# .243 in Barnes TSX or Nosler Partition??



## Mangler (Aug 25, 2011)

I know this should probably be in the 'gun/shooting' section, but I wanted to hear from fellow deer hunters. My son has a really sweet shooting H&R .243 that he hunts with. I'm really not happy with the Remington Core-lokt's performance (seem to blow up too quick with no exit wounds). I was thinking of either trying out the solid copper Barnes TSXs (Triple shocks), the Nosler Partitions or Hornady's GMX. Can anyone with any experience in this caliber and bullets give me their advise?

Thanks in advance!!


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## Ingelri (Aug 25, 2011)

I haven't tried either on of those, however I have been using the Remington Premier Core Lokt Ultra 100gr PSP.  I've shot a couple of deer with this ammo, and they didn't go far.  I also have a H&R Handi Rifle, so I'd be interested in knowing what you find with the other ammo, patricularly their accuracy out of the Handi Rifle.


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## Steyr (Aug 25, 2011)

100gr Core Lokt in the .243.......Many a deer killed with .243 and never trailed over 30yds., a friend has killed over 30 with his .243 and never trailed one over 30yds..., some shots 300 or better all with 100gr. Core Lokt..... Since the .270wsm mine has become a safe queen, but would not hesitate one second to pull it out.


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## dtala (Aug 25, 2011)

since everyone else is dancing around yer question.....

no experience with Barnes or Hornady GMX...

I have killed half dozen deer with the 243 and 95 and 100gr Nosler Partitions, another 19 with a 6mm and 95gr Nosler Partitions. I really like the 95gr Partition in either gun, good expansion and excellent penetration, something a lot of 243 bullets don't have.

  troy


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## Gadestroyer74 (Aug 25, 2011)

I shoot the hornady 95 grain sst in my daughters does great don't know about the others


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## Tomboy Boots (Aug 25, 2011)

I've hunted deer for many years with a .243 and my ammunition of choice is the Federal Premium Vital-Shok 100gr. Nosler Partition... Here are links to the 95gr. and 100gr. for comparison:

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/rifle.aspx?id=214

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/rifle.aspx?id=217


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## Mrtoadswildride (Aug 25, 2011)

the tsx and gmx are very similar and will do a complete passthrough even if you hit bone. They are both extremely accurate bullets and are what i use in my 22-250 and 308 to take deer


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## Killdee (Aug 25, 2011)

Im shooting the Barnes TSX in my 243 and 260 and its very accurate, the 200 + lb.mature buck I killed last season only went 30 yards or so with pass through. I have had similar results with partition and solid base noslers. I have had more drop dead in place with faster expanding bullets but feel the ones that hold together would be better in the long run even if they take a few steps. Recovered TSX 130 grain 6.5 mm (.260) bullets from wet phone books still weighed 129-130 grains, I like this kind of weight retention, as well as the double to triple the caliber size expansion.


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## bowbuck (Aug 25, 2011)

I have killed around 30 deer with the .243 and that included deer shot with core-lokts, noslers and a few with federal vital-shok and some with cheap magtechs, I use to buy a Franklin's in Athens when in school down there.  I had the biggest holes with magtechs and federals.  The ones I shot with the noslers put basically .24 caliber holes through them, the ones with the corelokts put .26 caliber exit holes in them.  None of the exit wounds were impressive put all the deer died right there or at least within 100 yds most inside of 50 yards.  A dead deer is dead deer, if you want big exit holes shoot em with a .300 mag and 180-220 gr. bullets, you can put your fist in the exit hole but they are still as dead as they are with the .243.  Have a great season hunting with your son.


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## Hit-n-Miss (Aug 25, 2011)

I use the 85Gr Barnes TSX and love them. Solid passthru everytime with a 3/4" exit hole. Most dropped right there. The deer in my avatar was a 175 yard neck shot with them.


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## Rich Kaminski (Aug 25, 2011)

My 300 Weatherby in Win Mag shooting the Silver Ballistic Tips in 180 gr. has always had an exit hole the same size as the entry hole. I think the bullet is too big for deer (but I love shooting it). Sorry to get off track from the subject. And thanks for the info because I also have a 243 and was not impressed with the ammo I use in it.


