Which of the Premium bullets would you chose for a once in a lifetime hunt for large game and why did you chose it over the others. Cost should not enter into it.

I HONESTLY THINK THAT MOST OF THE PREMO BIG GAME BULLETS OUT THERE DO A GREAT JOB. TROPHY BONDED, NOSLER PARTITION,BARNES X, SWIFT A FRAME, SIERRA GAME KING. I THINK THEY ALL GET THE JOB DONE.I MYSELF SHOOT NOSLER PARTITIONS BE CAUSE THEY GROUP REALLY WELL OUT OF MY GUNS AND HAVE NEVER LET ME DOWN. I HAVE TAKEN MOOSE, BLACK BEARS, 4 ELK, AND SCORES OF DEER AND THE PARTITION JUST FLAT GETS THE JOB DONE. IF I HAD BEEN SHOOTING ANY OF THE OTHER BULLETS I WOULD PROBABLY FEEL LOYAL TO THEM. FIND WHAT YOUR GUN LIKES AND I AM SURE YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED. GOOD LUCK!

Rob,

Very wise decision on the bullets my friend.

I hunted with normal factory ammo some years back, and after observing the inconsistencies of those bullets, I have never used them again.

My first choice is the Barnes X. I have hunted with this bullet for several years, shooting literally hundred of animals - ranging from duikers to cape buffalo. Their performance is always predictable.

My 2nd choice would be bullets with a solid shank - like the Trophy Bonded Bear Claws and the Jensen bullets.

Personally, I would not want to use any of the partition type bullets. I have used the Swift A-Frames once, and all the bullets we recovered seemed to have lost the lead from the rear section.

Of course, they are still much better than the standard bullets out there.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

Rob,
I have not used all the premium bullets that have been mentioned but have used some. I have had good success with all that I tried. I personally prefer the Nosler Partitions. They have always got the job done for me as well. Plus they are always easy for me to get on short notice.
Daryl

Daryl -- I have used all the premium's mentioned, except TBBC and Jensen. I want to try the Jensen some day, I did have a bad report from an outfitter on the TBBC when they first came out. You can probably get a bad report from somebody on any bullet on the market. I used the Nosler Partition for years and it served me well, from Deer, Elk, to Brown Bear and Moose. I then started using Barnes X and XLC in my .340 Wby and 7mm STW. I will use them in the future when I can get a group, particularly the XLC if they make it in the bullet I want to shoot. I like them because their performence on game is awesome. I am now using the Swift A-Frame and like it. I let my barrel tell me what to shoot, if the Barnes groups to my satisfaction, that is number one. I will not hesitate to use Nosler or Swift if they don't. Good Shooting.

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Over-penetration and a fixation on weight retention have come into vogue in recent years to judge the performance of bullets. Most of the premium-priced bullets are poor expanders and usually inflict LESS trauma to the internal organs of game than do non-premium bullets. The reason the Nosler Partition has been so successful is that its front portion is very soft and rapidly expanding. The rear portion makes a hole in the off-side, which makes the penetration boys happy.

Although Nosler Ballistic Tips have a reputation as being very frangible, their solid base makes them good penetrators. In my newsprint penetration tests, the B. Tips are only about 10% short of Partitions; most FMJ's penetrate no further than Partitions (but that's because they usually start to tumble or deform). I'm sure the pricey bullets will out-penetrate Noslers, but penetrating the last 48" of an 18" inch thick animal lacks utility.

95% of North American game, including the big bears, will be stopped more quickly and surely with Nosler Partitions, or similarly performing bullets, than with Barnes, TB, or other really "hard" bullets.

Now, not one in 1000 of the participants in this forum will ever shoot a pachyderm, and perhaps one in 500 will some day go after Cape Buff. I won't claim that the Barnes and the Swifts, etc. aren't called for with buff, but I can assure you that they offer no advantage on elk, and are disadvantageous on deer and black bear.

If you want extreme penetration with only moderate expansion, go back to the good ole hard cast lead bullet with a gas check in a heavy-for-caliber weight. It's cheaper and just as effective as those $1 per shot designer bullets everyone seems wild over.

