Looking to the collective wisdom of the AR community for field results with this bullet. Please include the animal shot, the muzzle velocity and distance of the shot, where it was hit, and what results you had. Thanks in advance!

[ 09-12-2003, 03:11: Message edited by: Slingster ]

Eric: It's a great bullet. I have taken a number of deer with it....all with one shot, none went farther than a few feet and all had complete penetration except one: A mature buck at about 200 yds. He was almost directly facing me. The bullet entered the left shoulder and he dropped like a sack of potatoes. When I walked up on him I noticed a small bump on his right ham. I cut the skin open and there was a perfectly mushroomed bullet. Can't ask for more than that. Rifle is a 264 Mag, velocity is about 3250 fps. Regards, Jim

[ 09-12-2003, 05:26: Message edited by: olarmy ]

olarmy:

Thanks! Nice to hear that it holds up under magnum velocities. I'm considering it as a lightweight alternative to the 160-grain Hornady RNs that I currently load in my .260 Rem. I'd push it only to 2700-2800 fps and the deer generally will be well inside 100 yards, more likely inside 60 yards.

slingster... I think Mark65x55 has used this bullet a number of times and has one or two recovered from game on his home page if I am not mistaken. Might look him up.

Sling,

I have never used this bullet in my 260 so I have no first hand experience to offer. I have read a post by John Barsness over on 24hourcampfire where he says the 125g Partition was designed for magnum velocities and uses a harder alloy to maintain integrity. He got the info first hand from Nosler. After hearing this, Barsness chose not to use this bullet in his personal 260 Rem as he said it wasn't at it's best at 260 Rem velocity.

Just thought I would pass this along. For deer, the 100g Partition is a good option. For somethig heavier you might consider the 120g XLC. Not sure about the construction of the 140g Partition. I'm sure you could call Nosler and they could fill you in.

HogWild

Sling,
I'll let you know very soon as I have just traded my 30-06 for a mauser 6,5x68 and the previous owner gave me 50 rounds with 125 grains (partitions).

I'm trying to find a good load for the 140 grainers for bigger game, if someone have any idea....

Thanks
LG

HogWild:

Great info; thanks! I've used the 140-grain NP successfully on deer, but I was speculating about what might be a good low recoil loading for the .260 that was still reliably effective at all angles on deer, and the 125 seemed just right.

Lorenzo:

Looking forward to hearing your results on game!

Eric:

As a 260 shooter, I would not hesitate to use the 125 for Elk. If the deer you hunt are not any bigger than these miniature black tails up the coast here in Oregon, and inside 60 yds, I would consider the 100 grain partition.

I shot a blacktail at 300 yds, last year, with a 100 grain Ballistic Tip. I watched the deer go straight down in the scope set on 4x. ( I also had the luxury of a friends F 250 Ford's Hood as a rest). The only negative thing about the Ballistic Tip, is that at higher velocity, it will destroy meat. We lost about 10 pounds of it on the off shoulder at 300 YDS!!! Velocity was an 3350 fps from the muzzle.

That is why this year I will be carrying a partition instead.

You might want to consider the 120 grain Ballistic tip, or the 129 Hornady SP if you want something in the 120,125,130 grain arena.
All will do a good job. The 120 BT at 2600 or so will not give you the meat damage that happens at higher velocity. The 120 is what I carry in my 6.5 x 55 usually. I have used the Sierra 120s but I thought they did too much damage to the meat in ratio to the 120 grain BT at the less that 2700 fps velocity.

Good luck!

Seafire:

Thanks for the great info. I actually have some 120-grain BTs loaded up in .260, which I use out of a Rem XP-100 at a modest 2500 fps, if I recall correctly; very accurate. Sounds like I could just take that up against deer out of my Rem Model Seven, but I just feel more comfortable with Partitions on game for reliable penetration and to avoid the meat damage that sometimes occurs with BTs. The deer I hunt, by the way, are North Dakota whitetail does, which generally fall in the 150-pound class, give or take 20 pounds or so.

[ 09-18-2003, 03:45: Message edited by: Slingster ]

Eric,

While not hunting ND deer, I have put the skids on a lot Minnesota and Wisconsin Deer. That 120 grain BT at 2500 fps, will do just what you want it to. Although a partition fan also, at 100 to 150 yds, from a 6.5 of any size, I don't think a BT or a partition will give you any more performance than the other. Both will give you a dead deer with proper shot placement.

