How long has it been? Cut cannelures on Partitions.

[Trikstr]

Picked up a box at local store. Obviously been there awhile. Four more boxes all with the same lot #. Gonna try some in my 338 Lapua.
Cannelures vary somewhat. I'll have to weigh some and see how much variation there is.

 

[JD338]

I am guessing 15 years since Nosler offered the 338 cal bullets with a cut cannelure in boxed bullets. They are still available from time to time in 338 cal 210 gr and 250 gr as factory seconds that were run for Federal.

JD338

 

[Trikstr]

Any way to tell date by lot #?

 

[Guy Miner]

For those who don't know what the heck we're discussing, here's a photo of newer and older .375" Nosler 300 gr Partitions. The old one has the much bigger "cut" cannelure:

It's been a long time since the Partitions were made like that... I'm guessing 20 years or more?

 

[257 Ackley]

Just got 4 bags of 210 grain Pt seconds delivered yesterday. I'm sure they were part of the overrun for Federal. My 338-06 loves this bullet!

 

[Elkman]

I have a supply of both kinds. I am guessing at least 20 if not more. 20 years only goes back to 92, I am betting 30, I know that they had the cut (machined) portion in 61. !

The Nosler website says the original machined bullet came out in 48, the Solid Base bullet, (which I believe is the style of the newer Partition) came out in 72.

 

[Guy Miner]

Yeah, the Solid Base wasn't a Partition. I used the SB's quite a bit in the 1980's - and only a few years ago Nosler made another run of them in several calibers. I stocked up on 6mm & .30 cal Solid Base bullets again, only a few years ago on a big sale. Good bullets, but not partitions.

As to when Nosler changed how they made the Partitions - I really don't remember. At least 20 years ago, and you may well be right, it could well be 30...

Seems kind of a shame that these big ol' 300's have been sitting around so long without taking bear, moose, elk or cape buffalo!

Guy

 

[Elkman]

One of my dreams has always been a Cape Buff, however it will probably remain so, just a dream. I do not see me traveling that distance, and spending the kind of dollars necessary for a super quality hunt. So I will continue to roam the mountains of the west in search of the elusive 330 bull. But first I have to draw a tag. !

 

[Oldtrader3]

I do not remember seeing any Partition bullets with the screw machined jackets and the wide crimping band cut into the side (like the picture) since the early 1970's. I am not sure anymore what the dates were when these configarations were produced. Maybe Bill remembers? When I started using Partitions in the 1960's they all were made on screw machines (or Swiss Automatics) and had the wide cannula band cut into the outer jacket. I think that this probably weakened to column impact strength of the jacket and may have caused jacket fractures or shear off of the nose petals because of stress risers which can initiate shearing in the sharp corners during expansion, expecially at high velocites. Nosler changed to the narrower crimping band during the early 1970's.

When Nosler went to an extrusion process to make the jackets the earlier bullets had just the narrow cut like in the picture during the 1970's and into the 1980's. I do not think that these older Partitions with the wide band are quite as accurate as the new bullets are. They would create a greater drag vortices and are one more process to control the weight of. However I can not document or prove this this as I do not have any of my old targets anymore. When I got divorced upon early retirement in 2001, my exwife capricously kept my box of old targets and loading data dating back to the 1960's.

I still have some of these old Partition bullets at my son's house in Wyoming. Maybe someday I will get over there or he here and get the bullets back. It would be fun to test them.

 

[Trikstr]

The ones that I bought are like the top ones in the picture.
Thanks for all the good info. It's nice to have places like this where you come to to get info!

 

[Elkman]

I believe my Nosler #2 shows a cross section of the Newer style bullet, it was published in 81. Like OT -3 I remember the accuracy in the older ones were not near what they are now. They still killed elk and deer however. I have about 50-60 of the old ones.