Any of you use Nosler Partitions for reloading? Have you found it difficult to work up accurate loads with the Partitions? Loads less than 3/4 inch at 100 yds. I am finding it very hard to get loads to group with the bullet, btw tsx & ballastic tips are easy to group. Thanks Daniel

Had the same problem with NPs in my 7mm Ruger. Try Berger....much better bullet.

I use them in my Sako .270, a Remington .338 and my S&W 1500 (Howa) 30/06. No problems and good groups. In my .338 and 06 I use them along with the same load and the same weight Hornady Interlock bullet and they shoot to the same POI.

I use 130 Gr. Hornadys and 150 Gr. Partitions in my .270. They group about 1.5 inches apart at 100 yds.

Labman, please tell me what powder you are using to get 3/4 inch groups with the NP's. I have tried RL-17 & RL-19 with no luck. Are you loading hot loads or mild loads? Thanks Daniel

you are upset with a..75moa hunting load?

i used bt and part for years pepending on what i was hunting. Never had a combo to same poi.
switched to accubonds for everything

quote:

Originally posted by 7mmreloader:
Had the same problem with NPs in my 7mm Ruger. Try Berger....much better bullet.

You're outa your freaking mind........the partition is the standaard by which every single hunting bullet is measured, and has been for over 60 yrs.

Whatever dude... that's your opinion and mine. So mind your own business.

My opinion, if a rifle shoots (as per my anal requirements), it will shoot partitions.
For the past 35+ years, I've loaded partitions in 22,24,25,26,27,28,30,32,33,35,36 & 41 cals.
I have purchased other bullets (primarily due to AR) in 36 & 41, but those will only be used on the dark continent.
I've spilled ALOT of blood w/ the NP and have no intention or reason to change.

If it will shoot Sierras it will shoot partitions.
If it won't shoot either, sell it. Its a POS.

I'm working up loads for a 25-06 and 7MM RemMag and cannot at this point determine the accuracy of the Partitions, the issue I have is availability. Whether Nosler can't keep up with demand or their production runs purposefully limit availability, as a consumer if I'm going to spend the time and effort to work up loads with the Partition but can't buy the bullet on an as needed basis then I'll have to switch my brand loyalty to another bullet maker, regrettably.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim@IMReps:
I'm working up loads for a 25-06 and 7MM RemMag and cannot at this point determine the accuracy of the Partitions, the issue I have is availability. Whether Nosler can't keep up with demand or their production runs purposefully limit availability, as a consumer if I'm going to spend the time and effort to work up loads with the Partition but can't buy the bullet on an as needed basis then I'll have to switch my brand loyalty to another bullet maker, regrettably.

These have been available for a couple of months......almost gone now.

http://www.shootersproshop.com...itzer-blem-50ct.html

I can't get my head around the fact that the guy is whining about a .75" HUNTING load. What kind of groups does he get from offhand, kneeling, and sitting? Propped against a tree?

Folks have learned (or should have) different methods to accomplish a task or goal.
My question. Why would a person use expensive NPs for load workup ?
7x57----for example. Before mine arrived.
I did my usual copious load research.
Decided on the 140g bullet.
Ordered brass. Bought 140g Sierras AND NPs.
Worked up loads in 1/2g increments w/ the Sierras.
Settled on a charge wt.
THEN put together my chosen load w/ the NPs.
Used this formula w/ many cartridges---for years !
Works for me---and I am anal a/b my loads !

I've had trouble with NPs as well, I prefer Accubond, NBTs, SGKs, Berger, Barnes,...

I couldn't get 100 grain NPs to shoot in my Parker Hale 6mm Remington. Tumbling at 200 yards and beyond. Groups of 3" at 100 yards. It wouldn't shoot 100 grain Remington Core Lokt Bonded Core much better. I reckon bullet was too long for the speed of the rifling twist used in the barrel.

While NP is not my "go to" bullet to see if a gun is just hopeless, I have had good results most weights I have used in most calibers. Usually a different powder or most often playing with seating depth will straighten em right out.

I plan to shoot 286 NPs in my 9.3 I'm having done up and 160s in my 7x57. What's not to like?

I try Partitions as a regular part of my initial loadings along with Sierras. They are relatively cheap at Shooters Pro Shop. I get very good accuracy from the 125 Partitions in my .264WM and 165s in my 30-06 Highwall. Like someone said above, it takes some experimenting with the right powder. I still think 3/4" groups are pretty darn good for a hunting rifle. I have some that will do better sometimes, but not in all positions or weather conditions.

FWIW unless super long range is the issue, the OP ought to think whether he has actually witnessed the terminal effect of minute-of-whitetail or whatever game animal is in question.

it's all tantamount to counting the fairies on the head of a pin. the OP was pretty out of line with his response.

just realized I meant 7mmreloader. sorry to the OP no offense!

Not every rifle "likes" every bullet. One that does well in many other rifles may not do well in a particular rifle, while that particular rifle may do very well with other bullets.

