This is all very interesting to me. I've always used 180s as my general-purpose load and 220s when I wanted to use an '06 around brown bears. It looks like the 200 could be a good dual-purpose option. As of late, I've begun using RE26 with 150s in the .270, which suddenly leaves me with plenty of unemployed H4831. Does anyone have any experience with the differences in penetration between the 200 and 220 grain partitions?
I have only had one 200-grain Nosler Partition stay inside an animal--a rear-angling shot on a bull elk at close to 400 yards, taken with a .300 Weatherby and the 200 at around 3000 fps. It ended up inside the chest somewhere, but never found it. Have also shot lengthwise through a big mule deer buck with a 200 from a .30-06, and that bullet exited the buck's rear end. Another example was 6x6 bull elk about 75 yards away in thick cover, quartering toward me. Put a 200 from a .300 Winchester Magnum into the near shoulder, and it broke the big joint and exited the rear of the ribcage on the opposite side.
Obviously have used the 200 in various cartridges, but more in the .30-06 than any other, and never recovered any of those.
That said, the 220s will penetrate a little deeper. In fact, during a bullet-penetration test Phil Shoemaker did a few years ago, the 220 Partition penetrated deeper than any other bullet tried. Can't remember the others, but Phil probably can.
