Nosler Partition for Buffalo

[nodogs]

Looking for anyone's experience with Partitions in Africa. I just got back from SA on a plains game hunt and was unimpressed with factory ammo performance. I'm planning to hunt Cape Buffalo next year with my 375 H&H and my bullet of choice would be the 300 grain. Any first hand experience would be appreciated.

 

[Blkram]

While I cannot personally comment on the .375 300 gr Partition on cape buffalo, I can comment on the 260 gr AccuBond on bison...out of a 376 Steyr with a muzzle velocity of 2632 fps out of a 21" barrel.
I had a complete pass through on a mature bull broadside at 200 yards went 5 yards, laid down, raised his head once, and expired, and on a friend's cow, my follow up shot on his wounded cow, quartering to, achieved almost 3 feet of penetration (ended up in the offside rear quarter), retained over 90% of its original weight and expanded over 2 times its original diameter.
I have also had great success on bison, with Partitions, in Federal Premium factory ammo, in both the 300 Win Mag (180 gr), and 338 Win Mag (210 gr) over the years.The large bulls weigh about 2500 lbs on the hoof.

The Nosler Partitions have proven themselves over many decades on big game all over the world, including the Big 5, and you should have no issues as long as you accurately place your bullet(s) in the vitals of your cape buffalo.
Find the load that your rifle prefers and practice with it. Then go forth with confidence!

As a note, I used the S&B ammo is SA last year in my PH's 300 Win Mag, and found the 180 gr SPCE (controlled expansion bullet) to perform well on the 7 animals my wife and I took, including springbok, sable, nyala, impala, bushbuck, kudu, and warthog, at distances ranging from 77 to 235 yards. All were cleanly taken with one shot (6 were heart shots), where only 3 bullets were recovered (nyala @ 202 yds, kudu @ 235 yds, and warthog @ 77 yards), as all others were complete pass throughs. I would not hesitate to use this ammo again.

While I do handload, and hunt with tailored loads in many of my rifles, I still use factory ammo in various rifles and cartridges, because they have provided excellent on-game performance over the past 38 years, on game ranging from pronghorn to bison. This ammo has included the following bullets: Nosler Partitions, AccuBonds, and Ballistic Tips, Speer Hot Cors, Sierra SGKs and Pro Hunters, Winchester Power Points, Hornady Interlocks, Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, Trophy Copper and Trophy Bonded Tips, and the new Federal Terminal Ascent bullets.
My favourite is the AccuBond. Accurate, great on-game performance, and easy to develop loads with!
My 7MM STW will shoot the factory Federal Premium 160 gr AccuBond ammo into 1" groups @ 300 yards, and the 160 gr SGK ammo into 3" groups @ 400 yards, so I haven't even tried handloading for it as yet. It has accounted for over 3 dozen animals (pronghorn to elk) over the past 27 years, from 5 out to 475 yards.

I am also very impressed with the new Terminal Ascent (5 one-shot kills to date on red stag, fallow buck, arapawa rams and caribou, at ranges from 43 to 296 yards, with the 130 gr TA in the 6.5 Creedmoor). As it shooting very well (sub-MOA) in my 270 Win, 270 WSM, 7mm Rem Mag, and 7MM PRC, I look forward to taking game with it in these rifles too. It is shooting right at MOA in my 6.5 PRC, and although my 300 WSM is the only one that is over MOA (best at 1.334" group @100 yards) - it is still accurate enough for hunting out to 300 yards for the hunting I do with this rifle (moose, elk and bear).

 

[salmonchaser]

Looking for anyone's experience with Partitions in Africa. I just got back from SA on a plains game hunt and was unimpressed with factory ammo performance. I'm planning to hunt Cape Buffalo next year with my 375 H&H and my bullet of choice would be the 300 grain. Any first hand experience would be appreciated.

