Well, I tried to sell my 243 and it didn't happen so figured I would start working on loads and give this thing a try. So as I usually do went to my Nosler book and started with their accuracy load and a partial box of 85 gr Partitions I had. I have not shot it yet but hoped to get some feedback on this bullet on deer. The load should be screaming out of the 24" barrel but this is my first attempts at shooting deer with sub .30 round.

I'll use the gun when I'm not still hunting in the woods. It will be in use when setup on large clearcuts or power line row's.

Thanks in advance

I am sorry that I can't give you any first hand info on the 85 grain partition against whitetails, but I do think it is interesting, and wouldn't hesitate to use them if they shot well out of my rifle.

Chip,

No doubt the load will do you just fine. In my rigs the 85 TSX has shot a fair bit better and if you don't pick up the type of accuracy you're looking for you may wanna give it a run as well.

Couple that with either a 87 or 75 V Max for practice and you'll be golden!

Dober

I've killed a handfull of whitetails with my Ruger 1 and 85 grain NPTs ...kills em' fine, ping pong ball size exit hole..
jmr

I'm sure it will be great, I've shot many, many deer with the 100 gr. Partition. The 85 gr. is what I'll be firing out of my 6PPC.
Selmer

I like the 95 grain Partition because I can practice with the cheaper 95 grain BTs and they shoot to the same POA was the 95 grain Partitions in all of my .243" bore rifles. If you shoot your deer through the lungs with either bullet, it isn't likely to go far.

Jeff

Works very well.It is the only weight PT I have killed deer with in my .243, and it does a fine job.Like someone else said, pingpong ball size exits, to maybe a fuzz larger.Good luck keeping one inside a broadside deer.

Thanks guys as I feel better. Now to find some shooting time to see how they shoot. I figure I going to prove that speed kills as this load should be shooting 3200+fps out of the 24" tube

Should work well. I did in 70 deer with the 85 gr Sierra in a cull program. They did the job.

I've shot two mule deer bucks with the 85 gr partions. I've been using the rather UNspectacular load of 43.5 gr of IMR 4350 with the bullets seated for an overall length of 2.680". This produces a mild 2952 fps at 55 degrees F from the 20" barrel of my Ruger MK II.

I was very impressed with bullet performance on the first buck. He was shot from above and behind as he looked over his shoulder at me from 85 yards. The bullet entered just to the right of his spine, broke 4 ribs, and exited from his lower neck. The second buck was a broadside shot at an estimated 120 yards and the bullet was, as you'd expect, not recovered.

I'm becoming a TSX fan but cannot fault this 85 gr Partition's performance in my limited experience.

ttpoz

That is another of my favorite bullets.Just curious, but out of the 70, how many were DRT?

I have a few of those Sierra's loaded into 6mm cases. They shoot well. I always figured that it would be a good year round bullet in the 243/6mm. The partition should hedge the bet a little on whitetails.

Ruger 1, Only 1 went more than 20 yards. That one went about 45 yards. I did a heart shot on him from about 80 yards. All the rest were all taken within 35 yards, almost all of these were neck shots because thats what the DNR wanted.

TJay,
Did you get an exit wound on the heart shot? How often on the neck shots?

85 sierra hollowpoint is poison them, sure the partition will do fine as well. Max load of IMR4350 worked great in 3 different 243s we have worked up loads for.

I used a 95gr partition out of a 243 for years with great results. Only used a medium load. I'd have no qualms about using a 85gr Partition.

I did get an exit on the heart shot. It was about 30% exit on neck shots. A good solid spine hit seldom made it out but it took out a lot of bone. A lot of times if the bullet had not deflected while busting up the spine it would have made it out. There was enough penetration.

Thanks TJay. I have used the 90 grain BTHP that Sierra makes for the .25 caliber. I took three deer with three shots out of a 257 Roberts with a 22 inch barrel. One spine shot, one neck shot, and one shoulder shot. Only the neck shot exited, but the other two made contact with bone, so I guess they acted like they were supposed to. All three deer were DRT, so there was no need to track them.

I had a friend shoot a doe in the ass as it was facing straight away from him. The bullet broke a hip on the right side,front shoulder, and was under the hide. Doe dropped in it's tracks.

I have three loads with this bullet that are all very accurate.

I have shot a boat load of animals with the 95g Partition in the 243 with 43.0g of IMR 4350, kills as good as any 30/06 or 270.

I have used the 85 gr. partitions and decided long ago that the partition bullet is at its best in .308 caliber and above..I have seen many deer shot with the small caliber Nosler partitions and in many instances they just don't leave a decent blood trail. The Nosler partition is my all time favorite bullet, the bullet by which I judge all others, but below 30 caliber I am not fond of them..They are pretty good in 284 and 270 but again I set my self imposed limit on Noslers at .308..I came to this conclusion from shooting many animals and observing many kills with them. Others may have had different experiences.

For shooting deer, I feel exactly the opposite. I think that the Partition is more critical in the .224" and .243" bores than in the larger bores, as many of the bullets made for the .224" and .243" bores are too fragile to ensure sufficient penetration. I agree that small bore partitions often leave a minimal blood trail, but they will reliably penetrate through and through on most shots aimed to hit the pleural cavity, and no deer shot through the lungs is going to live for long.

