Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 30-06 200 Partition

Why use a 200 grain Partition when the Barnes 165 or 168 TTSX will move at least 150 FPS faster, will have more retained weight, and will have a wider frontal area? I don’t see any advantage.

Accuracy.

Mine didn't care for the TSX or TTSX.

One of the advantages the Nosler Partition has is, after initial expansion, the pedal peals back and acts like an ad hock solid. Many new bullets retain their weight well but have a very large frontal area that hinders penetration. I have not recovered any Barnes solid copper bullets so I can not speak of them. I have shot several pickup truck loads of deer, elk and antelope with the 200 grain Partitions and they all, but one, performed flawlessly. The one "failure" was a large mule deer buck that the bullet stopped in. The expansion was textbook conventional bullet mushroom. The frontal core did not drop away and the pedals did not fold back, thus stopping the penetration. Great looking bullet though.

A guy, has to like this kind of performance

Because it kills things with excellence and actually shoots flatter than it looks.

Both of which are why I still use it.

Have been shooting 200 Partitions into big game since the bullet was still a "semi-spitzer." That was in the mid-1970s, and I was mostly hunting elk in thick timber, which is where a lot of them lived on public land back then. In fact I don't remember shooting one beyond 100 yards, and also used the same load on any deer encountered. Never recovered one, either on deer or elk, no matter the angle--though one did stay somewhere inside a bull elk on a rear-end finishing shot. Traced it through the diaphragm into the chest, but never found it, despite looking pretty hard.

Used 165 spitzers for more open country back then, but when Nosler started impact-extruding Partitions in the late 70s, the 200 became a spitzer. The listed G7 ballistic coefficient these days is over.500, and Bryan Litz's tests agree very closely.

Have used plenty of 165-168 monolithics in the .30-06 on big game, and they work fine.

But have recovered some, even from deer, and they drift more than the 200 at longer ranges (I've used the 200 Partition out to 400+ yards) because they don't have the BC. The 200 AccuBond does have a higher BC, and retains as much weight as the Partition--but mushrooms a little wider, so doesn't penetrate quite as deeply.

So I keep dancing with the one I really know.

Guy!

For elk. I know 200s aren’t necessary for them but I picked up some bags as Blems from Shooters Pro Shop.

As for the question about 165s, they kill elk fine. As do 150s and 180s. From a killing perspective I can’t really tell a difference between lots of good bullets and rounds.

Thanks for the question!

v/r
Joel

Elk seems like a worthy use of the 200 gr Partition to me!

Best of luck.

Guy

Thanks Scotty! That outfit is going to get broken in later this month in the Brooks Range.

Same. It shot a wee more accurate than IMR 4350 for me.

I have used the 220 grains in 30-06s and the 200s in my 300H&Hs.

In the 30-06 I use IMR3031 for the M-1 Garand (yes it works-- and the port pressure is low) and IMR4350 in my M95 Browning. Both with the 220 grain.
In my 300 H&H I use H4831 with the 200 grains.

I have killed 5 elk with the two 30-06s named above using the 220s and several deer, as well as one bear.

With my 300H&Hs (one M70 Winchester and one Mauser) I have used the 200 grain Partitions and have killed antelope,(1) deer (7) and (3) elk. To be honest, I have not seen any difference in how the 2 bullets worked on any game yet.
All were excellent, and no shot left a bullet in the body so I can't speak to the retained weight, but I don't really care either. Clear through is the objective, and in both the 30-06s and the 300s all gave me exits. All gave good sized diameters wounds and when bone was hit they just cut them off and kept going.

I like them and see them as the "Gold Standard" which I compare all other bullets to.

You're welcome. Let us know how your new bullets work out.

Good morning. Tried your RL-17 load and it worked great! What was your OAL?

Thats all i use anymore in my 30-06 rifles. I buy them cheap when SPS has a sale on them. I have settled on h4350 and all of my rifles shoot sub moa 3 shot groups with this bullet
It puts holes clear through deer and elk reliably. I wouldnt be scared to use this combo on bigger more dangerous game either.

For my loads, 3.318 - 3.320
It's nice to hear this load worked well for you.

Take care.

I have lots of confidence in this load.
I'll be doing a Fall bear hunt this year in Montana, and I'll be using this load in my 30-06.

Good luck on your bear hunt!

You've got plenty of bullet with that 200 gr Nosler Partition.

Guy

Thanks Guy, looking to get away for some R&R.

Great thread, thanks for the information.

I finally have a couple of 30-06's and am going to play them. All of my 30 caliber experience has previously been with a 300 H&H.

My from observation, I can not think why a 180gr monometal would not penetrate sufficiently, or equal a 200gr NP.

The 180gr TTSX out of my H&H at 2900fps was not stopped by 6 critters in Africa and the PH said do not change a thing. Would think a 30-06 at 2800fps would have performed the same.

My thinking is why shoot a bullet that is designed to lose the front half and continue as a solid to get the penetration. Especially when I can use a monometal that will stay expanded and penetrate just as far. Or even a 200gr monometal, if needed.

Please explain if my thinking is flawed, admitting I do not have much 30 caliber experience.

I have shot a lot of PG with the older 180 xbt in 300WM, (among others) and it is indeed a good killer. The Partition throws all that fragmented shrapnel of the front section throughout the lungs/arteries upon entrance, then leaves a good second hole(exit) The mono makes a big hole all the way through, which is just a different way of doing it. Hammer bullets is like a blend of the two. For me, when I make a travel/money hunt, I liked the ability to shoot my trophy ( that I will pay for if wounded/lost) from some very hard angles, as I know I can count on the penetration. A heavier partition does the same, foe me. If I'm "convinced" I have the right combo, I'm much happier, ha. OTOH, I passed a huge Impala ram (26"+) because there was an impala ewe that stuck to his off side. My 250X from my 35 Whelen Ackley ( or any partition I would have used) would have killed her too, and at 200yds, my 5x scope made it too difficult for me to "finesse him". A higher powered scope would have allowed me to shoot him where I knew it would miss her when it penetrated, but I was happy. I was just glad to be there and took a smaller ram later.