I have used Accubond ammo on Deer and Antelope and have really had great experiences. The accuracy was great through my rifles. This fall I am booked on a combo Moose/Bear/Caribou hunt with Widrig Outfitters in Yukon. In the past I have shot bear and moose with Nosler Partitions with satisfactory performance. This year I am taking with me a new rifle in a .340 Weatherby caliber. I am considering using the Nosler 200 or 225 grain Accubond ammunition. Does anyone have any experience or opinions on using Accubonds on animals as large as Moose or Bear? Thanks.
Accubond-Moose/Bear?
- Thread starter dreamer
- Start date
H
huntindude
Guest
I used that bullet in my 338 ultra mag and wasn't impressed at all. the bull was about 125 yards and the bullet went to peices, yes I got him but that's not what I'm looking for in a game bullet. I'd stick to the partition or upgrade to the TSX if it were me.
You are bound to hear of bad experiences with almost any bullet, although I am sceptical that an Accubond went to pieces. Being a bonded bullet, it should hold together no matter the yardage. I have taken black bears and elk with the Accubond, but nothing as large as moose or griz. In yardages from 40 to almost 600 yards in a .300 RUM, they performed flawlessly. If they shoot better than the Partition or Barnes bullets in your rifle, don't be afraid to use them. I have for the last 4 years, and have taken over 20 animals. mtmuley
H
huntindude
Guest
Well if the largest peice found was about 50 grains out of a 200 gr bullet then I guess it didn't come apart. there's a reason Nosler says accubonds have a maximum impact velocity of 3100 FPS, they're a chemical bonded bullet not a solid. that also means under the right conditions less than 3100 could cause failure, they did. I see the new Nosler E-Tip is out now, trying to get in on Barnes's success with the TSX, I'm sold on the TSX so I'll let someone else prove the E-Tip is as good.
huntindude, As I said, everyone has different experiences with a bullet.
As far as the Accubond goes, you had one, I have had many. I'm pretty sure the bull I shot at 40 yards with my .300 RUM was hit with over 3100 fps. No bullet to recover, but the exit wound even at that range was the size of a baseball. The antelope I shot at 696 yards was hit with 2200fps plus. Same result. You cannot formulate an opinion of a bullet with one result. All of my hunting buds use the Accubond also in cartridges from My RUM to .270. I don't know why the Accubond performed poorly for you. But, if it shoots accurately in any given rifle, I reccommend it highly. mtmuley
As far as the Accubond goes, you had one, I have had many. I'm pretty sure the bull I shot at 40 yards with my .300 RUM was hit with over 3100 fps. No bullet to recover, but the exit wound even at that range was the size of a baseball. The antelope I shot at 696 yards was hit with 2200fps plus. Same result. You cannot formulate an opinion of a bullet with one result. All of my hunting buds use the Accubond also in cartridges from My RUM to .270. I don't know why the Accubond performed poorly for you. But, if it shoots accurately in any given rifle, I reccommend it highly. mtmuley
H
huntindude
Guest
I'm not saying they're junk , but they're not in the same class as the Partition and TSX for large game in my opinion. I formed an opinion on one result because in two generations of my family taking a bunch of elk off our own property and in other states the Partition had never reduced it's weight down to 25%. at high velocity you can figure the front half of the partition is gone but the back will either be on the hillside or in the elk. we've found the TSX even more effective and pretty much all use them now. that's my opinion, it oughta be yours. ( just kidding )
huntindude, i have a coveted ut elk tag this year and loaded up some of the new mrx's, have you used them? they shoot a true 1/2 inch out of my 30-378, i have used the x bullet in the past and have had a very bad opinion of them ever scince, what happend is the nose bent over and the bullet did not expand, not on one but all 3 of them i sent into a bull out of a 264 win, but i think the science behind the bullet is sound, so i just have to try them again!have you had a bad experiance with them? as for the accubond, i have taken 1 bull at around 500yds,with a 30-378 it hit him right in the point of the shoulder, thru the heart and broke the other shoulder, and bonded or not, all i found were bullet fragments, however it dumped the big bull and performed as good or better than most bullet's, but i am sure an x bullet would have penetrated compleatly.
H
huntindude
Guest
I've never used the MRX but I'd think they would be as good or better than the TSX. I've taken 5 animals with the TSX so far and I'm 100% satisfied, most of us started useing them 3 seasons ago and of the 10 or so bullets we've recovered they all look just like the pictures with a perfect X mushroom. with the velocity you're getting out of your rifle you need a great bullet, in my opinion you're on the right track. if the Barnes style bullet wasn't great Weatherby wouldn't load them and Nosler wouldn't be trying to copy them.