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## Michael F. Gray (Aug 25, 2011)

Try several weights and types for accuracy at the nominal range you make most of your shots. I have one rifle in .308 that likes heavy bullets. My son has almost the same rifle, and it does better with light projectiles. I've learned to purchse several boxes of differant type and weight projectiles, and practice will soon show you what your weapon prefers. If you are not liking projective performance upon impact, use wet newspaper medium and you can determine depth of penetration and bullet deformity, expansion, and weight retention. You mentioned several premium manufacturers and brand bullets. I've always been able to find standard, less expensive lines in the desired type and weight that give more than acceptable performance.


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## biskit1216 (Aug 25, 2011)

I shoot a 243 . The best bullet I've found is a 95 grain ballistic tip. It's like a baby rocket.


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## Forest Grump (Aug 25, 2011)

Most of what I have seen is that the TSX does better at speeds around or above 3000 fps, below that it doesn't expand as much & just punches a hole.(faster than a 243 flies). Nosler partitions have been the gold standard bullet for big game since John Nosler invented them, against which all others are measured. If it were me, I would pick the one that groups the best; either will do the job if well placed. If they shoot the same, partitions are likely cheaper & should do anything you need. 

Hornady ammo is great, but I have not gotten good groups with gmx in the couple of rifles I've tried them in, depends what yours likes to eat best.


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## Mangler (Aug 25, 2011)

Thanks for all the input guys and gals! I'm really leaning towards the partitions. Gonna try and pick up a few boxes this week and give them a try at the range to see how they shoot in the rifle.


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## Mangler (Aug 25, 2011)

biskit1216 said:


> I shoot a 243 . The best bullet I've found is a 95 grain ballistic tip. It's like a baby rocket.



Speed is great, but how does it perform on a deer (pass-throughs, DRT?, etc.)


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## santeerangerman (Aug 25, 2011)

Barnes TXS's turn small guns into big guns!
The 85 grn Barnes and the .243 is like a match made in heaven.

What makes the Barnes stand out for me with the .243 is when you're presented with a quartering away,or facing shot. They penetrate so well, and hold together to punch completely thru a deer.

The Barnes DO like speed, but even in the 2800-2900 range, they've performed 100% of the time without fail. My wife gets half dollar size exits with the .260 running at just under 2900fps.

We've killed deer with the Barnes TSX orTTSX in .243. 260 (By far, my FAVORITE deer caliber) .257 Weatherby, .270 Win, 30-06.
Out of all those calibers, and easily over 100 deer killed, we've only recovered one bullet. That came from a 180lb buck my wife shot at 200 yrds in the front chest with the .260. The bullet passed completely thru the body cavity, broke a rib on the off side, and hit the rear leg joint on the off side. We found the bullet in the leg. If I was so inclined to drop down to a .22 caliber round  like a .223, or 22-250, I'd use nothing but a Barnes.

Here's a doe my wife shot last year at 250 yrds with the .260, if you want to get a idea of what the exits look like...


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## Magowah (Aug 25, 2011)

To answer your question, I have loaded both the 95 grain partition (as well as the ballistic tip DON'T go there) and the 85 grain TXS. The Barnes wins hands down. My son shot several deer with the TXS out to 250 yards last year with his Micro Abolt. He will shoot nothing but Barnes this year but we may try the 80 Grain TTXS.


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## Killdee (Aug 25, 2011)

What is the TTXS?


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## santeerangerman (Aug 25, 2011)

Killdee said:


> What is the TTXS?



The TTSX has a polymer tip, larger dia hollowpoint. They do tend to have a little larger exit wound, and seem to cause a bit more tissue damage. Looks similar to the Nosler Ballistic Tip, but still performs like a Barnes. I know quite a few folks like the Nosler BT's, but I'm NOT a fan of them AT ALL. I've tried the BT's 2 different times, once in the late 90's in a .270, and again one more time around 2008 in the .260. Bleepin things will never go in the magazine of any rifle I own ever again.


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## Killdee (Aug 26, 2011)

That sounds like a winner, and I do agree re the bt's.


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## cemeteryhill (Aug 26, 2011)

Tripple shock.   Very accurate.  And very devastating.  Imp federal. Is a much better quality ammunition


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## Randy (Aug 26, 2011)

Interesting thread.  I won a CVA Apex .243 last night at the GA Wildlife Federation dinner.  I usually shoot a 7mm-08 but want to try this .243 this year.


