Nosler Partition bullet separation on an auodad

[vance]

My son and I are relatively new hunters.

I am not complaining about bullet performance, just relating this experience. Please do not report me to Nosler or in any other way rant (heehee).

We were hunting in Texas last week. His first animal shot was an Auodad (type of goat this one likely not over 60kg) with his 6.5x55 in the right shoulder broadside at 40yds. 140gr partition. I was in the hide with him watching the shot. It collapsed on the spot but as it dropped started bleeding briskly from the lower head. It passed rapidly without struggle or attempt to rise. We were both relieved, but I worried he had flinched and hit it in the head instead of where he was aiming in the shoulder zone. He hit where he had been aiming.
The entry wound was high on the shoulder, below spine. Large exit wound right lower jaw close to the jaw articulation. Second small exit wound on the other side of the chest mid lung.
Seemed to me that the bullet hit heavy bone, broke in 2 pieces, the larger of which changed vector by 90 degrees forward through the neck and out the jaw. Smaller piece exited through lungs.

I forgot to take pics of what I am describing in the excitement of the moment.



Last year I hunted TX with the same rifle using Hornady factory 140gr SST and was happy with bullet performance. Auodad, pigs, axis buck and turkey. Shot one hog in the forward neck and appeared that bullet "blew back" after hitting the spine, leaving a 3cm entry wound. Butchered that hog and didn't have to saw through spine to separate the head. Spinal ligaments were broken by impact and it fell apart with muscle separation.

This year, hand-loads were made with partitions, as I had read that this was the best all round bullet for this cartridge. I was therefore surprised by the bullet break-up, but likely expecting that bullet to continue through heavy bone (though in a smaller animal) is not realistic.

The next day he went on to shoot 2 hogs and a very nice axis buck at midnight a moment after my spotlight quit. Neck shot, dead right there. Bullet did not exit and hopefully is recovered by the taxidermist. 4 javelinas after that.

I am still struck by how a big chunk of that bullet deflected off bone by 90 degrees, but maybe that is the whole point of the partition after all. The bullet didn't come apart completely when it hit a heavy bone, but kept on in a new direction due to simple physics.

Maybe we need a 50BMG? Then no worries re bullet deflection? Or the hassle of skinning an intact carcass?

Vance

[obsessed1]

Partitions are designed to separate in two pieces the forward part of the bullet will expand and often separate from the rear section which continues to drive. Possibly the mushroomed section hit bone at an angle that caused it to change directions and the smaller diameter rear continued on as designed. Seems like the bullet performed as designed, just the deflection angle wasn't ideal....things happen

[huntingfamily]

40 yards and a shoulder hit can make a lot of bullets do strange things.

[270person]

I've had jackets separate from lead in the 7mm when they've hit large bone like shoulders but its usually on the exit side after they've done their job. The animals didn't seem to care much. None of them went more than 20-30 yards and the 2 pieces are amost always in heavy bone on the exit side and still partially together.

Still the best bullet out there imo.

[Salavee]

Originally Posted by obsessed1

Partitions are designed to separate in two pieces the forward part of the bullet will expand and often separate from the rear section which continues to drive. Possibly the mushroomed section hit bone at an angle that caused it to change directions and the smaller diameter rear continued on as designed. Seems like the bullet performed as designed, just the deflection angle wasn't ideal....things happen

Totally agree with this. The partitions are not bonded and will often do things like this.. especially at higher impact velocities and and lots of resistance. Seems to me it performed as it was designed.

[Quest206]

I've been hunting with a 6.5x55 for many years and have tried all types of bullets. I've come to the conclusion that the best bullet performance seen is the Barnes TSX. Best penetration through bone and maintains it's weight without any type of separation. As long as the terminal velocity stays above 2300 fps they have always performed as advertised. By using a solid mono bullet it is quite safe to hunt with 10 gr. lighter bullet with the same or better results as a heavier partition or bonded bullet.

[Xbolt7mm]

It is highly unusual for any bullet to make a 90 degree turn and still have that kind of damage

[sns2]

The good news is it died on the spot, so hard to diagnose as a failure per se. 40 yards from the end of the barrel is essentially standing in the neighbors yard

Best I can say about Partitions is I have a bunch loaded up to test in my new to me 30-06. 180 grain Partitions behind both RL 22 and IMR 4350. Hopefully they shoot decently. For hunting, I think I'd rather have a Partition that shoots decently than just about anything else that shoots bugholes.

