nosler partitions
 

I have not been able to recover many nps do to the pass thru i usually get but on 2 of the 3 i have recovered i have totally lost the front lead

has anyone else experienced this?

bullett weight if any one is interested starting weight 150 gr .270
180 yrds entrance front shoulder (only bone hit) 94 gr remaining buck mule deer
100 yrd shot double shoulder 128 gr remaining buck antelope
78 yrd entrance rib exit shoulder knuckle 90 gr remaining spike bull elk

RE: nosler partitions
 

jjt, thats exactly why I no longer shoot them. BUT like John Lazzeroni has told me about retained weight vs terminal performance... " You found the animal didnt you, does it really matter then what they bullet weighs?" I guess he' s right, but I' ve always preferred a bullet that performs like a Xbullet, Trophy Bonded, Failsafe etc... to a bullet that sheds it nose and you are left with fragments and only a shank. But it sounds like with the shots you took and got full penetration (lol and most importantly, recovered the animal!) you are still doing fine and cant really complain about a loss.

As much as the last 10 years have brought us in terms of bullet technology and performance, I believe the next 5-10 will make them pale in comparison. For the last 50 years we big-game hunters have had basically two choices. 1). Great terminal peformance with sacrificed accuracy (Xbullets, Trophy Bonded, Grand Slams etc...) or 2). The opposite, sacrificed terminal performance with great accuracy (Matchkings, Ballistic Tips etc...). New bullets are being developed (Barnes/Lazzeroni/Robar with their Lazerheads and another company in Africa whose name escapes me right now.) that combine the best of both worlds and of course guns and shooting equipment in general have continually made improvements in accuracy abilities.

Its gonna be FUN!
RA

ps
lol not bein picky or pokin fun but with 3 shots and 3 busted shoulders, you might wanna move your targetspot 2" back!!! :D

RE: nosler partitions
 

I' m not a fan of the Nosler Partician....But I assure you that there are a very large number of supporters.

I used Swift A-Frames on my African Safari and never recovered a single bullet.

It' s your money...spend it your way...I' ll do the same.

RE: nosler partitions
 

I may be wrong and correct me if i am but i think the Partition is designed to shed the front end of the bullet due to very rapid expansion with the remaining back of the bullet retaining it' s weight to drive the bullet through. I' ve killed a lot of deer with the Partition and regardless to what people say it doesn' t always pass through or at least for me that hasn' t always been the case. With a 30.06 and 25.06 i' ve recovered several partitions which were nicely mushroomed and several that had come apart. Let me add that i' ve had more pass through shots with the partition shooting deer then i have that were not pass throughs but i still get the same results whether it went completely through or not which is dead deer. The partition is without a doubt a good bullet and i would recommend it to anyone if they want to spend the money. I stopped using the partitions because i just don' t see the need to pay that kind of money for a bullet when i can get twice the quanity of a cheaper bullet (Hornady, Speer, Sierra) that kills just as dead for less money. This is just my opinion.

RE: nosler partitions
 

Mykey....no, the Partician is NOT designed to lose the foreward section of lead. It' s a failure of the bullet. Interesting however, it' s such a fine bullet that it kills most everything it' s shot at anyway, despite this failure.

The Nosler Partician just happens to be among the finest bullets ever conceived.... It' s as good today as it ever was....

However we as handloaders are now confronted with a lot of other choices....bonded, expanding solids, and bonded particians to name a few.

For deer it may be a moot point.....anything works.....however there' s more to life than deer.

RE: nosler partitions
 

Last time I checked hunting bullets were designed to bring a quick lethal death to animals. How they perform this I really don' t care only that they do it in a very consistent fashion. Out of all my own experience and whatever has been posted here and read there, even using hearsay partitions always seem to do the job. I don' t know how you can improve on them. I have never lost an animal using them and on the other side of the spectrum I haven' t lost one using corelockts either. Who said a bullet had to be in one piece when exiting an animal anyway? These idiots(gunwriters) that are fueled by the ammo companies money just come up with stuff to muddy the water. There are any number of quality bullets out there(barnes swift trophy bonded. Hornady. Speer Sierra. CT.etc etc etc) and they have been rehashed here several billion times..just pick what shoots out of your gun the best and is a proven killer and forget the shearing off of the nose nonsense about partitions.

