Accubonds or Siroccos??

[BUNDUKI]

Not nocking the sirrocco but I had a very strange experience a few years ago with 150g sirrocco loaded in a 7x57 Mauser whilst hunting in south Africa.
I shot a springbok at 130yds broadside. the reaction to shot was as if it had been gut shot it went down quite quickly upon inspection shot placement had been on the shoulder the bullet deflected and turned 90' around under the skin between it's hind legs. Got a picture but don't know how to post it.

 

[meatyrem]

I am wanting to stay with a bonded bullet so that a can take any angled shot and not worry about bullet failure. I'm wanting it for the .280 rem and 7RUM and they only offer them in the 140 and 160. So I think a 150gr would also be nice too. Do you know if you can get the XP3 from that web site?

 

[meatyrem]

Not nocking the sirrocco but I had a very strange experience a few years ago with 150g sirrocco loaded in a 7x57 Mauser whilst hunting in south Africa.
I shot a springbok at 130yds broadside. the reaction to shot was as if it had been gut shot it went down quite quickly upon inspection shot placement had been on the shoulder the bullet deflected and turned 90' around under the skin between it's hind legs. Got a picture but don't know how to post it.

It almost sounds like an FMJ or a solid. Like it didnt even expand at all.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I think the Scirrocco is the better bullet for terminal ballistics. It is more consistent in my opinion, and deforms into a better shape mushroom.

In a nut shell... The best lead core bullet on the market. As long as your rifle likes it. It is more finicky.

As far as more copper fouling, this may be true, but you got to clean anyway. Why not use a cleaning method that takes out copper?

Steve

 

[CogburnR]

I used Accubonds and Scirocco's and then used Interbonds. They all worked ok but I liked the Interbonds best for hunting.

 

[winmag]

No personal experience with Scirocco's, but plenty with Nosler Accubonds. love the Accubond 140's in my 270wsm, and 180's in my 300wby. gonna try the 165's in my -06 next.
Also load N.A.B.'s in 2 other rifles, one is my dads, one is my cousins. Easiest bullet Ive ever worked up loads with. Plenty deadly on Mule Deer, Elk, and Black Bear at the ranges Ive used em at (11 yds -to-600yds +/-) Havent had the right opportunity past there yet, but its commin.
Good luck with whatever choice you make, and let us know how they fly, and how they work on game.

 

[conn338rum]

I Shoot the Hornady SST 225 gn in my 338 RUM
Then switch to the Hornady Interbond 225 gn for hunting
The SST are cheaper for paper and the shape of the Interbond are very close
I do like the Berger 210 VLD for my 300 RUM and the VLD 168gn for the 30-06

 

[Derek M.]

I am wanting to stay with a bonded bullet so that a can take any angled shot and not worry about bullet failure.

If that is the case, then I suggest you look at Barnes TSX, TTSX, or the Speer/Federal trophy bonded tipped bullet, or Winchester/Combined Technology-Nosler bullet that looks just about like the Barnes MRX.

I don't like to sound like a broken record, but the ONLY time I lost a deer while hunting with a firearm was due to a 140 AB in .277 and it was a chip shot inside of bow range. Having taken the exact same quartering to shot on at least a dozen or more whitetail bucks of equal size with Barnes bullets, I'm confident that had I been using one that day on that muley, I would have had steaks that night and another $500 taxidermy bill.

 

[meatyrem]

If that is the case, then I suggest you look at Barnes TSX, TTSX, or the Speer/Federal trophy bonded tipped bullet, or Winchester/Combined Technology-Nosler bullet that looks just about like the Barnes MRX.

I don't like to sound like a broken record, but the ONLY time I lost a deer while hunting with a firearm was due to a 140 AB in .277 and it was a chip shot inside of bow range. Having taken the exact same quartering to shot on at least a dozen or more whitetail bucks of equal size with Barnes bullets, I'm confident that had I been using one that day on that muley, I would have had steaks that night and another $500 taxidermy bill.

I do like the thoughts of the XP3 from combined technologies, but have no clue of how to get them. I have heard TOO many horror stories about barnes. But at the same time there are many guys out there that absolutely love them. And I dont know why some love them and some others don't. I guess there may be exceptions to certain situations. It just seems wierd that it works for some and not others.

 

[Derek M.]

I do like the thoughts of the XP3 from combined technologies, but have no clue of how to get them. I have heard TOO many horror stories about barnes. But at the same time there are many guys out there that absolutely love them. And I dont know why some love them and some others don't. I guess there may be exceptions to certain situations. It just seems wierd that it works for some and not others.

For unknown reasons, some Barnes bullets have penciled through according to those who post horror stories. I've never had a bad experience with them. They seem to be a parallel to btips...love em or hate em. I love both. I've never had a problem with either.

I don't think the XP3 is available to reloaders.

 

[meatyrem]

What about Noslers new E-tip? Any experience with that or any thoughts? I would be inerested on performance. Expansion-at short and longrange? Does it hold together, or fall apart. Does it foul barrels like barnes or are they more of the gilding metal type. There is also the copper solid from Remington of the same concept too. I think those just came out and probably haven't been available that long. They look to be alot like the GMX from Hornady.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

A good buddy of mine uses the 90grn E-Tip in a 6-284, he's taken 4-6 (can't remember) head of game this year, all with 1 shot each. Which tells me they are at least an accurate bullet, terminal performance I can't help you on, all of his animals were taken with neck shots, so no bullets were ever recovered. As to your statement about the Barnes fowling the barrel, you might be thinking of the original X bullet. I use the TSX, TTSX & MRX in ~ a half dozen rifles & have seen a fairly neglible difference in fowling compared to "normal" bullets. There is a somewhat larger difference in new rifles whose bores need "broken in" as the solid copper of the Barnes line is sofer than the gilding metal used in the newer offerings out there.

 

[FAL Shot]

My gunsmith who reloads for me told me that Barnes had some problems in their early days. He said their current production bullets seem to be working just fine for a lot of folks. I'm going to eventually put them up against Accubond, Scirocco, and Partitions in my rifles. You also have to look at Hornady and Nosler offerings in the solid bullet category these days. In Africa, there is GS Custom to consider as well.

In .224 cal, Scirocco II is the only game in town as far as a bonded bullet goes. It seems that Hornady and Nosler are missing the boat bigtime in not offering an Interbond or Accubond in .224. Barnes has their Triple-X in that caliber (and GS Custom in Africa), in several weights, so they know .224 cal actually is very deadly on big game for those who can place their shots consistently. For those like me who shoot prairie dogs all summer, you start to wonder why you need a .30-06 for deer when Karamojo Bell used a 6.5mm on elephants.....with reliable results I might add.

The Scirocco is quite expensive, so I'm hoping for an Accubond or Interbond in .224 in the near future. Don't know if pure copper has any advantage over gilding metal in actual use. The ad copy touts better expansion at wider velocity spread for copper over gilding metal, with less chance of petal separation from the shank.

You can shoot twice as many Accubonds than Scirocco for the same price. If you need the target practice, that is a strong recommendation for Accubond. For guys who can afford guided hunts (not me), the extra cost of Scirocco is a nonissue. Thst's how I look at it.

 

[cross]

BS on the Sciroccos being more expensive. This is constantly claimed but it's 100% BS.

Accubonds cost about $25 for 50 bullets and Sciroccos cost about $50 for 100 bullets. They both cost about 50 cents each (+\-) a couple of cents.

The Sciroccos are very good bullets and I think they probably a little harder than the Accubonds but both are premium bullets that are more or less interchangeable.