A model 7 with a 120 BT at 2500 fps, will be one light carrying, low recoiling, highly accurate rig to carry. All of the above make shot placement so much easier. And shot placement is the 'number one' name of the game. You are a Master of Disaster, just waiting to call on some unsuspecting ND deer at that point, and get them out of the cold outside and into a warm oven.


[ 09-18-2003, 09:43: Message edited by: seafire/ B17G ]

Between my sister and I, we have killed around a dozen deer with this bullet.

I really had no interest in the .260 until I saw how great this bullet kills. Now I have one, and love it. This bullet/cartridge combo kill extremely well for use on deer, and I wouldn't hesitate to use it on larger animals as well.

As far as the 125 being for magnum velocities, I would say of course it is. All partitions will work very well at all realistic speeds, that's the beauty of the design.

Gabe

Eschell:

I have found playing a lot with the Ballistic Tips, that they really do a lot less meat damage if they are under 2700 fps MV. This would really leave out the 6.5/300 Weatherby you speak of.

That is where I really would swing to the Partitions. Would sure save a lot of hamburger off of the deer, instead of leaving it for the coyotes.

You must be a Wild Man with a rig like that for ground hogs!

Eric, I have been shooting the 129 grn Interlocks in my 260. They are running out at 2700 and I have yet to have a Deer or Hog run from them. i have used them at ranges from 60 to 300 and they always do the same job. Good little bullets at less money than the Nosler...

Two Sixty:

Catchy handle. I vote it makes you the most qualified to answer Eric's questions.

All 6.5 mm bullets I can think of are good bullets, if used matched to the right game.

High sectional density, makes them one of the most effective calibers under 30 caliber, with the minimal amount of grief. That was my logic in becoming a 6.5 fan. Could not decide on which one, so I just bought a Ruger 260, then another one, In case they quit making it, I always have a second one, then rebarreled a 30/06 to 6.5 x 55, and then rebarreled another one to 6.5 x 57, and then found a guy who wanted a 300 Winchester and had a brand new 260 Remington VLS that came in by mistake. I had a new 300 Winchester that was shipped in by mistake. Fast trade, two happy campers.

Given the success of the venerable 6.5x54 Mannlicher-Schoenauer cartridge, I thought the .260 Rem was a winner from the start and loaded up 160-grain Hornady RNs to 2350 fps to duplicate the 6.5 M-S as my first handloads. It also sounds like it's hard to go wrong with bullets in the 120-130-grain class for deer.

The 260 that I am shooting and hunting with the most lately is an old Model 7 with an 18.5 barrel. Mainly because I am hunting with my kids and they can shoot it as well. I have loaded just about everything in this rifle from 95 grn GS bullets to 140 grn Interlocks. The two bullets that I have not been able to make it shoot are the 95 grn GS and the 120 Nosler.
It is wicked with the 110 grn GS bullets,they are very hard to get,but I have a nice cache of them. That load will shoot though the front shoulders of a Boar hog and exit. Tough bullet and they dont walk away from it.......

260:
Can you elaborate on the 110 grain GS you mentioned? Is GS a Speer Grand Slam or something else?

A 110 grain Grand Slam bullet would be real interesting to me. GS must stand dor something else tho, as I checked the Speer site and they don't list a 110 grain, only the 140 grainers.

GS is GS Custom bullets of South Africa......

Slingster,

I went out this evening and shot two roe bucks with the 125 grain partition.

First shot was through the front of the neck and out of the back. It was couched down and did not get up. Range about 80 yards.

The second buck was standing facing me. I put the bullet in the base of the neck and it travelled the length of the back strap . I recovered the bullet near the kidneys. Not much front lead left on the forward jacket. Rear partition intact needless to say. Range about 75 yards. I'll aim a bit lower next time. The buck died on the spot btw.

Regards

Richard:

Great field report, and congrats on the two deer!

and get them out of the cold outside and into a warm oven LOL!!!

R-WEST

[ 09-27-2003, 21:39: Message edited by: R-WEST ]

Well, I had disappointing results with the 120-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet in my Model Seven this morning. Pushed by 41 grains of IMR 4350, the "groups" approached 4" at 100 yards. This load does MOA in my Rem XP-100R, so I'm quite baffled at the disparity between the two guns.

I've got some of the 125-grain Nosler Partitions on order and hope those will do better. Meanwhile, my 160-grain loads will continue to be the standard for this rifle.

Slingster,

R-15

Enough said!

Bo

Slingster,

All my 6.5s like more "jump" (shorter oal) than most calibers. My wife's 260 likes at least .020 off the lands. Experiment.

