bullets keep getting better and better and wider ranging so to help us all keep up and to share the info to separate the good from the b.s. please share your experience and recovered bullets (if applicable) obviously photos are worth a thousand words. please include descriptions like maker, type, weight, weight retention expansion type of shot, animal, how far travelled from place of impact and description of wound channel. this can be a great way to make this forum work for its intended purpose. eg.


180 gr 30 cal north fork %200 expansion %95 retention deer quartering away, clean through, with broken shoulder, dropped on spot, large wound channel i would give this bullet a ten out of ten in all catagories

thanks and share the wealth

Swift A Frames recovered from Cape Buffalo. From left to right, a 470 Woodleigh Solid, 100% weight retention. A 470 500 grain soft point, 78% weight retention. This was a head on chest shot found under skin on right hip. The two right are 416 350 grain soft points, 98% weight retention. Both were recovered under skin after penatrating lungs.

I have some 180 grain Swift A Frames out of a 300 Win Mag with 98% weight retention recovered from Kudu and Gemsbok shot just behind shoulder and recovered under skin on oposite side. Also recovered from Waterbuck shot head on and recovered from stomach, 98% weight retention. All were perfect mushroom.

awesome stuff...were the 416s swift a-frames??? that third from the left reminds me of a north fork with that perfect mushroom (can you tell that i like north forks)

That I've used... Nosler Partition.

I'd have to go with the Swift A Frame. L-R, 375 H&H 300 gr. 125 yards zebra 298gr. 175yards eland 297gr. 60 yards Wildebeest 267 gr. The last one is a 180gr Hornady out of a 300 Weatherby RECOVERED (that's a key word for you NBT users) from an impala shot on the point of the shoulder, quartering towards me. Weighs 82gr. There's a lesson that even the most simple-minded can understand so I won't dwell on it here. jorge

I have shot them all from Nosler Partitions, Barnes X and XLC, Swift A-Frame, Kodiak, TBBC, if they sell it I have shot it. The one on the top for toughness, retained weight, mushroom, accuracy, is the North Fork. I have taken them from Colorado, to Alaska, Alberta and Africa, they have always done their job with flying colors. When I am using the North Fork bullets I don't worry about them doing what they are supposed to do, I simply worry about putting them where they need to be. Good shooting.

I also have tried many different bullets but at the cost of sounding like a broken record I don't believe you can go wrong with Nosler Partitions if your rifle will shoot them. They never look pretty if you can recover one but they just work. They have the initial explosive expansion of the NBT that everybody loves for quick kills and the deep pentration to take a raking shot if necessary.

I have used the Trophy Bonded and Swift A-Frame with great success but the fact that they retain most of their weight and display the perfect mushroom when recoverd doesn't in itself mean anything in the death of the animal. A weight retention of 95% means only that 5% of the bullet blew off to destroy more tissue. In the case of the Nosler Partition 40% might blow off to act as a hand grenade and still give you an exit hole. For any disbelievers you should ask Jerry Huffaker what the chest cavity looked like on the moose and caribou he shot last year with me. He used my 300 Win Mag loaded with the 200 NP at 2975 fps. He actually got an exit on the 65" moose which in most cases is rare even with heavier calibers. The caribou looked like he'd been hit with howitzer.

I do think it would seem that the TSX has taken care of the mayor problems that folks had with the X. In general it is more accurate and it fouls a whole lot less but still has the straight line penetration of the X. I have some loaded for this season and I'm expecting good things.

All of today's premium bullets work very well but none has replaced the Nosler Partition. It will always be my first choice when picking an expanding bullet.

