How to pick the best ammo for every big-game species

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#4 PARTITIONED BULLETS

John Nosler was the first to come up with a partitioned bullet to control expansion, after facing penetration challenges with a cup-and-core bullet on a moose hunt. In 1948, he unveiled the Nosler Partition bullet, so named because he inserted a transverse wall of hard metal between the lead in the nose of the bullet and the lead in the shank. With this design, the nose expands much like a cup-and-core bullet, but the shielded lead shank ensures the bullet retains enough weight to penetrate into the vitals. Most often, these bullets retain 50 per cent or more of their original weight.

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Swift’s popular A-Frame (above) is another example of a partitioned bullet. It’s beefier than the Nosler Partition, and the nose lead is bonded to a thick copper jacket. As a result, it doesn’t expand as broadly as the Partition. Generally, the A-Frame retains more than 80 per cent of its original weight. It has good penetration through bone and thick muscle, and will often pass completely through game that is shot broadside.