LAST EDITED ON Jun-17-07 AT 08:06PM (MST)[p]huntindude, I respect your opinion. Bullet debate can and will go on forever. Until I started shooting my RUM, the Remington Core-lokt killed everything I pointed my .30-06 at. Near or far, deer or elk, it did the job. Sometimes I think hunters, myself included, get too caught up in bullet hype. Granted, the fast .30's need a stout bullet, but in the old standby cartridges, most of the time older bullet styles are overlooked. REDDOG, You seem to contradict yourself some. You have a bad opinion of the X-bullet, yet the Accubond killed a big bull dead. But, the X-Bullet would have penetrated? So what. The bull is dead. mtmuley
H
huntindude
Guest
You're right there probably will never be a perfect bullet for every possible shot you could ever encounter. with the choices we have today with a little thought we can always find a good compromise though. to me accubonds are best as a high velocity deer size game bullet , that's just my opinion of course but I think there are much better bullets for the big stuff.
ya, it would have made no diff if it would have had complete penetration, the only thing that got me was that bull was at 480 yds, and got thinking what would happen at 50 yds at near 3500 fps.like you said probly over thinking, likely would have dumped him just the same, it's just me i guess, i can't ever be satisfied! i will fill you in this fall on the mrx performance, they will be tested on a moose now too! my buddy drew an id. tag and wants to try them out of his 300 ultra, should be a fun fall!
I was just reading online a group of guys talking about failure of Nosler Partitions in high velocity loads. Couple guys specifically with 300 rum and 30-338, said they had the bullets blow up on an elk's shoulder. Now I know 1,000 different scenario's can come up with 1,000 different outcomes...but one guy said he talked directly to Nosler about this and they told him that the partition is not made for the high velocity magnum rifles. Most blow ups were high velocity loads at close range.
????
????
All bullets are made to perfom within a specific velocity range to get the best performance. The Accubond is designed to perform at 1500 -3100 FT/sec and retain 60-70 % of it's weight. The partition is designed to work around 1800 to an unlimited velocity and retain better than 90% if I remember correctly. I've used partitions for years and have never had any issues with the bullet and driven them at some pretty high speeds. They're not usually one hole bullets in many rifles but they'll shoot acceptable size groups and get the job done.
In today's world we so often fail to consider bullet performance in the quest for accuracy and that flatter trajectory and as a result given the high velocities of some of the rounds today we see more failures because we don't hunt paper animals. Pick the bullet for the game you're hunting and the velocity you're shooting and you'll have fewer issues with bullet performance. The manufactures test this stuff pretty religiously and most perform to their specs. I sat at the range a couple of years ago and a guy was sighting in his gun to go on a Buffalo hunt using ballistic tips! I think we all agree there are some other much better choices out there for an animal such as this!! Bullet design has gotten better over the years but choosing the right bullet for the game involved will ensure your success far better than picking up 4" of drop at 500 yards. If you pick your bullet for the toughest animal you will encounter on your hunt it should perform just fine on the others. Hope you have a great hunt.
In today's world we so often fail to consider bullet performance in the quest for accuracy and that flatter trajectory and as a result given the high velocities of some of the rounds today we see more failures because we don't hunt paper animals. Pick the bullet for the game you're hunting and the velocity you're shooting and you'll have fewer issues with bullet performance. The manufactures test this stuff pretty religiously and most perform to their specs. I sat at the range a couple of years ago and a guy was sighting in his gun to go on a Buffalo hunt using ballistic tips! I think we all agree there are some other much better choices out there for an animal such as this!! Bullet design has gotten better over the years but choosing the right bullet for the game involved will ensure your success far better than picking up 4" of drop at 500 yards. If you pick your bullet for the toughest animal you will encounter on your hunt it should perform just fine on the others. Hope you have a great hunt.
fisrtcoueswas80inches
Very Active Member
- Messages
- 1,648
never shot anything real big, but i have shot or seen 3 deer, one coyote, and one mountain lion shot by 140 accubonds.
the lion was shot at 20 FEET through the spine/shoulder and the bullet held together perfectly!
Casey
the lion was shot at 20 FEET through the spine/shoulder and the bullet held together perfectly!
Casey
hotdiggity
Member
- Messages
- 7
If you're going with a .340 weatherby I would recommend stepping up the bullet size a bit to bring down the velocities because pretty much any bullet you're going to use at relatively close range is going to have a hard time staying together. I would go with 250 grains at least, and if you hand load, 275 A-frames.