On the whole over 50 years of handloading, I've found the Nosler Partition to average about the same accuracy as other hunting bullets. The Nosler Ballistic Tip and Accubond average a little better, and the conventional Hornady spire points tend to be a bit less accurate than average. That being said, I've had guns that won't shoot the B. Tips and work wonders with the Hornady's.

You may or may not find some load combination in your particular rifle which does well with Nosler Partitions. If not, then I'd recommend Nosler Accubonds as a fully adequate substitute. Who knows; the good old Hornady spire points might do just fine in your rifle, and insofar as terminal performance they kill just like the rest.

I won't cast any doubt that for many shooters the Nosler Partitions performance is excellent and predictable but I personally have never got them to shoot as accurately as other bullets in any rifle I've owned. My oldest boy has a Ruger M77 in 30/06 that shoots them adequately probably 1.25 to 1.5" groups which isn't great but it killed his Bull last fall.
Both my sons 30/06's and my 30/06 prefer 180 grain Sierra's for accuracy and I've killed a pile of elk with them and never had the woes that others complain about.
So I concur with the Original Poster that I can't get Nosler Partitions to shoot very well so I don't use them, Accubonds and Ballistic Tips are far more accurate in my experience.
Your opinions may vary.
Here are a couple of groups with Sierra's, I have 3 rifles that shoot hem like this in 30/06, one in .257 and another in 6.5x55.

3 shot groups

I'm in the group that has no doubt that Nosler Partitions are a great bullet but have never gotten the accuracy from them to give me confidence enough to use them over Sierra Game Kings pre 2008 and Accubonds post 2008

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
3 shot groups

Yes they are, I thought that was obvious?
Most all of my lightweight hunting rifles I shoot three shot groups with. If any animal is still standing after 3 really well placed shots having shot 5 shot groups will not solve the problem.
With that said most of my rifles that shoot 3 shot groups at .3" are right at .5" or less for 5 shots.
Normally my sons and I are 1 shot kills, however occasionally a second shot is administered because they are still afoot.
I can only think of one time in my life that I shot 5 shots.

With that rational, why not just shoot 1 shot groups?

One shot cold barrel test a quiet common

quote:

Labman, please tell me what powder you are using to get 3/4 inch groups with the NP's. I have tried RL-17 & RL-19 with no luck. Are you loading hot loads or mild loads? Thanks Daniel

In my .338 Win Mag. I'm using max loads of H-4831sc behind 225 Gr. Nosler Partitions and Hornady Interlock bullets. COAL: 3.355

In my 30/06 I'm using H-4350 and shooting 165 Gr. Partitions and the same weight Hornady Interlocks. 1/2 gr. under Hodgdon listed max load. COAL: 3.30

In my .270 I'm also using H-4831sc. My sako has a long throat. COAL: 3.335

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Not every rifle "likes" every bullet. One that does well in many other rifles may not do well in a particular rifle, while that particular rifle may do very well with other bullets.

On the whole over 50 years of handloading, I've found the Nosler Partition to average about the same accuracy as other hunting bullets. The Nosler Ballistic Tip and Accubond average a little better, and the conventional Hornady spire points tend to be a bit less accurate than average. That being said, I've had guns that won't shoot the B. Tips and work wonders with the Hornady's.

You may or may not find some load combination in your particular rifle which does well with Nosler Partitions. If not, then I'd recommend Nosler Accubonds as a fully adequate substitute. Who knows; the good old Hornady spire points might do just fine in your rifle, and insofar as terminal performance they kill just like the rest.

A lot of truth in this comment. I've only been loading for 49 years, but I have found a lot of similarities To what Stonecreek has already said. While Partitions may not be best "match" bullet on the market they are not that shabby. I seldom feel the need to use premium bullets on deer or smaller game. I've had excellent accuracy and performance from Hornady, Speer and Sierra bullets in std calibres. When you move up to magnum calibres or any caliber that is above 3100 fps muzzle vel I look to a premium bullet. Barnes TTSX, Partitions and Swift A frames. Never had a rifle that would not shoot one of those.

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:

quote:

Labman, please tell me what powder you are using to get 3/4 inch groups with the NP's. I have tried RL-17 & RL-19 with no luck. Are you loading hot loads or mild loads? Thanks Daniel

In my .338 Win Mag. I'm using max loads of H-4831sc behind 225 Gr. Nosler Partitions and Hornady Interlock bullets. COAL: 3.355

In my 30/06 I'm using H-4350 and shooting 165 Gr. Partitions and the same weight Hornady Interlocks. 1/2 gr. under Hodgdon listed max load. COAL: 3.30

In my .270 I'm also using H-4831sc. My sako has a long throat. COAL: 3.335

I've used Retumbo and RL 22 with great results in my 7Mags.

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
One shot cold barrel test a quiet common

Not when you're developing an accuracy load. There is some merit to the one shot, cold barrel idea but if I owned a rifle that wouldn't put its first shot, cold barrel close enough to the rest of the shots to be lethal on game, I wouldn't own it long or would be working out why it was spraying bullets.
You can shoot however many shots you would like and call them a group, or a cluster, or a daisy chain, and you can measure them out to be whatever you'd like. Cyberspace is indeed a wonderful place.

quote:

You can shoot however many shots you would like and call them a group, or a cluster, or a daisy chain, and you can measure them out to be whatever you'd like. Cyberspace is indeed a wonderful place.

