i do this every year- wait till the very last minute before a hunt to get my shit together. i’m leaving tomorrow for Coastal Centerfire Buck, and all i’ve been able to find locally (i know, i know) is Federal Premium 60gr Vital Shok… nosler partition… 3160fps
as i recall, federal does their testing from an 22" barrel. going off the top of my head, i’m guessing that means i can expect about 2860fps from an 18" barrel, 2560 from a 14.5, and 2260fps from a 10.5"?
the thought of using a carbine or SBR hadn’t really hit me until yesterday. some of the hunt will be still hunting through undergrowth, and ranges will be about 75m at the maximum… if i take a shot in there, a more realistic expectation would be inside 50m. since it’s all so close up, i figured it might be fun to take a shorter gun.
with these velocity numbers (and i understand i could be off by 100fsp or more either way, i’m not a ballistititian), and with this load, what kind of terminal performance can i expect? i’m fairly up on effective range for fragmenting anti-people loads, but the soft-point hunting realm is something i’m just not at all versed in, with this caliber. is 2260 too slow for a soft-point? does it matter with soft-points? in other words- should i just leave my shorter guns at home, or can i use 'em?
That is one of the best loads available, even through an SBR. I would not feel bad using one, although for deer hunting, I’d probably stay with a 16" barrel.
Soft points like a Nosler Partition will still expand at lower velocities, just not as much. It’s not all or nothing with like with FMJ’s where they simply don’t frag below a certain a velocity.
Only drawback to lower velocity is less potential for penetration, or it might glance off a bone rather than punching through. With good judgment and shot placement it ought to work alright. I’d treat it like bowhunting: wait for a perfect side shot into the heart/lung area, avoiding the shoulder, plus give the animal time to bed down and bleed out if it’s not DRT. Good luck!
well that’s some great news. thanks to both of you for replying.
so would you say this load is good choice for anti-people carry in an SBR, doctor? some time ago i started buying BH 69gr SMKs and stuck with it for no better reason than it does well out of my short guns, and is readily available locally. but i’d rather pack something for terminal ballistics than accuracy, especially since it’s also readily available locally.
The Nosler partition is one of the all time great hunting bullets. It will work great for you. I would probably stick with a longer barrel for velocity though.
what would you guys say is minimum good velocity for this load, and how close are my velocity figures?
i always did 160gr NPs from my 7mm mag… either federal or remington cartridges. i don’t think federal called 'em “vital shoks” back then, but it was hailed as the load of choice then, too. i’m just basically a new guy to AR hunting, and know little. i’m also just getting back into hunting semi-seriously for the first time in about 6, 7 years… i went out last season, but only for a couple days… took an SPR loaded with 75gr TAPs, only because it’s what i had that wasn’t xm193. didn’t get anything, and was kind of glad for it… wasn’t really looking forward to biting into piece of TAP all winter long.
The 60 gr Partition JSP (loaded by Winchester) has been the FBI .223 load for their carbines over the last several years–it reportedly works well, including out of SBR’s.
Good luck to you on your hunt.
I’m going to try the 62 grain Cor Bon DPX this year on south carolina whitetails.
However, if I were in a pinch and had to pick some up locally, the 60 grain vital shok would be at the top of the list.
A 60 grain Nosler Partition loaded by Black Hills performed very impressively on a small North Georgia deer for me a few years back. About 17" of penetration. Very good wound channel. Deer down very fast. Like in his tracks.
Did you get to bust anything? How did the load perform? I went back and forth as to what .223 load I was gonna try to use for deer this year. The 60gr Partition, 62 gr TSX and the 55gr TSX where my first choices. They had 55gr tsx component bullets locally so that’s what I went with. I still think any of the three would be a great choice.
i don’t even want to talk about it. i took a WHOLE week off to go, had issues pop up with schedules, and never got out. then, i took this week “off,” and ended up working through. then we were gonna go this weekend- tomorrow and sunday- but i guess the invite’s now been rescinded. final nail in the coffin… i’ll be working instead. now i’m halfway through the season, all the good bucks have been scared to ground, and we’re behind schedule for basically nothing.
i did, however, at least go shoot some of it the other day. zero’d at 50, confirmed at 200… pulled a few really good groups at 200- average was probably right around 1 MOA, but had a few 5-shotters that went as tight as .6MOA @ 200m. never would have thought you’d get close to half MOA from a soft point…
our original plans are a bust… but i’ll be heading out to the spot i hunted for the two whole days i was able to get out last year. didn’t get anything, but it’s a perfect spot, and i know there’s buck in there.