Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 30 Cal. Nosler Partitions

I've got a friend who hunts Louisiana swamp country. Tracking is tough to impossible if the animal runs through much water. At least that is what he tells me. I haven't checked with him lately, but he used to use a .300 WSM with quick opening 150 grain bullets, shooting them in the lungs. This seems to agree with some of the culling studies Mule Deer has written about.

I tend to be of the tougher bullet, complete penetration, be able to shoot from any angle school. I don't claim a lot of experience, so that comes more from logic and reading. I often don't get DRT, and it doesn't surprise me when I don't.

From reading those that do have a lot of experience, it seems that if you really need to anchor the animal (and are not trying to hit the central nervous system, which is not a high percentage shot, especially the way deer tend to more their head a lot, and quickly at that), you shoot to hit the shoulder, i.e. "shoot for bone." It results in more ruined meat, but in specific situations it beats not recovering the animal at all.

Isn't this a trade off we have all understood for years, yet we keep discussing it and writing about it? It seems many of us pick one or the other based on limited experience, or just plain old preference. Some don't give it much thought, but those of us who do still have to make a choice. The guys who hunt dangerous game really think it through, often having different bullets loaded in a specific order in the magazine.

The " shoulder" shot is in essence a shot connecting with the peripheral portion of the CNS.

The brachial plexus, vagus nerve, and cardiac bundles lie there. The spinal cord is not too far away either. That is why they flop.

If you don't collapse the CNS ........they don't flop. But they do not need to flop to die!

^^^^^
Agreed, they don't need to flop to die. But sometimes people have a pretty good reason to want DRT, or as close to that as they can get.

There are no faults with the Partitions, that I can see, but at moderate velocities, it is hard to beat Interlocks etc., for deer. I have never had a rifle that would not shoot Interlocks extremely well and many of the ones that I have recovered over the years look much like a Partition. There are some rifles that do not like the Partitions, but all of mine have shot them pretty well. They have been my go-to for elk for many years, but I go back to the Interlocks for deer.

I do the same, so I don't have an excuse to whine about what they cost. That said Hornady Interlocks SP flatbases and Rem Corelocts are all good to go bullets. If any gun I have won't shoot 2 out of those 3 it goes down the road. Where you shoot an animal is still more important than the brand of bullet you are using.. I don't hunt in a crowd and I like a double lung shot with a exit hole,= short blood trail and dead animal. When I hunt elk size animal I shoot for the vitals with the bullet placed to break the far shoulder or a CNS shot. They don't need to go anywhere but down. Only problems I've ever heard about 150 gr 30's not being enough bullet was placement on the scapula at a shallow angle with no penetration to the vitals thru the ribs and that has been done by by many rifles, cartridges, and different bullets. Aim the shot to go thru the vitals and break the far shoulder not the near one. MB

Wondering if a partition will perform on deer sized game would be the last thing i'd worry about. They've been the gold standard for 65 years, and still are, IMO.

No, but I load all my rifles with bullets that let them punch at the top of their weight class, ie:

30-06, 200gr partitions at 2700 fps.
300 win Mag, 200gr partitions, 3000 fps.
300 H&H, 220gr partitions 2750 fps, lyman receiver sight.

I’ve shot a lot of deer and pigs with 150’s. I don’t recall losing one or finding a bullet either. If I could only have one bullet, it would be a Partition.

Deer hunting , where your heart races but your mind goes through its mantra, slowly lowering the rifle, switching off the safety,holding the breath just like you practiced, all the while your brain repeating brachial plexus, brachial plexus, brachial plexus......as you crosshairs frantically search this way and that.

I haven't shot many deer with 30 caliber partitions but the 140 grain 7MM version has dropped a lot of deer and hogs for me. If I had to pick one hunting bullet it would be the Partition but I would miss the Ballistic Tips.

I love partitions for elk, but at a hundred yards you can be confident with any major brand cup and core bullet like Hornady, Speer, Sierra, Corelock, Fusion, whatever. They all work and of course there are some out there with a bad experience but that is true with partitions also. I can't help but smile when someone says a bullet failed while they are standing over a dead deer

What was the purpose for shooting the 150s at the deer? The 200s kill deer too. I’m sure your friend knows that, just curious on the 150s given the bear situation.

Probably should admit that I have a serious bias for the 200s.