Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Not Sold on the 120 NBT

One good thing about Partitions, you get fairly rapid expansion plus penetration.

They're still hard to beat after 66 years of "testing"...

DF

A hearty Amen from the back row!

I still load Partitions in the 6mm and .257 chamberings. Indeed very tough to beat their performance on deer so far. I don't like Ballistic Tips or Accubonds in those calibers, as penetration is sometimes a bit lacking in my experience. Stuff is dead, but may not have two holes leaking blood.

Sometimes the NPT will be the most accurate bullet. My .240 HS with 100 gr. NPT's over 53 gr. MRP will shoot half MOA at 400 yds., cranking'em out at 3,250 fps. It don't get much better than that with a average wt. hunting rifle.

That rifle is now a one bullet, one load gun...

And I tried a dozen bullets and bunches of different loads before finding that one. Second most accurate powder with that bullet was Ramshot Magnum.

DF

I have found the 120's to be inconsistent in performance. I run them around 2,900fps out of 7-08. Sometimes I have seen what Mule Deer described, and other times I've seen what you posted in the OP.



Travis

If you always get the perfect load on the first try, I'd agree.

More realistically, you can fire a LOT of bullets looking for the one that works best in a particular gun, with a particular powder, and costs DO matter

I could afford to put premium gas in my truck, but I don't because regular works just as well.

Besides, part of this sport that I enjoy is trying different bullets. As has been oft stated: deer ain't hard to kill. I can't think of one that I've shot in the last 59 years that would not have fallen to core lokts or power points. But I've had a lot of fun (and spent a lot of $$$) experimenting.

If you think that TSXs are the end all and you're happy with them, that's great. Go for it. But recognize that others may have different, and legitimate reasons for following a different path

Believe it or not, I had a 140 gr. SST at nearly 3K fps out of a 6.5-284, pencil thru a whitetail chest with min. damage, only to recover the deer 100+ yds. in the woods.

I've had that same load blow the heck out of and ruin a Pronghorn cape at >300 yds. Very accurate like the NBT, but not the most predictable bullet in my experience. Don't use them any more.

To me, that's another vote for the NPT. They seem to me to be more consistent performers on game.

Other hunters, for sure, have their own experiences and stories, and I respect that. But, I gotta go with what seems to work best for me, what I'm comfortable with and have confidence in.

DF

All the pictures in the thread showed dead and recovered game
It seems it did it's job quite well

True, all dead critters.

But we have such a fine selection of quality bullets these days, there's no reason not to fine tune the delivery and terminal performance to our liking.

DF

^^^Yep. This!!! ^^^

Supposedly the only difference between the BT and the AB is that the AB has the core bonded to the shell to keep it together on larger game. I've shot a lot of AB's and will have to say that out of my rifle, they're the most accurate bullet I've used. However, the meat destruction is unacceptable. I hunt to put meat in the freezer, not all over the hillside.

IIRC you shot a cow elk in the front shoulders with an Accubond, then came on here complaining about meat loss. Correct?

What did you think was going to happen?

I've shot elk in the shoulder with a number of different bullets and none have even come close to the waste of the AB.

I'd bet a dollar to a dog turd all the shoulder shots wasted some meat. So why did you shoot them in the front shoulders if you're so worried about meat loss?

Because it's a better option than the rear shoulders...

Now, there are Fire contributors who admit to those kinda shots...

DF

That would "realistically" mean your rifle is a POS.



Travis

Snyper,

When I start with a new gun, new round, I do a bunch of online research to see what others with similar gun and round are reporting. So, when I start shooting, it's educated, not random. I let them burn their barrels...

Doing so, I don't have to burn up a bunch of components to find the right load. I often find several good loads and use the one that seems best suited for the task at hand.

If I'm shooting VLD's, which can be a pain regarding optimal COAL, I use the Berger protocol which is on line. It's designed to get where you need to be with a minimal number of rounds. There are other tricks, like the Audette Ladder used by LR shooters. But, I'm sure you know all that already.

Point being, you don't need to shoot a whole bunch to get where you need to be.

DF

I wouldn't go that far to call it a POS, but all the factory and smith built rifles I have that shoot well do so with a variety of loadings and they are not all that hard to find. Fussy rifles either get sold or worked on.

Re the the NBTs. Those picks all look to have hard devastating hits. That is fine on my end and the little meat lost compared to the whole is something that I find not that big of a deal.

Friends, myself and their kids have around 12 or so Deer taken with with TTSXs from .223s up thru the .308W and .30-06 with up front hits. The ones we skinned showed some massive bloodshot trauma to the meat at the entry point. I see little difference than those shot with NBTs, Core-lokts, etc around the entrance.

Have yet to have a solid first hit on a Deer with NBTs that it went very far and this has been with quite a few from the original up to the latest generation. Unless you are going for the head expect to loose meat. Hit them in the shoulders and expect to lose more, no matter what expanding bullet you use.

The current generation NBT is an excellent medium game bullet. It works consistently well.