Nosler Bullets

[ShadeTree]

Hello all, I've been off the boards most of the summer, been doing a ton of shooting which is always good I guess.

I got a question about something I ran into. I got an 06 that dearly loves all Hornady bullets I've fed it so far, 150, 180, doesn't matter, so that's what I've been shooting. But I've got 2 partial boxes of Nosler 150 gr partitions that I thought I would work up a load for this upcoming deer season. I will admit they were both already partial boxes when I got them, but I did confirm they are partitions and they are both 150 grains.

I have a notebook that I keep the Max OAL measurement for each type bullet in each particular gun. For the 150 nosler Partition in that gun I had an OAL of 3.285 in the notebook. Just to double check before I started loading that bullet I checked it again. I got a measurement of 3.340. I thought that can't be right, so I checked it again. Measurement came in at 3.340. Then while I was scratching my head wondering how I had screwed up so bad in my notes, I wondered if I had used a bullet out of the other box when I made the notes, so I tried a bullet out of the other box. It was 3.295. (.010 throat erosion since the first time I measured OAL with that bullet.) Went back and tried 2 more bullets out of the other box. 3.340, checked again out of the other box, 3.295.

These are older Partition boxes, 1 appears older than the other. Did I get 2 boxes that spanned a complete bullet design change at Nosler? How is it possible that a different box of the same bullet engages the lands at a .045 difference?

 

[EastTNHunter]

I have gotten .308 165 SPs of different lots from Hornady and they have drastically different ogives. My experience with Noslers have been less pronounced, but can show some difference nonetheless

 

[ShadeTree]

I have gotten .308 165 SPs of different lots from Hornady and they have drastically different ogives. My experience with Noslers have been less pronounced, but can show some difference nonetheless

I've gone from an old box of bullets to a new 1 already and seen as much as a .010 difference in the ogive contacting the lands, but never nothing like this. The problem is I hardly have enough in either box to figure a good working load and seating depth while still having enough left over to hunt with, I was figuring on combining the 2 originally. Oh well.

 

[Guy Miner]

Ya, I got caught once, with a set of recent manufacture bullets vs a batch of old bullets. I didn't think anything of it, just opened the new box, loaded 'em up.

The ogive was different enough that the seating depth which worked fine with the old bullets, was too long, and actually jammed the new bullets slightly into the barrel when I'd close the bolt. Not knowing this, I shot a few at the range, and verified accuracy & point of impact were the same as before. All appeared well, but was not.

I figured that out when I ejected one and the bullet stuck in the barrel, spilling powder into the action of my rifle... Sigh... Went back to the press, and seated 'em all a little deeper.

Guy

 

[ShadeTree]

Ya, I got caught once, with a set of recent manufacture bullets vs a batch of old bullets. I didn't think anything of it, just opened the new box, loaded 'em up.

The ogive was different enough that the seating depth which worked fine with the old bullets, was too long, and actually jammed the new bullets slightly into the barrel when I'd close the bolt. Not knowing this, I shot a few at the range, and verified accuracy & point of impact were the same as before. All appeared well, but was not.

I figured that out when I ejected one and the bullet stuck in the barrel, spilling powder into the action of my rifle... Sigh... Went back to the press, and seated 'em all a little deeper.

Guy

Guess it's all a lesson in that one can never be too careful and it doesn't cost anything to double check.

I imagine if a person was at a mid range load and all of a sudden had bullets into the lands you would still be okay. But if at or near peak pressure with a bullet starting out with a .030 jump, then all of a sudden jammed into the lands with the same charge and bullet, I would think pressures could spike dramatically. Either way I'm glad I double checked.