I have hunted mt entire life, and I have used many different kinds of bullets. About five years ago I purchased a new mark V Stainless weatherby chambered in a .280 Rem. I have spent the last five years working on the right load and hunting every year to verify bullet performance on game not just on paper and ballistic charts. After trying everything from speer to barnes I ended up with a 150 grain Partition going just over 2875 fps, that patterns under 1/2 inch everytime. Since then I have taken a 350 B&C bull elk, several mule deer, antelope, and 9 different species in Africa. One of the animals that I took was one of two kudu bulls. I took the bull at 414 yards on my leica lrf 1200 rangefinder. When the bull was examined after, we found that the bullet had gone through both shoulders (BONE) and kept right on going out the other side. For a bullet to perform at a range of over 400 yards and still hammer through bone says something for the Partition. My mother took a record book Shiras moose in Idaho this year with my gun at 403 yards. We found that bullet after the bull dropped immediatley when he was hit, and it did exactly what it was designed to do. The front of the bullet had mushroomed and the lead had seperated from the front copper, the rear held together and drove the bullet deep. I dont care what people say about all of the new ideas and bullets that are comming out everyday, the only thing that matters is what happens to the animal when the trigger is pulled. If there is one thing that the Partition does well, it is kill.
THE PROOF ON PARTITON
- Thread starter wturley
- Start date
I'm not surpirsed at your results, I pretty much only use NPs in the diff. rifle/calibers I hunt with. The penetration you got at 400yds isn't a surprise either, the bullet slows down & expands less, penetrates more. What makes the NP work for me is the broad range of impact vel. from 50yds to 400yds, they just work. BTW, .280, great underated caliber. I use mine w/ 160grNPs @ 2850fps, sub moa, great mule deer & backup elk load. :grin:
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,824
- 6,283
wturley - great testimonial to several things:
1) Your dedication to shooting, hunting and handloading.
2) The wonderful all-around performance of Nosler's Partition.
3) Gotta agree w/fredj338 - the .280 Rem is a great, but under-appreciated cartridge.
For decades I've been impressed with the penetration of the Nosler Partition, but in recent years, I've also been very impressed with their accuracy - no mean feat when you consider that the Partition has two bullet cores, twice as much chance to build the bullet a little out-of-whack.
Just this deer season I did a little accuracy check of 100 grain Partitions from my teenage son's 6mm Remington - it shot 2.5" groups at 300 yards, and impressed the heck out of me!
Regards, Guy
1) Your dedication to shooting, hunting and handloading.
2) The wonderful all-around performance of Nosler's Partition.
3) Gotta agree w/fredj338 - the .280 Rem is a great, but under-appreciated cartridge.
For decades I've been impressed with the penetration of the Nosler Partition, but in recent years, I've also been very impressed with their accuracy - no mean feat when you consider that the Partition has two bullet cores, twice as much chance to build the bullet a little out-of-whack.
Just this deer season I did a little accuracy check of 100 grain Partitions from my teenage son's 6mm Remington - it shot 2.5" groups at 300 yards, and impressed the heck out of me!
Regards, Guy
big rifle man
Handloader
- Dec 21, 2005
- 850
- 0
Hmmmm, very interesting that a 150 grain Partition is used and is very successful on a wide variety of game. I use a 165 grain Partition in my .300 WSM for Elk and many people keep saying its too light. The 5X5 I took in Colorado first season would disagree and a couple of other Elk taken in the past would also disagree.
big rifle man
Handloader
- Dec 21, 2005
- 850
- 0
Thanks STW, the comment was much appreciated. By the way, I also shoot a Model 700 with a 28 inch custom barrel in 7STW. I have found that the 150's are very useful and are excellent for long range deer. By long range I mean 300 to 400 yards. I like to think that I'm a decent enough hunter to get that close.
longwinters
Handloader
- Oct 10, 2004
- 1,476
- 1
I would be interested in what powder you are using to get those velocities with the grain bullets you are using in the 280. No flame here, but I am using 58.5 gns of H4831 with 140 Accubonds and getting 2800fps. I am not a velocity groupee but am always interested in what successful shooters are using in one of my favorite calibers. Also, are these chrony'd or book velocities.
Long
Long
Desert Fox
Handloader
- Aug 14, 2006
- 1,965
- 3
The capability of the Partition were well documented eversince it's creation by John Nosler. There's no doubt what it can do. The 280 though on the otherhand is one caliber that has been ignored neglected and never got the accolade it deserved except by a few legions of die hard followers. These silent minority group of people are very knowlegeable and savvy handloaders. They know that by careful handloading, you can push the performance envelop of this round, and the games drop each time. I myself choose this caliber when I bought my first rifle. My longest shot on record on game was achieved with my 280, at 642 yards. Performance wise, the 280 beat's 30-06 and 270 in my opinion.
I'll add my praises of the Nosler Partition.
