Going through my reloading cache and found a full box of older 130 grain 270 Nosler Partitions. They are in a yellow box with re-enforced corners. I don’t even remember buying them but I must have.
As the title says, are they good bullets or do they have a bad reputation?

Thanks

Good to go for a big game hunting bullet.

Load them up and go hunting, they are just fine

Load them up, take them hunting. Bring a sharp knife.

Any vintage Partition has a good reputation for terminal performance, though not always tack driving accuracy. It was the early Ballistic Tip that had a reputation for being a bit fragile.

Jack O'Connor had great success hunting elk with this bullet. He was a famous hunter and Outdoor Life writer who died about 50 years ago, but game has not become any tougher since then. - Sherwood

They're overkill for deer but will do a good job. Use them.

If they weren’t any good when those old ones were made, there wouldn’t be any made today 😁

In what way?

Partitions are what every hunting bullet maker tried to duplicate for decades. They're never a bad choice.

They kill far deader than need be.

Many cheaper bullets will expand and shoot through a deer just as well. Save the cost of PT's for big stuff. Game Kings, Hotcores, many others. If it's accurate and expands, it will kill a deer readily.

I always hate it when that happens...!!!

I always took it to mean "You're using a diesel 3/4 ton truck to pull a single jet ski. Many will get the same results with less expense or a bullet that isn't necessarily as advanced"

It's an advantage. You can kill, clean, and cook it all with a single shot.

Gotcha. I'm with you on that. I use Partitions and Game Kings and Interlocks and Ballistic Tips and ...


Some people think the Partition is too tough for deer.

When everything goes just right, the list of bullet failures diminishes greatly. Some of those C&C's aren't near as likely to "cut it" as a partition is when things don't go exactly right. I like bullets that perform consistently when things go wrong, or "not so right".......bad angles, encounter tough bone by accident, etc.

Hmm. I assume you're not one of the advocates for the .223 on deer (I use a 30-06 with 165's on everything)?

Damn, if only that was true. ha ha.. I understand what you are getting at though. I use lesser bullets on deer and save the partitions for elk. A good ol Hornady interlock works very well on deer. Even big deer. They are always easy to get to shoot well too. I do really like partitions though, but the prices are getting pretty steep these days. I was out playing around the other day, with some seconds I got from SPS a couple years ago for $17/bag. I had 300 of them and wanted to try them in the ol 7mm08. I'd pop a deer or elk with the partition. When price wasn't so much of a concern, I'd grab them to shoot in practice if I were going to be using them for my hunts. Much like I did the other day:


I recently bought an old box of 30 cal 180gr partitions at a shop that sells old boxes of bullets, brass and other components. Ended up with 43 bullets in a box for $15. Couldn't pass that up and I know my 30 cals love that bullet. I also have some really old yellow box partitions that I save because the damn things are very accurate. I hate to burn them up though because they are interesting, since they were manufactured differently than the partitions today. As for the OP, I have never heard of any partition bullet being bad. Unlike the early ballistic tips and accubombs. The partition has always had its act together, since their debut..

I started using Partitions in the late 1970s, just before they converted to impact-extrusion manufacturing and eliminated the "relief groove" in the yellow-box bullet. The first two boxes I bought were yellow-box .270 130s and .30 200s.

Had always heard they weren't as accurate as most other bullets, but I loaded them with the same charge of H4831 I'd used with cup-and-core bullets of the same weight. Somewhat to my amazement, both grouped into an inch at 100 yards, using the 4x Bushnell on my Remington 700 .270 Winchester and the K3 Weaver on my "sporterized" 1903 Springfield .30-06.

Oh, and they killed stuff too, but as far as I could tell not "too dead." In fact I learned to really like the 200 Partition for woods hunting for anything from deer up, because it killed 'em but didn't ruin as much meat as more conventional bullets.

That was one among many reasons I started becoming skeptical of "common knowledge" about all sorts of shooting stuff....

They are good, go kill something

I’ve seen the NPT as most accurate bullet for a round. Never a bad thing. I love to see that.

And I’ve seen the NPT less accurate than other choices in some applications. Even then, they’re usually accurate enough for most hunting use.

Of course, terminal performance is often the standard by which others are judged.

DF

I'm personally not a user, but I'm not the most politically correct hunter out there, as I won't hesitate to shoot stuff running/trotting/moving within reason. I'd use it on whitetail doe cull shooting I suppose as I usually have dead solid rest/stand situation.

They are just as good, unless they are the super old type with machined ogives, in which case they are a hazard and should be shipped off to someone who can safely dispose of them. I will be glad to do that for no charge.

You mean like these???

I had some of both the 150 gr and 200 gr. old style relief groove bullets, still have the 200's but used up the 150's out of my 308 on deer and feral hogs, if I didn't no one else was. They seemed pretty destructive but killed and penetrated well. As for being to valuable to hunt regular stuff they were paid for 30 years ago. Bet I paid less for them than I would a new box of Speers today.

Probably not if you run their thirty year old price through a CPI calculator.

In metric snicker snicker. I just meant they were long ago paid for. They did seem expensive at the time.

Mid 1970's I was concerned that my then-new 6mm Remington ought to have Partitions, because it could drive an 85 grain Nosler Partition fast... I still have a partial box from back then. Somehow it survived many USMC transfers/moves and a lot of hunting seasons. Still have the rifle, though mostly my son uses it now.

I ought to load a few of those old bullets and see how they do. Ha! My dies are from 1974 too, just like the rifle. The bullets are likely from about 1976 or so. Those old bullets were pretty good. Or at least that's how I remember them.

Guy

I just loaded up some 115gr .257''s that don't have the zip code on the box. That means pre-63.....they shoot great! If they are tarnished like these were just dump em in a jar with vinegar and salt, rinse with water, and dry.

Those are the original screw machine Partitions. Those are beautiful bullets. Treasure them and enjoy them.

The 150’s are really accurate in every 30-06 I’ve used them. At least a dozen.

Holy Moly have I gotten so old we must explain who Jack O'Connor is? Sobering indeed. JO, the man who hunted without a cell phone ...