Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting More bullet gack - elk in the timber

The Partition is such a no brainer that I have not concerned myself with how they penetrate in years. But will note that how far they go seems to depend on position of the Partition and how weight stays behind the Partition after the front of the bullets expands and blows off. I have seen generally deep penetration from the 200 vs the 180, but will hunt with either without a second thought. Ive killed bulls with both.

IME the deepest penetration Partition under 30 caliber is the 7mm 160, but I have not used the 175 on anything so would not be surprised if that is the "under 30 caliber best". Nevertheless the 160 is pretty tough. It penetrates as deeply as the 180-30 cal IME.

I would not be surprised if the 270-150 and 160 are not right there with the the 7mm's but only shoot 130's in 270 so don't know.

I've recovered fewer 140-160 7mm Partitions than I have 270 Partitions. A friend who posts here says it's because 270 jackets are drawn thinner than 7mm and 7mm is just tougher. Interesting.

Timber or open I think the 7mm 160 in a 7mm magnum is as good an all round BG bullet as you can get, on par with any 30 caliber with 180's.. I will take it over anything else for western elk.

Yes, I was actually thinking of the 160 in the 270. I think that would match up with the 308-200. I wouldn't know directly, as I've never shot anything with a 270 ever. 30 cal is king in this house!

I am with BobH..

Bob,

Think about this: If the jacket is thicker it will expand larger and/or stay in place longer. That would inhibit penetration.

20 years ago I carefully and diligently sectioned 30 cal 150, 180, 200, and 270 cal 130, 150, and 160 Partitions. The partition was in slightly different positions in all of them.

Here's a quick and dirty example of 270 cal NPt's I just sectioned:

160 on left, 150 on right. The 160's partition is just slightly ahead of the 150's partition.

Casey that's interesting. The 270 bullets look pretty similar.

Ever section a 160 7mm?

Ive shot a lot of 140 and 160 gr 7mm Partitions into animals and have never recovered a single one.

A couple of old timers I know killed Alaskan BB with the 160 NPT in the 270.

One thing for sure is that if you stick any of these bullets into the chest of a bull elk and don't kill him it's because you missed or screwed a shot. Any of them have more than enough penetration and the right stuff to kill a bull elk handily.

Bob,

I haven't sectioned the 7mm's only 270 and 30 cal. And anymore I consider my 06 AI with a 200 grainer to be fit only for T-Rex's and such....... It's actually the lightest rifle I own at about 6lbs 9oz with scope. It has a LOT of muzzle rise.

I cannot recall seeing a different jacket thickness in any Partition I've sectioned. I think moving the partition slightly forward is what "improves" penetration in the NPt's.

Casey

If or when I go to Alaska again I would most likely take one of my 270's with the 160gr. When I went before my partner had already done this kind of Diy trip, and knew we would see brown bears. We saw 15-20 BB's on each trip--that's why I took the 30-06 AI with big bullets. Otherwise I would have just carried my 270 for the moose and caribou!

Casey

I grieved also when I couldn't find any old recipie TBBC's. Then I found North Forks and they made me forget TBBC's. They proved to be much less fouling, much more accurate and as good or better terminal performance. Go get you some...you won't regret it. They are the closest thing to a Jack Carter TBBC you'll see, only better.

Did Aagaards penetration test appear in any of his books or was it only in a magazine publication? If so, can anyone provide a link or date? Thank you.

Very true. Right behind the last rib will generally get the bullet where it needs to be--and this is where premium bullets rule...........

At least half the elk I've ever killed were quartering away. And a few were quartering towards me.

Casey

All this has been very interesting.

The frontal jackets on ALL Partition are drawn relatively thin, and the lead core is the same relatively soft alloy with 2.5% antimony, less than any conventional cup-and-core big game bullet I know of. Both features are designed to allow the front end to expand easily, and at higher impact velocities even disintegrate.

There are differences in the jacket thickness and lead alloy in the rear core, both to keep the rear end intact even when hitting heavy bone, and sometimes for better accuracy.