RE: nosler partitions
 

Vapodog...i stand corrected:D, thanks for correcting me! I never knew it was bullet failure because i' ve heard of quite a few cases where the partition came apart so i took for granted it was suppose to, but like already mentioned it has always gotten the job done. The partition has a lot of loyal followers and for a specific task such as a paid hunt for Elk or really big Mulies or bigger game i would call upon it' s services again without hesitation. Like you said i think it' s a mute point for deer because anything will work if put in the vitals.

RE: nosler partitions
 

Best failure I ever saw. The Partition does its job every time. Just as many people think it is dedigned to shed the front as say it is not. All I know it that it raises hell inside and the animal goes down dead. I quess I could ask more of it but I don,t know what. In twewnty five years and 100' s of head of game in 10 or so different rifles, they have done exactly what the were designed to do. Kill quick and final.

RE: nosler partitions
 

As a fan of the shoulder shot to avoid trailing deer thru wet bogs and regrowth that you can' t see the ground in(the deer always are near this cover up here and always run straight into it),if I don' t break one and preferably both shoulders with my shot I' m having a bad day.There is no shot outside of head and neck that will drop them dead in their tracks any faster than a solid shoulder shot.I' d rather give up a little shoulder hamburger and have him on the ground in front of me than making circles in the thick stuff and sloughs hoping to trip over my deer somewheres.Since going to the shoulder shot I' ve only had one deer make it out of sight(out of 12 deer) and that was barely,at least six of them were over 200-250# northern deer.It works for me,quit with the thru the slats H&L shots that give a high percentage of death runs.


When penetrating a paritions nose doesn' t just " fall off" ......after mushrooming it fragments like a grenade.The reason the paritions only retain about 60% of weight.After expansion and a deadly wound channel, the rear portion or heel punches on thru for an exit wound and better blood trail in most cases.They are " designed" to do this.......the above description of how they perform is by JOHN NOSLER in the Nosler Reloading Guide.If they don' t encounter any bone they usually mushroom and with heavier contact there will be very little to no nose still intact.Best of both worlds......quick expansion from the nose and drive thru from the base. No bullet failure.........they were MADE and DESIGNED to work that way......I think John would pretty much know what he created them to do.You are 100% correct Mykey.

woods

RE: nosler partitions
 

woods, I agree with " breakin em down" too. But I have found its MUCH easier to do so with a Xbullet or Trophy Bonded than a Partition. I personally think the Partitions are simply a victim of their own age. When John Nosler (a man whom I admired greatly btw) first invented the Parts, todays slow powders, superhot primers and " ultramag" technology didnt exist. I believe the design is more at home in a 270/30' 06, 7Mauser and 308 type cases than in 7mags and bigger cases.

JMHO,
RA

RE: nosler partitions
 

lol
I would rather ruin a few pounds of meat than have to search for a deer or elk
the area i hunt is on public land and there are more than a few instances a year with people fighting over deer and elk cuz they both put bullets in them

doesnt seem to happen to me 1 shot 1 broken shoulder 1 dead animal

?? why doesnt nosler bond the front lead in there partitions

RE: nosler partitions
 

Red.......I agree with you,anytime you push a partition past about 2900fps you would be better served by the A-Frames,Barnes X,Trophy Bonded or Failsafes.I use a 7mm-08 and at the lower velocities find the parition still works the best for me and my type of shooting and ranges.I do however plan on trying out the Hornady Inner-bonds as soon as I get my hands on some to see if I can better my accuracy.

woods

RE: nosler partitions
 

I must add here that John Nosler invented the Partition for his 300 H&H Mag. The Partition has been upgraded ten times since it first came out. It was and still is an excellent if not the best choice for all big game hunting. I like the Barnes X bullet as well and use it often if my guns will shoot them well. Across the board the Partition has bee the most accurate bullet I have ever used next to the Ballistic tip. Nosler does not recommend the ballistic tip for elk and moose except in the biggest calibers in thier heaviest weight. I also shoot some Bonded Bear Claws from time to time. In my opinion any good bullet with good shot placement will do the job well. Like I said before as well, I would not hesitate to use the Hornady Interlock on any game anywhere in the world.

RE: nosler partitions
 

If they bonded the front core of the partition it would stop the rapid expansion and also increase the diameter of the mushroom which would decrease the penetration.
It is perfect the way it is.

RE: nosler partitions
 

Amen to that. There are a lot of good bullets out there and the partition is one of them. If at all possible I do not hit the shoulder. I am a meat hunter only. It justs destoys to much meat FOR ME.