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## AJared (Aug 26, 2011)

The TSX works great in .243.


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## KennesawLawMan (Aug 26, 2011)

Remington Premier Core Lokt Ultra 100gr PSP = Dead deer.
It gets the job done, less expensive too.


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## bigreddwon (Aug 26, 2011)

The GMX and the Barnes would be my choice. Devastating every time. From a 22-250 to a 308 Ive used just about everything on deer and hogs. Nothing performs like do. Just expensive, but you _do get_ what you pay for.


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## NorthGa.Sportsman (Aug 26, 2011)

I myself use Nosler partitions and will never use a different bullet again, but I can only tell you it is magic in a 300 saum.I  personally do not like holes no bigger than a quarter for the exit wound.Anything bigger to me is overkill.The only way you are going to know what bullet is best for your caliber is to shoot a deer with it and find out.To me penetration is far more important than expansion especially in a smaller caliber like you are shooting.I am fully confident that you would not be disappointed in the NP but it all comes down to what (you) are looking for.Good luck in finding the best set up for your gun!


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## mtr3333 (Aug 26, 2011)

E\Remington core lokt will never let you down and your deer will be.


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## Mangler (Aug 27, 2011)

mtr3333 said:


> E\Remington core lokt will never let you down and your deer will be.



Yea...unfortunately they have. That's the reason for the post.


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## pine nut (Aug 27, 2011)

Killed I don't know how many deer, 'cause I lost count, with a .243.  Never had to track one ...until I started using a N.partition bullet.  If I was hunting ELK it would be my choice( in a .243), although I would use a larger caliber, but on a deer it will peretrate both sides with a .243 cal hole and you will have a tracking job!  Use a Rem. corelok and put it in his chest and he'll be laying there where you shot him!  I much prefer that.  There were a good many of use in the club I was in using the .243 and we all experienced the same results with the partition, and my wife lost a nice buck with a 257 Roberts for the same reason.  The coreloks will make the lungs look like ground meat the nosler pokes a hole and goes out the other side.  I have no experience with the Barnes.  As someone else pointed out it is about expended energy, and that is what the corelok does very well.  I have no stock in Remington BTW just telling ya my experience.  If I made a habit of shooting at the hind end then I would use a Nosler Partition, but I do not.  I took an elk in Colorado with a Nosler Partition and though I got the animal, I have not a single doubt in my mind I would not have, had I not just barely nicked the botton of his spine.  I was shooting hand loads (very accurate).  I had a 7mm hole on both sides of the chest and a 7mm hole through the first of the bottom of a thoracic vertebra (actually a groove about 1/4inch deep).  There was no blood in his chest and His lungs were not even brusied!  He was alive when I found him and looking back over his shoulder at me.  He tried to rise and I put one in his neck after a small circling of him.  That elk would have got up and LIVED eventually and I have no doubt of this!  I am  veterinarian and have treated my share of gunshot animals and shot my share as well.  Noboby wants to believe that elk story but it is true!  My bullet went just above the aorta  and just over the lungs.  It was a broadside shot @ 60 yards and he turned and ran and went down about forty yards from the shot in thick cover.  I was about fifteen feet from him when I saw him and finished him.   Oh yeah I almost forgot to say that had I not found a freshly disloged rock and two specks of blood I would not have found him.  There was no blood trail.  I found myself wishing I had different bullets!  I'd have to examine what I'd use if I went again on elk!  I was not pleased with bullet performance in that instance at all!  Had it hit a rib going in or out I'd have been better off.  I did a postmortem exam on him because I shot twice once to enter on his left side and when he turned I shot again from the right side.  One of them missed!  He stumbled at the second shot and I have to think that was the one that got him, because I saw dirt fly off of him.  I could not determine which was exit and which was entry...gospel truth!  YMMV!  I am convinced by what I saw and examined!
When I dressed the deer I've shot with a .243, the heart is usually not even still attached in the chest and the lungs are made into a sort of soup and all the blood in in the chest cavity.  There is no blood trail and he's Dead Right There!  That's what I and others like about them.  I will say that I like the nosler Balistictip very much and that is what I use now for deer in the same 7 mm Rem mag rife and .270 and they are DRT too.  I do not have an axe to grind with Nosler at all and I use their reloading manual as well.  I would be inclined to try the ballistic tip on an elk were I to get to go again , but I would not use the partition.  Thought I should add that to be fair to Nosler.  They are a fine company.


