Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Is a Speer BTSP equal to a Nosler Partition?

Ray, so which .270 bullets did you like and not?

I like an animal that leaks out both sides. We've hashed out the fallacy of "energy transfer" enough not to go there again -- I believe holes in both sides are a pretty good indication that everything in between was broken in the process, and breaking important body parts is mostly what I'm interested in. Secondarily, I like body fluids running out two sides of an animal. As Elmer would have put it -- it lets the hot air out and the cold air in better.

Dennis

Though I don't have any experience with the Nosler Partitions in 375 H&H caliber, I've been shooting Nosler partitions in my 270 Winchester for about 35 years. I switched to Swift A-Frames for awhile (they're probably a better bullet for tougher game), but never got quite the same accuracy with them I did with the Noslers in my particular rifle. 150g Nosler Partitions in 270 caliber kill elk, deer and black bear just fine. Never had less than complete penetration, but I usually waited for a broadside or quartering behind the shoulder shot if at all possible.

Regards,

Chuck

Exactly, and I used to load them in 150 gr variety in my wife's '06. UNTIL, I found that the TSX shot nicer groups for her. If Barnes quit making bullets tomorrow, we've still got enough Nosler Partitions to make life expectancy on the local moose population very bleak.

Jaywalker,
the screw machine Noslers are identified by the machine marks on the bullet and the more brass color is about all I can tell you and they never shot very well and they always blew the front section completely off and made a caliber size exit hole..I was never overly fond of them although they killed everything I ever shot with them...At any rate I like the new Nosler much better.

RinB,
In the .270 I have had exceptional luck with the 130, 150 and 160 gr. Noslers..Below 270 they have worked but not as well as I would like, particularly in the 22, 6mm and 25 calibers where they from time to time fail to leave any blood trail and don't die until the body cavity/lungs fill with blood and they travel a good ways, crawl in a hole and you can't find them. evem with a good hit. It is rare but it has and does happen.

They look like that.

I've killed 2 muleys with 180-grain screw-machine partitions from an '06, two muleys with 160 grain seconds (with machined cannelure) out of a 280, and two with 140 grain seconds out of a 280. In a total sample size of six, the 180-grainer was the most decisive killer. All bullets exited.

One elk with a 180-grainer out of a 300WM - dropped with a spine shot (missed high). Bullet exited.

One moose with two 180-grainers out of 300WM - both shots in high lungs, second hit both shoulder blades and dropped moose. Neither exited. Moose had a 375-caliber partition encased in scar tissue in his hump area, and one of the backstraps was riddled with tough, white scar tissue. Don't texas-heartshoot a moose.

One moose with one 180 grainer out of a 30-06. Moose dropped after a 15-yard saunter. Bullet found against hide.

No "failures" to speak of. The screw-machined 180-grainer gave ~1.5" 5-shot groups at 100 yards. The 140 grainer in 280 was really, really accurate...

Amen brother!

How many grains of which powder do you load under a dodge?

I favor C-4 for Dodges. A pound or two is usually enough...

Dennis

I don't think the Speer mentioned is quite the bullet the Nosler is although the Speer is very accurate from my 375 and I used it for load devlopment getting to the 275 Bitterroot.

I've used Nosler Partitions in calibers from 25 to 375,on stuff from antelope to brown bear,and never had anything to complain about.Some have exited and some have stopped against the offside,but I can't see a correlation between how fast they killed and whether they exited or not. I will defer to those with more experience than I on the matter.

I've used the screw machines as well,and even to this day,I have a supply of about 250 270-130's,a small hoarde of 30-180's,and a pair of 270's that like them. Earlier this week a new FN M70 270 ground out tiny clusters at 100 yards with the things loaded with 61 H4831.

Notwithstanding the plastic tipped wonders so popular today(forgive me but I fail to see the magic), I think the Partition is the perfect deer bullet for large northern deer as it ALWAYs expands IME (out to 500 yards,as far as I have used it)yet penetrates deeply enough to bust up bone under any circumstance encountered.

