 Nosler has for a long time offered a line of really fine handgun bullets for reloaders. I've used a lot of their .429" 240 JHPs in the 250 pack for both hunting and target use. They have expanded the product line to include a total of four Partition Handgun or PT-HG bullets. These are: 38/.357" 180 Gr. Hollow Point, 44/.429" 250 Gr. Hollow Point, 45/.451" 260 Gr. Hollow Point (the subject of this review) and now also 45/.451" 300 Gr. Protected Point. This latter bullet was not being made as far as I know at the time I requested samples for testing. I sure hope to get some of them also as this one should be up to the task of taking on even moose and the large bears I believe. The Nosler Partition rifle bullet has long been the Gold Standard by which other hunting bullets were compared. Now with the introduction of the Handgun Partition bullets we handgunners can also enjoy the benefits of the divided core Partition design. I've now fired this bullet in both the FA83 Premiere and the Taurus Raging Bull in both Winchester factory ammo and in reloads of the component bullets. The one thing I've noticed most is the perfect mushroom of every single bullet I've been able to recover. They look like the text book examples of what a mushroomed bullet should be. They have also proved to be very accurate in both the Winchester factory ammo and my reloads. In fact the combination of this bullet pushed by 31.5 grains of Hodgdon Lil' Gun and fired with a CCI-BR4 primer in Starline cases gave me an average group size of 1.7" at 50 yards in the FA83 one of the very best group averages of the loads I tested. I've not yet taken any game with this bullet but I have some Winchester factory ammo loaded with it and some more component bullets left and I am looking forward to trying them on game. Based on the performance of this bullet fired into a clay bank I'm expecting mighty fine performance on game and the accuracy is definitely there. The Nosler PT-HG bullet line gets a big thumbs up from me and the Graybeard Seal of Approval for excellence. Contact Nosler at: Nosler Inc., P.O. Box 671, Bend, Oregon 97709, 800-285-3701 or visit their website by Clicking Here. Nosler does not accept e-mail at this time. (02-21-01)
|