I've been shooting Nosler Partitions since crica 1956. I have used them in .257 Roberts, .257 Wby, 300 Wby, 300 Apex, 30-06, 9.3X62M, 375 H&H. In all this time I have never had a terminal ballistics failure of a Nosler Partition. They are not super do-it-all bullets, however when driven within their design parameters they will do what they say they will do, everytime!
When my new 9.3X74R double rifle arrives it will be fed a steady diet of Noslers, Partitions and Accubonds!
I've been shooting Nosler Partitions since crica 1956. I have used them in .257 Roberts, .257 Wby, 300 Wby, 300 Apex, 30-06, 9.3X62M, 375 H&H. In all this time I have never had a terminal ballistics failure of a Nosler Partition. They are not super do-it-all bullets, however when driven within their design parameters they will do what they say they will do, everytime!
When my new 9.3X74R double rifle arrives it will be fed a steady diet of Noslers, Partitions and Accubonds!
Jack O'connor, the man who made the 270 famous said, "IF the 280 Remington would have been handed to me before I got started with a 270 Winchester, I doubt I would have ever picked up a 270."
280 Rem's are the ultimate in my book. With a 150 gr Partition, there's not much that it won't put down.
My 280 Remington took my biggest Whitetail ever from my Encore Single Shot @ 185 yards even though I encountered him at about 30 steps. He was so majestic with that huge 14 point rack, double split brow tines, double split G2's, double split G4's & a drop tine kicker......I just had to take a couple of minutes to absorb the site of him chasing that doe. As he turned to go into the woods, I whacked him in the shoulder. He ran about 35 yards and piled up. That was a commercial Remington Core Lokt 150.
I don't think a better combination exists than a 280 & a 150. Partitions for me will soon be on the menu as soon as I begin to reload that round. Thus far, however, the commercial loads have worked so good and maintenance free in all three of my 280's....I am hard pressed to find a reason to reload for it.
Sounds like sacrilege, I know. Commercial 150's at whatever speed Remington loads 'em. My longest shot with them was a 389 yard pig running full speed which I rolled with one shot while my buddy was banging away at him with his 30-06. I just swung on him like a big ole Goose, led his nose about a foot and hit the trigger...bang-flop-flop-flop.
Second longest, head shot on an Axis doe at 300 yards. I have taken over 25 animals with my 280's in the last two years. I keep searching for a reason to carry my 7mm Wby afield but I have yet to come up with one.
Kinda hurts. I paid a lot of money for that Mark V I thought I needed.
280 Rem's are the ultimate in my book. With a 150 gr Partition, there's not much that it won't put down.
My 280 Remington took my biggest Whitetail ever from my Encore Single Shot @ 185 yards even though I encountered him at about 30 steps. He was so majestic with that huge 14 point rack, double split brow tines, double split G2's, double split G4's & a drop tine kicker......I just had to take a couple of minutes to absorb the site of him chasing that doe. As he turned to go into the woods, I whacked him in the shoulder. He ran about 35 yards and piled up. That was a commercial Remington Core Lokt 150.
I don't think a better combination exists than a 280 & a 150. Partitions for me will soon be on the menu as soon as I begin to reload that round. Thus far, however, the commercial loads have worked so good and maintenance free in all three of my 280's....I am hard pressed to find a reason to reload for it.
Sounds like sacrilege, I know. Commercial 150's at whatever speed Remington loads 'em. My longest shot with them was a 389 yard pig running full speed which I rolled with one shot while my buddy was banging away at him with his 30-06. I just swung on him like a big ole Goose, led his nose about a foot and hit the trigger...bang-flop-flop-flop.
Second longest, head shot on an Axis doe at 300 yards. I have taken over 25 animals with my 280's in the last two years. I keep searching for a reason to carry my 7mm Wby afield but I have yet to come up with one.
Kinda hurts. I paid a lot of money for that Mark V I thought I needed.
- Nov 4, 2004
- 25,435
- 9,233
The Nosler PT is the benchmark for which all other bullets are compared to. They just plain work time and time again.
The 150 gr PT in the 280 Rem is an excellent all around choice for just about every animal in NA and Africa Plains game.
JD338
The 150 gr PT in the 280 Rem is an excellent all around choice for just about every animal in NA and Africa Plains game.
JD338
I, too am a long time user of the Partition from Nosler. I started using them when they still had a machined groove around them, and never looked back. I have used them in 6mmR, 257R, 25-06, 6.5x55, 6.5-284, 264 Win Mag, 270W, 7x57, 280R, 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm STW, 300 Savage, 308 Win, 30-06, 30 Gibbs, 300 Win mag, 308 Norma Mag, 30-338, 8x57, 8mm Mag, 338 Mag, 35 Whelen and 375 Mag. Never had a failure to perform. Recovered roughly 20% of the Partitions shot at game, the rest exited. I now have 24 in my collection. I judge all other bullets by comparing their performance to the NP. Regards, Eagleye.
