The two compartment design of the Nosler Partition bullet will shed the frontal section of the jacket and is normal. Some rifles produce poor grouping ability due to the Nosler two compartment design. The weight of the Nosler Partition bullet tends to be to far forward and is the culprit in poor accuracy in some rifles. Proper bullet placement will result in the demise of the game animal. No game animal can survive a bullet through the heart lung area. It is certain some hunters believe certain bullets can peform miracles, no matter where the bullet strikes the game animal. In the real world of big game hunting that bullet has yet to be invented.

The Nosler Partition bullet was designed to hold together on impact at any velocity. The fact that is looses almost half it's original listed weight is not ideal bullet performance in my view. Better bullet weight retention translates to more hydrostatic shock being transmitted to the animal. In all my years deer hunting in West virginia I found the recovered Remington Cor-Lokt bullet would loose the least of it's original bullet weight with perfect mushrooming qualities. The hunting bullet should double it's original diameter to be considered the perfect hunting bullet.

The old saying in deer hunting camp is if brown is down the bullet did it's job. Murphy's law will always be a factor in any foray in the field and any thing that can go wrong will go wrong when least expected. If you like the accuracy and performance of the Nosler Partition bullet, use it. The hunter in America has a wealth of choices in bullet selection and that is fantastic. If the your bullet of choice did not perfrom as expected try another to compare the end result.

I shot my 1st mulie buck this year with my 8mm rem mag loaded with the 200 grain nosler partition at about 3000 fps. I originally saw the buck at 300 yards but stalked to 100 before I took the shot. The deer was quartering heavily away from me but I felt confident in the noslers ability to penitrate so I took the shot. the bullet entered a couple inches behind the the last rib and lodged itself in the meat just inside the far front shoulder. The deer went about 30 yards then piled up and was dead when I found it. I would have thought that no muley could have stopped this bullet load combination and that the bullet would have penitrated from any angle. The deer was probably abou 250 lbs live.

What are others experiences with partitions? maybe it was just a freak occurance.

Brett

I have killed 7 seven deer the last couple of seasons using the 150 grain Nosler BTs in my .308. Of the 4 bullets I recovered, all had separated from the core and were fragmented. By no means do I offer this as statistical proof that Nosler Ballistic Tips are inferior in any way. As I said all the deer were dead as last year�s resolutions, but it was enough of a trend to motivate me to try other bullets this year.

I tried 300 wim mag with 180 gr partitions and 338 win mag with 210 gr partitions on Whitetail deer.They zipped through the deer without expanding.It was at close range and I guess the bullets did not have any resistance to expand.I switched to a regular pullet in the 338 the 200 grain Winchester power point and shot 80 deer with 80 shots from 3 to 425 yards.Those deer all dropped in their tracks.The 300 win mag was a different story.I changed from the partitions to the Winchester power point 180 gt it zipped through both shoulders of a 10 pointer.I had to break its neck with a log it was so alive.I gave the gun to my dad and he used PMC ammo with 180 gr it worked good.I think I shot about 10 deer in all with partitions.I was told the larger calibers had thicker jackets that might be too tough for deer up close and that was from Nosler.I used my 338-378 with 250 gr Nosler Partitions it went through two caribou about 350 pounds each at 400 yards and killed both of them.I have had a few bullets stopped by deer When up close if shot lengthwise even with the 338 win mag.Their shoulder on the far side would stop the bullet.I think 3 out of 80 have stopped inside of the deer.Have you shot any deer up close with your 8mm rem mag? Craig Boddington is the 8mm Rem Mag guy he uses it alot on about everything littler than cape buffalo.

CrowRifle- he was talking about the Partition not the BT-
BallisticTips are nothing more than a big hollow point with a piece of plastic stuck in the nose. They are supposed to blow up. They make a great target bullet....

I think the bullet did fine. If you had another 50yds or so, you probably would have gotten complete penetration. I have never recovered any of the 160gr/7mm or 210gr/.338 except one, from any of the animals I have taken. I recovered one 210/.338/2700fps/120yds from a kudu shot head on in the chest, perfect mushroom & about 30" of penetration. An impala also stopped a head on chest shot, the bullet didn't exit, but was lost somewhere in the ruman. Even on small antelope shot close, the wound showed alot of expansion. I think they are the bullet to judge others by. I just wish they made them in .404!

Sounds very effective.

No, You expected a dead deer and died - end of story...what was the length of the wound channel - 30"? If so it sounds good to me.

Thanks for the input.

Eric, Yes the length was probably more than 30 inches. With all the recent talk about bullet performance and exit wounds I just got the impression that the partition would exit. At the time when I shot my deer I was happy with the performance but all the forum reading made my second guess myself.

Brett

Seems like on this board and others a lot of hunters expect their game to be deader then dead. If They don't get text book bullet expansion. or the bullet did not preformed the way they thought it should the animal should not have died. Sound like your bullet preformed just fine. There is only one way to make sure the critter doesn't run any where that is to brain them or spine them any other shot they may or may not run.

Just curious, but what did the bullet weigh after recovery? My guess is that it lost quite a bit of weight, due to pretty violent expansion, since the velocity was pretty high. I'd imagine at lower velocity the penetration would've been complete. The bullet seems to have held together well, and the deer's dead, so you really can't ask for much more.

The front core was gone and it weighed 125 grains, so about 63% weight retention.