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## AlabamaSwamper (Aug 27, 2011)

TSX is quite possibly the best bullet ever made for hunting.  Of course, I shoot Barnes out of everything including my mzl.  100% kill rate on animals up to near 300lbs without a single shot failing to pass through.


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## pine nut (Aug 27, 2011)

Mangler said:


> Yea...unfortunately they have. That's the reason for the post.



Don't know your circumstance nor how well you shoot, but if you hit even a tiny (pencil lead sized twig) with a bullet chances are you will miss completely.  I have had that happen as well!  Don't judge it by a single shot unless you got the proof!  I judged the partitions by many experiences , (mine and others that don't usually miss) and found they are not a good bullet for thin skinned animals.  Not trying to say anything here but trying to look at things from an accademic standpoint!  I once had a doe standing still beside me at twentyfive feet and missed her clean.  I found the twig that was clipped at the shot that I could not see through the scope!  It was less than a quarter of an inch!  It happens!  I've hunted for fortyfive years and always been concerned with accuracy, and bullet placement.  Just saying and trying to give you my experience.  I believe most of the bullets out there designed for penetration will perform about the same as a N. P. on thin skinned animals like deer.  Use the right bullet and you will be happier.  I hunt with a good friend who uses the partition in .243 for deer and he is convinced it is great!  He's also a good tracker! ... I like them to fall right there, and they usually do.  I could never convince him to do different!
I will give you another story which involves the .243  Rem CoreLock and a nice buck. I did not recover this deer and there was no blood at all though he fell in his tracks exactly like many others had fallen and were DRT!  This deer was walking when I pulled the trigger and was approaching me on a slightly quartering to me angle  with my shot placement aimed to enter between rigtht shoulder and neck.  At the shot he spun back to the left and went down in his tracks, thrashed and kicked a few seconds and I watched the top foreleg (his right) relax and stop movement.  I have killed several this same shot and they all fell and did the exact same thing.  I shoot a Ruger M77 with a scope set on low power.  At the shot I worked the bolt and watched through the scope as he expired.  I could easily have shot again, but knew he was dead!  For some reason I decided to load another round into the magazine (it hold five rounds and I still had four in the gun!) At the sound of closing the bolt I thought I saw a slight movement and as I pushed another shell in and closed the bolt the deer rolled to his knees and crawded about two feet as he got up and then he was gone in a flash!  He appeared to be running from the side of one tree to another!  I was stunned and I looked for that deer until dark.  The next morning found me right back there and I continued looking all morning.  There was hair all over the ground where he had thrashed on the exposed roots.  He was walking up a road as he came towards me before the shot.  Since I had found not a drop of blood alongh is trail and was puzzled as to why, I decided to recreate the shot.  I looked thourgh the scope while standing in the tracks where I shot from , and I was tracing the imagined deer as he approached me.  I track along right to the bullet hole in a six inch white oak, center punched with a fresh hole!  Further examination showed the bullet did penetrate that tree but could only have been dust!) as it hit the deer!  That sucker foxed my proverbial (J.S.) pure and simple, but the mystery was solved.  This was  a long time ago before there was such a thing as a Partition bullet!  I always shot the 100 gr .243 BTW.  
One of the best hunter's in my club, told us one morning that if we were listening at 8:00 the next morning he was going to shoot a buck in the left eye at that time.  We thought he was full of it until he did it!  He was an expert deer hunter if there ever was one and he had a buck patterned  as to where ,when, and how he bedded, and he called his shot!  He would often kick his shoes off when stalking a deer and trust me we would often find them all over the woods we hunted.  He was probably the best shot and deer hunter I've ever seen.  Heaven only knows how many deer he's shot, and BTW when he started using the Partition in his .243 we had to track them too.  He quit using them also.    Ok I will shut up now!  Sorry to be long winded, but I usually am.  My rifle would cut a ragged hole off a bench at 100 yards.  again just saying, and I don't have a dog in this fight.  I've nothing to gain or lose  herein.


