Nosler quality?

[Koda]

Ive had quality issues with Nosler brass in the past.

Recently got my supply of .257cal Nosler Partitions out to resurrect that project. I have 3 different purchases of their 120gn Partitions, 1 is a coupled of older boxes, new I bought from a member here, one box I bought a yearish ago in the store (a more modern box), the other purchase I bought back then was a huge bag of blems from their Shooters Pro Shop. Note the blems have a cannelure and thats not my concern here.

I didn't notice at first until I went to check my distance to lands. I sampled one bullet from each supply and noticed the blems were wayyy different measurement. I thought I made a mistake, checked again and got the same results. So I lined the 3 samples up and woah... the blems are way shorter and have a noticeably different ogive. They all do weigh the same. The two samples from new boxes both measure the same length and same distance to lands.

Now I know that they are blems but they are supposed to be exactly the same bullet, and they sold them to me as exactly the same bullet. They even weigh the same. SPS says their blems are cosmetic only.

While I feel I could use the blems, I don't feel I could use them in the same recipe. To me this is unacceptable as nothing on SPS or Noslers website says they sell two versions of their 120gn Partitions. I guess my question is if anyone has any explanation for this or is Noslers quality way off here?

Photos, bullets laid out side by side in the order of their boxed shown above them. Blems in a ziploc now on the right.

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[Koda]

top down view...

 

[Local Loader]

Looks like the blems have a shorter but fatter cone, have you measured the cone?
Are you sure that the blems are partitons?

 

[Koda]

Looks like the blems have a shorter but fatter cone, have you measured the cone?
Are you sure that the blems are partitons?

I can see it by eye, but I dont have a way to measure the ogive geometry.

I ordered partitions, I dont know how I could check if they accidentally shipped a different bullet.... the partitions are the only one I know of theirs that has an exposed lead tip...

 

[Local Loader]

Honestly I'd question if they are even noslers, it doesn't look like nosler uses cannelure for partitions.

 

[Koda]

Honestly I'd question if they are even noslers, it doesn't look like nosler uses cannelure for partitions.

I ordered them from their SPS. I actually think the cannelure was the blem.

 

[Local Loader]

Maybe but the size difference could be the issue. Seems odd that both of those things would happen though. I'd almost say that they are Hornady or Speer bullets.

 

[Koda]

Maybe but the size difference could be the issue. Seems odd that both of those things would happen though. I'd almost say that they are Hornady or Speer bullets.

They are Nosler partitions...

I will question their quality but have no reason to suspect they would buy some competitors bullets and try to pass them off as theirs.

Anyways, you made me curious....

 

[Local Loader]

They are Nosler partitions...

I will question their quality but have no reason to suspect they would buy some competitors bullets and try to pass them off as theirs.

Anyways, you made me curious....

View attachment 1765128

Will I'm doing my job if you're questioning things lol. But good to know that they are already at least the right ones. Their QA seems to have gone down hill the last few years form what I've heard and seen. I can see a cannelure that wasn't suppose to be added as a blem but a miss formed bullet cone with different lenght&width is not a blem to me, that's a different bullet since it won't behave the same.

 

[Koda]

Will I'm doing my job if you're questioning things lol. But good to know that they are already at least the right ones. Their QA seems to have gone down hill the last few years form what I've heard and seen. I can see a cannelure that wasn't suppose to be added as a blem but a miss formed bullet cone with different lenght&width is not a blem to me, that's a different bullet since it won't behave the same.

I really want to like the company. Ive never used their factory loaded ammo but when I got into reloading Ive used their components. New Nosler premium brass isnt cheap but IMO wasnt "premium" or even close to comparable and consistent to the Peterson brass I paid equally for. I had issues with new Nosler brass and all they did for me was send me 5 or 10 free samples yet I cant use their entire order. Now I cant use an entire order of their bullet blems...

I really want to like the company, local Oregon grown and supports their local community. I bet they are great people, but Im not having positive experiences with their products.

 

[Local Loader]

For the most part they are a good brand but it seems the last few years has been rough on them.

 

[oremike]

I've never had any problem with anything Nosler, ever. I will say that I did notice when loading 180gr Partitions for my 300 Win Mag there was 2 bullets listed with different COAL's. Spire Points were loaded longer and Protected Points had a shorter COAL. They do have a different profile with the PP having a shorter olgive. I'd say you have a similar situation and the bullets are fine. You just need to set them a little different. If you truly think they aren't Partitions saw one in half lengthwise and see if it has the divider in it.