RE: nosler partitions
 

Yes, the Partition is designed to expand rapidly in the front and punch through with the heel of the bullet. I' ve only shot 1 animal with them so I can' t speak from experience (except I got that elk so that counts I guess) but in theory they perform the best of both worlds. It' s the energy that is imparted into the animal that usually does a quick, shocking kill. The hole out the far side is only if the animal runs off so you have a good blood trail to follow and the animal will bleed out like if shot through by an arrow.

It' s partitions for me until they make a Partition with a balistic tip. That would be my perfect bullet. I hunt only deer, elk, bear (black) and cougars so I don' t need the strongest bullet but I don' t want a bullet that will explode either (like a balistic tip).

RE: nosler partitions
 

JJT, they' d probably be sued by Swift. That' s exactly what a swift A-Frame is.... a (Nosler-like) partician with a bonded front lead.

I am told further that Swift casings are machined rather than made in the traditional stamping process. Of the ones I' ve used, they' re exceedingly accurate.

RE: nosler partitions
 

Vapodog you brought up a very good point. The swifts are machined and the noslers are extruded. The original Nosler partition was also machined but evidently was very costly to produce and they switched to extruded. One of the things I like about partitions is that they have a pretty decent ballistic coefficient compared to say a Trophy bonded or something similiar and yet are very destructive on Game and work in a very reliable fashion.

RE: nosler partitions
 

jjt,

I' ve used the Nosler Partitions on quite a few animals, and have never regretted it. It tickles me when I read the expectations of some of us on bullet performance. I include myself it that comment as well. With all the success I' ve had with the Partitions, I' ve also wished they would retain more than 60% to 65% of their weight. Why? Hell, I don' t know! The only reason I can think of is that at sometime in my formative years I must have read something that declared deep penetration was critical, and could only be gotten with high retained weight. I' ve killed more deer with a .22LR HP than any other single cartridge/bullet combination in my life time. It all happened about forty years ago, during a late week in April, in Montana. The local game warden knew what we were doing, for he was doing the same thing, as were all the other ranches outside Lewiston. It had been a mild winter, and green grass had come up about a month earlier. Then the blizzard hit. There were several hay stacks on the meadows of this ranch that the owner let the deer have. The stack nearest the house had to be saved for the stock. Several of us sat on the stack all night long. In the later part of the week there was a 24 hour watch. We used sling shots and small marbles to try and drive the deer away. We actually shot the deer only after they started on the hay. Most shots were at arms reach. The bullets penetrated only a few inches, but since it was straight into the brain it did the job. I often think that if a bullet does the job, why is it necessary that it looks pretty afterwards? No matter how sexy a bullet is before being used, if it doesn' t do the job, it' s not worth a lead penny. If a bullet is accurate and does the job, it' s worth its cost, whatever that may be.
I don' t talk about the haystack very often, I' m not very proud of it. As far as I know None of the meat was wasted. The ranch I was at took all of it to a catholic and babtist church in the area and ended up feeding a lot of people. I know that many will throw rocks, but those that have been there will understand.

By the way. I think I' ve found a bullet that may give me what I want in a bullet. The new Hornady Interbond seems as if it will give me what I want. Out of a .308 Win. fire at 100 yards retained 91% of its weight. When fired at 20 feet it still retained 86% of its weight when fired into wet newspapers. Next month I hope to try it on a cow elk. Please excuse the rmablin' .

RE: nosler partitions
 

Big Bob. I for one understand. I have been there too. In my younger days before there even was a deer season where we lived I kept meat on the table with a 22 rimfire. With good shot placement the 22 will take a deer as far out as 75 yards or so. I did it many times. My mother would tell me to go get meat and that 22 was all we had. NEVER LOST A DEER NOT ONE. Not bragging at all. That was another place in another time. What we did, everybody else did too. There were no Game Wardens at that time and very few game laws. If you wanted meat you went hunting.

RE: nosler partitions
 

thank you all for your input
vapodog i am contemplating the swift a frame they seem to be what i am looking for
as for weight retention + or - 60% is fine for me
and the partitions do the job well
i just dont want to have to locate the lead or any other bullet fragments in my animal
that is the reason i dont bird hunt i have never been able to get by when you bite into a BB
it just ruins the hole meal for me
and i dont want to find a chunk of lead in my steak either

p.s. thats just one of those things i am anal about:D

again thank you all for your input

RE: nosler partitions
 

I don't know if you guys seen a issue of handloader a few months ago showing how a partition will out penetrate a high dollar A-Frame due to the front not being bonded. I believe it was Ross Seyfried who wrote it. I killed a moose with a A frame. It worked, the animal died. Don't think I will use them anymore. As far as the partition failing when losing the front. How in the world do you guys know what it was designed to do or not. I called Nosler and the rep said it is designed to do that. Maybe he was just telling me what i wanted to hear, maybe not. But you guys are strickly speculating unless you come from oregon and design bullets.

