Fail Safe or Nosler partition 30-06

victorlvlb

I loaded up some of each in 165 grain. Thier for my son to try. My son has an elk hunt in November. Which bullet do you all favor?

Psalm 109:8

young n dum

either one are great as far as terminal ballistics are concerned but my rifle likes the partition better accuracy wise.....see which one shoots betetr ....my.02

To all the liberals.....bite me!

Snellstrom

For me I consider 180 grain bullets in an '06 the best medicine, but If I had to choose between those two in 165 grain I'd go with the fail safe because it expands a little less than the partition and because of this I believe will penetrate deeper. In case you have to make a shoulder shot I'd want a bullet that has the best chance of breaking bones and going on through to an exit wound, I think that would be the fail safe.
However both are good quality bullets and are known performers on elk so either way you are not making a mistake. Pick the one that exhibits the best accuracy in the intended rifle.
Good luck on the hunt.

temblor

Good advice from Snellstrom...........Good Luck.........[8D]

roysclockgun

The one that prints the best groups in your rifle is the one to use. Don't count out trophy bonded Bear Claw, or GrandSlams for great penetration. With the 165gr, you should be able to milk a bit more MV out of you rifle then with the 180gr. For me, that would be the only reason to go with the 165gr over the 180gr for elk. If the 165gr is shooting appreciably flatter then is the 180gr, then the stretch is worth it. That way you can get practice at your own "long range", whatever you decide that is for you, and take advantage of not worrying about hold over as much, by going with the lighter, faster bullet.
Today, I would go with 165gr. I've only had the opportunity to kill one bull elk. In 2002 near Parachute CO. I was using a Tikka Whitetail hunter in 30-06. After trying all the premium bullets in my reloads, I settled on the 180gr.Speer GrandSlam and practiced a lot. When the bull appeared, he was 308 yards away, head on. The first bullet lanced through between his neck and shoulder, shot from the front and went down into his heart lung area. Because he was on his feet and walking, I shot twice more, downhill, splitting the base of his antler and going into his back. The third round hit just under his left eye and of course, he then went right down. I was very satisfied by the performance of the GrandSlam and like I said, it shot best of all that I tested in my rifle. When we opened up the elk, the rancher said that he was dead on the first round, but I kept shooting until he went down.

roysclockgun

watanacreek

I have shot a lot of moose, caribou, and a few grizzly with a 180 gr. nosler. Have had good luck with them from 100 yds out to about 350 yds, which is about as far as I normally care to shoot. Have not used the fail safe hunting because I don't have a rifle that groups them well. From what I have heard and read it is a good bullet. Like some other people have said, use the one that shoots best. The Nosler is cheaper, makes practice at the range easier on the wallet.

pw

panrider

I hunt elk with nothing but my 30.06 . Both bullet are good, but I use 150 grain partitions exclusively . I used to use different weights for different animals, but found I like one very accurate load. I use reloader 19. I have killed elk in their bed with a single shot.Not once have I had to hit an elk more than twice and I NEVER have to trail them into the next county. The differences I see are that the failsafe is definitely a bone breaker and will "break them down", while the partition is not. It is a heart/lung bullet and is amazing when used that way.I guess it just boils down to how you hunt as I do not want bone through my meat. If I was coming out here as a nonresident to hunt a big bull and planning on taking a longer shot, probably the failsafe is a better bet.

victorlvlb

Three out of the four hunters limited out on this elk hunt, all used fail safe bullets , thanks for the input.

Psalm 109:8

nononsense

victorlvlb,

Congratulations on the hunt! That's great news. If you have any photos I'm sure that we would enjoy seeing them.

Best.

roysclockgun

victorlvlb wrote: "all used fail safe bullets ..."

Congratulations on your successful hunt!!
Curious about performance. Weight of elk? Range? One shot kills? How far elk went after being hit? Were any bullets recovered to check retained weight? Where were the elk struck? What sort of penetration? What happened to the fourth hunter? No shot or missed shot?


roysclockgun

Ray B

Neither Fail-Safely or Partitions are my preferred bullet, but of the two for the situation described, I'd lean toward the Winchester, unless you are talking about old partitions, then I'd consider it a toss-up.