Regards,

Mark

mark...i get what you are saying, the first third or so acts like a grenade while the latter part does the cavitation and penetration, a true tripple action. it was my thinking the base of the n.p. acts like a good ol big meplat waddcutter to penetrate so deep with that large flat front. what do you think?

phurley5...i looooove me some north forks...do you have any recovered bullets you can share? i know those are hard to come by great responses guys...it is these well thought out and knowledgable responses that make this place great.

boom stick ----- You can view one of the North Fork bullets I loaded for a buddy for an Elk hunting trip to New Mexico. Get on the site http://www.northforkbullets.com and go to bullets, then click on .30 cal bullets, then click on 200 grain, and you will see the bullet. My buddy was shooting a .300 Ultra Mag using the 200 grain North Fork bullet, the shot was made at 420 yards, he connected two out of three shots. ----- I have hunted out West, Alaska, Alberta, and Africa and all other North Fork bullets I killed game (Elk, Mule Deer, Zebra, Impala, Cape Buffalo) with were complete pass throughs. Those three I recovered follow. A 370 grain from a Cape Buffalo in which the bullet traversed from the last rib to the first lodging in the neck bone, retaining 99.1 % of it's weight. I also have a 270 grain .358 STA bullet recovered from a cow Elk's head that had passed through the shoulders of a Bull at 125 yards and then lodged in the offside cranium of the cow another 25 yards beyond the Bull. I will post the retained weight later. The last bullet I have is a 270 grain .358 bullet shot from a .358 STA and loaded at the 2850 to 2950 fps range. It was recovered from a Kongoni (Lichenstein Hartebeest) shot at 170 to 180 yards. The bullet hit the shoulder then went through the neck bone and was recovered in the offside hide. I will post the retained weight later, I don't want to trust my memory without checking the record. This was the perfect example of the toughness of the African animals IMO. ----- I sent all these bullets to Mike Brady at North Fork and he did the cleaning, weighing and then sent them back to me, each in it's own plastic bag with info. ----- Since I have started hunting dangerous game in 1977 (91/2 Brown Bear with a 200 grain .30 cal from a .300 Winny) I have used Nosler Partitions and I will never knock them. I also have used the Swifts, Barnes as previously posted. The thing about the North Forks is their toughness and pin point accuracy, that the other bullets just cannot match in my rifles and I shoot a wall full weekly. Good shooting.

sorry to get a little off the subject but awesome stuff phurley...please post those pics when you can...is there a bullet better than norfor? (north fork) i dont think so. i think these are the one riffle one load one bullet kinda bullet.

I have been shooting more premium bullets, but when I look back at the game I have shot - it's all been with pretty standard bullets.

Lots of hogs - old Nosler solid bases, Corelokts and partitions

Elk - Speer Grand Slams, Powerbelts in a muzzleloader, Hornady Interlocks

Deer - Hornady Interlocks and Corelokts

I look forward to trying X-bullets in my .338 and .308, though, as well as Triple Shocks in my .270 WSM. I have to say, though, that the "standard" bullets have worked well for me.

Woodleigh bullets for sure.....there the best I have used. And when I think premium bullets thats my first choice.

Even named my new staghound pup "Woodleigh"thats how much I like them.

details and photos please...

The number of folks that sing the praise of the Nosler Partition just never ends.....one must eventually assume it's for real and not just "me too" stuff.

My experience with premium bullets is mostly with A-Frames and I wouldn't hesitate to use them for big game or even cape buffalo in the future. All were pass thrus and I have none to show for that reason. All were 200 grain .308 diameter and shot at about 2,900'/sec from a .300 H&H.

I'm now loading them in my .30-06 as that's my current big game favorite.

I tried the Swift Sciroccos with dismal results in the accuracy department and because of that they never went hunting.

I will be trying the North Forks soon and will post results when I get some to post.

I generally use Core-Lokts, Nosler Partitions and Northforks. If my daughter's life depended on my shot on a thick skinned animal and I had the choice I'd probably go w/ the Northfork.

Gary

The Lyman reloading states that the NBT is a premium hunting bullet. I agree and have had nothing but great success with them.

I like the Barnes X. Here is what the 235 grainers from a .375 are like.

The exit hole on a muley buck. Shot at about 100 yards.



After one passed through about 9" of railroad tie. Impact distance about 100 feet.

wyojoe...are the barnes x bullets stringer now because i saw pictures of the petals falling off around 2800 fps?