RE: nosler partitions
 

If the way partitions expand is a failure, then I'm a fool. I've been shooting partitions almost exclusively for 15 years or so. I couldn't be happier with the performance. I love the way the front section expands/explodes. It does fantastic damage to the lungs, and yet, you can always count on the lower part continuing to penetrate. I've read that a-frames and the like might retain more weight and even leave a bigger hole. I've also read that they don't penetrate as well for this same reason. For an average shot at game, day in and day out, I wouldn't change partitions performance even if I could. Accuracy wise, I've always been able to get atleast 11/2" groups with most guns shooting 1", and some shooting signifincantly better. A great product at a fair price!

RE: nosler partitions
 

I can't even begin to believe some of the comments posted here calling the Partition a defective bullet . That is such bad advice for anyone asking an opinion. Here is the single most factor that interests me .....DOES THE FRIGGIN ANIMAL DROP RIGHT THERE DEAD or gets so busted up it doesn't go far ?. That has been my experience with Partitions... believe me I have had lots of bullets made by other mfgs that literally exploded in game so I don't use them anymore except to shoot at paper. I also have a life other than hunting and shooting believe it or not. I don't want to spend my life scrubbing copper or moly out of bores and smelling ammonia based solvents. This totally rules out X and Swift bullets in my guns. For a combination of great BC low fouling and accuracy it is extremely hard to ignore a Partition. Now with the addition of the Accubond a good bullet line gets unbeatable.

RE: nosler partitions
 

I have limited expereince with this topic, other than having loaded the Partition in .338. I have some for the .270 but have not loaded them as of yet. I also loaded the Accubond in .338 and really liked that bullet. It was the best accuracy of the Three I loaded. Barnes XLC, Nosler partition, and Nosler Accubond. I have to agree with the comment that the next 5-10 years will yeild some great advances in bullet technology. Should be fun!:D

RE: nosler partitions
 

Yes!! They ARE DESIGNED to work this way! That front core virtually explodes after the bullet has busted through into the vitals, and just makes a bloody soup out of all the organs in and near its' path! That's why the things are so bloody effective! If you judge a bullet's effectiveness by how closely it resembles the "classic mushroom", rather than by how well it killed what you hit with it, yopu are going to be disappointed!!

I really get a kick out of people who criticize these bullets for working as they are intended to, and also from the turkeys who complain "it just penetrated right on through without expanding"! Which of course is impossible for them to know about a bullet that went on over to the next county after passing through (and killing) an animal!!

RE: nosler partitions
 

Vapodog, I agree with most of what you say, and your knowledge and experience are obvious. But on this one point, I must take issue with you, inless John Nosler lied about how he intended for the Partiton Jacket bullet to work!! I have never heard of an AUTHENTIC CASE of a Nosle Partition Jacket bullet failing! The loss of the front core is NOT A FAILURE!!

RE: nosler partitions
 

Swift does NOT own a patent on bonded cores, as witnessed by the many such critters now appearing, including Nosler's own ACCUBOND!!

Swift machines their "casings" (jackets!!)?? If so, then they are making their bullets just like Nosler USED TO DO, before they started using drawn jackets!!

RE: nosler partitions
 

Vapodog if you think there's more than deer out there then you're not killing big enough deer. I've heard average deer hunters make this statement before and it's alright to hunt that way if your expectations aren't high or your area can't produce good mature animals. The way a big mature whitetail eludes most of us and the occasional taking of a whopper deer that no one had ever seen before is testament to the way a hunter's attitude should be to hunt them. Nothing is harder to find, hunt and shoot dead than a real Booner whitetail. Nothing, not an elk, bear, African game. Nothing compares to a whitetails' full range of senses and keen wariness. A mature 5 year old buck or older is the king of game.

RE: nosler partitions
 

I have taken over 100 whitetail with NP's. Never ever ever ever lost one. About 96% do pass though and about 60% of the animals drop in there tracks. The others usually drop with in eye sight.