The only two mentioned that I have used are the nosler partitions and the swift a-frame.I prefer the partitions they are more accurate and make a larger wound channel than the swift bullet does.The swift has a little more penetration,but the noslers still give plenty of penetration and will expand some.

Rob

My favorites are the Fail Safe and Barnes X. These bullets expand very well and retain almost all of their weight. I have had nothing but deadly performance out of both.

I have used 230-grain Fail Safe bullets for the past seven years, to hunt moose in bear country. I have only recovered one FS bullet so far. This is how this bullet has performed for me so far:

One moose shot on the shoulder, the bullet broke both shoulder bones and then exited. This moose was 200 yards out, and it dropped on the spot.

Last year I shot another moose through the lungs, a little high (missed the heart). This moose was 100 yards out, and it dropped on the ground before I reloaded my rifle's chamber. The hole through the ribs was not very large (less than 1" in dia.).

Three years back I took a quartering-away shot on the biggest moose I have killed so far. This one was moving away 170 yards out. The FS bullet almost broke two ribs, when through the heart/lungs, broke the far shoulder bone, and got stuck on the hide. This is the bullet I recovered from moose.

This year I will use my own hand loads with 250-grain NOS Partition bullets just to see how they work on moose (I just know they will do fine).

The NOS Partition Gold has been redesigned. It now has a steel cup to hold the lead in place. The lead at the base is covered with a steel plate to prevent lead from oozing out.

There are lots of good bullets out there, and many of the brands are quite reliable. Each brand has its own loyal following of experienced hunters, which should tell you that most of them work very well. Personally, I've had my best luck with Nosler Partition, Trophy Bonded, and Winchester Fail-Safe bullets, but I haven't tried everything on an extended basis by any means.

The best selection plan is to narrow the playing field by choosing the premium bullet that shoots best in your rifle. For example, I have an African plainsgame coming up in a couple of months, and I'll be taking a new, six-months-old .300 Winchester as my only rifle. Of the bullets I've tried so far, the 180 gr. Nosler Partition Protected Point has proven itself to be astoundingly accurate, with five-shot groups running as small as a half-inch, and sometimes even less. Based on previous, extensive use of Partitions in various rifles, I'm confident that these Protected Point Partitions will be the job done in fine style.

Allen

An often over looked premium bullet is the Speer Grand Slam. I first tried them in my -06 over 25 years ago when I couldn't get Nosler Partitions to group. Tried the Barnes X when they first came out. Couldn't get them to group either. Gave up trying to improve on a good thing and loaded up a few hundred more rounds of 165gr GS. Three will go into one hole at 2,900. Never had one fail.

Here's my take on Nosler Ballistic Tips. I ordered two boxes in .308 when I first read about them. Don't remember the year, but I was one of the first to use them. Did tests against Rem Core-Loks. Didn't penetrate as far. Believed all the tripe about them coming all apart on even small bone. Killed dozens of deer with them, all broadside center lung shots. None went more than 10 yds. Exit holes were sometimes big a softball. Never recovered a bullet. Still beleived what everyone else said. Then one day my buddy gut shot a very large muley with his first shot and proceeded to miss the buck until his magazine was empty. Since the deer was headed straight away toward posted land and it wasn't my meat I was about to ruin, I took a Texas heart shot off-hand at about 300 yds. That 150gr NBT entered the center of the hindquarter, broke the hip socket, exited at the back of the flank, re-entered near the last rib, broke the shoulder blade, exited the front of the shoulder, and re-entered again behind the jaw. I still have that bullet. It is a near perfect mushroom and weighs 121grs. That said, I still use the Speers when bear and elk hunting, but I no longer think I have to restrict those BTs to broadside lung shots.

[This message has been edited by Ol' Sarge (edited 05-16-2001).]

Rob,

Over this past whitetail season I had the opportunity to do a comparison between a 140 grain Nosler Partition in my .264 - 300 Winchester wildcat (muzzle velocity of 3,380 fps) versus a 140 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.

I was invited to a friend's deer lease with express instructions to cull as many does as I could using what we locally refer to as Block Permits.

At the end of four mornings and four evenings in the same blind, shooting over the same food plot I had killed 13 does with 13 shots. Seven were shot with Partitions and 6 with Bear Claws. The range was 115 to 125 yards as measured by a range finder. All 13 of the deer were killed with a shot to the center of the shoulder directly above the centerline of the front leg while they were feeding broadside.

