Barnes TSX/TTSX vs Nosler Partition

Which is the better hunting bullet?

  • Total voters
    378
winmag said:
Yes, your absolutely right. There is no right answer for everyone. Everyone hunts different, at different ranges, on different size critters, with different cartriges, & different terminal performance expectations.

W/R I hope you knew I was being a smart *** earlier, not taking personal shots.
I re-read that post, & it appeared a bit edgy. That wasn't my intention to be offensive. It was supposed to be funny (see smiley face)
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Not a problem my friend. No offense taken.
 
winmag said:
Kinda odd since they "rate thier bullets use" by weight & caliber with a picture of the critter on the box. Send me your Email & I'll send you a pic. I'm too technology retarded to post pics on LRH from my phone.
30 cal 180, & 200 gr say -& I'm quoting the box here in my hands-
"Game recommendations depending on caliber" -first line.
Next line says
"Deer, Elk, Bear, Moose, African Game"
on the box with a neat picture of an Elk under the caption.

Now it does not say this for the 30 cal 165's, or the 277 cal 140's, but they work great on Elk too from experience.

So maybe you shoot a smaller caliber gun? Or maybe prefer a lighter weight faster bullet for caliber? Maybe Nosler doesn't classify the Accubond they make for a smaller caliber to be worthy of the Deer, Elk, Bear, Moose, African Game stamp? I dunno. I have a relatiave-in-law (is that a word?:D) who works for Nosler. All the Accubonds are made the same way. Nosler is just down the road from my house by about 15 min. I'll try to swing into the pro shop after work next week & ask how they come up with thier rating system.
But I can certainly show you proof on the box that they are not in any way considered for light or medium game in 30 cal 180, & 200gr, or 338 cal 225 gr.
Nor can I find any literature on the box of 30 cal 165's or 270 cal 140's that indicate small or medium game thin skinned game, but I will concede that it doesn't say deer elk bear moose African game on either of those boxes.

Oh, & fyi, & to clear up miss information on this thread, you & anyone else can Google Nosler reloading, click on products, click on Accubond, scroll down & read the big red letters that say GAME RECOMENDATIONS, DEER ELK BEAR MOOSE AFRICAN GAME.
Nowhere on that page of the Nosler website did it say light thin skinned, or medium anything regarding Accubonds.
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Well then they are being a bit inconsistent as to their recommendations because they used to have a blurb right there on the Accubond page that stated they were recommending them for a target/match and light/medium game bullet.

They shoot very well, just my own personal experience and what they at least used to state on the website is where my opinion came from. I did not like they way the performed at all on big hogs so I did some reading on the site, found that recommendation and never went back.

For the thirty caliber, .338's at long range, no doubt they are an excellent choice because they will open consistently and expand where some of the other LR bullets do not, but inside 500yds, especially on anything large, hard to penetrate, or dangerous there are lots of better choices including the Partition.
 
WildRose said:
Well then they are being a bit inconsistent as to their recommendations because they used to have a blurb right there on the Accubond page that stated they were recommending them for a target/match and light/medium game bullet.

They shoot very well, just my own personal experience and what they at least used to state on the website is where my opinion came from. I did not like they way the performed at all on big hogs so I did some reading on the site, found that recommendation and never went back.

For the thirty caliber, .338's at long range, no doubt they are an excellent choice because they will open consistently and expand where some of the other LR bullets do not, but inside 500yds, especially on anything large, hard to penetrate, or dangerous there are lots of better choices including the Partition.
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Actually alot of the Accubonds perform on game much like Partitions, at least in some calibers.

I am not Nosler, but I think some of these bullets are made for a velocity range of certain rounds, I would not be surprised if the 8mm bullet was made with the 8 Mauser in mind, since the 8mmMag is rare. I know the 140 Acc. for the 270 is quite tough, alot tougher than the 130 Part. in my own experience of these 2. I would bet that the 200 Accubond was made with 300 mags in mind, I know they do well in that application. I do know that the Bal. Tip hunting bullets have alot of variation in jacket thickness among the diff. hunting bullets.

I don't think all Accubonds can be thought of as the same in toughness.
 
I voted Nosler Partition. Shoot them middle of the road to heavy for caliber and go kill things. Stay within the practical range of your given cartridge and go kill things. The front half will expand reliably at 308 , 30/06 , or 300 Ultra velocities while the rear portion drives on to finish the job. Boring, mundane looking,plain Jane old fashioned bullets that have earned our respect. If you live somewhere that conventional bullets are illeagle,I feel for you. I'm just happy it isn't a nation wide ban ........yet. The last correspondence I had with Barnes convinced me that they can go to ..........well,You know the place. This is after all a family forum so I'll refrain from the expletives. There is nothing in their product that I can't replace with conventional bullets. Hunt any species that I can afford to hunt. While obtaining the desired performance. That is as long as there isn't a nation wide lead ban. Wouldn't be surprised if they aren't lobbying to further the ban. At any rate there is still the GMX should things turn ugly. If I had the bullet budget to support it,I'd stock up on Bear Claws and be on my merry way. Just one mans opinion.
 
