It looks like the Hornady peeled away all the way to the solid base with just a small amount of lead left in the cup. To be fair to the bullet, it has never been billed a deep penetrator that I know of but it sure did a number on that young buck. My Browning A-Bolt shoots both loads under an inch so it is really just a matter of choice.
Oddly enough, the Partitions shoot dead on bullseye at 100yds and the Hornady bullets hit 3" high. So I use the Hornady loads when I set up for a longer shot and the Partitions for shorter shots in wooded areas where the need for precise placement really counts. I kinda wish it was the reverse.

perforator -

great pix, thank you for sharing them. from what i can see, both bullets performed exactly as they are supposed to. in your 7mmRemMag, you would probably be better served with partitions. i remember reading somewhere that the hornadys are designed for sub-3k velocities. in this case, a close shot made the difference by not allowing the velocity to drop. had it been a hundred or two yards further out, i bet the hornady would look a lot better, but that is still a good case for using the noslers, as the deer usually don't know that they are supposed to be withing a prescribed distance.....

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. From the description of your shot that sounds like a torture test for the hornady, Im suprised there is a core left at all.



Does anyone remember when you used to see pictures of fragments that talked up a (big game) bullets terminal performance? These deer we shoot arent armor plated and sometimes less can be more. Its all relative.