The seven deer killed with the Partitions ran from 35 to 85 yards after being hit by the Nosler bullet. All seven bullets exited.

The six deer killed by the Bear Claw dropped where they stood at the impact of the Trophy Bonded bullet. All six bullets exited.

I had sold myself on the use of the Partition bullet because it will shoot 0.46" three-shot groups in my rifle, while the Bear Claw will only deliver 0.88" three-shot groups, and because of the Partition's higher ballistic coefficient - .490 versus .410.

Since that culling exercise I have pulled all of my 140 grain Partitions and have reloaded the cases with 140 grain Bear Claws. I will use the Partitions for fire forming and barrel fouling in the future.

I believe I know why the Bear Claw delivered the type of results that I personally want to see in a hunting bullet, and I will stick with them in the future.

Good Hunting !

[This message has been edited by Pumba (edited 05-16-2001).]

I usually use Barnes X or the Lost River Ballistic's J36. Neither one has let me down yet. I've shot everything from jack rabbits up to moose with them and they have always done the job.

I tried X bullets a few years ago, and couldn't get decent accuracy. I used Nosler Partitions for the most part, as they were accurate enough and had an amazing track record.

A knowledgeable guy I know (builds rifles, wins long range competitions etc) Told me to seat X bullets closer to the rifling. Yes, it goes against what they say for pressure, but the groups are very tight. And there aren't any pressure signs. The bolt lifts with minimal effort;one finger will do it.

Anyways, you don't NEED them for deer. But if you want the deer/bear to drop on the spot, they seem to do it very sucessfully. As my friend describes X bullets "those little petals must plow through, spinning around like a cusinart, chewing up everything!"

Rob � I would choose the premium bullet that the rifle made the best groups with.
I personatly like the Bearclaw, The A-frame and the Partition.
I personatly dislike the Barnes-X and Fail safe. But any Premium bullet is good and will do a fine job.

HVYW8T � Could you please in ligthen my : Why is the Sierra Gameking a premium bullet?

Sincerely

Mads

I have taken Swift A-Frames over on both trips to RSA and they worked fine. Also used Partitions in my .280 Rem both trips and they worked well too. My only concern, not even a complaint, is that on impact the A-Frames round off into nice little rounded mushrooms. They certainly retain 95+% but the rounded off mushroom probably doesn't do as much damage as the sharper sided partitions, or X bullets, TBBC, etc.
I have shot the majority of my game over the years with Nosler partitions. I use them exclusively here in MT as I know just what I can and cannot expect them to do in various situations.
I have less experience with TBBC's but have really been impressed with them. I think a lot of it is personal prefference and whatever premium YOU feel most confident with.

Frank N.

STonecreek,
You were smak dead on until you got to that last paragraph and then you just twisted off and came totally untrained....

I like the Nosler for everything up to but not including Buffalo...I, like Frank, have noticed the Swifts form a smooth ball and don't kill effectively on plainsgame some of the time, but are very good on Buffalo...the X bullets have left me cold, when they work they are the best, but they have failed on me so many times that I'm afraid of them, others have never had a problem????? beats the hell out of me!!! On Buff I'll just take a solid and let it go at that, why change something that ain't broke..Every soft made has failed at one time or the other on Buff and a good number of solids have too, but I have never had a Woodliegh or one of the old Hornadys fail in solid persuation...

We have been using the NOrth Fork softs lately and wow! have they worked fine, They just may be "the bullet"...ALL indications so far on Buff and plainsgame indicate perfection...the test of time will tell, but I betting on Northfork...and I ain't no easy sale on softs and buff....

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Ray -- Tell us more about the North Forks. What is the configuration, where can you get them. It is always nice to know about something new in case one of my barrels likes nothing now offered. Good shooting.

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Personally I like Woodleighs in the bigger calibers. They just seem to always do well. I've been loading Noslers in my 7mm Mag for quite a few years, but will admit that a plain Hornady 162 gr BTSP groups better. I just got a box of Woodleighs in 160 gr for my 7mm Mag and am curious to see how they do.

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When hunting and fishing get in the way of your job, it is time to quit the job!