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## dtala (Aug 27, 2011)

I've personally killed several dozens of deer with Nosler Partitions in .243, 6mm, 264WM, 270Win, 30/06, and 300WM. They have, for me, outperformed any other bullet I've used over the years, across the board, at every distance, every shot angle one could shoot a deer at. Period.

Now my neighbors son-in-laws best friends wife shot one with a NP and lost it, so they may not be as good as my experience tells me.

  troy


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## NorthGa.Sportsman (Aug 27, 2011)

I also want to add that I have shot a lot of deer with the NP and  90% have dropped like a sack of potatoes and I am not taking shoulder shots.No deer I have ever shot with the NP have ran over 30 yards.I have shot one dear with a core lokt in 7mm08 lung/liver shot no exit wound no blood trail and never used them since.


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## tbrown913 (Aug 28, 2011)

i just started to use the barnes ttsx in my .270 this year.  i have used the tsx and ttsx in my 12 ga slug gun.  the slugs are overkill!  i had one run last year after being hit with the slug.  double lung shot at about 75 yards.  i was walking to my stand that afternoon, and spooked her.  she stopped broadside after running fifty yards.  I shot her, and she went about 50 yards.  the blood trail looked like you took a paint roller and dipped it in blood.  I can handle deer running with that kind of blood trail!


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## gurn (Aug 28, 2011)

TSX
Good for treerat ta Moose. But they sure aint cheap.


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## dadsbuckshot (Aug 28, 2011)

So I just spent a small fortune on 2 boxes of the Federal NP in 100gr. From reading the comments on here I gather that it was a mistake from the deer hunting standpoint.


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## NorthGa.Sportsman (Aug 28, 2011)

dadsbuckshot said:


> So I just spent a small fortune on 2 boxes of the Federal NP in 100gr. From reading the comments on here I gather that it was a mistake from the deer hunting standpoint.



Apparently you are not reading all the comments.As I and several others have said they are great bullets!


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## RipperIII (Aug 28, 2011)

Never shot a .243, so I'm probably not qualified to answer, but in my .270 out to 200yds both the partition and gmx are clean pass through rounds even through both shoulders.
The gmx is devastating.


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## dadsbuckshot (Aug 28, 2011)

NorthGa.Sportsman said:


> Apparently you are not reading all the comments.As I and several others have said they are great bullets!



So - will .243 with the Federal NP 100gr. kill a hog/bear if the opportunity arose? Not that I am going out looking for that in particular, but if one of those crossed the deer trail in your opinion would it work as advertised? 

I know your a huge fan from the comments, but others are more  on the original issue asked.


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## pine nut (Aug 28, 2011)

dadsbuckshot said:


> So - will .243 with the Federal NP 100gr. kill a hog/bear if the opportunity arose? Not that I am going out looking for that in particular, but if one of those crossed the deer trail in your opinion would it work as advertised?
> 
> I know your a huge fan from the comments, but others are more  on the original issue asked.



It will penetrate like a son of a gun, never said it wouldn't but it can just poke a hole and keep on trucking if it does not hit any bone, and not expend much energy which translates to hydrolic shock.  I haven't shot a pig /hog with one, but I would think it a better bullet for a hog than the corelokt in a .243 cal., but I would shoot a hog with either.  I have only hunted hogs with a bow so I have no reference there.  SHOT PLACEMENT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WITH ANY BULLET IN ANY CALIBER!   I am only giving my opinion and my experiences with the partition bullet for thin skinned animals (deer) and one elk, and obviously others feel differently.   Everyone has opinions!   

I used the N.P. in .243, .257 Roberts, 270 win. and 7mm rem mag.  Bob and Margaret Hice of Tree lounge once used them in .270 win as did I.  I quit  when he gave me six boxes of bullets in .270 because of his experiences with it.  He showed me his 7 mm mag. and I shot it and built one just like his and Margaret's.  Because of their business and videos they both wanted more horsepower that the .270 and chose the 7 mag.  They never used the partitions again to my knowledge.   I wanted one rifle that I could shoot for deer and elk because I love to hunt them.  My logic was to use the "one gun theory" and be well equiped for either, as well as knowing my rifle better.  I suggest you try it out and make up your own mind.  

