I just saw an email from the Nosler folks....John, the founder, died on Oct 10 at age 97.

He gave us the partition....great bullet...great man.

Bob

Nosler Founder Passes Away

Bend, Ore-October, 2010-At the age of 97, John Amos Nosler, the tall, stately and beloved founder of Nosler, Inc., passed away of natural causes at his home on October 10, 2010. He leaves a legacy that will be remembered, not only by his family, but by hunters and shooters around the world.

Born on April 4, 1913 in Brawley California, John was one of America's true success stories. He founded his bullet company in 1948, and was considered to be one of the great generational icons whose designs literally created the premium bullet category and influenced ammunition and bullet manufacturers worldwide.

After experiencing a bullet failure on the hide of a mud-caked bull moose, John began a pursuit of the product design that would become his life's work. Armed with perseverance, discipline and determination, he created a concept that was uniquely different-he called it the Partition bullet, because of the barrier that separated the bullet into two sections. One year later, John and a friend traveled back to British Columbia loaded with his new Partition bullets. The results were two moose with two shots, and the rest is history.

In recognition of his contribution to the shooting sports industry, John was the unanimous choice for the inaugural 2007 NRA Golden Bullseye Pioneer Award. The award was the highlight of a long and fruitful career. Even though he officially retired in 1988 when his son and daughter-in-law, Bob and Joan Nosler purchased the company, John still managed to come to the office on a daily basis. He always had a smile on his face, and enjoyed passing out candy to employees as he made his rounds in the plant. There was always a twinkle in his eye when talking about new ideas for products, new machinery, solving a problem and of course hunting. Only when his health started to decline did his visits become less frequent.

Today, John's son Bob Nosler still presides over the company as president and CEO. Other family officers include Bob's son John R. Nosler, who serves as the company's vice president and general manager, along with Bob's wife Joan who also serves as a vice president. Other family members in the business include John's granddaughters and their husbands, Jill (Nosler) Bailey and Jeff Bailey, and Christie (Nosler) Darcy and Mike Darcy.

John Nosler always envisioned his company to be a family business. Today, the second and third generations share the responsibilities for guiding the business and, while the fourth generation is still quite young, it is large enough that prospects for continued family ownership and management look very good.

In lieu of sending flowers, the Nosler family encourages a donation to the National Rifle Association Foundation-John A. Nosler Endowment.

Checks may be submitted to: (make sure John A. Nosler's name is in the Memo)
The NRA Foundation, Inc./ John A. Nosler Endowment
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030

Certainly a well respected man that left a huge footprint within the firearms community.

As the release says, Mr Nosler created the premium bullet by which all are still judged today. The new monolithic bullets may be the rage today but the good ole partition has stood the test of time as well as anything.

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JOHN NOSLER PASSES

It is indeed saddening in that I posted this on the reloading forum.....not a single reply.....I also posted it on another forum outside AR.....same thing...not a single reply.... and only three or four here.....

Mr Nosler deserves better recognition than this....what's wrong?

Nothing is "wrong" about the number of replies. We all experience grief and sadness differently, to many it is a private thing - and John Nosler was a very private man in his waning years. To judge a man by how many posts his obituary gets is, well, it's just wrong.



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To judge a man by how many posts his obituary gets is, well, it's just wrong.

Forgive me here....I'm not at all judging Mr Nosler....nor was it my intention to suggest that lack of recognition was in judgment of him.

I'm merely surprised that many folks aren't offering a few kind words in his memory.

98 years and I never heard one unkind word about him....he must have been a very genuinely fine man. Worthy of at least a salute...

Well, i didn't reply on this subject on any forum (until now) and i got the Nosler newsletter in my email a few ago.

It said John was 97 when passing, the same age that my dad is now.

Anyway, when it comes to an "all around" big game hunting bullet, no big game hunting bullet ever offered to hunters to this day, out performs the Nosler Partition.

Thankyou John Nosler for giving us this bullet!

DM

I can attribute much hunting success to John Nosler and his Partition bullet. I shoot hundreds of Nosler Bullets each year. If I counted my bullet shelfs today I could count over 120 sacs of Cosmetic Blems in a number of calibers, which I shoot exclusively now. The only other bullet I have found as accurate is the North Fork, and it is somewhat more tough on the larger game. Thanks to Nosler and John Nosler in particular for being there when the need for a tough-accurate bullet was most needed for the hunting world. Good shooting.

Vapo,

My other frequented forum had a post up the day after he died, and I believe its over 2 pages long now. So don't worry, plenty of people pay their respects

I think I may just dedicate all my hunting next year to his honor and use nothing but Partitions!

My family and I have many fine trophies because of his bullets. My favorite, the 270 Win loaded with the 130 gr solid base boat tail. #2 - 25/06 with the 115 gr Partition. Smack. He left a rich legacy. May he RIP.

i've been away for amonth, but this new hits me hard. john was a good friend and hunting companion of my good friend and neighbor clarence purdie. it was on the moose hunt with clarence that john decided that a better bullet was needed. clarence is gone also. somewhere in my stuff is a congrats john sent me after i fired a .0125 group at 300 wards with a swift. a congrats coming from john was akin to being elected POUS. Long live his memory and his contributions to our sport

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clarence is gone also.

I barely remember Clarence. Whenever I bought a new gun, I drove to Gopher Shooters Supply and Clarence (or someone else) always set out several for me to pick from. He sold so many M-70s that he was able to get Winchester to make one without iron sights.....still to this day known as Gopher Specials.....

I didn't know he was a personal friend of Mr Nosler!

A salute to them both!

RIP

What a great life he made living his dreams
Rest in peace.

There is a lot more to this story and I hope someone with the details will chime in. Long before he developed the Partition using a screw machine in his garage in Ashland, Oregon, John Nosler caught the eye of one Henry Ford, who insisted John go to college then come back to work for him. ...

A few years ago I had the pleasure of meeting John @ Nosler Inc. He would stop by the factory most days to see how things were going. A great and gifted man with a big heart. God bless you, John, rest in piece....Tom