I had asked this before but not directly to one of the Nosler's. Nobody answered and I am still curious. Can you tell us why you choose 260 grains for the .375 Partition and AccuBond as opposed to the more common 270 grain? Thanks for any help.
It appears that when the .375 bullet was built by Nosler, it was made to 260gr because Federal wanted a lighter bullet. That way they could load it to shoot faster than the 270gr bullets. As we all know, speed sells. There you have it.
Anyone else want to try and stump me on Nosler history? 8) Just kidding. I am amazed how I am continuously finding out new fun facts here at Nosler.
Just to stir the pot a little, is there really that much difference in the other, non-speed factors, when you reduce bullet weight by 3.7%?
I am by no means a speed junkie, as one of my go to rifles for deer hunting is my old Winchester 94 in 30-30 (a real speedster, for sure), but with my 8x57, I can use 150gr bullets and get approximately 20-25 more yards of point blank range versus the 180- & 200gr slugs available, without giving up even 100lbs of energy at 400yds. Now, I realize 25 yds is not much, but it could mean the difference between taking and not taking an animal based on holdover. I believe I sacrifice a bit of penetration in using 150's, but I am not terribly concerned about penetration on southeastern white-tails. For elk or moose, that same 8x57 would be sporting 180BT's or 200AB's.
I would be curious to know what the perceived advantages of the 270gr bullet are over the 260gr. Not because I am saying there aren't any, but because I don't shoot the big stuff, and I want to know, in case I ever start.
Leo M, I am sorry that it is not the answer you wanted to hear, but at the same time, when the 260gr Partition bullet came out, that weight grain was not that uncommon. In the 60's 260gr bullets were more common than they are now.
As to the question posed by dubyam, this is a perfect example of why speed does NOT always create a better cartridge. Below I will illustrate what a 260gr Partition, AccuBond and a 270gr Speer bullet will do at different ranges from a 375H&H. The starting velocity of the 260gr bullets is 2700fps and the 270gr bullet is 2650.
If all three have a zero at 200yards, then the drop will look like this: Bullet______Drop@200_____Drop@300______Drop@400
260PT__________0.0___________-9.74__________-29.06
260AB__________0.0___________-8.42__________-24.31
270SpBt________0.0___________-9.04__________-26.28
That is what 3.7% difference will do. It looks like the AccuBond has the advantage.