I voted Barnes, but personally have not tried the Nosler Partition's. I have heard good things about them though. I first tried the Barnes in my 30-30 on hogs and deer and was very impressed! All dropped where they stood. Now the Barnes may not be my longer distance choice though and will cross that bridge when I push the limit of the Barnes in my guns. Have had great accuracy from them. Even shoots MOA with my ol' iron sights 30-30.


(First tried Barnes when a friend gave me a free box...can't beat that!)
 
My experience last year with Nosler accubonds; two big boar hogs 275 lbs @ 185 yards and 325 lbs at 350 yards, both dropped absolutley in their tracks.

same with 4 whitetails from 390 to 480 yards. ironically two coyotes at closer range ran about 20 yards.

last expeience with a Barnes TSX was 350 yards to a doe, which hardly reacted to the shot and then ran about 50 yards before dropping.
definately penciled thru.

Isn't there another bullet out their also called an acubond(?), besides the Nosler? that might explain some of the "blowups" at close range.
 
texas270 said:
My experience last year with Nosler accubonds; two big boar hogs 275 lbs @ 185 yards and 325 lbs at 350 yards, both dropped absolutley in their tracks.

same with 4 whitetails from 390 to 480 yards. ironically two coyotes at closer range ran about 20 yards.

last expeience with a Barnes TSX was 350 yards to a doe, which hardly reacted to the shot and then ran about 50 yards before dropping.
definately penciled thru.

Isn't there another bullet out their also called an acubond(?), besides the Nosler? that might explain some of the "blowups" at close range.
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No if anyone else were calling their bullets "Accubond" it would be a case of patent/copy write infringement.
 
I don't shoot a lot of big game, mostly just mule deer. Occasionally get out for elk or black bear. Started using the Nosler Partition back in the 1970's - which seems like a long time ago somehow. They've never disappointed. Also a fan of other Nosler hunting bullets, the Ballistic Tip, Accubond and the good old Solid Base bullets which were the lead-tipped predecessor to the Ballistic Tip.

They've all done well for me.

I had accuracy and fouling problems when I tried the old Barnes X bullets, but liked the concept. When they came out with the TSX, I decided to give them a try and took a couple of mule deer, using my .25-06 rifle. One buck, shot at very close range, showed obvious expansion along with the famous Barnes penetration. Excellent performance. The other? I'm not sure it expanded at all - but it did kill the buck.

I've got some Barnes bullets on the loading bench, mostly in case someone decides to make lead core hunting bullets illegal. For hunting, I've got to say I still prefer my Noslers. Maybe it's just all those years of trusting them.

Watching the big 6x6 bull elk take a few faltering steps, then stumble and fall after the 175 Nosler Partition went through his chest, causing tremendous destruction.

Seeing my bear instantly drop when hit with the 260 gr Accubond at a tad over 300 yards. It penetrated completely through, and he left a wide swath of blood as he dragged himself less than 10' under some nearby brush.

Looking at the impressive damage inflicted on my son's first deer, when hit through the chest and out, shattering the off-side leg, with the little 95 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip...

All good memories, from almost 40 years of using Nosler hunting bullets. We truly live in a time when there are many excellent choices for hunting bullets. Nosler, Barnes, Swift, Sierra, Speer... I've seen them all work really well.

Regards, Guy
 
I have limited experience with the partition however, i have shot many animals with the Barnes TSX and TTSX. the question you pose really comes down to application, are you going to be shooting long distances, what size game will you be shooting etc...

If you are an avergae hunter where most shots are 150 yds or less with the occassional shot out to maybe 300 yds then i would suggest the TSX/TTSX.

If you plan on using them for long range, i would caution that you need to understand what your rifle is capabale of in terms of velocity at those distances. You maximum effective range will not be limited by accuracy with the Barnes bullet, rather it will be limited by the recommended minimum impact velocity.

For accuracy i would suggest the the TTSX/TSX over the partition for your average hunting distances.

For longer ranges i would look at the Berger VLD hunting bullet and the Hornady A-Max as viable options that will produce accuracy and performance needed to make an ethical kill.
 
WildRose said:
It's the opinion of the people who produced it, Nosler.

It is recommended only for light to medium game, not large game, not dangerous game.

The information is on their website.

As far as deer goes, well they are considered to medium sized thin skinned game so they are well within what the bullet is designed for.

Elk and Moose are not.
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Elk and Moose are perfectly within the realms of an accubond. My grandpa used to hunt elk in northern AZ with his 270 using 130gr Speer soft points. He killed everything he shot. The bullet didnt explode, bounce off, or get scared at the sight of the elk and turn aside.
Put any bullet (within reason) where it needs to go and what you just shot is dead.
Dont mean any disrespect, but I whole heartedly disagree with your statement thats all :)
 
Never shot a Barnes but have used the 150 and 130 grain partitions in my .270. Killed my first moose with the 150 grain partition @ 275 yards. With the 130 grain I shot a big whitetail that was making a scrape at about 110 yards. I aimed between his brow tines as he was facing me. I was downhill from the buck. The bullet entered near his spine high on his neck and penetrated to his right rear ham where I found it. The bullet expanded back to the partition and stayed intact with no core separation. Four feet of deer is a long way to penetrate in my book.
 
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