Why not the Nosler Partition?

[Wolverine67]

I have to agree with you Sestoppelman, but I also are of the opinion that Speer GS are a better bullet. Just my opinion.

 

[jduckhunter]

yeah Ses I know it's hard to believe but I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. I'm not a ballistician ( hell I don't even know if I can spell it) but maybe it has something to do with the composition of the jacket or core or a minute difference in the diameter of the bullet. It almost seems to me like the bullet goes down the barrel easier thus creating less pressure hence less felt recoil. I don't know why I just know that it's noticeable. Been shooting that same old .338 WM for over 25 years when some thing changes I take notice. I might be all wet but I hope we can still be friends I kind of like it around here.

 

[sestoppelman]

yeah Ses I know it's hard to believe but I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. I'm not a ballistician ( hell I don't even know if I can spell it) but maybe it has something to do with the composition of the jacket or core or a minute difference in the diameter of the bullet. It almost seems to me like the bullet goes down the barrel easier thus creating less pressure hence less felt recoil. I don't know why I just know that it's noticeable. Been shooting that same old .338 WM for over 25 years when some thing changes I take notice. I might be all wet but I hope we can still be friends I kind of like it around here.

We are not enemies, we are all on the same side here, opinions differ on some things. Its all good. As Wolverine67 says, the GS is probably a little better bullet, I have shot lots of Speers but never the GS as I usually find the NPT to be a little less expensive and reliable enough for my uses, even Africa.
I think what happens to all of us sometimes, (myself included!) when we really like something a lot, we tend to elevate the qualities of said items to stratospheric levels due to our enthusiasm. Sort of like a crush on a new girlfriend - she can do no wrong, if fact she may even be an angel!:beer:

 

[graybird]

For me, it comes down to accuracy. I can't seem to get acceptable accuracy from the NP like I can in the TSX/TTSX. I switched from the NP a couple of years ago and haven't really looked back, although I've been searching for a load for my 7-08. I'm on my fifth powder using a 140 gr NP and might give it one more go, if this powder doesn't work out, but after six powders I'm moving on. I think my main draw for continuing to try the NP is I can purchase 2nds cheaper than the Barnes bullets. Having said that, I have no problems purchasing the Barnes as long as I continue to get acceptable accuracy and desired effects on game.

 

[jduckhunter]

Geez Ses, it not like I'm in love with them or anything I just reported what I noticed. I am also glad that we are not enemies, I don't know that I really have any of those and don't want any. My wife noticed this thread and says she knows what the problem is. She says that I notice things others don't because ( get this) I'm so sensetive. And with that I'm out of here.

 

[enysse]

My personal opinion is that the Nosler Partition is over priced at the store. I have no problem with their performance. For how much you pay for NP's you would be better of with Barnes bullets or something similiar. I still think the "old" boattails made of lead are great bullets, I have killed a lot of game with them, I just choose not to try tricky shots with them. They aren't going to bust up any big bones, but if you aim for the lungs, hence the "rib cage" you will find they are very effective bullets. I like the SST's and Interbonds...I can live with their performance...I've killed a lot of stuff with them.

My personal opinion is everyone wants to sneak a bullet into a animal from any angle. A lot of times it would be better if people took their time to find a better shot. If you hit a animal in the ribs you will always find a animal quickly, it's a HUGE target. I think if more people were bowhunters they would learn how to put themselves in better shooting positions.

 

[graybird]

Enysse,

You can have my share of the SST and even the Interbonds. Too fragile in my opinion.

A couple bad experiences, which luckily, were not mine, but I was there to witness them.

 

[enysse]

I wish everyone would send me theirs. I have liked elk, deer and antelope with them. Weight retention doesn't mean too much to me...dead is dead. I have done most of my hunting with a 243 Win with their cheap 100 grain power point bullets.

 

[sestoppelman]

Geez Ses, it not like I'm in love with them or anything I just reported what I noticed. I am also glad that we are not enemies, I don't know that I really have any of those and don't want any. My wife noticed this thread and says she knows what the problem is. She says that I notice things others don't because ( get this) I'm so sensetive. And with that I'm out of here.

I was only using this to make the larger point about how we feel about things that we like, not saying there was anything wrong with liking the GS.

I probably should make a rule for myself not to post anything before noon! PST.

The Barnes are great bullets and I have had no trouble getting them to shoot in any number of rifles, but in my neck of the woods and most internet stores, they run more than NPT's, but they certainly do hold together better.

As to the Interbonds, welllll, not so much. They shoot very well, but in my limited experience with them as hunting bullets, I would not use them for anything larger than deer sized animals. I took them in .338 cal to RSA in '09 and while everything properly hit died, the two I recovered had lost over half their weight and didnt give nearly full penetration. Two did fully penetrate but were on smaller game and never hit bone. Conversely I have a friend who has hunted RSA 3 times and always uses the Inter Lock bullet and had better performance than I did with the supposed better Interbond! Go figure. He used an '06 and I a .338 Winmag with loads nowhere near max., more like a .35 Whelen load.
Its nice we have so many choices in bullets that we can "converse, convey and otherwise hobnob" about them on the net! Sweet!:rockon:

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Well I didn't mean to stir up a pot of doo doo stew here gents. Shoot what works for you and you have confidence in, be durned my or others opinion. I do find it interesting that the Barnes are cheaper for some than the Partitions. I usually find them to be essentially the same price. The A-Frames and North Forks are another story, but that bonding process has got to cost those companies something.

My only dislike of the TSX/TTSX outside of sometimes finding them challenging to shoot well is the amount of copper they drop in the barrel. I'm sure this is somewhat dependent on the tolerances your barrels were machined to. The 250gr TTSX for the .375 was absolutely deadly accurate in my M70, but only for a handful of shots before the copper build up started to open up the groups.