No dogs, Welcome to the forum. The 300 grain partitions, frankly, the entire line of partitions has a solid reputation. I am curious if the factory ammo you used was loaded with partitions, were you using the PHs rifle or your own, and what was unimpressive to you? I have been to Africa and will go back next spring. I’ll be shooting Accubonds most likely as they are generally more accurate in my rifles. In my 65 + years of hunting from Alaska to Arizona and now Africa I’ve made a few poor shots. I”m absolutely convinced that the Partition and more recently the AccuBond led to a successful and quick recovery.
You’ll find I’m not the only 375 fan here, the cartridge is popular with this group. I’m sure you’ll receive quite a bit of insight on the cartridge and bullet in short order.
Please share your experience in Africa with us. There are a couple of folks there this spring and at least four going in 26. Reloaders are detail guys and gals, quite a few are formulating plans for the near future and would appreciate your insight.
Again, Welcome aboard.

 

[nodogs]

Salmonchaser,
Federal no longer sells the premium ammo with partitions. It was their own bullets and the one I got from the zebra was completely separated and I goy a portion of the lead and jacket. Had it been a Partition, it would have gone through. I lost nearly 50 years of reloading data, with partitions, when my computer died and didn’t have time to start from scratch. These billets performed ok but that’s not going to be good enough on a buffalo.

I just wanted reassurance that it is the correct bullet and you’ve provided that.

I’ve heard horror stories about rented rifles and wouldn’t risk it unless mine were lost. I did shoot the PH’s 470 NE double and was thoroughly impressed. This is the first time I’ve hunted with factory ammo since I was 14 and that was long ago. Time to start working up new load data for most everything. The 375 is new to me so it will be a first.

Thanks.

 

[RL338]

If don’t have a stock of Partitions , they may be hard to find.
Welcome aboard.

 

[nodogs]

While I cannot personally comment on the .375 300 gr Partition on cape buffalo, I can comment on the 260 gr AccuBond on bison...out of a 376 Steyr with a muzzle velocity of 2632 fps out of a 21" barrel.
I had a complete pass through on a mature bull broadside at 200 yards went 5 yards, laid down, raised his head once, and expired, and on a friend's cow, my follow up shot on his wounded cow, quartering to, achieved almost 3 feet of penetration (ended up in the offside rear quarter), retained over 90% of its original weight and expanded over 2 times its original diameter.
I have also had great success on bison, with Partitions, in Federal Premium factory ammo, in both the 300 Win Mag (180 gr), and 338 Win Mag (210 gr) over the years.The large bulls weigh about 2500 lbs on the hoof.

The Nosler Partitions have proven themselves over many decades on big game all over the world, including the Big 5, and you should have no issues as long as you accurately place your bullet(s) in the vitals of your cape buffalo.
Find the load that your rifle prefers and practice with it. Then go forth with confidence!

As a note, I used the S&B ammo is SA last year in my PH's 300 Win Mag, and found the 180 gr SPCE (controlled expansion bullet) to perform well on the 7 animals my wife and I took, including springbok, sable, nyala, impala, bushbuck, kudu, and warthog, at distances ranging from 77 to 235 yards. All were cleanly taken with one shot (6 were heart shots), where only 3 bullets were recovered (nyala @ 202 yds, kudu @ 235 yds, and warthog @ 77 yards), as all others were complete pass throughs. I would not hesitate to use this ammo again.

While I do handload, and hunt with tailored loads in many of my rifles, I still use factory ammo in various rifles and cartridges, because they have provided excellent on-game performance over the past 38 years, on game ranging from pronghorn to bison. This ammo has included the following bullets: Nosler Partitions, AccuBonds, and Ballistic Tips, Speer Hot Cors, Sierra SGKs and Pro Hunters, Winchester Power Points, Hornady Interlocks, Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, Trophy Copper and Trophy Bonded Tips, and the new Federal Terminal Ascent bullets.
My favourite is the AccuBond. Accurate, great on-game performance, and easy to develop loads with!
My 7MM STW will shoot the factory Federal Premium 160 gr AccuBond ammo into 1" groups @ 300 yards, and the 160 gr SGK ammo into 3" groups @ 400 yards, so I haven't even tried handloading for it as yet. It has accounted for over 3 dozen animals (pronghorn to elk) over the past 27 years, from 5 out to 475 yards.

