As a side note, I am always amused by hunters who assume that since Partitions tend to leave an exit hole that about caliber-size, the bullet didn't expand. Don't they field-dress their deer and notice the inside destruction?
These are the same ones that say monos just "pencil through."
Yep!
Had an amusing encounter with a local "expert" maybe 3-4 years ago. He'd shot a pretty big mule deer buck just behind the shoulders with a 180 Partition from a .300 Winchester Magnum, as I recall at around 150 yards. He whined that the exit hole was only about .30 caliber.
I then asked him if he'd field-dressed the deer himself. He said yes, of course. I then asked him if the hole through the lungs was pretty big. He nodded--but then complained the buck went 35 yards before falling....
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
PM sent - I’ve had a couple loads that I’ve been happy with. In the low/mid 40’s with H4831, IMR 4350 & Hunter. Nothing shocking really but the H4831 was my favorite
Don’t discount the Sierra 85 HPBT. It’s the grim reaper in 6mm - realistically it just preforms well for my style of shot placement (mixed elevation but semi broadside) I really like it.
That 85 sierra is my favorite 85ish grain 6mm bullet. They have the BC of a ping pong ball but I love how they kill from 50 to 300 yards on all manner of stuff from groundhogs to deer
Ive used the 85 gr Partition on several occasions and they have performed great.
The pics are a 140 gr 284 cal shot out of a 7mm Rem mag. Shot a doe from stem to stern. Found the bullet just under the skin in the thoracic inlet.
Had basically the same thing happen with a forkhorn mule deer buck, using the same bullet from a 7x57. The buck was facing me at around 50 yards in lodgepole pine timber, and the bullet landed in the "dimple" at the base of his neck. The buck collapsed, but I never found the bullet during field-dressing, though it obviously went through the diaphragm into the abdominal cavity.
Found it a year or so later, when Eileen bit into a round steak. She thought it was a piece of bone, but it turned out to be a perfectly expanded Partition.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
The wife of a friend of mine decided she wanted to start hunting, so he got her a .243 Winchester loaded some 85 Partitions. They live in West Virginia, but he had a plains game safari in South Africa scheduled that summer, so she went along and killed an impala, gemsbok and blue wildebeest, all trophy males, all with one shot. Now, impala are about the size of West Virginia whitetails, but gemsbok run 400-500 pounds and blue wildebeest 600-700.
As a side note, I am always amused by hunters who assume that since Partitions tend to leave an exit hole that about caliber-size, the bullet didn't expand. Don't they field-dress their deer and notice the inside destruction?
^^^^^ Excellent point! ^^^^^
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I shot the 85 gr Partitions in my Browning 20 inch A-Bolt .243 for several years. Very accurate. I've only killed two deer with them, both 2-1/2 YO bucks at about 200 yards.
They’re on the list. Have a few boxes. Problem is, I also have a bunch of others too, 95 BTs, LRXs, ETs. Dang crossbow has messed up my rifle hunting. Might oughta sell it…
I’ve been messing around with a youth 6mm Model 7 that I bought my son back in the 90s. Dropped it a B&C stock and bedded it, installed a Timney trigger and topped it with a 3-9x40 Sightron scope. Found a good 85 grain Sierra HPBT load and tested it out to 400 yds. just the other day. Shoots pretty good. I also found some 85 grain Partitions on the shelf yesterday and will start developing a load for it real soon.
I've been shooting deer for Deer Land Owner Permits since 1987....usually shoot 100 + or - every year....only use one rifle a Winchester 70 and one bullet a 243 Winchester and Sierra 85 gr. BTHP..... Never have lost one deer very few go more than 50 yards most will go 10 or so yards....all are shot in grain fields in the evening.....
Just picked up a Christensen Arms with a 20" barrel in 243 Winchester to use suppressed while the Winchester 70 gets a new barrel.....
I've been shooting deer for Deer Land Owner Permits since 1987....usually shoot 100 + or - every year....only use one rifle a Winchester 70 and one bullet a 243 Winchester and Sierra 85 gr. BTHP..... Never have lost one deer very few go more than 50 yards most will go 10 or so yards....all are shot in grain fields in the evening.....
Just picked up a Christensen Arms with a 20" barrel in 243 Winchester to use suppressed while the Winchester 70 gets a new barrel.....
That's quite the testimony! Do you ever break bone to get to the vitals, or are you waiting out broadside shots? How often do you get pass throughs?
I have a single experience with the 85 grain 243 Partition on deer. Launched it out of a 6MM Remington. Lights out on contact on a small doe. I have loaded them for my nephew for his 244. They have worked flawlessly for him.
An old friend of mine from Paradise, California, showed me his "man cave" a couple decades ago, and I noted the great selection of deer and elk antlers on the walls. He showed me his Sako .243 rifle and said he never used anything but a 85 gr Sierra BTHP "loaded as fast as it will go"...for over 100 deer and a dozen elk.
We moved away, so I don't know how many more he's put down since then.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing -- Edmund Burke
Doesn't really surprise me. I ran a sierra 85 bthp thru a groundhog at 40 yards at close to a max load. Opened and penetrated and exited like a deer bullet is supposed to.
If it didn't blow up at max velocity at that close, I'd say they're good bullets. They are also the most accurate in my 243s.
@Dave_in_WV thanks for asking the question. For my Deer hunt this year I wanted put away the 30, 28, 26 calibers and try my 243 IF I ever get it back from the smith. I was doing load development with 90grn bullets from Sierra, Hornady and Nosler (basically whatever I could find). I started development using a 70grn Hammer. I'm told those kill plains game regularly.
I wish her good luck. Post her results.
HaYen
Remember, not everyone has a happy ending, so be happy when you can
Dave,.... They work great. I havent shot any personally but I have loaded a bunch for my friends sons. They wear the Ritchie County deer out with them. He has 3 sons and they all shoot 243's and my handloads which are 85 gr partition over imr4350. I tried to talk him into trying the 95 gr nbt's which I have a lifetime supply of but they wont even consider it. Go forth with confidence.