Some have mentioned the NP losing weight as it goes through the animal, it was designed to do this from what I've read. The intent was for a lot of damage on impact and the initial contact with the vitals, then the rear partition continuing it's path through the animal. Is this good or bad? Well it depends on what you want the bullet to do and what you're hunting in my opinion. My desire for the higher weight retention was having the .300 as second rifle to the .375 for Eland. With the size of those big buggers, I'd prefer to have that weight retention. But above that accuracy is my first preference and for that accuracy to hold over multiple shots.

For me the NP has never let me down. I've only recovered one bullet and that was the rear section of a 160gr out of my 7mm on the Shiras moose I killed. That was found under the offside skin after cracking through a rib on the same side. The moose went about 15 feet and dropped dead after the shot. Yup, the weight of that section was 80gr, 1/2 of what it started at. Did it really matter? Now a Shiras moose will run about half the weight of a full grown Eland bull, but if they're typical of most African PG species, it won't have near the skin thickness not to mention the amount of hair.

Would it be wise to try a Texas heart shot on an Eland with a 200gr NP out of my .300WM? Probably not, but then no matter what caliber I'm shooting this wouldn't be my first shot on Eland or anything else. I'm just not comfortable with that as a first shot.

But like I said, shoot what works for you.

 

[35bore]

Some have mentioned the NP losing weight as it goes through the animal, it was designed to do this from what I've read. The intent was for a lot of damage on impact and the initial contact with the vitals, then the rear partition continuing it's path through the animal. Is this good or bad? Well it depends on what you want the bullet to do and what you're hunting in my opinion. My desire for the higher weight retention was having the .300 as second rifle to the .375 for Eland. With the size of those big buggers, I'd prefer to have that weight retention. But above that accuracy is my first preference and for that accuracy to hold over multiple shots.

For me the NP has never let me down. I've only recovered one bullet and that was the rear section of a 160gr out of my 7mm on the Shiras moose I killed. That was found under the offside skin after cracking through a rib on the same side. The moose went about 15 feet and dropped dead after the shot. Yup, the weight of that section was 80gr, 1/2 of what it started at. Did it really matter? Now a Shiras moose will run about half the weight of a full grown Eland bull, but if they're typical of most African PG species, it won't have near the skin thickness not to mention the amount of hair.



But like I said, shoot what works for you.

The term Energy Dump, I am a big fan of it. These bullets, and the "lesser bullets" Ses mentioned, were designed to create a large wound channel, i.e. tissue damage. The bullets may not always pass through (most of the time they do) but, not always, however there is always a lot of blood.

Not to keep you guys up all night, but, I love the Core Lokt bullets (those that know me, know this) and I have had great success with them. Since i have been on this forum, the "bullet' topic has come up several times. I go back to one thing I have discovered from reading and listening "off line". If you have ABC bullet and it has worked for you for say 10 years, then you have a couple of bad incidents, whether it was a poorly placed shot or not, then ABC bullet becomes your least favorite. You bad mouth it to your freinds and try to steer anyone who will listen away from using it, because you found XYZ bullet and it dropped 2 Whitetail, or 2 moose, or 2 Kudu, etc. etc. even though you had years of success with ABC bullet....?????

Point is, that if it is accurate in my rifle and it kills game cleanly with Core Lokt's or TBBC then why would it be any better or worse than Joe Smoe's set-up with a different bullet if the end results are the same? It boils down to personal preference, I for one refuse to get into another pissing match over who's bullet is best. It is a sensitive subject for some....:beatingdeadhorse::wacky:

 

[spike.t]

way back in 89/90 ,and that is not 1889 by the way!! i think the nosler partition was the only factory loaded bullet for the major hunting calibres we could get over here, i think it was federal. i used it on a wide variety of african game and it worked fine. as phil says it was designed to lose the front as it penetrated and for the back part to continue on. i would be happy to use them now, i presume they are the same design as back then?

 

[gxsr-sarge]

I shot an Eland bull last summer at about 100 yards using 180gr. NP's out of a 300 Win Mag. It was a lung shot as I shot him while he was running perpendicular to me. One shot kill - he was lying dead about 100 yards from where I shot him. Bullet was recovered and performed flawlessly. Next month, however, I plan to use Barnes XXX 300gr softs from a 375HH on Buffalo.

 

[Savage Hunter]

So, guys, is it OK for me to shoot my Accubonds? 180gr in 300 wsm and 140gr in my 7-08?
I don't want to do this wrong and disappoint the animals I hunt.

 

[gxsr-sarge]

So, guys, is it OK for me to shoot my Accubonds? 180gr in 300 wsm and 140gr in my 7-08?
I don't want to do this wrong and disappoint the animals I hunt.

My buddy used 180 gr Accubonds for his 300 Weatherby Mag in a plains game hunt last year. 100% success on 7 animals from Warthog to Zebra/Kudu.

 

[enysse]

The Accubond is a premium bullet, go ahead and use them.

 

[Savage Hunter]

THANK GOD, guys. I am glad to know that they aren't disappointed in me. btw, the waterbuck I killed last year....... I was able to get a good deal on. They are usually $2100. Since I shot it 3 times, I look at it this way, I got to shoot waterbuck at a discounted price of $700 each. the first shot was a killing hit, but didn't want to chance it.

 

[enysse]

The waterbuck is a tough animal, I have a healthy respect for them...one of my favorite animals.

 

[gxsr-sarge]

The waterbuck is a tough animal, I have a healthy respect for them...one of my favorite animals.

and smelly

 

[enysse]

and smelly

I've shot 2, they were oily but not smelly for me. I have heard they are smelly. I took them in May, maybe that makes a difference.