Bullet failure 130 grain nosler partition with 6.5 creedmoor

The nose of the Partition is designed to expand "instantly" while the "Partition" section will stay intact to continue penetration. Just as Big John A. intended when he came up with the design. It's what I learned from the guys at Nosler and it says so on their webpage. https://www.nosler.com/partition-bullet/

It's a great bullet design that I still use today. I'd just stay off the shoulder on elk with the smaller calibers/ cartridges. If you were shooting heavy 30 cals or 338 cal at slower velocities I might do shoulder shots or "raking" shots.

xsn10s said:

The nose of the Partition is designed to expand "instantly" while the "Partition" section will stay intact to continue penetration. Just as Big John A. intended when he came up with the design. It's what I learned from the guys at Nosler and it says so on their webpage. https://www.nosler.com/partition-bullet/

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And that is exactly what it does.

If there is an issue with the performance of a Partition it is that the front part of the bullet expands too easy and sheds the lead in the nose.

Yep...front portion is designed to open quickly....unlike the Accubond...but much like the newer LRAB(long-range Accubond)...of the LRAB I have recovered it seems they are made to expand and retain maybe 40% of their oal weight....
Shooting and elk in the shoulder is never a good idea unless it's a heavy caliber rifle....that same 65creed bullet tucked into the lungs would ha e been plenty to kill that elk.....

Yes, the Nosler Partition expands rapidly, and the "pencil sized" exit is usually from the rear shank as it continues to penetrate through the animal. As it was said, often times they expand too rapidly, doubling back over on themselves, or the front portion smearing or disintegrating because of the thin jacket and soft lead (thus, aiding penetration because of less frontal area) but they do expand quickly. The jackets on the nose section are relatively thin, and they expand as much and as quickly as a standard spitzer, but the wall prevents it from expanding past the shank. People see the smaller exit wounds and think that they didn't expand, but in reality, the front half expanded, lead smeared off, and the rear shank continued to pass through. In my opinion, and looking at them over the years, the only things the Nosler Partition doesn't have going for it, is general ease of loading for accuracy, due to the cross-section "partition" preventing it from having relatively uniform deformation as it's squeezed down the bore upon firing, and a low B.C. for longer range shooting. Otherwise it's one of the finest bullet designs out there for big game under normal shooting conditiong (not long range.)

Edd said:

And that is exactly what it does.

If there is an issue with the performance of a Partition it is that the front part of the bullet expands too easy and sheds the lead in the nose.

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Amen, Edd.

I know we love to debate bullet design but in this instance I really think it's not having enough bullet with enough velocity to punch through the heavy bone of an elk shoulder at that distance.
The only way I would've felt comfortable shooting an elk in the shoulder at that distance would be with a 30cal mag and a suitable bullet

Canhunter35 said:

I know we love to debate bullet design but in this instance I really think it's not having enough bullet with enough velocity to punch through the heavy bone of an elk shoulder at that distance.
The only way I would've felt comfortable shooting an elk in the shoulder at that distance would be with a 30cal mag and a suitable bullet

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I agree with this except I wouldn't shoot for the low shoulder like the OP's instance. Mid to upper shoulder if your trying to break them down.

predator 22 said:

I agree with this except I wouldn't shoot for the low shoulder like the OP's instance. Mid to upper shoulder if your trying to break them down.

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Yeah I forgot about the low shoulder part.
If I had my 6.5cm at that range id poke one in behind the front leg, low so I could get the heart

richhymas said:

Not sure if anyone else had this problem, but my son almost lost a cow elk yesterday due to bullet failure. He hit his cow elk low in the front shoulder smashing the bone above the elbow. Bullet appears to have completely come apart and did not enter the chest. Follow up shot smashed the same shoulder high but also failed to penetrate the chest. All this at 325 yards with a 6.5 creedmoor and a 130 grain nosler partition. We came back the next day and found the cow bedded in trees. She got up and ran off. Ultimately he killed her with a 270. So should I blame the 6.5 creedmoor as being too light for cow elk or the 130 grain nosler partition??? Anyone else kill elk with a 6.5 creedmoor with a solid shoulder shot? If so, what bullet did you use because my 11 year old daughter has a tag next month and can't handle the recoil of much more than my creedmoor.

