I may be hard to please, but I don't think Accubonds perform anyways near to what the hipe is. This yr (Oct), I shot a 5x6 bull elk 140 yds with 180 gr accu-bonds in my .300WMag, approx 3000 fps. Had to take a near frontal shot, slight angle, hit him where I was aiming about 1/3 up from the bottom where his neck meets body. Killing shot, hit top of lungs, bullet penetrated whole body coming out front part of ribs, leaving a small exit home about the size of 3/4 inch. He jumped back up and I put one at the base of the head and neck. dispatching him for sure, still a small exit hole after hitting neck bones. Same thing last yr, only a broadside shot thru heart, still a very small exit hole. Prev. used ballistic tips and they seemed to produce larger exit wounds. Accu-bonds shoot accurately but not any better than ballistic tips. Am I expecting too much, believe accubons should have more shock. Grandson this yr shot 3 pt buck at 350 yds w/26/06 and Nosler Partition, 120 gr bullet.. Complete penetration but with a larger exit wound. Your thoughts are appreciated. George

Well this is an age old debate actually. It comes down two 2 basic thoughts:

1) A proper bullet should not exit the animal, it should completely transfer its energy into the animal via shock.

2) A proper bullet should not break up but exit the animal causing a complete wound channel through the animal.

You will have to decide for yourself which side of the argument you fall in. That said, I think your accubond preformed great. You got that kind of penetration through bone and it exited? Wow... I'm VERY surprised at your comment on the Ballistic Tips though. I quit using them due to them completely disintegrating and not penetrating deep enough on elk. I will never use them on anything larger than antelope.

My bullet of choice is Nosler Partitions, they expand pretty good but hold together for penetration. Over the course of its path within a critter they still shed mass and have smaller exit holes. If you want deep penetration and a larg exit hole look into Barnes X bullets... if they dont fail to expand you get a crazy big hole on exit... but they sometimes fail to expand and you get pencil sized hole performance.

As for your preformance, frontal shot on a large mature elk and you had complete penetration, thats pretty damn good IMO. A lesser bullet would have broken up long before that and not exited.


-DallanC

I agree with Dallen on the BT's. I shot a small doe this year with my 308 (120 lb) using 165 gr BT and the bullet broke all apart. Granted, it was a clean kill and the deer didn't go over 50 yards, but I expected the bullet to hold up a little better than it did, since it hit NO bone. The bullet entered in the neck just in front of the shoulder and stopped just under the skin near the opposite hip after destroying both lungs. The copper base was seperated from what was left of the lead core. Some would say that as long as it was a sure kill, that I shouldn't complain, but I would think the bullet should take a little more that some skin and lung tissue to destroy it. I'm going to Accubonds or partitions next year. I went with the BT's this year because my load worked best with them for accuracy.

Blaine

I use 130 grain Nosler Partitions in my 270 and they have worked very well for me. Accurate, hard hitting and I wouldn't hesitate to take on a moose or elk with them.

I also use Speer Grand Slams in my 7mm and I have nothing but good things to say about them. They're surgically accurate, hold together and hit like a freight train. The bullets I've recovered have mushroomed very well and penetrated equally well. They're my favorite bullet and I'd recommend them to anyone.

As with fishing lures being designed to catch fisherman first, then the fish, I think there is a lot of that same sort of thing when it comes to hunting. Most of the "sexy" rifles, calibre's and bullets are more to catch hunters than to harvest game. I've taken more game cleanly and effectively with the old standard Sierra, Speer and Hornady bullets and really don't see and need for the "latest and greatest thing" to shoot a deer at 100 yards. I've taken several Bull Moose with my old 303 British using 180 grain Federal Classics out to almost 300 yards, you can't get much more low tech than that. Pick a bullet and load that your gun likes and shoots accurately. That's what I usually do and it has always seemed to work for me.

I have had the same problem as Blaine with the Nosler B-Ts. In 308 150 grainers I have had entrance holes you could put your fist in. I will never use them on deer sized game again. I use partitions/accubonds/ and Barnes Triple Shocks.
Joe.

These days I refuse to shoot any non-bonded bullet at game in rifles where the exit velocity is over about 2500fps.

For that matter, I refuse to shoot AccuBond and InterBond and Scirocco, either, as they lack the features I want that limit expansion. Give me a North Fork, Trophy Bonded, A-Frame or TSX instead.

How are you guys liking the triple shocks? I've been holding off on testing some until I heard more from other people using them (wasted too much money trying to get XLCs to shoot in my rifles).


-DallanC

Call me old fashioned, but....30-30/Speer 170gr FNSP... .30-06/Sierra 165gr HPBT or Sierra 180 SPBT... They kill game and are consistently accurate in my rifles (The wheel isn't broken).

Gentlemen...Enjoy your turkey. I'm having "T-bone" steak...

DallanC wrote:

How are you guys liking the triple shocks? . -DallanC

I'm Just getting started with them. Trying 180 grainers in the 308 Norma Mag. I will let ya no how it goes :).
Joe

I have only done limited testing of the Barnes TSX in my 308, but results look promising. Accuracy in my best loads is pretty good, but I have not tried to refine the load for the TSX. I plan on doing some further tests in the spring.

Blaine

[quote="Bushmaster"]Call me old fashioned, but....30-30/Speer 170gr FNSP... .30-06/Sierra 165gr HPBT or Sierra 180 SPBT... They kill game and are consistently accurate in my rifles (The wheel isn't broken).quote]

But, Bushy, THOSE are old technology. They surely can't work as well as some of the newer Whiz Bang creations that are suitable for anything , including T Rex...can they?