James B , over the past few months I have worked up 260 cal loads with the Nosler Partitions (125 gr) and the Hornady 129 grains and have been very pleased with the results and groups at the target range.To be honest ,I have not actually deer hunted with either load yet.However ,my other deer rifle is a 270 cal and I have killed several deer with the Hornady 130 grain Interlocks (SP) and have alot of confidence in this bullet.I have killed two nice 8 pt bucks last year with the 260 cal Speer Nitrex factory loads (140 gr Grand Slam) .This bullet has also been criticized for over penetrating ,but I can tell you that both bucks dropped in their tracks due to significant destruction of their heart and lung tissue .I agree that if a bullet expands adequately and retains 75-90 % of its weight (which the Hornady interlocks do) ,then I feel the criticism is unfounded .
As far as the Nosler partition 125 gr is concerned , I have a friend who has been hunting and reloading his 260 cal with this bullet for the past 5 years.He bought a 260 cal when first offered in 1997 or 1998 by Remington.He began working up loads with the 125 gr partition before any charts were available and has killed his share of deer with this bullet.He is very experienced in reloading several different bullets in the 260 ,but pefers the Nosler Partition 125 gr for deer hunting .
As mentioned above ,my early hunting experience with the 260 cal has been with 140 gr bullets .However ,when I studied the ballistics of the 125 gr bullet and compared it to the 270 cal 130 gr bullet ,there is little difference between the two .The 270 has the edge on the velocity .The 260 has the edge on sectional density .I'm still a fan of the 270 caliber ,but feel the 260 comes very close to it with less recoil and powder .