James B

I agree in a way. Any bullet that put meat on the ground does the job. We could fill the air with lead then try to sort out which killed game and which let the rest run off wounded. Speaking for myself, I have tried in the field, every bullet that I discuss. There is nothing wrong with reading either as far as that goes. Thats one thing that is supposed to set us above the other animals. We are supposed to be able to learn from those who came before us or even just those smarter or more studied. Reading sparks one interest to learn more. I started out reading all of the reloading manuals cover to cover then putting that knowledge to use. After reading about some bullets and articals by different writers, I began to see which ones knew what they were writing about by testing their writings in the field. There are a lot of ways to learn if you are interested in learning. Reading is just one of them and you will never see me blast anyone for wanting to learn.

PS. This may be ignored by those who already know it all.

Roskoe

Well spoken, James. I should have included the legendaryPartition in my short list of bullets. I have a couple of boxes of the original Nosler partitions ( 150 grain .270) that John Nosler made in the early days - before it became a high volume production business complete with impact extrusion technology. These old bulletsare a lot more gold colored than the newer ones, and appear to be machined from a solid piece of brass rod. I tried one about 20 years ago in some wet phone books and, interestingly, they don't open up as quickly as the modern Partitions do. They claim that the new Combined Technology Partitions were an attempt to return to that original design - a little slower expanding, with the front to rear core ratio altered a little.I keep meaning to try these some time and confirm, but so far its stayed on the back burner.

James B

I thought you did a very good job with what I know is a very deep subject. I think the Nosler Partition was a big step into todays premium bullets. I like to see people interested in learning more about bullets. Another poster sort of hinted that if you read a lot and study something that you are a couch hunter. Not so in my case. Everything I read, I tested in the field. At least everything I had time and money for.

CamoCop

statjunk, i shoot a wby. .300 mag. i use the 180 gr. ballistic tips in mine. every deer i have shot, has a small entry hole and anywhere from a 3 to 6 inch exit hole. i know people say the ballistic tips aren't good because of rapid expansion and no penetration but i have seen nothing but good things with my set up. even on tough wild hogs all my shots have been pass throughs with huge exit holes. i guess it has to do with the 180 grain projectiles traveling a sizzling 3300 f.p.s.

James B

The BT's have really worked well for me as well. However there is not a need to drive them real fast. They open well and perform very well at medium 308 velocities as well. I shoot the 150 grains often for deer. I load them to around 2700 fps. I had a little trouble with the early ones in the 7.Mags but they have been changed five times and problems with being to fragil has been pretty well fixed. The heavier ones per calibe are made for big game. The lighter ones per caliber are more for small game and varmits. I think all of the 30 caliber ones are suitable for deer.

statjunk

Thanks for all the info so far. I guess I'm asking a two fold question here. There is definetly the issue of $ and accuracy going on here. I purchased with my new rifle a box of Federal Premium 180gr with the Nosler Tip and one box of Winchester with an Accubond tip. Those were $32-$35 per box. I can get some cheaper remington or maybe it's Winchester (not sure) for around $20 per box. I'm wondering it that will do just as good a job. I will most likely be doing most of my shooting this summer the cheaper stuff but in general I don't like doing that. I like hunting with the same ammo that I shoot. I don't really think I took ammo cost into account when I bought this rifle especially since I really like to shoot almost as much as I like to hunt.

I also find that I can shoot the cheap stuff better but what I haven't figured out is that because it's cheaper and doesn't hurt quite as much. lol.

So while we are on the subject, do premium bullets operate better with lighter or heavier grain? This is for white tail hunting.

Tom

CamoCop

i pay around $52.00 to $56.00 a box (20 count per box) for my rifle.

James B

I didn't notice that you said 300 Win Mag. There is really no reason to buy premium bullets for deer hunting with the 300 Win Mag. Tests have shown that many premium bullets do not kill deer as well as standard bullets. Many of these premium bullets won't expand much on deer size game. Any decent factory load will work real well. I hunted deer with a 300 Win Mag and a 300 Weatherby Mag. All you need is a standard 180 grain bullet to take deer with. The 150 may over expand at 300 velocities. with good shot placement the 165 would work well too. The 300 Mag was so much more gun than I could use for deer so I have traded them for more shooter friendly cartridges. They did of course, get the job done.

Rebel Hog

Roskoe, I quess you have seen the picture I haveposted on here before of the elk and mulie I killed in 1994 in CO.? They were both shot about 3hrsapart with .270 150gr. NP.
Here in FL. I use the .270130gr NPwhen I'm not using the 140gr 6.5mmSwede. Of all the calbers I have, close to 50 rifles in just about every caliber available ( No wild cat's), I settled for these two!They work for me!

Roskoe

One of my friends has a 6.5 Swede and uses Nosler partitions exclusively in it. He is a good shot and doesn't take shots over 300 yards - prefers instead to "stalk closer" - what a novel concept

Anyway, this caliber/bullet is one of the most reliable game takers I have ever seen. Must be hard to choose which rifle to take out on a given day . . . .