sabotloader

These bullets are going out of site when it comes to pricing, but for me I guess I will just have to bite the bullet and pay for em. They certainly are the success story, or maybe the rifle, or maybe the scope. But, when it all comes down to it - it was bullet performance @ a decent range with great results.

Nosler .451 260 grain Partitions - They really do job over and over again. I am prettysure in my mind that the Gold Dot will do the same thing at a lot less price but....

Yesterday,was the last day of the regular rifle season - then followed by 7 days of a ML season. Well, because of weather conditions, the snow is really piling up - I decided it was time to harvest - we have been passing up bucks all season looking for the right one.. does were not even on a radar. But does would be OK today.

The top pic shows the one I was looking for - I jumped him on Tuesday,he was chasing a doe through a clearcut - to far away and to fast for a muzzleloader.... but I knew my hunting partner and his friend from out-of-state were on the other side of the ridge, so I decided to jump on the tracks and see if I could push the buck through to them - I did they did... (Top pic)

Thursday we returned to the same area and the same clearcut... I was sitting on a stump watching the area below me when I saw some movement, and sure enough a nice sized doe was in the creek bottom. She disappeared below the bank walking away from me so I decided to move a few feet east to get a better view while she was out of sight. I was standing waiting for her to reappear and I had almost decided it might to be to far away for the shot. I was estimating 150 yards, about that time she appeared up from the creek walking and then stopping looking right at me, no body profile at all just the head neck and chest. I had the gun up she was in the scope and in my thinking should I? or shouldn't I? - the gun went off. I saw her stumble the first step - then she ran east out of sight. I shouldn't have! were my first thoughts, but I thought I had a good hold and a good pull because I didn't even think I pulled the trigger. Went back up picked up my pack - dug out the range finder and to my surprise 171 yards...

I went down to where I last saw her - walked parrallel to her flight route and there she lay, about 40' from the shot point- except she was a he....

The bullet entered the chest - passed through the shoulder, broke it up pretty good, then out on her right side - so I was unable to recover it. His heart and lungs, every bit of both were jelly. The hydrostatic shock of the hollow point passing through just blew them up. Easy blood trail in the snow from the shooting point to where he laid. At 171 yards downhill the entry point was just a bit low and a littleleft of where I was holding - but shooting standing up - off hand - I thought was pretty close.

Now what do I do - shot my only tag and can not hunt any more.... till next season which is a long way off... dam...

Pglasgow

Such is life. To few tags and hunting days , , , too many days till next season[&o]. Congrats on the kill.

Hunter John

Sabotloader - Nice shot...that was no 40 yarder by any stretch.

I've had a chance to catch up on the Gold Dot postings that have been written on this board and they're interesting to say the least. As soon as I burn through the 300 gr 44 cal XTPs that I still have from years ago, I'm gonna give the 300 gr 45 cal Gold Dots a try.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Gold Dot bullets and the hunting pics. Nice....

lemoyne

Good shot. Congrats. Lee

cascadedad

Nice shootin Buddy!!!!

Roskoe

I know Jim Shockey swears by the Partitions, and he has taken trophy game all over the world.

cayugad

Nice shooting.. that's a heck of an off hand shot. Also looks like some real good eating. Also a nice buck your friend scored on... Way to go.

lemoyne

An excellant shot ,good shooting. Lee

sabotloader

cayugad

It is not really the shot that I am impressed with it continues to be the performance of the bullet from a ML. I know the success I have had with Noslers from the win mag and the 270 - but to get this kind of performance from a ML shooting - theoretically a pistol bullet and a Hollow point @ that range and have that performance that is what really surprises me.

I am one of those hunter/shooters that want a pass through and while I know a lot of other GOOD hunter/shooters want all the energy expended in the animal - I still feel more comfortable with the pass through. And to have this hollow point pass through do the hydro damage it did and pass through the shoulder it rates way up there in performance.

Now my biggest complaint is cost - I only have a few left so I called my local dealer here and his cost was just over $40 a box of 50.I am going to have to make a switch and I am sure form all the shooting I have done with the Gold Dots they will work - but I just do not want to loose that kind of Nosler performance

cayugad

That is the trouble with a lot of the better quality bullets out there. The Barnes Expanders and Powerbelts are another example. A great bullet, but at a dollar a piece, they just hurt when you want to sit on the range and tune your skills. Powerbelts costs are another reason I will not shoot them. When I catch them on sale, I stock up on them, but I always think, if a store can sell them at the end of season for 50% off, you know they are not loosing money on the things, so the profit margin on a lot of these bullets really stink.

I think I have some of the Speer Gold Dots you speak about. They are actually for a 454 Casuall but are .452 diameter. I had some back luck with other Gold Dot bullets. They shot well out to 70 yards, but after that they started spreading out.

I agree the bullet you used preformed excellent. Just looking at the entrance hole was impressive enough. And by the way, that still was an excellent shot.