Jeff

I generally agree with Atkinson on this. I've had really poor blood trails from partitions and that is the main reason I don't use them at all. Of course, where I hunt is extremely thick (often impenetrable without a machete) and wet. If a deer runs 60 yards with no blood trail he may very well be lost. 260Remguy lives in Nebraska and I am sure the woods out there are probably much more open. If I lived in an area that was not wet, and was fairly open, I might very well shoot the partitions to ensure an exit wound.

If I were in Slidelkid's position, I'd be shooting a Ballistic Tip of 7mm or larger. I'm of the mind with 260Remguy, the smaller calibers demand the Partition to ensure penetration and to hold together. I've never had a problem with bloodtrails and partitions, they put the deer down fast in my experience.
Selmer

I agree with 260Remguy on this one. The smaller calibers tend ot demand the premium bullets to expand reliably. The smaller the caliber, the harder it is to design a controlled-expansion bullet. Cup and core bullets tend to either explode like varmint grenades or fail to open. The Nosler partition was designed to give us the best of both. The front section opens violently to impart shock, and the base section plows through to penetrate like a solid.

I can't keep my nose out of the 243 threads, whether I have anything to offer or not...grin.

I haven't used the 85 Partitions in my 243, but I've run the 85 TSX's with good results - most recently hammering a 225-250lb Axis buck through both shoulders with the bullet exiting - he ran about 75 yards, at most, with a good blood trail.

On Partitions in small calibers, I have run the 60 Partition in a 223 a good bit, and have been impressed - I've had exit wounds on smallish Texas whitetails - and my kids have had more - I've got to think a 243 with them would be fine - although it is zipping along faster, which makes me wonder if the 60's in our 223's may be opening a little more and giving a bigger exit wound because they are slower. Exits have been pretty fair sized with the 60 grainers out of the 223.

DJ

Why would you think that a slower bullet will open up more and give a bigger exit wound? The faster bullet expands faster in an identical construction/material bullet. Wow, have I opened up a big can o' worms? Not trying to argue, just curious of your thoughts. Either bullet will work wonderfully!
Selmer

In the TSX's, I think the slower bullets may be less likely to shed petals, while still penetrating enough to exit. Hence, the larger exit with petals intact - but it's mostly a guess on my part - haven't tested them except on critters, and I can't seem to keep one in an animal.

I don't know if a Partition is also likely to shed some weight if travelling faster or not - have only used them in the 223 so far, so I have less experience with them. So far, all have exited and I haven't found any bullet fragments and exits have been impressive - even on spine shots and double shoulders.

With cup and core bullets, my experience has been that the slower bullets often hold together and penetrate better because they expand more slowly, while the screamers may expand more quickly. Accordingly, faster bullets may penetrate less despite the extra speed - they may expand faster as you point out, but this often equates to less penetration because they expand so much, and more bullet fragmentation. Premiums are designed to address this problem, but I'm not sure they are immune to it.

In premiums like TSX's and Partitions, they seem to penetrate well whether they are flying fast or slow, but the only time I've found petals which have been shed is on the faster steppers with closer shots - like the Axis I just killed with 85 TSX's at about 75 yards or so. I found one petal and had a smallish exit after smacking him through both shoulders.

Hope this makes sense...and I agree - either will work wonderfully well, IMHO.

Have a good one,

DJ

Ok, sounds good DJ. I thought you were going to spout that BS at me about slower bullets doing more damage because they're in the deer longer!
Selmer

Can't make that argument! Grin...

I like exits and blood trails, so I want penetration and expansion in balance - don't need a hole I can stick my fist through, just one that bleeds good. Seems the TSX's are king on this front to me, although many likely prefer the Partition.

BTW - I made another correction above - used expansion where I meant to say penetration in one place - hopefully makes a little better sense now.

Have a good one!

DJ

I used 95gr Partitions out of a 243 on deer for years. Almost always exited (1 exception), usually left a good blood trail. Only deer that I had problems with was a long shot at a doe where I put it a bit forward into the shoulder. Broke it, but she kept on going for quite a ways. Learned not to try to reach out too far with my medium loads after that.

I almost always shot for the heart/lungs, and probably got an average of 50-60 yards of run after hitting them. Max of 150 yard run with lung shots at a guess.

I liked it especially for the low amount of tissue and meat damage. Great for filling the freezer.

My father and I have recovered probably a half dozen Partitions over the years for a 100 gr. .243 or a 150 gr. .30 cal from a .30-06. They are invariably found just under the exit side, and always on shots over 250 yds. They have anywhere from 66-80% weight retention, because much of the front 1/3 of the bullet core is shed on expansion. The thing I like about the Partition is that it expands just like a cup and core bullet until it hits that Partition, because that's what it is, a cup and core bullet forward of the the partition. It's not bonded up front, it's designed to expand well, then penetrate deep. If I were just getting into reloading or using premiums I would probably play with the Barnes bullets, but we have loads that shoot Partitions into 1-1 1/2" in all of our rifle, and I KNOW they will never fail, so we've chosen just to stick with them. For my money they are the perfect premium bullet, but that's also a biased opinion, I can't imagine or picture better performance for OUR needs, your needs/wants maybe different.
Selmer