I've had elk drop like sash weights from 180's and 160 7mm's and I believe the 160 7mm to be a somewhat deeper pentrator than the 180 30 cal.I have driven the 200 grain 30 cal in a 300 Weatherby from the hip of a big bull elk to the off-side shoulder, breaking it.The 210 fired from a 340 Weatherby has lots of crunch as well.The 165's from the 30/06 is totally reliable; driven over 3200 from a 300 mag,it makes a larger exit than the smaller 7mm's and 270's.

The 140 7mm is a bomb driven to 3200+ from a big 7 and I have yet to recover one from anything,fired from 7/08,7x57,280,and 7RM.

The 270 Screw Machine 375 left buckets of blood on an Alaskan beach pointing the exact route of departure of a brown bear after yours truly botched the first shot and managed a solid chest hit on #3.I was grateful for the roadsign....

I don't disagree that the Nosler design is old,and that it may be trumped by more modern stuff today and IME was trumped years ago by the Bitterroot,but the game is precisely the same today as it was in the 60's, and I value predictability over the promises of greater things,and have found that if you put a Nosler Partition in the right place it is generally "over"; and if it isn't,you did not put it in the right place.

As to accuracy,I have shot so many sub MOA groups to 500 yards with the Partition that I can assure anyone,if your rifle does not shoot them,it is not the bullet,but your rifle that's off, or loading tecnique. Try reading your runout.I have had some rifles that don't like them but they have been very few and far between. OTOH I don't expect 1/4" groups from hunting rifles as this is supersilious nonsense unless you are a hardcore long range expert and can find the difference in accuracy.

My present 300 Weatherby shoots the federal factory load with 180 Partition at 3150 so well,that I have found no reason to handload the rifle.If leaving tomorrow for wherever,and whatever short of dangerous game, I could grab 3 boxes of the stuff and know anything I draw down on is kaput.

I think that anyone today who thinks an AB is a better bullet for shooting game than a Partition has also bought into Obama's economic stimulus plan.

BTW the quickest killing bullets I have used on average have been the Bitterroots,and there are no expanding bullets that I am aware of today that perform better;no not even the Barnes X.Sorry.When driven at high velocity,thier reliable,ferocious,early expansion, large frontal area,and high weight retention(usually as high as an X or within a couple grains),chops large wound channels,breaks heavy bones,and penetrates as deeply as needed on about anything.I have seen exits on a large Alaskan brown from a 250 gr 375 that was large enough to fit a baseball. The first bullet,recovered against the hide after smashing both shoulders,weighed 249 grains,and had expanded to 3/4".The same thing happens with 130's and 140's on smaller game;DRT's accompanied by internal train wrecks,the reason I scratch my head when I hear the alleged vrtues of bullets that splinter being the ticket for quick kills.

I regard the Partition as the "Gold Standard " by which other bullets should be judged. I never used any of the older variety because I was "too busy to hunt" in those days. I recovered one from an eland that went through the spine and weighed 259/286grs.
Another on the same hunt weighed 212grs recovered from a wildebeest (9.3x62). A recovered Barnes TSX weighed 269/300grs from a 375 H&H (very close shot on an eland). My first trip to Africa was powered by Federal High Energy loads with 180gr Partitions in 30.06. My son killed his first elk with the same load. I have found partitions to be very accurate(sub MOA if you can do it.)
Most of the time I get total penetration and very few bullets I have used have been recovered.
I have been shooting the new Northforks and am very impressed with their accuracy but I have not used them on game.
I'm still of the opinion that a Winchester PP or a Remington corelokt will kill just fine on most deer sized game and premium bullets are just that.
If I'm going to Africa or Alaska I'll use Partitons because it makes me feel I've done all I can do. If I'm in my backyard I'll probably pick up a box of whatever I know shoots in that rifle. I've never been able to get Speers to shoot in my 9.3.
BobinNH is right!