I think these pictures spell out the basis for a premium bullet vs. a non-premium bullet. The bullet on the left is a .284 Hornady Spire Point (162gr.)pushed by 64gr. of H4831. The bullet on the right is a .284 Nosler Partition (160gr.) with 64gr. of H4831. These happen to be the only 7mm bullets I have recovered from my 7mm Mag. The Hornady bullet killed a five point last week in Mississippi. The bullet path was through the top of the right shoulder blade, through the side portion of the backbone and stopped in the hide in the mid-belly region. I was quite high in my tree stand and he was feeding toward me. The distance was 80yds out but I still had a pretty good down angle. I was really surprised that the bullet didn't exit the belly. He dropped in his tracks luckily because had he been able to run into the pine plantation fifty yards away, I would have had no blood trail to speak of. The Nosler Partition was recovered from a doe that was shot head on through the brisket. The bullet was recoverd in the hide of a hind-quarter. She also dropped in her tracks. This bullet traveled through about three feet of deer as opposed to the Hornady going about 18". I havn't had a chance to weigh these bullets but I just don't like having such a small amount of recovered bullet left over as is with the Hornady. Notice that the base is really all that is left of the Spire Point while the Partition has a huge amount of bullet left after traveling twice the distance.
Posts: 399 | Location: Louisiana | Registered: 19 February 2004
I always shoot a premium bullet in anything that has a chance of impacting above 2700-2800fps. The 160gr NP is my favorite for my 7mm Dakota. The 160gr CTP, nonmoly, is also a great choice as is the Swift (never recovered any from game). I haven't killed anything w/ the 160grNAB, but wetpack tests show it to expand a bit more & penetrate a bit less than the NP. Thanks for the info.
Posts: 7752 | Location: kalif.,usa | Registered: 08 March 2001
Hey Perforator, Really nice flicks. Thank you for fixing the flicks so they didn't blow the screen out w-i-d-e on us.
Interesting the way the Partition traveled all that way and still had the Petals out at 90deg. Looks like they would have folded to the sides. I've not recovered many Partitions, but the ones I did find were all folded back. Can you tell if the Hornady stopped at the Interlock?
Congratulations on both Deer. I like the good old 7mmRemMag myself.
Posts: 9920 | Location: Carolinas, USA | Registered: 22 April 2001
ignorant though it may be, the question still stands....
tasunkawitko tell me... do you lack foresight to potential problems? When the situational evidence presented shows that you may run into a problem, do you ignore it? Based on your comment I think you do.
The question still stands because it stands alone, very alone, in only one set of circumstances.
Posts: 2045 | Location: West most midwestern town. | Registered: 13 June 2001
Both bullets exhibited just what the manufacturers expected of them. Where is the potential problem? Do you think the Hornady bullet would have killed the deer that the Nosler bullet did? Usually boat tails are designed a bit softer for longer range impacts but in these instances neither bullet showed any advantage over the other.
Quote: do you lack foresight to potential problems? When the situational evidence presented shows that you may run into a problem, do you ignore it? Based on your comment I think you do.
The question still stands because it stands alone, very alone, in only one set of circumstances.
now THAT was ignorant!
rather than clutter up the thread with bullshit, i'll simply shake my head in bewilderment and leave you to your delusions.
As far as deer hunting goes some here are overreacting. A friend shot a small buck at about 175 yds and hit it in the ribs going away with the 180 gr Hornady Interlock. The bullet started out at about 2900 or more from his 300 HH and came out the brisket in eight pieces. The deer took two steps and fell dead but before it did someone heard it gasp out the words "bullet failure" "bullet failure" "bull.......
makes me wonder how anyone could have killed a animal before the advent of these so called premium bullets we should of starved to death generations ago
Quote: As far as deer hunting goes some here are overreacting. A friend shot a small buck at about 175 yds and hit it in the ribs going away with the 180 gr Hornady Interlock. The bullet started out at about 2900 or more from his 300 HH and came out the brisket in eight pieces. The deer took two steps and fell dead but before it did someone heard it gasp out the words "bullet failure" "bullet failure" "bull.......
I was afraid the bullet comparison would enevitably bring out a bullet failure comment. As is evident in the pictures, there was no failure with either bullet. I personally like to have an exit wound which makes me want to lean to the partitions. The problem is that I have 400 of Hornadys in stock to be loaded and shot and they are a very accurate bullet. I really don't have a valid argument not to use the Hornady bullet on deer since they have killed every deer shot with them impressively, and "most" of the time with a good exit hole. If one shot better than the other the choice would be easy. Oh well, it is good to find the bullets for comparison pics since most hunters rarely get a recovered bullet.