Brett

Brett,

The bullet performed perfectly and you should be thrilled. This is what Nosler partitions always do - i.e., expand and shed the front of the bullet, leaving an essentially naked rear core to penetrate deeply, with about 65% retained weight. Few, if any bullets would have given you better results.
From what I gather, you're only concern is that it didn't exit. Yet by your own statement, it penetrated some 30" of animal, including a very full (most likely) rumen. The deer died very quickly from major wounds. Great! It doesn't get any better than this!
The only way to try and ensure 100% penetration is to use FMJ or solids, which is not the right approach at all. You want expansion, along with deep penetration. Another example of similar results: I shot an impala with a 375H+H at about 50 yards, severely quartering as you described. The animal dropped immediately, but the bullet was recovered under the hide of the off shoulder. This 300 grain bullet penetrated some 24-30" of animal, but did not exit! Very few quality game bullets will exit when shot at the angle you describe. The rumen impedes their progress tremendously. Now on the other hand, they are almost always found just under the skin on the off side, after depositing all their energy in the animal. The result is almost always a very dead animal that traveled very short distances. In my book this is perfect performance.
Congratulations. Be happy, everything worked great.

Bill

Bullet_Proof-The Partition performed admirably for you and likely would have exited had the range been slightly longer or the velocity somewhat lower. But that much penetration obviously did the job quite handily.

CaptJack wrote:
"BallisticTips are nothing more than a big hollow point with a piece of plastic stuck in the nose. They are supposed to blow up."

CaptJack-I am continually amazed by the ill-informed comments regarding the Ballistic Tips. So I guess all of the animals I have taken over the years -- most of which had exit wounds -- shouldn't have died from the Ballistic Tip's impact and terminal performance.

Used within the manufacturer's recommendations, the BTs are perhaps the finest medium game bullet ever devised. And they are without argument one of the most consistently-accurate of anything save for the high-dollar match bullets.

Yes, some BTs are "explosive." That's because they are varmint bullets and intended for such. But the Ballistic Tips designated as GAME bullets perform spledidly on medium game. Those of us who can differentiate between the two and use them as Nosler intended will continue to enjoy success. Those who use the varmint bullets on big game will suffer predictable results, as will those who try and push the bullets to velocities the BTs were never intended for.

You know, so many of the BT "stories" are chocked so full of manure that you'd better be wearing boots just to listen. One of my favorites is from a gentleman who claims to have shot a pronghorn "just behind the shoulder" at 100 yards with a 180 grain BT from his 30-06. He claims the bullet exploded on the ribcage because he never found the animal. Of course, simple physics prove him dead wrong. A bullet with the mass and sectional density of a 180 grain, .30 caliber bullet at moderate velocity -- even if it is a lightly-constructed varmint bullet -- will be able to punch through the thin ribcage of a pronghorn and result in its demise. And the 180 grain Ballistic Tip is NO VARMINT BULLET. Section one for yourself and make your own decision...

Bullet Proof..the partition did as it was designed to do..kill game. Or as the bullet company rep. was heard saying to someone complaining on poor performance.."At what point in the animal's death did the bullet fail?" Nosler makes some fine bullets, 'nuf said.
Good luck and good shooting,
Eterry

Bullet Proof- your partition did exactly what it was supposed to do.

Bobby T. IMO the BT is in no way a hunting bullet unless impact vel. is less than 2900 FPS. I have had several blow in different Cal. However, this is not another thread on the BT so enough said.

I, for one, am surprised it didn't exit. I'm not saying the bullet "failed". I am just surprised it didn't exit. And the velocity should have been within the performance window of the partition. Considering the angle, the bullet didn't really run into anything of substance until it got to the shoulder. Hmmmmmm, another of lifes little mysteries.

The one fact that a lot of people tend to forget is that the skin of an animal can stretch up to 12" or more with out tearing. That is the reason that the bullets are usually found just under the skin on the off side of the animal shot.

So just because a bullet didn't exit does not make it a failure.

I'd say you did expect too much. I'll bet the intial damage was pretty extensive.

If you want more penetration, then go to a bullet designed to retain 90% of it's weight. The X designs have a smaller front cross section as well. The Swift-A-Frames and Federal's Throphy Bonded bullets also do this most of the time. So far, the new Hornady Interbonnds seem to do well also.

A good example of how even deer can sometimes travel, or stay on their feet, with even a power house like the 8mm Magnum hitting them. That's why I insist on spending the extra money on the premiums, either the X or one of the better bonded core designs. If at all possible, I want a blood trail.

I've killed lots of stuff with the Partition. They open at lower velocities than many other bullets and always retain enough weight to do the job. E

B P - sorry if I sounded a bit sarcastic with my first response..... Sounds as if your Nosler performed perfectly with the % of weight retention. My son used a 250 gr nosler in .338 to take a young bull eland here in Texas. It was a heart shot, but the bullet was just under the skin on the opposite side - total penetration was <18". I shot the eland also, with a 175 gr Grand Slam in 7mm mag, and it went through a shoulder blade and broke the leg on the opposite side before exiting - a lot of creature to be sure. Later used the same .338 load to put 2 through and through shots in a Wildebeest and one shot was a front quartering shot that broke a shoulder blade went through a lung, nicked the heart and exited through the abdomen on the other side - > 30" of creature and also broke a bone...so exact bullet performance is hard to predict. I stay with premium bullets, I do NOT use ballistic tips (except for varmints), and as ever, it is the rifleman, not the rifle that matters.. Good Luck!

Thanks for the input everyone, i'll stick with the partition for next season.

Brett

Bullet Proof,

I use the Nosler Partition, but I launch it at lower velocity: about 2,500 fps MV. At those speeds the bullets expand well, and don't shed the front core. Retained weight for those few that I have recovered are around 85%.

As noted above at higher velocities they can shed the forward core, but the rear section will continue to penetrate.

The more I use them, the more respect I have for them. I have been using NPs since the screw-machine turned early design in 19(mumble).

jim dodd