I am also very impressed with the new Terminal Ascent (5 one-shot kills to date on red stag, fallow buck, arapawa rams and caribou, at ranges from 43 to 296 yards, with the 130 gr TA in the 6.5 Creedmoor). As it shooting very well (sub-MOA) in my 270 Win, 270 WSM, 7mm Rem Mag, and 7MM PRC, I look forward to taking game with it in these rifles too. It is shooting right at MOA in my 6.5 PRC, and although my 300 WSM is the only one that is over MOA (best at 1.334" group @100 yards) - it is still accurate enough for hunting out to 300 yards for the hunting I do with this rifle (moose, elk and bear).

Blkram,
I’ve seen the reports on the accubonds and have used them in 30 caliber with good results. I’m kind of resistant to change until I have to, and have used them in partitions my whole life. I’ve killed truckloads of elk with them and provided backup on many elk and moose when I was guiding and never had a failure. It’s hard for me to change from that, especially on something that can spoil your day. If I were to build a new rifle for long range or hunting, I would definitely give them more of a test.
Thanks for the input

 

[JD338]

Welcome to the forum.
The PT's are a great bullet but they are not available these days.
The AB is also a great bullet. Nosler just made a run of the 300 gr AB. It would definitely work on the big stuff. The 260 gr E-Tip is another excellent bullet for the 375 H&H Mag.
There are several fellas here who have 375's and we are happy to help you out with load data.

JD338

 

[nodogs]

If don’t have a stock of Partitions , they may be hard to find.
Welcome aboard.

I’ve been picking up every box I see.!

 

[salmonchaser]

Salmonchaser,
Federal no longer sells the premium ammo with partitions. It was their own bullets and the one I got from the zebra was completely separated and I goy a portion of the lead and jacket. Had it been a Partition, it would have gone through. I lost nearly 50 years of reloading data, with partitions, when my computer died and didn’t have time to start from scratch. These billets performed ok but that’s not going to be good enough on a buffalo.

I just wanted reassurance that it is the correct bullet and you’ve provided that.

I’ve heard horror stories about rented rifles and wouldn’t risk it unless mine were lost. I did shoot the PH’s 470 NE double and was thoroughly impressed. This is the first time I’ve hunted with factory ammo since I was 14 and that was long ago. Time to start working up new load data for most everything. The 375 is new to me so it will be a first.

Thanks.
View attachment 26311

Good looking mutts. Kinda partial to the GSP myself. I agree on the 470, an impressive cartridge. I owned a 577 for a while, it garnered quite a bit of attention when it went off.

 

[nodogs]

Good looking mutts. Kinda partial to the GSP myself. I agree on the 470, an impressive cartridge. I owned a 577 for a while, it garnered quite a bit of attention when it went off.

Me too. This is my first GWP and first trained dog. What a difference.

I was looking at double rifles and I can buy one or go hunt a cape buffalo. Easy choice!

 

[Guy Miner]

My 375 H&H in Africa back when John Barsness owned it. I'm sure he took that buffalo with a 300 grain Nosler Partition, however he took a second shot to drop the fleeing buffalo - with a different and larger bore rifle. I've got the details somewhere. He does give the 300 gr Partition credit for that first killing shot and for whatever reason he grabbed the different rifle for his second shot.

With the 300's, H4350 is excellent. Expect velocities somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500 fps using 75 grains of it, and good accuracy. Hodgdon shows 76 grains as their max load with a 300 gr Swift bullet. Barsness recommends the 75 grain load in several of his books. I've loaded it and practiced with it at the range, with no problems at all.

I've only taken a couple of black bear with that rifle since I've owned it, both with the 260 grain Nosler AccuBond.

Best of luck to you with your load development and particularly with your hunt!

Regards, Guy

 

[nodogs]

My 375 H&H in Africa back when John Barsness owned it. I'm sure he took that buffalo with a 300 grain Nosler Partition, however he took a second shot to drop the fleeing buffalo - with a different and larger bore rifle. I've got the details somewhere. He does give the 300 gr Partition credit for that first killing shot and for whatever reason he grabbed the different rifle for his second shot.
View attachment 26313
With the 300's, H4350 is excellent. Expect velocities somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500 fps using 75 grains of it, and good accuracy. Hodgdon shows 76 grains as their max load with a 300 gr Swift bullet. Barsness recommends the 75 grain load in several of his books. I've loaded it and practiced with it at the range, with no problems at all.

