Sorry about that-a computer fault. I would take it from your use of 180 grain bullets you are using some caliber in the 30 series.
If you have not tried the Remington Cor-lok, give them a try. If you are a reloader, type in the Speer Bullet Co. and there is a supplement on the net giving new load data for the Bear Claw. I load a lot of R-P Cor-lok for whitetail and have always had good results.

The difference between the Bear Claw and the Partition are the way the bullets are designed.
If you cut a Partition in half, the jacket would look like an "H", with lead filling the top and the bottom with a copper layer between them. The bullet is designed to expand back to the "Partition" and no further. This leaves the lead in the bottom to drive on through and give good penetration. Total bullet fragmentation or failure is eliminated. However at close range and high velocity it will expand very fast and wash out the lead in front giving you a smaller diameter mushroom. Sometimes the entrance hole is larger than the exit. This is the way they are designed to perform.
The Bear Claw has no partition. Instead it has a copper jacket and the lead is "bonded" to the jacket using heat and chemicals. It will open up just so far and then stop and the bonding stops the lead from seperating from the jacket. It could have a larger mushroom than the Partition and will retain more weight. However, it is an older bullet design and is not quite as aerodynamic as the Nosler. Therefore you will not have quite the velocity at longer ranges.
Both are very good bullets for large, tough skinned game.
I have shot white tails with the Speer Hot core and 2 Bull Elk with the Grand Slam. I will not load either again as a hunting bullet. I was unhappy with both.
I consider the regular Hornady interlock a much better bullet than the best Speer is making.
If I were looking for a bullet to use on both deer and elk, I would choose the Nosler. If just Elk or Moose or big Bears, then I might go with the Bear Claw.

Call me a traditionalist, but I'd take the Nosler Partition over the Bear Claw any day of the week, I used Noslers for target in my 7mm Remington Magnum and I was very impressed with their performance.

Well, I know which one I'm not going to use. I bought a box of 180 gr. Trophy Bonded Bear Claws and I was very disappointed. I couldn't keep inside 2" @ 100 yds. So now I'm debating, OK not really, but I'll throw this out there for the sake of conversation and some more discussion. Do I still go ahead and try the Nosler Partition ($35.00/box +/-) and not know going into it what the results will be, or do I stick with the regular old soft points (Federal Sierra Pro Hunter Soft Point @ $19.00/box) that I've been shooting a very consistent 3/4" group @ 100 yds? My inclination is to stick with the Soft Points. I feel a lot more confident knowing what my point of impact will be. Afterall, what good will a Partition or Bear Claw be if I take a leg off at the knee, or worse yet, miss altogether?

OK enter the problem: Federal is discontinuing this particular round. Well, I can stock up on a few boxes that will keep me for a year or two before I start having to mess with different rounds.

Thanks all!!

Kupe

Rookie,
What catridge are you shooting? '06,.300 Win. ??
Years ago I shot a lot of Sierra's, they were extrememely accurate but they performed very poorly on game.
Why don't you find some factory loaded Hornady rounds and try them? They are very accurate bullets and in my experience they perform on a par with the premium bullets.
I now load Hornady interlocks for everything I hunt in all calibers. They have always performed great.

Your accuracy problems may not be caused by just the bullet. How is your barrel maintained? Does your stock touch your barrel at any point? If so, heat from the barrel can change your bedding points and change the barrel vibrations causing larger groups. Also a heating barrel can cause a group to grow.
Try shooting in groups of 3 shots. Then give your barrel time to cool off before shooting again.
Be realistic, a 2 inch group doesn't mean you will hit an animal in the leg. An awful lot of off the shelf hunting rifles shoot between 1 and 2 inch groups.
I have been handloading for over 30 years and have developed some specialized techniques for accuracy. Even so, if working up a load for a factory, sporter weight hunting rifle, anything under an inch at 100 yards I consider a good group. I measure all my groups with a set of dial calipers, outside to outside, then subtract the bullet diameter, this gives you the center of your group. It will measure better than it looks.
Only with the addition of the BOSS on my Browning coupled with handloaded and specially prepared cases, have I gotten the one hole group. And I do not hunt with those cases so my actual hunting loads shoot about .500 to .600.
If you don't handload it can get real expensive trying different factory loads in a search for accuracy.

Darkhorse-

I am shooting a Remington 700 LSS in .300 win mag. Barrel is maintained very well - clean after most every trip to the range and a bore snake between shots. I try not to let the barrel heat up very much. I usually shoot no more than 2-3 shots at the beginning, let it cool, and then 1 shot and let it cool in between each shot after that.

I haven't given a whole lot of thought to the Hornady rounds. I don't really know why, just haven't. I started shooting Remington Core-lokt and was all over. Switched to the Federal Sierra Pro and did very well, so I figured if it ain't broke.... My brother shoots the Hornady SST and likes them very much.

Like I said in my original post, it's probably going to boil down to trial and error, and I'll just have to bear down and try a bunch of different loads.

And I know I wouldn't shoot a leg off with a '2" group' bullet (at least I would certainly hope not). I was just saying that when it comes time to draw down on an animal, that with all additional factors (heart pounding, adrenaline, etc.) figuring in, I would rather be confident in knowing that my bullet placement isn't a relative unknown.

Thanks for all your input. It's very helpful!

Kupe

Rookie,
Try running a dollar bill between the barrel and the stock on your 700 all the way back to the recoil lug. If it slides freely then your barrel is free floated and you can rule barrel contact out.
I have a 700 BDL in 7mm Mag. and it was free floated from the factory, it shoots consistant but my Elk hunting loads run from .750 to an inch with my best handloads. That is the best I can get. Years ago I did a fair amount of competitive shooting and we noticed that not all 700's were free floated. The ones that weren't would begin stringing their shots after about the third one. This is because as the barrel heated it would bear harder against some areas of the stock and push off. It doesn't take much push to open up a group at one or two hundred yards. By removing just enough stock material to free the barrel this stringing would stop.
My Browning does something a little different. I am shooting hot .300 mag loads and the barrel heats up fast. I believe my barrel is thinner in one spot than others, in relation to the axis of the bore. After 3 shots it begins to string to the left. If you keep shooting without letting it cool down it will string in a straight line to the left. I think the thin spot expands less than the other side, in effect bending the barrel a few thousandths of an inch at the bore.
My 700 shoots best with a clean barrel. My Browning shoots best with a slightly fouled barrel. I learned this doing accuracy tests and load development.
When practicing I clean the Browning after every session and then wipe any oil out of the bore before shooting again. If checking accuracy or sight in, then I shoot at least 3 shots before checking it.
Before hunting season, I sight in, then clean the barrel, then fire 3 to 5 shots to foul the barrel. I won't clean the barrel again until the season is over. Of course all rifles are different. Only testing can tell you about yours.
My .300 shoots 165 Grain bullets more accurate than the 180's, but with the BOSS I can tune it for whatever weight bullet I want to shoot. Without the BOSS you can't tune the rifle, you must tune the load. If you can't get the 180's to shoot to your satisfaction, then try the 165 Grain.
I feel like you do, the last thing I want to worry about when it's time to take a shot is how my gun is shooting. And with that thought in mind, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot an Elk or Mule Deer with a good 165 grain bullet if that is what my rifle liked best.
On my last Elk hunt there were two brothers in camp. One had a .30-378 Weatherby, the other had a .375 H&H. Both of them took 4 shots apiece to kill their bull. It wasn't the diameter or the bullet weight, it was the shot placement that counted.