I'm curious too. Back when I used the .338 a LOT put quite a few 250 Partitions into various big game animals. They ranged in size from mule deer bucks to an eland pushing 1500 pounds, and the only 250 that didn't exit was the first shot on the eland. It hit a tiny thorn-branch just in front of the eland. The bullet still landed where I'd aimed, just behind the shoulder, but the twig did turn the bullet sideways, so it punched a perfect Partition silhouette through the hide. The eland took off behind brush, where we found it in a clearing a couple minutes later, standing with its head lowered. A second 250 through the chest, from the other side (which landed point-on), dropped the bull--and exited. Also shot 250s endwise through a mule deer buck and a blue wildebeest bull, about the size of a mature bull elk, both exiting.
In fact the only .338 Partition of any weight I recovered while using that rifle was a 225 from a huge musk ox bull, the size of an average cow bison, which I shot twice. The first shot broke the near shoulder as the bull quartered toward me at around 175 yards, and exited the ribs on the other side. The bull spun around a couple of times, ending up broadside, whereupon I put another one behind the shoulder--which tipped the bull over. It ended up under the hide on the far side, retaining 85% of its weight.
Didn't use the 210 much, especially after finding out how wellthe 200 Ballistic Tip worked, but they all exited too. Though a friend had one stopped by a rear-angling shot on a mature whitetail buck.
I've shot a few moose back in the 80's in Alaska and never saw a 338 250 partition exit a moose Killed them well but none exited
Thanks for the info, JWP. Do you recall how much weight those retained?
I didn't start using the .338 until around 1990, and during the 1990s Nosler started moving the partition forward on most of the heavier, larger-caliber Partitions, so they'd retain more weight than the typical 65-70%. Exactly how much depends on the bullet.
Have mentioned this before, but the first one of that generation I used on big game was the 300-grain .375. Have only recovered two, but they retained 88% and 89% of their weight.
As noted, the only .338 Partition I've recovered was the 225 from a musk ox, which retained 85% of its weight.
The only two 9.3mm Partitions I've recovered (from a northern British Columbia moose and a blue wildebeest bull) averaged 82% retention.
The only two 400-grain .416s recovered (from water and Cape buffalo) retained an average of 89%.
John
Don't recall the weight retention, but on all 4 moose they were found under the hide on the offside. These were large Alaskan moose and the bullets all looked just like the Nosler adds at the time
I used NPs for a long time in a lot of different calibers and weights. At one time I thought the perfect mushroom just under the far-side-hide was ideal. I no longer believe that. But my experience mirrors yours. I have a bunch of recovered bullets and a large percentage of them are NPs. I still have not seen an exit wound from an Accubond.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