[vance]

I was hoping for this type of thoughtful comments. Again, we are not very experienced hunters, so not meaning to imply expertise. I have read about the terminal performance of this bullet since I was a boy long ago. First time I have ever seen game shot with it, however. Thrilling to see my son knocking them down.
It inspires confidence out in the field.
Vance

[sns2]

Originally Posted by vance

I was hoping for this type of thoughtful comments. Again, we are not very experienced hunters, so not meaning to imply expertise. I have read about the terminal performance of this bullet since I was a boy long ago. First time I have ever seen game shot with it, however. Thrilling to see my son knocking them down.
It inspires confidence out in the field.
Vance

This sounds like a heckuva an adventure. We'd love to see pics, not of bullet performance per se, just the smiles of a boy's first harvest!

[270person]

Originally Posted by Quest206

I've been hunting with a 6.5x55 for many years and have tried all types of bullets. I've come to the conclusion that the best bullet performance seen is the Barnes TSX. Best penetration through bone and maintains it's weight without any type of separation. As long as the terminal velocity stays above 2300 fps they have always performed as advertised. By using a solid mono bullet it is quite safe to hunt with 10 gr. lighter bullet with the same or better results as a heavier partition or bonded bullet.

They certainly give some hunters the feeling they have super powers for sure.

You shoot 120''s to get to the superior ttsx I assume? And to keep velocities up at range.

Best bullet performance is a stretch when it comes with velocity caveats is my opinion.

[catnthehat]

one Of my favorite gunwriter quotes is that of one John Wooters stated
“ the Nosler Partition is so predictable it’s boring”
The H mantel style is a very good design and works equally well at both high and low velocities .
Personally speaking , my favorite bullets for the 6.5x55 have always been the big 156 Norma and 160 Sierra SMP’s .
I have killed numerous animals with the 6.5x54,6.5x 55,6.5x57,and 6.5/06 as well as several magnums in 6.5 but most of the above are loaded at moderate velocities so I don’t take a chance using bullets designed fir high velocity unless I am shooting cartridges like the .264 Win Mag or the 6.5WSM.
Furthest shot with a 6.(c55 was just under three hundred yards and the closest about 22 yards .
Cat

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by obsessed1

Partitions are designed to separate in two pieces the forward part of the bullet will expand and often separate from the rear section which continues to drive. Possibly the mushroomed section hit bone at an angle that caused it to change directions and the smaller diameter rear continued on as designed. Seems like the bullet performed as designed, just the deflection angle wasn't ideal....things happen

Spot on. Front of the partition is designed to mushroom and even separate, rear part enclosed in the H stays in one piece and penetrates. Either piece of the bullet can be deflected by heavy and hard bone, especially at high velocity. If you really want a bullet that has the least deflection and stays together the Barnes TTSX and TSX are the best choices but they can sometimes show a delayed kill due to their limited expansion. I am a big Barnes fan and use them a lot on everything from deer to moose, but only because I shoot more heavy game than light game and don't like to change bullets. In lighter game, faster expanding bullets tend to kill faster and drop the animal on the spot or close to it. When I go specifically for deer or antelope I use a faster expanding bullet and a different rifle.

The Nosler partition is a great a reliable bullet. You won't go wrong continuing to use them. Only reason I originally switched to Barnes a number of years ago is my main hunting rifle shoots them much better than the Noslers.

[vance]

Thanks Dean. This is the Voere M98 that you worked on, teaching us how to bed with Devcon. Since then, I have put on a new limbsaver recoil pad because Jack has grown a lot since you met him, and stripped and refinished the stock.
It was great to see him go from worried about being able to hit an animal and kill humanely on his first day, to confident shooting. Five straight 10+ hour days hunting will do that. One day we were up for 20 hours!
He shot a pig running away from him off hand at 75 yds. Bang flop. Great start for him.