Bo

I've not used the 6.5X55 myself but have built sporters on serveral and the 125 nosler Partition seems to be universally loved. My son may get to shoot the 6.5x55 Featherweight(clasic) I bought this summer, I'll stick with the 264. I'm still shooting the factory ammo(needed brass) but the partitions are on the shelf waiting...

I got my Rem Model Seven in .260 out to the range with some test loads with the 125-grain NPs and 41-43 grains of IMR 4350. The most accurate was 43 grains, printing a 1/2" group 1" above POA at 50 yards; perfect! I didn't chronograph it, but it should be doing around 2700 fps.

Also, 120-grain Ballistic Tips with 41 grains of IMR 4350 printed to the same spot. The first two rounds were touching, and the third expanded the group to 5/8" at 50 yards.

So now I've got two options to test in the field.

Slingster

Since my post above I have killed five more bucks with this bullet.

All were one shot broadside heart shots at ranges between 40 and 160 metres.

No bullets recovered.

All bucks died on the spot.

So far so good.

Deerdogs:

Congrats on your successes. As one of my friends chided me, though, "If you keep shooting them in the heart, you won't ever learn anything about the performance of the bullet under adverse conditions."

I suspect that as long as the critters are DRT, both you and I can live with that bit of ignorance, eh?

I have killed a bunch of caribou with two 6.5 Rem Mags and have used 120 Rem CL, 129 Horn Spires and 125 Nosler Partitions. The CL is a good bullet but at close range can shed it's core limiting penetration. Ditto for the Hornady bullet but it gives fine long range accuracy in my Ruger and past 100 yards is 100% reliable.

The 125 Nosler prtition is made to order for short action 6.5's. It penetrates better than a 140 or even 160 grain bullet of regular construction at short range, is fast accurate and shoots flat. It also expands well at long range. Kills are quick...maybe not quite so quick as with the more complete expanding bullets but is more sure from all angles and under all conditions.

This is the one bullet for my 660 in 6.5 Rem Mag just like it's big brother the 358 225 Nosler get's the nod for my 350 Rem Mag.

North of 60:

I also use the 225-grain Nosler in my .358 Win, and in a .350RM at 2500 fps I used it on my first African hunt to good success. Nosler Partitions are always my first go-to bullet for big game in the calibers in which they're available because they're reliably deadly on game, and it's a rare rifle that doesn't shoot them accurately.

I'm also intending the 125-grain NP to be my standard bullet in the .260 Rem. So far it's proved accurate in my Model Seven at around 2700 fps, and from all indications here (thanks everyone!) it's a reliable performer on game, so I think I've got myself a winning combination.

Slingster on my first caribou hunt with my then new 6.5 Rem Mag I used the 125 Nosler before doing much load development. I stopped with a mild load of RL 19 that gave good accuracy and stopped two caribou with two shots crossing me at about 150 yards. The second caribou was hit too far back and ran about 50 yards before collapsing. The other caribou fell in place. The caribou that ran was shot through the liver.

On chronographing the load I was 300ft/sec under maximum at 2700 but the killing power and bullet performance was lovely. Penetration was complete, wound channels good and performance entirely repeatable. You can make a case for more frangible bullets killing quicker on side shots but you miss the predictable repeatability of the Nosler P.

Just back from the hunting fields with my Remington Model Seven Youth Model in .260 Rem and 125-grain Nosler Partition handloads at around 2700 fps. I shot two medium-large does with the combo, both one-shot kills.

The first was facing right, quartering away, about 20 yards out. The bullet entered through the ribs behind the right shoulder and exited through the left shoulder. The doe didn't hunch up as they've done when I've shot them with bigger calibers, but it only ran about 25 yards before piling up. Punctured both lungs and took out the arteries at the top of the heart.

The second was head on at around 35 yards. The shot went to one side of the sternum, crossing the front of the chest and taking out the right lung as it split five ribs before entering the paunch and puncturing the liver. This one dropped where it was hit and kicked for about 15 seconds before going still.

The 125-grain Nosler Partition in the .260 Rem at 2700 fps seems to kill quite efficiently without producing much in the way of bloodshot meat or ruptured organs. The liver hit, for example, was a neat nickel-sized hole.

I'm very pleased and this will become my standard load for this rifle.

eric.... did you recover a bullet on the second one? Aprox penetration?

Unfortunately, neither bullet was recovered. We think the second bullet exited the belly skin behind the ribs after passing through the liver. It must've had good integrity and weight retention, though, to have cut through all those ribs edgewise and keep going in a straight path. Mighty impressive in my book!