I'm not quite sure what point you are trying to make?
1. How is this relating to the OP's question?
2. From your high horse what is the appropriate quantity of shots to put on paper to make a "real" group, obviously 3 isn't enough for you.
3. Are you asserting my groups are somehow "faked" in "cyberspace"?.

I usually get pretty reasonable groups from partitions, really not that different from accubonds, I don't see the advantage there except they have better BC's.

One thing I found getting ready for South Africa later on this month was that there is a lot of variability lot to lot with partitions.

3-4 years ago I worked up a load for my .30-06 that worked really well... 165 partition, 57 gr IMR 4350 at 3.290", not that uncommon a load.

It shot consistent .5 MOA bug hole 5 shot groups with that lot of bullets, and also gave exceptional velocity...2900 FPS.

I redid that load. Same cases (actually the same ones) same lot of powder. Same lot of primers. The only change was that it is a new lot of 165 grain partitions. My nice load now is about 2800 FPS and is shooting a hair over 1" 5 shot groups.

The only change was the first load was using vintage 1995 bullets, the second is new (2015) bullets. Heck, even the wind velocity and the temp were close...

I have consistently found that getting acceptable hunting accuracy (sub 1.5" for 5 shots in my book) is easy with partitions, but getting that last bit to shrink it down to the 3/4-1/2 MOA level is pretty iffy. (It used to be easy to do when I shot 1 3 round group...)

I guess I am pretty lucky in that most of my rifles will get there with enough work, but then I have usually used up my supply of that lot of bullets.

This time, given I leave in about 2 weeks, I am going to say this is acceptable for me... I am not a long range hunter, so it isn't going to screw me up that much, but it did annoy me.

Beeman......

As usual

quote:

.30-06 that worked really well... 165 partition, 57 gr IMR 4350 at 3.290",

That is exactly my load except with AA4350. Same results as crbutler from my Highwall. I will admit that any 165 grain bullet groups very well in this rifle.

In my experience, Accubonds are more accurate than partitions. However, Partitions have served me well since the mid 1950s. I have never had a terminal ballistics failure of a Nosler Partition bullet.
They are not a "super" bullet. When driven within their design parameters they do what they say they will do. Every time!
That's good enough for me!

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:

One thing I found getting ready for South Africa later on this month was that there is a lot of variability lot to lot with partitions. . . .

I redid that load. Same cases (actually the same ones) same lot of powder. Same lot of primers. The only change was that it is a new lot of 165 grain partitions. My nice load now is about 2800 FPS and is shooting a hair over 1" 5 shot groups.

The only change was the first load was using vintage 1995 bullets, the second is new (2015) bullets. Heck, even the wind velocity and the temp were close...

It's not just Partitions that change over the years, but nearly all manufacturers' bullets vary slightly in design as they wear out old dies and retool with replacements. Or sometimes they replace machinery with faster, higher volume models which make a slightly different bullet. Changes in the placement and shape of the ogive are not uncommon and can significantly change the way a "new" batch of the "same" bullet behaves as compared to an "old" batch.

The worst example I've seen was in some bulk-purchased bullets from one of the major ammunition companies. Bullets in the 1,000 piece bag apparently came from several different dies and had visibly different ogives and the cannelures varied in placement by as much as .05" -- enough to make consistent mouth crimping (if you wanted to do it) impossible. Those bullets shot all over the place for me so I sold the remainder of them to a mental 9 year-old for his spray-and-pray play soldier gun to shoot at his Osama Bin Laden target.

NP's work really well in my 300 Win Mag and 358 Win but not so well in my 7mm-08 and 9.3x62. The bullet that gives me the best accuracy in the latter two is the Norma Oryx.

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
Beeman......

As usual

Keep in mind old Peeman is nothing more than a paper puncher. It has been discussed before.

Nosler Partitions are my favorite. I've shot all kinds of premium bullets and love to experiment but if I come up with a good load with NPs that's the one I keep in my load files. I have not found NPs to be any less accurate overall than anything else. Also if a guy thinks there are much better bullets for thin skinned game he has not shot much of anything with the NPs. They expand rapidly and go off like a grenade in the chest cavity but they also usually exit. What's not to love.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by graybird:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by ted thorn:
Beeman......

As usual

Keep in mind old Peeman is nothing more than a paper puncher. It has been discussed before.[/QUOTE)
When was this discussed? I guess I missed it. Maybe I was out punching paper. Or game. I like to do both and have done a lot of both. 'Course you've got the guys that pull their rifles out once a year, find that partial box of ammo they have left over from last year, go out and shoot it a couple of times, and then go kill something. And then spend the rest of their time pounding their chest in cyberspace. I do know a lot. Not everything but a lot. I do know when a smartass that brings very little to the table is jerking my chain.