First time loading Nosler Partitions

Tufrthnails

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Alright so i'm going muley hunting second rifle season in CO. For FL and KY Whitetails I run 150g Hornaday SST's and they flat out whack and stack deer. I hear from here and other places Nosler partitions are the way to go for elk and Muleys. Here is my issue:
My .270win rifle loves the load I built with the horn 150g SSts. 150g Nosler partition, new Remington Brass, H4831 powder, CCI #200 LR primer, .020 jump. My best 100yard 4 round group so far is 1.250" not horrible, but my SST's are sub .750" all day long dropping much lower when I have my poop in a group that day. This is my first charge test so I am hoping I can take my best group verify and then start playing with the Jump and tighten it up some. Do you guys find Nosler partitions to be as accurate as other rounds? Or am I aiming for a 1" group and call it a day. I'm not worried about bench shooting them I try to keep my shots to sub 300 yards on Whitetails and muleys will be no exception although I do practice further then that to stay sharp.
 
Elk and, for that matter, Mulies.. Are.. Not Fla whitetails. I would take that 1 1/4" group, with the PT, and do my damnedest to sneak out the back door, before anyone caught me, over the SST every day of the week.

Play with the seating depth, but a 1/4" is not going mean all that much in the field.
 
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I've found the partitions to be accurate in my pre-64 model 70 in .270, with IMR 4831 I'm at 1.25" consistently, which I'm more than happy about in that old worn rifle. I haven't played with seating depth yet, those were loaded to book COAL. You may get slightly better accuracy with accubonds. They are right up there with the partitions for big bodied deer and moose, so I'm sure they'd be hell on elk as well.
 
I use 160 grain partitions in my 7 mag and they are fairly accurate. I can get tighter groups with SST's but the 1 1/2" or so that I get with partitions is just fine.
A friend who is much smarter than me explained that the exposed base of the partitions deforms slightly when being fired and so can inherently be less accurate than a cup and core type bullet. Partitions are still excellent bullets though and plenty accurate for what I use them for.
 
Try Accubonds.

Actually I'm not a huge fan of SSTs but I bet they'd work fine on mule deer. I've had trouble getting partitions to group as well as I like, so I pretty much gave up on them. They're really built with big, bulky animals in mind. Mule deer can get big, but they're not THAT big.
 
I live out west. Have never found the first need for any premium bullet. Have hunted elk and mule deer a lot. Never found the first need for any premium bullet. What you need is a good bullet well placed! There is no magic to killing any animal. use a good bullet and place it well and the animal will fall down dead!
 
Thanks for the input fellas. The .050 jump comment caught me off guard. I will definitely try a larger spread of jump for my jump test. Generally most of the things I have loaded rifle wise have liked longer bullets. Also the 1/4" thing is more of an OCD loader thing. I killed plenty of whitetails and hogs running factory ammo that held 2" groups before I started loading, but this little hole thing is addicting.
 
I only load for 5 rifles, but all of them have shot Partitions and Accubonds equally well. RL26 has been the bees knees with 150 grainers in my 270Win.
 
I have seen and killed lots of game with the SST.
The mule deer my two friends shot in 2017 dropped like a sack of bricks.
Elk are brought into my taxidermy shop every other year taken with SST bullets out of .270 and 30-06.
If you put the bullet in the kill area and keep shots under 400yrds, stuff will undoubtedly die when shot with SST bullets.
Elk, moose, are certainly big tuff animals and I would personally reather use an Accubond or Partition on those animals for extra insurance.
But, if you like your current load and shoot your rifle well it will get it done.
 
thanks for the input guys. I guess I should have added I have a bear tag in my pocket as well. I don't feel comfortable running the SST for the bear IF I was to get the opportunity to take one. I am thinking about running a charge test with Accubonds to see if they fly better. It's not a bear hunt, but if the opportunity presents itself that will be a game time decision. I've never killed a bear and not sure if I really want to not that I am against bear hunting at all. I just think I would rather shoot a spring bear as I've heard they taste better. I'll report back how the jump test goes when I get a chance to load em up and shoot them. If they don't improve I'll probably pick up some accubonds out of curiousity. I may do it anyways even if I get good results from the partitions as I love to tinker with loads anyways.
 
I live out west. Have never found the first need for any premium bullet. Have hunted elk and mule deer a lot. Never found the first need for any premium bullet. What you need is a good bullet well placed! There is no magic to killing any animal. use a good bullet and place it well and the animal will fall down dead!
I have shot a pile of animals with Interlocks. Only one elk, but the bullet did well. I do gravitate back to Accubonds because they're a tough bullet, but most importantly because I tend to find the best accuracy with them.
 
I totally get the OCD part of reloading and wanting to get a slightly better group. Keeping that in mind - I've handloaded Partitions for quite some time (25 years or so) and they are my go-to bullet. I've found that most of my rifles like a little longer jump (I usually start at 0.050). One of my rifles (in .308) loves the Protected Point Partitions (180 gr) much more than Spitzer 180 gr. It'll go from 1.5" groups to <1" with the Protected Points.

All of the other rifles I've loaded for don't seem to care (P.Pt vs Spitzer). Just thought I would throw that out there.

I also wouldn't hesitate to call a 1.25" group good enough, depending on how much time you have to tinker.
 
A 150 sst from a .270 is going to smite any mule deer like divine lightening, providing you make a good shot.
Hahahahahaha! Thanks man needed a laugh today. I'd be more comfortable with the SSTs if I only had a mule deer tag, but I have a bear tag in my hand also. I was hoping for the extra penetration. I ordered some accubonds today. I've got a few months before the hunt so I got time to load a few tests. Jump test is up next for the partitions when I get off work this week.
 
Black bears aren't that hard to kill.
Their bones are pretty thick in the legs and spine. But through the shoulders isn't really any tuffer than a large deer.
Taken a couple with a 25-06 and SST that dropped where they stood.
 
Black bears aren't that hard to kill.
Their bones are pretty thick in the legs and spine. But through the shoulders isn't really any tuffer than a large deer.
Taken a couple with a 25-06 and SST that dropped where they stood.
Really. Not questioning at all. curious. Broadside shots? I would love to run them, but I was under the impression they expand too rapidly and I run the risk of having a not so dead bear on my hands to track.
 
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