metal of the Partition jacket, and the Partition's jacket it also thicker over the rear core. Plus, as you are apparently aware of (some people aren't) the rear core of A-Frames isn't bonded. As a result, when A-Frames expand they often do so both in front AND the rear. This makes a bigger hole, but doesn't typically penetrate as deeply as the Partition. It's unusual for a Partition's rear core to expand even a little, due to the thick gilding metal jacket--and the unbonded front end doesn't open as widely as the bonded front end of the A-Frame.
Both usually work very well, but in somewhat different ways, despite the similar percentage of retained weight. The A-Frame doesn't exit as often as the heavy-duty Partitions, even on broadside shots, due to the wide mushroom--which a lot of PHs like when hunting buffalo in herds--though Partitions won't exit as often as other brands of bullets, especially monolithics.
Whether any bullet exits buffalo also depends a lot on the cartridge, velocity and size of the buffalo. Cape buffalo also have far bigger and tougher ribs than most other big game, which can affect how how much bullets expand--and how often they exit.
While no doubt a stout bullet, as is evident by the reinforced partition, it's location does not look all that much different from, say, a heavy .308.
Was led to believe that the A-Frame was a
>90% retained wt. bullet, where as the Partition was more in the 70-80's.
GR