 

[Bobbygun]

I've never had any problem with anything Nosler, ever. I will say that I did notice when loading 180gr Partitions for my 300 Win Mag there was 2 bullets listed with different COAL's. Spire Points were loaded longer and Protected Points had a shorter COAL. They do have a different profile with the PP having a shorter olgive. I'd say you have a similar situation and the bullets are fine. You just need to set them a little different. If you truly think they aren't Partitions saw one in half lengthwise and see if it has the divider in it.

I use those in my .300 Weatherby Mag. I didn't even know there were two different options. I may have it backwards, but I think I was shooting the Spire Points and when things were scarce picked up the only box of Protected Points that Bi-Mart had. I didn't realize the difference until I got them home. I still haven't opened the Protected Points yet, but from what I've read there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference between the two. Has that been your experience?

 

[Local Loader]

I've never had any problem with anything Nosler, ever. I will say that I did notice when loading 180gr Partitions for my 300 Win Mag there was 2 bullets listed with different COAL's. Spire Points were loaded longer and Protected Points had a shorter COAL. They do have a different profile with the PP having a shorter olgive. I'd say you have a similar situation and the bullets are fine. You just need to set them a little different. If you truly think they aren't Partitions saw one in half lengthwise and see if it has the divider in it.

I managed to drive him crazy enough with curiosity that he did cut one in half. Finding out the answer was nice.

 

[oremike]

I use those in my .300 Weatherby Mag. I didn't even know there were two different options. I may have it backwards, but I think I was shooting the Spire Points and when things were scarce picked up the only box of Protected Points that Bi-Mart had. I didn't realize the difference until I got them home. I still haven't opened the Protected Points yet, but from what I've read there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference between the two. Has that been your experience?

I might shoot them today but most likely tomorrow. My Spire Points are 200gr and the 180's are Protected Points. I didn't know about the difference either until I went to make my bench mark loads and saw the different COAL's. Checked the box and sure enough I've got the PP's.

 

[RVTECH]

This is too bad.

Back in the 'good ol days' when Nosler was well, Nosler with no SPS and the 'blems' were in plastic bags in a green rack in the hallway and you looked through them to see if they had what you needed.

Well, in those days the 'blems' didn't look much different from the grade A bullets. Occasionally a jacket looked a LITTLE short, or the jackets looked a little dull but that was about it.

One theory was Nosler would just package a few bullets and call them 'blems' to get people interested in their products at a lower price.

 

[P7M13]

The left two show an exaggerated lot to lot variation.
I would treat the one on the right like a different bullet, but first try it with the same load as the first two.
My intuition is that because of the shorter ogive radius, you cannot load the blems as long. As such, you will have deeper case seating and higher ignition pressures. I'd bet they'll perform fantastically in 400 and under applications.

 

[Koda]

The left two show an exaggerated lot to lot variation.
I would treat the one on the right like a different bullet, but first try it with the same load as the first two.
My intuition is that because of the shorter ogive radius, you cannot load the blems as long. As such, you will have deeper case seating and higher ignition pressures. I'd bet they'll perform fantastically in 400 and under applications.

I'm not certain what I want to do yet. The two types are not compatible in the same recipe and I don't want to waste primers developing a second recipe just to use up bullets I cant restock.

 

[Local Loader]

I'm not certain what I want to do yet. The two types are not compatible in the same recipe and I don't want to waste primers developing a second recipe just to use up bullets I cant restock.

You could always turn them into plinking rounds if you want, might be a bit of a waste cost wise but if their of no other use to you or others then due away.
Or if you really wanted to put the time in, if you really really wanted to, you could try reforming them to correct lenght and size. If you happen to have the right equipment to do it, or build the equipment to do it.

 

[Pepe-lepew]

I suspect the blems are from a batch used for commercial ammo, maybe even for another ammo company. I have seen similar with 223 bullets from Nosler. Blem quality in the 77 gr bullets I have from them is horrible. However, they shoot good enough for the price I got them for.

If this is for hunting ammo, you might see how the different bullets shoot using the same seater die setting. If your goal is accurate hunting ammo, 1 1/2 moa, and not optimized accuracy, it may still be achievable.

I have been disappointed in Noslers ridiculous pricing. They have gone the way of Hodgdon in pricing since Covid. Both companies had good components priced competitively. Now they have priced themselves at the same or more as components from premium companies. Hodgdon is $5-15 more per lb than premium European powders. Noslers is the same price or more than Berger bullets.