I've only taken a couple of black bear with that rifle since I've owned it, both with the 260 grain Nosler AccuBond.

Best of luck to you with your load development and particularly with your hunt!

Regards, Guy

Thanks guy, I’ve got 4350 so I’ll try that!

 

[Wenaha]

When you think Cape Buffalo, think big bull elk X 3. These are massive and very tough animals.

I have limited experience with buff, but have spent weeks hunting them and shot three. The deal with buff is penetration, not velocity or accuracy (the average shot is probably 60 yards). You want a big, tough bullet. I LOVE Nosler partitions and have been using them for decades, but for buff I used Swift A Frames (a heavy, fully bonded partiton type bullet) in my 404 Jeffery... 400 grains at about 2250 fps. I had no pass throughs... but two of the bulls died quickly, the third, though well hit (according to my PH) ran off and required a long job of tracking.

Many buffalo hunters consider the .375 H&H 'light' for buffalo, though the .375 has taken many buff. A rifle of .400 caliber or greater is generally preferred.

You'll love Africa!


The bullet... high shoulder shot at about 75 yards.

 

[DrMike]

The A-Frame is an excellent bullet. As you say, it will do the job when the demand grows tough.

 

[Blkram]

When you think Cape Buffalo, think big bull elk X 3. These are massive and very tough animals.

I have limited experience with buff, but have spent weeks hunting them and shot three. The deal with buff is penetration, not velocity or accuracy (the average shot is probably 60 yards). You want a big, tough bullet. I LOVE Nosler partitions and have been using them for decades, but for buff I used Swift A Frames (a heavy, fully bonded partiton type bullet) in my 404 Jeffery... 400 grains at about 2250 fps. I had no pass throughs... but two of the bulls died quickly, the third, though well hit (according to my PH) ran off and required a long job of tracking.

Many buffalo hunters consider the .375 H&H 'light' for buffalo, though the .375 has taken many buff. A rifle of .400 caliber or greater is generally preferred.

You'll love Africa!

View attachment 26494
The bullet... high shoulder shot at about 75 yards.
View attachment 26495

It is interesting that you mention penetration over velocity...

When the 376 Steyr was first introduced, it was the part of the explanation as to the design and purpose of this little brother to the great 375 H&H. They reported that in many cases, PHs were downloading their 375 H&Hs to the 2300 fps range of velocity, from the 2500 fps range, with soft bullets in order to improve their penetration capabilities. They used the 9.3x64 case, shortened in order to achieve the case capacity desired to achieve this end result. While the case is still long enough that it requires a long action, it does produce a slightly lighter rifle for all day carry that can be appreciated when tracing cape buffalo over many miles under a hot sun, and the recoil is such that most recoil sensitive hunters handle and shoot rifles in this cartridge better than they do rifles chambered to the 375 H&H.

At the time, I had recently gone through a period where I was experiencing shoulder issues, and the new cartridge seemed like a good solution for a 375 caliber rifle that would be mostly used for North American game such as bison and large bears. With the introduction of the Nosler 260 gr bullets in .375" (Partition, AccuBond, and Solids) I thought that this would also be a great bullet or use on or North American game, while still being able to develop a load with a solid to pair with the soft, should I ever get the chance to take it to Africa. The rifle is a LH Ruger Model 77 Mk II with a 21' barrel and consistently produces 0.535" groups at 2632 fps, and is a pussycat to shoot, even off the bench. It has taken bison and elk to date.

While the rifle was stocked in the original donor rifle's factory laminated stock at the time when this hunt occurred, it has since been restocked in a mannlicher laminated stock from Wenig, and the Leupold VX 3 1.5-5 scope has been switched out for a S&B 1.5-6x42, which has increased it weight to 10 lbs 7 oz with a full magazine.