 You can poke a hole in a deer's heart with a stick if you are close enough and if you are a good enough tracker you might find it.  I prefer them laying there and BTW I always aim for the "crease" and try to avoid bone other than ribs, because I don't like to eat the lead or bits of bone scattered in thee meat.   Like I said, the heart was usually completely detached in the chest and the lungs resembled scrambled eggs floating in soup and the deer fall kick about three times and they're dead right there without any tracking.   To be honest having used larger calibers on deer and comparing notes, in my mind the .243 kills better than it ought to.  I always used the heaviest bullet I could find for it and the brand did not matter a whit to me, but my experience went from very good with the expanding bullets to several lost deer with the Partitions.    I'm only trying to answer as truthfully as I know how to help you.  YMMV  Hogs are tougher I think from the reading I have done, and fairly notorious for not leaving good blood trails.  The partition will penetrate them better though.   Oh yeah I forgot to say that  if you plan to shoot a deer from whatever angle then the partition will definitely be better because it will drive through the deer lengthways no doubt,  but I will usually wait for a better shot angle.  Not much point in killing it if it won't be fit to eat!  Just me, again YMMV.  I know sometimes they are doing bad damage to crops and it's  a different thing than putting meat on the table.   Good hunting.  I type too slowly to say any more.


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## NorthGa.Sportsman (Aug 28, 2011)

dadsbuckshot said:


> So - will .243 with the Federal NP 100gr. kill a hog/bear if the opportunity arose? Not that I am going out looking for that in particular, but if one of those crossed the deer trail in your opinion would it work as advertised?
> 
> I know your a huge fan from the comments, but others are more  on the original issue asked.



There is a reason the nosler partition has been around since 1947 and yes it will kill and do a better job at it than most bullets on animals such as deer to a grizzly bear.This bullet was designed for great penetration and a good controlled expansion.It will kill any of the animals you mentioned and do it better than most of the bullets that were talked about especially BT or HP type bullets.You should not shoot a bear or any thick skinned animal with any other bullet than a good penetrating bullet.If you pull a little bit right or left on an animal and hit the shoulder this bullet will not explode like a hand grenade and you end up not getting any penetration and risk wounding an animal.Honestly I would not even advise shooting a bear with a 243 but that is your call.Not trying to hijack this thread I am just trying to answer the question to the best of my ability.Nosler needs to be paying me for this!LOL


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## RipperIII (Aug 28, 2011)

Pine nut, I think the term is "Hydro-static" shock...


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## dixon (Aug 28, 2011)

If i saw moby dick while I was in a john boat I wouldn't think twice about the nosler bullet.I shoot a rem. mod. seven mnt rifle and wouldn't think twice about using something else.Just don't even think about a ballistic tip unless huntin yotes.they are useless in my opion,but that is just my opion.

 If you got a good horse, ride it


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## dtala (Aug 29, 2011)

the way to go with Nosler Partitions is to to the lighter end of bullets for any calibre...

95 for a 243

125 for a 264

130 for a 270

150 for a 30/05

140 for a 7mag

you don't need a heavy for calibre bullet to increase penetration when using Nosler Partitions, they will penetrate. Use a lighter bullet and up the speed. 

  troy


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## NorthGa.Sportsman (Aug 29, 2011)

dtala said:


> the way to go with Nosler Partitions is to to the lighter end of bullets for any calibre...
> 
> 95 for a 243
> 
> ...



I agree!I use 150 grain in my 300 saum.


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## pine nut (Aug 29, 2011)

RipperIII said:


> Pine nut, I think the term is "Hydro-static" shock...



Yer right! I fixed it.  Bothered me when I wrote it! Thanks


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## F.A.R.R. (Aug 29, 2011)

Either bullet you are considering will make a good deer load.  Reading the posts some others seem to have had different experiences with them but for me the partitions in the .243 have been great.  They will penetrate very well but they also expand well.  Worked up a load for my .243 that shoots great in my gun and don't plan on changing anything.

I have heard good things about the barnes and just this year started making some loads (for a .270 though).

If you are handloading for your son's gun why not try loads with both  bullets  and see what you can get to shoot best?  I would think as far as perfomance on game you wouldn't go wrong with either as a good dependable killing load.


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