I will post some pics next week
Vance

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by vance

Thanks Dean. This is the Voere M98 that you worked on, teaching us how to bed with Devcon. Since then, I have put on a new limbsaver recoil pad because Jack has grown a lot since you met him, and stripped and refinished the stock.
It was great to see him go from worried about being able to hit an animal and kill humanely on his first day, to confident shooting. Five straight 10+ hour days hunting will do that. One day we were up for 20 hours!
He shot a pig running away from him off hand at 75 yds. Bang flop. Great start for him.

I will post some pics next week
Vance

Good to hear. Some of my most treasured memories are of hunting with my Dad. They will be for Jack too.

Got to love Texas. Can kill more game in one trip than most guys get to do in ten years.

[vance]

Agree. I went last year for a week and felt like I came back with several years worth of experience. The whitetail estimates are that the state population is 3-4million deer. We drove at night one time and saw deer on the shoulder or ditch every 500m or so. There is a lot of roadkill as a consequence.
Axis deer, Auodad, blackbuck and other exotics are non-native species so have no season and can be hunted day and night. Pigs are the same.
I plan to go back every year.
Axis in particular are very wily and challenging to find. My host there says they make whitetails look stupid.
They are also the most delicious of all venison.
Jack became an instant hit in the small town where we were. Texans are very pro-hunting!
Vance

[sns2]

Sounds to me like a heckuva father - son team! Awesome.

[SHORTMAG]

Sooo great reading these kinds of stories...WELL DONE !!

ps...the Nosler Partition is STILL the bullet most makers try to compare theirs to

[Oldan Grumpi]

Originally Posted by sns2

The good news is it died on the spot, so hard to diagnose as a failure per se. 40 yards from the end of the barrel is essentially standing in the neighbors yard

Best I can say about Partitions is I have a bunch loaded up to test in my new to me 30-06. 180 grain Partitions behind both RL 22 and IMR 4350. Hopefully they shoot decently. For hunting, I think I'd rather have a Partition that shoots decently than just about anything else that shoots bugholes.

180 gr. Partition with 55.5 gr. of IMR4350 and a CCI LR bench rest primer has been my go-to load for many years. It shoots well in every .30-06 I've ever tried it in.

I've found a lot of them, well mushroomed, just under the skin on the far side of a moose so it would seem to be a velocity that the bullet works well with.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by Oldan Grumpi

180 gr. Partition with 55.5 gr. of IMR4350 and a CCI LR bench rest primer has been my go-to load for many years. It shoots well in every .30-06 I've ever tried it in.



I've found a lot of them, well mushroomed, just under the skin on the far side of a moose so it would seem to be a velocity that the bullet works well with.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Oldan Grumpi]

Both my son and I were using that load a few years back when we set up a sort of an "L" shaped ambush at the junction of two cutlines for a moose we'd been stalking.

It worked out that the moose came out facing me and broadside to my son, who took the shot from about 150 yards. I was watching through my scope, and the off side of the moose' hide bellied out a good foot with a great puff of dirt and dust. Sure enough, the bullet was right there, perfectly mushroomed, when we skinned. I was amazed at how far that hide stretched and captured the bullet.

I figure by the time the bullet gets to the hide on the far side, it's done its job and anything more would be wasted anyway.

[sns2]

I have had real good results on moose with .284" 160 grain Partitions. I'm looking forward to more of the same this fall.

[Battle Rat]

Originally Posted by Salavee

Totally agree with this. The partitions are not bonded and will often do things like this.. especially at higher impact velocities and and lots of resistance. Seems to me it performed as it was designed.

Agree, the bullet did the job as expected.
Hard to beat the performance of of a partition at close and long range.w

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by huntingfamily

40 yards and a shoulder hit can make a lot of bullets do strange things.

Yup

[vance]

Thanks fellas.
It was a great trip for us. When I went down last spring, I had just started back big game hunting in the fall of 2017 after 31 years away. A friend took me deer hunting and I got a nice young buck.
My old friend in TX invited me to come and hunt for Axis deer on his ranch. Went in spring 2018 for Turkey season. Hunted 5 days solid and got 2 Axis, 2 turkeys, 5 pigs and an Auodad. Trip of my lifetime hunting with my friend on his land, his deer herd, guided by him.
When I got back and showed the pictures to my son, he immediately decided he wanted to hunt deer. He got his first that fall.
Only thing that tops it was doing same trip this time with my son.

Vance