Bullet notes on the Nosler 44 cal. Partition for 44 mag

[Questor]

Questor Jr. and I went hog hunting this week and took a couple of nice eating size sows of around 200# each. He used his .308 rifle to very good effect and I used my 44 magnum revolver. This time I tried a jacketed bullet for handgun hunting on the theory that I might get a quicker kill, and also to try something new. The bullet was the 250 grain Nosler Partition in a 1300fps load.

I discovered that the performance of this bullet is the same as the performance of cast bullets, except that they don't penetrate as well. The Partitions cost about $45 per box of 50, the cast bullets cost about $32 per box of 500.

The partitions do definitely expand well and do more tissue damage, but on a hog it doesn't seem to have any improved effect. Either bullet punches a big hole that bleeds freely. And while the Nosler does expand, it does not have the same destructive effect that, say, a .308 rifle bullet has on tissue, nor does it have that killing power that just knocks the animal down. After a well placed lung shot for the first shot, I still took a neck shot to stop the running animal (because I didn't know for sure how hard it was hit with the first shot), and then fired another shot into the neck when it was down. This matches previous experience with cast bullets.

None of the bullets exited.

One important thing happened that has never happened before: I had a ringing in my ears for more than a day after firing these shots. I have never experienced ringing ears after using comparable loads with cast bullets after taking a hunting shot. I was not in a confined area. I think there may be something about the pressure dynamics of the jacketed bullet in the way sound escapes the cylinder gap. In any case, I am very concerned about this and will not be using bullets like this again without some hearing protection. I'll have to research ear plugs that are suitable for handgun hunting. (If you have suggestions I will really appreciate them!)

Questor Jr. took almost the identical shot with his .308 using the wonderful 150 grain Speer Hot Cor bullet that we like very much. The pig went down legs up and kicked a bit, then was still. The bullet exited.

[gypsyman]

Questor, thanks for taking the time to post this. I have a couple question's for ya. Did you use a different powder, and or charge amount, from what you would have used for a cast bullet load? I usually try and keep my cast bullet loads to around sonic velocity's, and maybe when the bullet leaves the barrel, if it's just sub sonic, maybe the sound waves arn't as hard on the ears??
OR, maybe a slow burning powder doesn't send the shock waves thru the surrounding air, as a fast burning powder.(pulled that one out of my butt, but what the heck!!)   Congrats on a good hunt!!  gypsyman

[Varmint Hunter]

I am not a big proponent of non-expending hard cast bullets. While they do penetrate like crazy, so do solids and I wouldn't use them either. Non-expanding bullets produce smaller wound channels, as can be seen in the many tests that have been done using a variety of ballistic medias. They often don't cause the initial impact response that is normally seen when using high speed hollow point or soft points. At least this has been my experience on deer and hogs.

I shot a 325 lb boar a few seasons back. I was shooting a 300 gr A-Frame (HP) bullet which is similar to the Partition but built tougher. I intentionally shot the boar through the heaviest area of the grizzle plate. Not only did the bullet easily penetrate the on-side plate but it blasted through the hog and out the off-side plate to boot. Huge blood spray out both sides for the 35-40 yds that the boar actually traveled. No follow-up shots were necessary. Pig was shot @ about 45 yds and was dead when I got to it.

A standard 240 gr XTP bullet does much more damage to a whitetail than any hard cast lead bullet. At least on the deer that I've shot.

I've tried the hard cast bullets but have since returned to conventional jacketed bullet for the hunting that I do. There are some instances where a hunter may NEED extreme penetration and be willing to sacrifice expansion to get it but I haven't been in that situation and would likely just carry a more appropriate cartridge for such a hunting need.

[Questor]

Gypsyman:

My usual load for 240 grain cast bullets is 21 grains of Winchester 296 with WLP primer and Winchester brass. This load is 20 grains of 296, and to OAL specified by Nosler, but everything else is the same.  I didn't chronograph it, but I expect it to be in the neighborhood of 1300fps, perhaps a bit slower.

[Lone Star]

The fact that many hundreds of us revolver hunters use jacketed bullets for hunting, often with powders like the H110/W296 twins, without objectionable ear discomfort makes me think that there is something different about the area where you took your shot, rather than some undefined "pressure dynamics" difference with the load.  So little gas escapes the cylinder gap compared to the muzzle that I would have trouble believing that is the cause of the sound difference.  It is much more likely that the immediate area where you shot reflected the sound differently, or perhaps you had a nasal infection or allergy that impacted your eustation tubes.   

I too prefer some expansion with my handgun bullets, although the bullet has to penetrate enough to do sufficient damage. A single animal shot with a single bullet proves very little, but your story will become part of a list of experiences with this bullet to help us all learn.  Thanks.


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[Lloyd Smale]

some more bad results with expanding bullets here! http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,141233.0.html

[Questor]

By the way, those 200# hogs are excellent eating. We had some breakfast sausage and some chops over the weekend and Yum!  Much better than the big old boars that take a lot of roasting time to make them tender enough to eat. Certainly much better than supermarket pork, and better than pork I've bought from farmers.

[Lone Star]

Okay Lloyd, jacketed bullets are all POS and only idiots with no hunting experience would ever use them.  You da man. 
Happy now?  Sheesh!







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[Varmint Hunter]

some more bad results with expanding bullets here! http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,141233.0.html

Interesting read but my comments and experience with hard cast vs jacketed lead bullets revolved around shooting game under 350lb and usually closer to 150lbs. I would not use a soft bullet of any design when shooting pistol bullets at buffalo. Where penetration requirements outweigh all other considerations it would be hard to beat a quality hard cast bullet of considerable weight for diameter.

For shooting deer and pigs there are many jacketed lead bullets that will provide good expansion AND more penetration than is needed.