Posts: 399 | Location: Louisiana | Registered: 19 February 2004
mmmm What part made you so upset, the part about you loving that statement or ... the rest of the truth? You might want to go back and read some of the posts you have made in the past on this very subject. Quite frankly my comment was directed towards the ohh so logical and invincible phrase of��At what point in the animals death did the bullet fail?", which is one of tasunkawitko favorites, and not the �failure� of the two bullets at hand.
Posts: 2045 | Location: West most midwestern town. | Registered: 13 June 2001
I have been shooting that same 162gr BTSP out of my STW for a while now. Up until this last kill I never really had any concerns about them. All of my previous deer kills with this bullet have been simple broadside shots that resulted in a nice silver dollar sized exit hole followed by the deer dropping in his tracks. The last one was an angled shot in which I finally recovered my first bullet of this load. I was not very impressed with what I found.
Remaining weight is 74gr. I can't say the bullet really failed, after all the deer did die, just not on the spot. But I would have kind of liked it to stay together a bit better. I had thoughts of taking this load elk hunting at some point, I'll be rethinking that now.
My rifle shoots these 162gr bullets into nice tiny groups on top of 75gr of RL22. It will also shoot 160gr Partitions into slightly larger, but still sub moa, groups. Mine will put them on the same elevation, but they shoot about an inch right of the Hornadys.
Posts: 192 | Location: Mills County, Ioway | Registered: 21 May 2001
The message hear is clear. The hornady is great under 2900-3000fps mv. Over 3000fps and on certain animals (Elk and tougher, etc), you need a tougher bullet. I get exits on Deer and Antelope with 139SST's out of my 7-08, but doubt that would be the case out of a 7Mag.
Deke.
Posts: 691 | Location: Somewhere in Idaho | Registered: 31 December 2002
Quote: ...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.
Hey Perforator, Nothing at all wrong with using those fine Partitions up close. That is a HUGE test for any bullet.
One of the tricks I used to use when I was "restricted" to how many firearms I could have with me was to sight in for two different Loads. One would generally be a Hunting Bullet and the other a more fragile Varmint style Bullet.
I'd pick which ever one I wanted to ZERO with and set the scope. Then when I switched to the other bullet, I simply cranked in the "Settings" I'd written on the box for that bullet.
For example, if it was 6 clicks up, I'd go up 8 and back 2, to make sure the reticle tracked to where I wanted it. Many years ago, scopes were not real good on tracking, but they are pretty good today.
That might work for you too. That way you could use both bullets however you want.
Posts: 9920 | Location: Carolinas, USA | Registered: 22 April 2001
Which sites do you guys use for pic posting? I recovered a Hornady SST 165 gr. from an eight point the other day. It now weighs 89.2 grains. I'd like to post it.
Posts: 336 | Location: Kentucky | Registered: 03 December 2003
Thanks Hot Core. I haven't really checked my scope (Leopold VX-III 3.5 -10 x 50) to see if it tracks correctly with the clicks in some time. Come to think of it, I haven't moved my scope setting in three seasons. I've shot about 200rds during the off season and the point of impact for each of these loads hasn't varied any. I tend to view my setup as a very solid shooting system and haven't messed with it. The only variance to this is my fouling shot after cleaning will be about an inch off. Every shot after that will group nice and tight. For that reason, I always hunt with a fouled barrel and don't clean my barrel until after hunting season.
Posts: 399 | Location: Louisiana | Registered: 19 February 2004
Go to the Hunting Reports - Africa and follow T. Carrs example. Use the imagestation site.
I had tried a couple of other methods to no avail. This was very slick. Don't post the picture in full size mode or it will blow the post out wide screen, which is a pain in the ass to read. Give it a try and don't worry if you make a boo-boo. We will forgive you.
Posts: 399 | Location: Louisiana | Registered: 19 February 2004
It seems to me that the spine is one of the harder bones on a whitetail. I have seen some pretty impressive bullets do weird things after hitting the spine. My mulie doe this year was shot at a bit over one hundred yards,at an extreme angle, with a 30-06 using 165 gr Hornady Interlock Boattails. Muzzle velocity is est at 2850 fps. The bullet nicked the near side ham, entered the body cavity breaking 2 ribs and passed through paunch, liver, diaphram, lung,off side rib and exited the body only to enter the front leg, breaking it and stopping against the bone.It passed through 24 inches of deer including the hide and thick winter coat a total of four times breaking four bones in the process. Recovered weight is more than 109 gr as that is the max on my small scale.The mushroomed bullet averages 0.48 inches.
Quote: As far as deer hunting goes some here are overreacting. A friend shot a small buck at about 175 yds and hit it in the ribs going away with the 180 gr Hornady Interlock. The bullet started out at about 2900 or more from his 300 HH and came out the brisket in eight pieces. The deer took two steps and fell dead but before it did someone heard it gasp out the words "bullet failure" "bullet failure" "bull.......