I have since had surgery to help resolve some of my shoulder issues, and can again handle more recoil, and have also built a rifle in 416 Taylor on another LH Ruger Model 77 Mk II that is also fun to shoot, and that my shoulder does not complain about, as my current load is the 350 gr TSX at 2415 fps producing 0.400" groups at 100 yards using 69 gr of Re-15. I still have room for improvement, and can go up to 72 gr for approx 2503 fps as per QuickLoad...but as it is shooting so well here, I have not yet pursued this to see what the result would be. With a Trijicon TR24G 1-4 x 24 scope mounted on it, the weight is 9 lbs 10 oz with a full magazine.

 

[Vince]

It is interesting that you mention penetration over velocity...

When the 376 Steyr was first introduced, it was the part of the explanation as to the design and purpose of this little brother to the great 375 H&H. They reported that in many cases, PHs were downloading their 375 H&Hs to the 2300 fps range of velocity, from the 2500 fps range, with soft bullets in order to improve their penetration capabilities. They used the 9.3x64 case, shortened in order to achieve the case capacity desired to achieve this end result. While the case is still long enough that it requires a long action, it does produce a slightly lighter rifle for all day carry that can be appreciated when tracing cape buffalo over many miles under a hot sun, and the recoil is such that most recoil sensitive hunters handle and shoot rifles in this cartridge better than they do rifles chambered to the 375 H&H.

At the time, I had recently gone through a period where I was experiencing shoulder issues, and the new cartridge seemed like a good solution for a 375 caliber rifle that would be mostly used for North American game such as bison and large bears. With the introduction of the Nosler 260 gr bullets in .375" (Partition, AccuBond, and Solids) I thought that this would also be a great bullet or use on or North American game, while still being able to develop a load with a solid to pair with the soft, should I ever get the chance to take it to Africa. The rifle is a LH Ruger Model 77 Mk II with a 21' barrel and consistently produces 0.535" groups at 2632 fps, and is a pussycat to shoot, even off the bench. It has taken bison and elk to date.
View attachment 26497
While the rifle was stocked in the original donor rifle's factory laminated stock at the time when this hunt occurred, it has since been restocked in a mannlicher laminated stock from Wenig, and the Leupold VX 3 1.5-5 scope has been switched out for a S&B 1.5-6x42, which has increased it weight to 10 lbs 7 oz with a full magazine.

I have since had surgery to help resolve some of my shoulder issues, and can again handle more recoil, and have also built a rifle in 416 Taylor on another LH Ruger Model 77 Mk II that is also fun to shoot, and that my shoulder does not complain about, as my current load is the 350 gr TSX at 2415 fps producing 0.400" groups at 100 yards using 69 gr of Re-15. I still have room for improvement, and can go up to 72 gr for approx 2503 fps as per QuickLoad...but as it is shooting so well here, I have not yet pursued this to see what the result would be. With a Trijicon TR24G 1-4 x 24 scope mounted on it, the weight is 9 lbs 10 oz with a full magazine.
View attachment 26498

Nice looking rifle.

 

[Wenaha]

It is interesting that you mention penetration over velocity...

When the 376 Steyr was first introduced, it was the part of the explanation as to the design and purpose of this little brother to the great 375 H&H. They reported that in many cases, PHs were downloading their 375 H&Hs to the 2300 fps range of velocity, from the 2500 fps range, with soft bullets in order to improve their penetration capabilities. They used the 9.3x64 case, shortened in order to achieve the case capacity desired to achieve this end result. While the case is still long enough that it requires a long action, it does produce a slightly lighter rifle for all day carry that can be appreciated when tracing cape buffalo over many miles under a hot sun, and the recoil is such that most recoil sensitive hunters handle and shoot rifles in this cartridge better than they do rifles chambered to the 375 H&H.

At the time, I had recently gone through a period where I was experiencing shoulder issues, and the new cartridge seemed like a good solution for a 375 caliber rifle that would be mostly used for North American game such as bison and large bears. With the introduction of the Nosler 260 gr bullets in .375" (Partition, AccuBond, and Solids) I thought that this would also be a great bullet or use on or North American game, while still being able to develop a load with a solid to pair with the soft, should I ever get the chance to take it to Africa. The rifle is a LH Ruger Model 77 Mk II with a 21' barrel and consistently produces 0.535" groups at 2632 fps, and is a pussycat to shoot, even off the bench. It has taken bison and elk to date.
View attachment 26497
While the rifle was stocked in the original donor rifle's factory laminated stock at the time when this hunt occurred, it has since been restocked in a mannlicher laminated stock from Wenig, and the Leupold VX 3 1.5-5 scope has been switched out for a S&B 1.5-6x42, which has increased it weight to 10 lbs 7 oz with a full magazine.