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First: Congratulations on teaching your son to be a marksman and a hunter. Nothing better than spending time with our kids in the great outdoors. This is the huge success!

Second: Congrats to the young hunter for putting meat on the table. A cow elk is a worthy game animal. Excellent fare, and often a challenging hunt.

Third: Dang, cartridge & bullet debates are things we love to debate on the internet. It's hard to say - I'd guess you'll learn more about the bullet performance, or lack of, when you take the animal apart more. Perhaps find exactly what the bullet struck, what stopped it.

Elk are tough, even cow elk, and that front leg/shoulder has been known to stop bullets. No doubt about it.

I've used the Partition happily for a long time now, from the old screw-machine Partitions of the 1970's to today's version. Have had surprising accuracy from them, and always excellent on-game performance. Rapid expansion, then a lot of penetration from the rear "shank" portion.

Matter of fact, I think highly of the Accubond and the Ballistic Tip as well.

It will be interesting to see what further exploration of the elk quarters reveals, if anything, but I surely wouldn't give up on the 6.5 or the 140 gr Nosler Partition. No personal experience with that combo yet, but it seems like one of those combos that should be mild shooting, accurate and effective. I'll echo those who say that if those bullets had been just a skosh behind the shoulder instead of into it, they'd have probably been more effective. Again, I've never had a problem with Partitions either expanding or penetrating.

Congrats again on getting your son out for the elk hunt!

And best of luck with your daughter's upcoming hunt!

Regards, Guy

Here's a pic of a 7mm 160 GR. Partition that busted the lower front leg of a bull elk at 30 yards. This is what remained and was stopped by the hide in the far side of the chest. The pic is of the front of the bullet. The upper part of the partition is completely gone. This is what happens a lot with partitions. Especially at higher velocities they will do this even if they don't hit bone. This is why folks think they just penciled thru. Have killed lots of game with them in the past. Have seem lots of them pass on thru but internal damage was more than sufficient.

In OPs case. I agree that the bullet just did not have the velocity and mass to do the job. Front of the bullet probably expanded and sheered off as in this pic, but then deflected due to the bone and either stopped or exited somewhere else on the shoulder. The Partition is an excellent bullet, but it's not a miracle worker. Stay off the shoulder and it probably would have worked very well.

Yup, that one looks like it slammed hard and fast!

Here's a 200 gr Partition recovered from a grizzly, shot at about 25 or 30 yards, from my 30-06, I'm very pleased with the performance of the bullet. Again, recovered just under the off-side hide after otherwise complete penetration. Front end is mostly gone. Shank is still hanging in there just fine. Usually when I recover a bullet, it's been trapped by the off-side hide.



Usually I can't recover a partition from smaller animals, they typically pass through, after massive initial expansion. The exit wounds are usually fairly small, due to most of the front end having been peeled away.

Regards, Guy

Nothing wrong with the 6.5 CM except the bullet weight used.

In the hands of our youth, we need to encourage them to use the heaviest bullet possible for the smaller cartridges with less velocity.

When hunting years ago with the 270, I found the best bullet for Elk was a 150 grain. The 130 was light enough to cause issues if the shot was anything but perfect.

Young hunters can get excited and make a poor hit (Just like we sometimes can) so I recommend a bullet weight that can offset this possibility and turn a poor hit into a better one.

Step him up to a 140+ bullet and he will have a better chance. The 130 is great In My Opinion for deer size game with the 6.5's.

Just my opinion

J E CUSTOM

J E Custom said:

Nothing wrong with the 6.5 CM except the bullet weight used.

In the hands of our youth, we need to encourage them to use the heaviest bullet possible for the smaller cartridges with less velocity.

When hunting years ago with the 270, I found the best bullet for Elk was a 150 grain. The 130 was light enough to cause issues if the shot was anything but perfect.

Young hunters can get excited and make a poor hit (Just like we sometimes can) so I recommend a bullet weight that can offset this possibility and turn a poor hit into a better one.

Step him up to a 140+ bullet and he will have a better chance. The 130 is great In My Opinion for deer size game with the 6.5's.

Just my opinion

J E CUSTOM

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He was using a 140 partition, a 6.5 130 doesn't exist.