180gr Nosler Accubond in 300 Win Mag

[A guy named Bob]

Accubond or Ballistic Tip?

Very good question, I was going to ask the same thing.

 

[emp1953]

There seems to be an issue with Nosler 180 gr Accubonds. Last year I took a moose at 410 yards. The shot took out both lungs but there was only a tiny entry wound and no external blood. I just got back from a rough week moose hunting in Newfoundland. I shot a bull at about 325 yards down a steep slope with my .300 WM. The guide had glass on the moose. Bullet hit front quarter, but obviously missed bone. The bull was knocked down. It got back up and moved towards the woods. I got a broadside shot at 380 yards and a solid hit. It kept stumbling towards the forest. At 450 I shot it again. It couldn't climb the hill through the trees and stood shaking a moment and then stepped downward off the trail. We had people stationed where we could watch the entire periphery of the forest. It was an island of thick forest surrounded by bogs in the midst of a much bigger forest. After over 30 minutes we went down and where it fell after the first shot there was no blood. No blood at the second or third impacts. 4 of us searched for hours through the thickest forest I've ever been in and couldn't find the moose. The guides said that it could not have gotten out but we could walk by it three feet away and not see it. My guide said that this was the third time in 3 weeks they'd had a similar thing happen with the Nosler ballistic tip rounds. One moose they did get a blood trail but the moose still was able to get into the deep woods and disappear. The outfitter is strongly recommending against those rounds now and is considering banning them. Has anyone else had this problem?

There are two flavors of the Accubond. The plain old Accubond (Nosler AB), and the Accubond Long range (Nosler ABLR). I found that they do not shoot the same in my rifles. ABLR shoots to different points of aim than the AB, in one rifle it required 9 clicks of elevation and 4 windage to bring it onto my point of aim. Haven't shot any game with the ABLR's but have successfully with the AB's on whitetail with satisfactory expansion within 300 yds. Do you have any idea what your muzzle velocity was? Nosler recommends 1800fps at the target to ensure reliable expansion.

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

...nope, I don't have much faith in that bullet.

 

[Raudy707]

I remember a ton of folks being really upset with the ABLR because of Nosler's inflated BC numbers. Feeling betrayed the rumors carried over the bullets are too soft, they fragment...explode. I took over a hundred big game animals with the original Accubonds in 257's, 277's, 284's and 308 calibers. Never had a failure. Plenty of pass thru and good blood trails. 60 to 70% retention. This is with high velocity calibers. 25-06, 270 wsm, 7 mags and 300 mags. I've also shot a ton of Ballistic Tips, Sierra Game Kings and Hornady Interlocks and they did well. Cup and Core do what they do. I'm 100% ok with that. When the long craze rage hit a high point a few years back I tried Bergers the Eld-m Eld-x and the Accubond LR. Just so happened the 168 grain ABLR shot dimes out of my 7 mag out to my tested 900 yard range so I used them on Antelope, deer and elk. We have 13 kills with them. 156 to 788 yds those bullets have been amazing. No blow up or disasters. Definitely harder on meat and clearly softer than the Accubond but not as soft as the Ballistic Tip. For a long range bullet they do what they are designed for. We've hit shoulders, humerus bones and spines. Kids aren't always the best shots in the heat of the moment. No splash, no exploding on contact. I've had really stellar performance in my limited 13 animals. The hardest part is getting them to shoot in your rifle. My reloading experience says give them plenty of jump and don't push em too hard. They really like 2850 to 3100 fps. Start getting above that and for whatever reason accuracy falls off.

 

[Raudy707]

I've got a box of Federal Premium and just ordered two boxes of Nosler Trophy Grade. Both are 180gr Nosler Accubond. Will both brands perform the same since the bullets are the same or will there be a difference in performance? I am preparing for an elk hunt in a few weeks and the Federals are sold out everywhere so I was hoping the Trophy Grade will perform the same.

I got off topic from your question....the answer is No. Even with the same bullet, the factory loaded ammunition will shoot slightly different. Different powders, cases and primers. I've tried this experiment. Winchester Expedition 168 ABLR vs Nosler Trophy 168 ABLR. Not only was the Nosler 60 fps slower but it also shot a tick over MOA out to 800 while the Winchester Exp. was closer to 1/2 MOA. So, I shoot the Winchester ammo. My father in law shot Federal Premium 180 tsx at 1" at 100 yds from his 300 Weatherby. The Vortex by Barnes would be 1.6", the Weatherby ammo 1.25". All the same bullet. Different components. Makes a difference.

 

[WMTex]

Accubond or Ballistic Tip?