Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Why Nosler, why?

Nosler is doing it to me again! They're dropping the 45 caliber, 300 grain partition bullet. My Marlin guide gun loves them. They did it to me before when they dropped the 35 caliber, 225 grain ballistic tip. My custom 358 Win. shoots them really well. I know they're pushing their accubond but why drop the others??

Bob: I feel your pain. I'm still mad at 'em for dropping the Solid Base line 15 or 20 years ago. I guess that's the price we pay for having so many bullets on the market...just not enough demand for all of them to survive.

One could stock up in large enough quantities to fulfill one's future needs, and do so at closeout prices.

Then, when one realizes that he will never need that many, can sell the stash for extra cash.

Make lemonade!

It took me years, but I eventually learned that if something works really well, buy the unneeded replacement now or acquire a lifetime supply.

grandad used to say the quickest way for a company to decide to drop a product was to see if he really liked it.
i learned to always buy extra.

Yeah, they may be dropping it but you should be able to find it at various sites and stock up. I did that with my 348 Win and the 200 Barnes X bullet they discontinued. It shoots well and I managed to get about 6 or 7 boxes, enough to last me. I just wish I'd picked up the old 220 X bullet as well.

My condolences, I spent two years at the range working up loads for the Barnes XLC's and poof!, they stopped making all of them. For that reason I only rely on 6 different TSX bullets for some of my hunting compared to about 40 XLC's for all my hunting. I am sure other bullet manufacturers have benefited from this decision.
Good shooting,
Marcus.

So Nosler� just in case you are reading this� how about a 400gr flat nose 458 (for Leverguns) 450 Marlin and 45/70 Accubond?

I'm still a little hacked about the solid base deal myself.

Joseph

I'm with you regarding the Solid Base bullets. Oh well, I am sure Hornady is happy about that decision since they picked up my business with their bullets.

Jim

+1 I REALLY liked the 60 gr. 22s and 162 gr. 7mm
Ingwe

i was in nosler a couple weeks ago, saw some new solid base bullets on the seconds shelf. looked like production for a major manufacturer. lead tip solid base. i think they where 100gr 6mm. nosler is not being run like the old small family shop nosler used to be.

Many moons ago,they made a 129 gr./264 boat-tail PARTION for the .264 mags,guess what happen to those!!! Killers in a .264 Win mag,work well in the 6.5x55 too...I'm down to my last 3 boxes....rifle

boattail partition? did it not have the lead exposed at the base like other partitions?

Nope, Nosler isn't being run like the small family shop it used to be. Instead it is being run as the BIG family company it is now.

Nosler still listens to what hunters want, but like any company it makes what sells. If they discontinue a bullet it's because it wasn't selling enough to justify the machine time, especially today when just about all component companies are running 24/7 to TRY (not succeed) to fill the insatiable demand by shooters who are buying 10 times the stuff they did a year ago.

The return of the Solid Base a few years ago was due to an agreement with an ammo company that wanted to load them in "affordable" factory loads. Nosler would also sell some to handloaders as long as they were making them. Then the ammo company decided not to go that way, and there wasn't enough demand from handloaders to keep making them.

I was a little miffed myself when Nosler replaced the Solid Base with the Ballistic Tip in the 80's, especially since the early BT's were too fragile. But they have changed the design enough now that the new BT's are certainly tough enough, and kill quicker (in my experience) than the old Solid Bases. I think the BT's are now better bullets, and use them a lot.

I was sure bummed when Nosler dropped the 200gr 338 Ballistic Tip. That was an elk killing bullet and easy to make shoot!

Just all the more reason to shoot a cup and core....

Well gentlemen don't get down on Nosler to much the others discontinue bullets as well Hornady did that very thing with their 220 grain 8mm bullet that shoots oh so well out of my 8 mag. I did hear in time and have 800 bullets in stock. Nosler has come a long way from the days when partitions did not exist larger than .338".

8mmwapiti

Huntr,

Actually Nosler still makes the 200-grain .338 Ballistic Tip. Winchester sells it, calling it the Ballistic Silvertip. It's exactly the same bullet but in different colors.

Thats interesting! One of my favorite all time bullets is the .338 180BT. I wish they made that bullet for winchester.