I have since had surgery to help resolve some of my shoulder issues, and can again handle more recoil, and have also built a rifle in 416 Taylor on another LH Ruger Model 77 Mk II that is also fun to shoot, and that my shoulder does not complain about, as my current load is the 350 gr TSX at 2415 fps producing 0.400" groups at 100 yards using 69 gr of Re-15. I still have room for improvement, and can go up to 72 gr for approx 2503 fps as per QuickLoad...but as it is shooting so well here, I have not yet pursued this to see what the result would be. With a Trijicon TR24G 1-4 x 24 scope mounted on it, the weight is 9 lbs 10 oz with a full magazine.
View attachment 26498

I happen to have a LH Ruger M77 mrk II in my gun room. Owned it for several years and have contemplated what, exactly, I should do with it. It's an '06, so I thought maybe a 6mm Rem or, going the other way, a 35 Whelen. I love my M70s, GM Mauser and my Mathieu, but the M77 mrk II is too good to just sit in the rack.

Nice rifles!

 

[Blkram]

They are great rifles!
On the 376 Steyr I didn't have to open up the bolt face, as was required on the 416 Taylor as both donors were 30-06s.
I really like the LH Rem 700s, but could only find the LH 77s when looking for donors for these builds. Didn't hurt that both were CF actions for these cartridges (not that I wouldn't have built them on a pushfeed), and I have always liked the Ruger rifles too. I have enjoyed owning, shooting and hunting these rifles. (Just haven't taken anything with the 416 yet; carried it for bison but didn't find any, and used another rifle for the caribou I got on that hunt).

The 35 Whelen is a great cartridge.
As is the 9.3x62 which would be legal in some African countries for DG should you ever go and not want to use the 404 just because you have something else to try.
If going to a smaller caliber, a 257 Roberts on the 06 action would be a good choice, as you could go to a faster twist (1:9 or 1:8) and use either the 115 gr or the newer high BC heavier bullets, seated out further.

 

[Wenaha]

I have a very early (Don Allen era) LH SA Dakota 76 in 257 Roberts. It has a blind magazine. I struggled with feeding issues. I think the 257R is about the longest round that will fit in the magazine. Sent it to Parkwest earlier this year and they fixed the problem and didn'r charge much as I recall.

In my 25- '06 Ruger No. 1 (25" Brux barrel with 9-1/2 twist) the 100 gr. Nosler BT ahead of 52 gr. of IMR 4350 really shoots well and produces sub MOA groups at about 3270 fps. . I am favoring the Nosler 115 BT and using N560 for similar accuracy at about 3100 fps. Still working on the optimal load for this bullet in this rifle.

In the 257R I am starting to research useful loads in this rifle. Really have not shot it much with the feeding problems I've had.

 

[PJGunner]

At one time I did much of my hunting with single shot rifles. Most were Ruger #1s in various configurations and chambered to various cartridges. I got lucky one day when I saw a Ruger #1H in .375 H&H in the paper for a ridiculously low price. It seems the fellow selling it didn't much care for the recoil. I didn't argue and just paid his price. It was about hat time that I was thinking of doing a hunt in africa in a few years when I retired That .375 clinched that idea. I did a lot of study and decided the first shot would be with the Nosler Partition but follow up shots might be with a Partition or an FMJ solid. Final decision would be after a discussion with the PH prior to the hunt. By the time I retired, I'd added a .404 Jeffery and a .416 Rigby to the collection of Number ones but life got in the way and the hunt never got done.
FWIW, I've never felt that a single shot rifle was all that much of a handicap. I have a 3X Weaver on the .375 H&H but the .404J and .414R only have the factory sights.
Paul B.