Nosler quality?

[Koda]

Its a hunting rifle. Im going to use a Hammer bullet for hunting but was hoping I could use these up as a second choice.
I think all i can do with them now is use them as a supply to fireform brass since my chamber is ackley improved. I really dont need to though since i have a lot of Hornady factory ammo if I want to fireform, Hornady brass is probably better....

One thing i can say about Nosler brass is its been mostly available during this crunch since covid, pretty much the only option for new brass. Ive had issues in other calibers but hopefully this caliber will go better. Way overpriced for the quality.

 

[dangerranger60]

The Blem bullets are not the same bullet as the other two. It may weigh the same but was made using a different top punch. I would cut one in half top to bottom to see if it is a partition. If it is a partition, I would use it the same as the others. The flight paths won't be much different at all. DR

 

[P7M13]

Hornady brass is probably better....

One thing i can say about Nosler brass is its been mostly available during this crunch since covid, pretty much the only option for new brass.

IMO, Hornady brass is more consistent, albeit softer.
I've had mediocre Nosler brass, not sure if it's from Nosler or an outsourced supplier. For what they charge, it's one of the last sources I consider.

 

[Koda]

I've had mediocre Nosler brass, not sure if it's from Nosler or an outsourced supplier. For what they charge, it's one of the last sources I consider.

In the last 2 years Nosler is the virtually the only new brass Ive been able to acquire in all my calibers I load for. I didnt really have a choice. Ive also wondered if they outsource their brass too...

 

[P7M13]

In the last 2 years Nosler is the virtually the only new brass Ive been able to acquire in all my calibers I load for. I didnt really have a choice. Ive also wondered if they outsource their brass too...

I have been blessed with available PPU, Lapua, Peterson and Norma brass every time I have looked. Grafs has been the most abundant.

 

[Koda]

I have been blessed with available PPU, Lapua, Peterson and Norma brass every time I have looked. Grafs has been the most abundant.

I havent found any of those until after I bought Nosler and not until recently. I bought the last box of Norma 25-06 somewhere and finally last spring or so I found Peterson 280ai brass and bought a bunch of it (expensive purchase).
But the past 2 years my only option was Nosler or wait for some email notification to pop up from many stores (including Grafs). They never did.

 

[Bobbygun]

In the last 2 years Nosler is the virtually the only new brass Ive been able to acquire in all my calibers I load for. I didnt really have a choice. Ive also wondered if they outsource their brass too...

I've shot a lot of Nosler Partitions and have always been happy with the quality. I've shied away from Nosler brass due to the high price. My only two brass purchases in 2023 have been from Starline (.222 Rem and .44 Special).

 

[ma96782]

I'm NOT a bullet manufacturer, nor do I play one on TV. BUT....maybe, it's a matter of how things are done?

You know......
Set up the machine to make .30 cal. bullets. Then, change it up to make a run of .257 bullets. Etc, Etc, etc..... The settings might just change a bit? Yeah....absolute consistency is/would be GREAT.



Not to mention, WEAR on the tools etc...

Or maybe......there is a bit of difference due to the beginning and the end of the run? Or maybe it's because it's from the Monday production run? Whatever.

No guarantee.
But, if I may suggest, when (and as much as possible) buying brass, primers, or powder, or bullets......

Go for the same lot number.


Aloha, Mark

 

[osprey]

The partition blems are most likely from a run of bullets destined for a commercial cartridge loader. That is why the have a cannelure. Not sure why the profile is different but a call to nosler may shed some light. When I get oddball bullets like these, I use them to fireform new brass to my chamber while doing some rough load development. I have killed many critters with partitions but I am slowly gravitating away from them in most of my rifles.

 

[Koda]

As a followup on this I emailed them about this last friday and have not heard back from them. 2 business days isnt encouraging.

 

[DizzyJ]

If they are blems, I'm not sure they're going to do much for you.

 

[Koda]

If they are blems, I'm not sure they're going to do much for you.

agree, I dont have confidence they will help but I sent them the same pic and its pretty bad these are physically blemed not cosmetic as they advertised. They didnt help me on my brass blems issue either, so Ive lost confidence in Noslers pro shop right now

 

[whiskeybill]

The only Nosler "Blems" I've had are some 115 Grain 25 caliber Ballistic Tips. They are still shooting fine, can't complain. It was a batch of 200 that I found at a gun show 15 years ago and the price was right. The last time I bought Partitions for my Swede, well I just about cried. Thankfully I still have over a hundred of those, and they're great on Elk. I don't think I need to spend money on a "Premium" bullet again when there are plenty of bullets out there that kill game just as dead.

 

[2ndtimer]

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

Nosler sells their bullets to other ammunition manufacturers, and sometimes varies the bullet configuration to the requested specs of the customer. Which explains the cannelure on the bullets from Shooters Pro Shop. They sell any overruns as "blems", and used to be great deals. I have been told that most of the blems that SPS sells are just the start ups of a new run of production and frequently are just as good as their boxed bullets. Having used thousands of them over the years, I can vouch for their quality, at least the older ones. Their current prices are mostly out of my comfort zone, sadly.

 

[Koda]

Nosler sells their bullets to other ammunition manufacturers, and sometimes varies the bullet configuration to the requested specs of the customer. Which explains the cannelure on the bullets from Shooters Pro Shop. They sell any overruns as "blems", and used to be great deals. I have been told that most of the blems that SPS sells are just the start ups of a new run of production and frequently are just as good as their boxed bullets. Having used thousands of them over the years, I can vouch for their quality, at least the older ones. Their current prices are mostly out of my comfort zone, sadly.

I agree with this except the as good as their boxed bullets part. The cannelure explanation makes sense, and its not even my concern. I knew they were cannelured when I bought them, it was right there on the product web page.
But my supply is way different geometry than their boxed versions. And they didn't state that on the product web page when I bought them. And that is the issue, I cant use them the same and they are ghosting me.

 

[DizzyJ]

Shooters pro shop used to have amazing deals back in the day. Nowadays, the deals seem like "less of a deal".

JMO.

 

[Koda]

Shooters pro shop used to have amazing deals back in the day. Nowadays, the deals seem like "less of a deal".

JMO.

The blem deals I thought were fair priced, but I have not had the best of luck with SPS quality in the last 2 years since I got into handloading. I really want to like Nosler being local, but they arent my first choice anymore.