I have tried TBBC, NPT, NBT and Barnes TSX, (and X/XLC)

I found the TBBC did fine, but during the period immediately after Mr. Carters passing availability was nil so I moved on to others.

I found the Nosler BT (as has been stated more times than probably ever needed on this forum) to be an absolute piece of junk! They sure make good foulers though. I don't like them because they damage too much meat.

I tried Partitions but my .270 nor my .338RUM seemed to like them much as far as accuracy, now I know hundreds of people get them to shoot great--my own personal shortcoming I am sure.

Now I will use nothing but TSX, I love the manner in which they kill (minimal meat damage) and I am able to get them to group excellently.

I have also heard that the petals may come off at high impact velocities but have not seen any evidence of this myself.

IV

Partiitons and X bulets do it for me....

I haven't shot anyhting wiht the Accubonds yet, but they are very accurate and have good penetration and weight retention in the tests I have done.

When you see a 7mm X bulet completely destroy both shoulders of a grizzly, or see the same bullet do the same thing to a moose, or see a huge black bear get the same treatement from a 175gr Partition, or .....

Why go anywhere else???

I'll be using a TSX, Partition or Accubond for all my hunting these days...

Barnes and Partitions.

Barnes for elk and Partitions for deer.

If I had to choose one bullet for everything, it would be Barnes. I have seen more elk drop at the shot when hit with an X, than any other bullet.

Winchester Fail-Safes, Nosler Partitions, and Trophy Bonded Bearclaws.

Of these Nosler Partitions have provided the best accuracy in the widest variety of rifles, and the best all-around performance on game....

AD

A few years ago I would have said "Hands down the Nosler Partition". Now after using the new Barnes TSX and Banded Solids Partitions have to come in second. The Barnes TSX lets you use a lighter weight bullet that will still penetrate as well or better than a heavier weight Partition. This also gives you a flatter shooting load. The Barnes TSX bullets give better performance then Nosler Partitions and that is why I changed over after 43 years of being Partition faithful. Lawdog

The often cited reason for using a "premium" bullet is that it will give you a dependable kill, no matter whether the range is long or short, and no matter the kind of shot presentation the game gives you. If those are truly the reasons, then the super-tough X's and bonded core bullets that provide "picture perfect" mushrooms and 99% weight retention by definition fail the test: If the shot presentation is broadside and the animal is of lighter rather than heavier frame, then a shot with one of the "super tough premiums" may result in a long tracking session, and perhaps a lost animal, just as a shot with a Sierra Blitzking might result in a failure on a shot that had to penetrate from the groin to the brisket of a quartering-away elk.

The only "premium" to combine rapid expansion (for soft tissue trauma) with deep penetration for difficult angles) is the Nosler Partition. There's no such thing as "one size fits all", but the Partition still comes closest to filling the bill.

quote:

If those are truly the reasons, then the super-tough X's and bonded core bullets that provide "picture perfect" mushrooms and 99% weight retention by definition fail the test: If the shot presentation is broadside and the animal is of lighter rather than heavier frame, then a shot with one of the "super tough premiums" may result in a long tracking session, and perhaps a lost animal,

Not so. Last season our family took 17 deer(both Mule and Blacktail - all were heart/lung shots and only 2 were hit in a shoulder), 9 Wild Boar, 2 Elk, 3 Black Bears and 1 Antelope with Barnes TSX bullets. Calibers ranged from .243 to .458 and only 3 of these animals required more than one shot(2 of the Boars and 1 Black Bear) or traveled more that 20 yards after being hit. Only recovered 2 of the bullets which were mushroomed just like Barnes pictures them to be. A good premium bullet will expand no matter what the angle the shot is and still hold together and give complete or nearly complete penetration(exit wounds aid in any tracking that may need to be done). Barnes TSX bullets do exactly that. The real trick is to not use a bullet weight that is so heavy that it won’t do the job. Lawdog