How has the field experience been with the 250 grain CT Partition Gold bullet in .338 Win Mag?

Looks like it should react like a normal Nosler Partition without the base crush that sometimes happen.

mstarling ----- I shot the bullet in a .338 Winny and a .340 Wby and was pleased with it toughness and accuracy in my rifles. With the .340 Wby I shot a huge Alaska Yukon Moose in the Farewell Burn of Alaska. My load was with RL-19, a Fed 215M primer and if I remember right the speed was approx. 2950-3000 fps. The 175 yard shot hit him in the neck bone where it adjoins the shoulder (I was actually aiming at the shoulder and he was walking with his nose stuck up the ass of a hot cow). He hit the deck with his chin whooping the tundra before the remainder of his body came thundering down. I could not have asked for better results. If I were hunting Moose today with that rifle I would use the same bullet or a 240 grain North Fork, a bullet I have also had excellent results with on Elk and in Africa on plains game and Buff. Good luck and good shooting.

I used 250 grain Partition Golds at 2,750 fps in my .338 win mag on a hog hunt about three weeks ago. They performed flawlessly. I recovered one that killed two hogs. I'll dig it up, photograph it and post it tonight.

Guys,

Sounds GREAT to me! I like Nosler Partitions in other calibers. They served me very well for African plains game as well as North American game.

I do like the Barnes bullet as well. Have only tried the North Fork in DR caliber solids on paper.

Got a bunch of the CT Partitions on sale from Midway last year ... glad to hear they'll work!

I'm with you Mike.

I purchased 10 boxes during that sale and wish I had doubled my order now.

My hunting buddy and I were using the PG's in our 300WM in 180gr. from 1997 till 2004. Great bullet. Would go thru 3/4" steel at 300metres at the range. Awesome performane on big game.

Only thing was I did not like was the the nose-tips squaring off from being cycled from the clip to chamber. Then after not shooting, placing the shell back in the clip and doing it all over again.

Since 2004 I started using the Accubonds in my 300WM and 270WSM. This is my bullet of choice now.

Okay, I found the bullet and photographed it -- sorry about the picture quality. Now the particulars. 250 grain Partition Gold in .338 win mag at 2,750 fps out of my Ruger M77. The shot was at 111 yards ans caught the 100 lb hog high in the back (hey, it was my brother-in-law shooting!), where it severed the spine, and hit the hog behind it high in the back as well, where it severed the spine, but the bullet was later located in hog number two. As you can see, it lost all of it's lead up front, but I don't think that affected its performance in the least!





I wouldn't hesitate to use these bullets on any game in North America.

Whitworth, what did it weigh? It doesn't matter as long as it did the job. I'm just curious is all.

Looks great to me!

Haven't weighed it, but since it took two animals out, I think it did its job admirably! I personally shot two hogs that weekend with that same load and it worked like a charm.

Whitworth, it looks like a superb bullet. My curiosity is based on the changes made by Nosler. With the nose further forward and the steel cup insert, it looks unbreakable!
I guess I'm just lamenting Noslers decision to stop production. I wonder if we could persuade them to do some limited batches.

Yeah, I hear you. I like that the nose is farther forward on the Partition Golds. I can't figure out for the life of me why they stopped producing them. Maybe we should write to Nosler. I think it's an outstanding bullet, particularly in this caliber.

All these posts are very reassuring. We've laid in a supply of four or so boxes for my 340Wby. All I need to do now is get a load worked up and go hunting!

The fact that the nose is gone is a "good thang". In the vast majority of situations, it is the rapidly fragmenting nose of the Partition that delivers the killing trauma to the animal. It is in a minority of cases that the deep-penetrating base section becomes important, i.e. on a "raking" shot at a disadvantageous angle, shooting from the rear of the animal, or hitting directly on the upper humus of a large animal.

I suspect the reason that Nosler dropped the "gold" line has more to do with marketing and agreements with Olin than with performance. But the Gold is more difficult and expensive to manufacture and it's bound to take some care to prevent the steel insert from producing an imbalance problem. The steel insert has also proven to be no more efficacious in holding the rear core together. Moving the partition forward has the effect of slghtly reducing the effectiveness of the front lobe (although this doesn't seem to have created much negative feedback). All in all, while the Gold is an excellent bullet and I would certainly use them if I had a supply, it holds no real advantages over the regular partition in most cases.

Whitworth,
Where can I get them? Does any ammunition manufacturer produce them for my .338WM?

Double Tap ammo loads 250 grain Part. Golds........ they shoot really accurately in my M77 Ruger and they are really reasonably priced.

I bought 500 .277 cal 150gr Partition Golds on close out about 18 months ago. Lets just say, they didn't cost much, $14/50 comes to mind.

I have a load which delivers them into .6-.7" at 100m in my Sauer. I have only killed two European wild boar with them to date. Performance was perfect. Piggies knocked dead on their ass.

Should have bought more, lots more.