Unlike Bob, I've recovered several 7mm 140 and 160-grain Partitions from various animals, mostly deer and elk, but not all were shot from 7mm magnums. The cartridges ranged from the 7x57 to the 7mm Weatherby Magnum, and one of the 160's was recovered from a "raking shot" on a 6x6 bull elk with a 7mm Wby. I aimed at the far shoulder and that's where the bullet ended up, retaining 64% of its weight.

Another 160 retained 90% of its weight, but it was shot into a big Alberta mule deer at just under 300 yards from a 7x57, so impact velocity wasn't all that high. That's the second-highest weight retention I've seen from ANY Partition, the only one beating it a 400-grain .416 from a .416 Rigby that retained 95%. But the partition in the .416's (and several other of the larger Partitions) is moved considerably forward.

The 140's were all recovered from deer, including one from the ham of an eating-sized mule deer buck that was shot at 30 yards in lodgepole timber at the base of the neck. It retained 56% of its original weight.

Have consistently seen more penetration from the 200-grain .30 Partition than the 180. In fact have never recovered a 200, though one did end up somewhere in the chest of a raghorn bull shot in the tailbone at around 375 yards with a .300 Weatherby. Just couldn't find the bullet. (It had already been hit fatally already, but wasn't falling. Otherwise I wouldn't have taken the "raking" shot.) Once put a 200 into the big shoulder joint of a 6x6 bull that was quartering toward me at 75 yards, using a .300 Winchester Magnum. It exited the rear of the ribcage on the other side. Have recovered several 180's over the years from elk-sized African animals, but not from elk since for some reason I've never used them on elk.

Have killed more elk with the 200-grain 200 Partition using various .30 caliber cartridges from the .30-06 up, going back to the old "semi-spitzer" in the .30-06 which I went to when hunting elk in the thick thimber of western Montana over by the Idaho Panhandle in the 1970's. Have found it to penetrate plenty, as much as any .338 Partition I've used.

I think the 'Gold Star goes to the Nosler Partition, .30 caliber 200 grain bullet. At speeds generated by an 06, is top-shelf.
My 30-06 shoots this bullet very well. Makes for a nice hunting rifle.
I know lesser rounds will kill too. A man needs to make himself happy.

I hope you all had a nice Christmas.

Does anyone have a pic of a sectioned Nosler Partition in the 30-200 weight?

180 Nosler Partition from 300 Win Mag at about 450 yards into a herd bull. Quartering on, point of shoulder, broke the knuckle.

Recovered against the back ribs opposite side. I was impressed at how fast he dropped.

Just so there's no confusion I DO think the 200 gr Partition is a deeper penetrating bullet than the 180; but the 180 does a pretty fair job.

Im still looking for those 7mm's....must be just dumb luck.




165 NPT from a 30/06. 5x5 bull. Down through the trees at about 175,sort of broadside. Found against off ribs.

Good post JB. As well as the 200gr. partition worked on both deer and elk this year, I'd love to try the 210 partition in my 338 WM next year. I know you've said that bullet works very well in the 338. I also know a few guys that swear by them around here. One guy claims to get a little over 3,000 fps with the 210 partition out of his model 70 338wm. He also says he's seen a 210 knock over 2 bulls with one very well placed shot. I don't hunt with those guys, just something I was told.

Arguably one of the most informative threads on this entire website. I've learned a lot.

I agree.

I was just thinking about opening up that stash of 200gr. NP's for that spring interior brownie hunt in AK.. Would look good in a 300WM case I'd say with some H4831SC behind it.

Any leads yet on the Aagaard penetration test article?

The 210 Nosler in .338 was another of Hagel's favorites.. I did get about 3,000 fps, from my .338 with that bullet and Re 19.. I have shot a couple elk with it from my .340.. Dandy bullet.. The last batch of .340's I loaded was with 225's.. Both Accbond and Partition.. Killed some game with both.. Including one of my biggest whitetails.. Haven't used it in probably 8 years.. Great caliber and bullets..

Would the 150 grain North Fork in the 270 Win expand reliably on deer out to say 400 yds?