I just returned from my trip to New Zealand, hunting with Monarch Pursuits, and wanted to give an update on the performance of the Nosler Accubond bullets out of my 6.5 PRC. I took four animals at varying distances and none made it out of sight or took more than one shot.
Red Stag - 483 yards - 5 yards dead - Broadside right behind the shoulder
Bull Tahr - 408 yards - dead on impact - Front Shoulder quartering to me slightly
Arapawa Ram -312 yards- dead on impact - Broadside right on the shoulder
Feral Hog -452 yards - 30 yards - Quartering to and below me held for front shoulder
Gunwerks ClymR in 6.5 PRC 22 in Barrel
Nightforce ATACR 4-20 x 50 MOA
ADG Brass
140 Accubond
58 Grains of H-1000
2911 FPS
Due to the thick scrub and the steep terrain we were not able to get pics of the Hog but I assure you he was dead. The Accubonds worked great. I was only able to recover one of the (4) bullets I fired but it mushroomed perfectly. I couldn't have been happier with the results. Months of developing and practicing with my rifle and this load paid off big time.
To say the hunt was a success would be an understatement. Monarch Pursuits puts on a great hunt for its clients. Beautiful accommodations, great food and lots of incredible, but steep, terrain to hunt. I highlighted steep because even when it looked like it was fairly easy terrain to maneuver in via the binoculars, once you got onto it, it was incredibly hard to walk in and on. Being slightly overweight was not ideal either but I made it through. New Zealand is truly a beautiful place to visit and the people were the friendliest I have ever encountered. This was an private land hunt so the Stag Hunting was not overly difficult, we saw lots of stags during the five day hunt, it was more of a challenge to determine which one you wanted to go after. I wanted a clean, long tined bull and that's exactly what i was able to take. The Tahr hunting was a completely different story. I can tell you, is not for the faint at heart. These critters live in some of the steepest stuff imaginable and traverse it like it was flat pavement. Whether on private ground or in the free ranging areas, you can access, the Tahr hunt is incredibly challenging and hard on the body! Finding them on the mountainside is one thing getting a clean shot on one and making the recovery is a different story.
Red Stag - 483 yards - 5 yards dead - Broadside right behind the shoulder
Bull Tahr - 408 yards - dead on impact - Front Shoulder quartering to me slightly
Arapawa Ram -312 yards- dead on impact - Broadside right on the shoulder
Feral Hog -452 yards - 30 yards - Quartering to and below me held for front shoulder
Gunwerks ClymR in 6.5 PRC 22 in Barrel
Nightforce ATACR 4-20 x 50 MOA
ADG Brass
140 Accubond
58 Grains of H-1000
2911 FPS
Due to the thick scrub and the steep terrain we were not able to get pics of the Hog but I assure you he was dead. The Accubonds worked great. I was only able to recover one of the (4) bullets I fired but it mushroomed perfectly. I couldn't have been happier with the results. Months of developing and practicing with my rifle and this load paid off big time.
To say the hunt was a success would be an understatement. Monarch Pursuits puts on a great hunt for its clients. Beautiful accommodations, great food and lots of incredible, but steep, terrain to hunt. I highlighted steep because even when it looked like it was fairly easy terrain to maneuver in via the binoculars, once you got onto it, it was incredibly hard to walk in and on. Being slightly overweight was not ideal either but I made it through. New Zealand is truly a beautiful place to visit and the people were the friendliest I have ever encountered. This was an private land hunt so the Stag Hunting was not overly difficult, we saw lots of stags during the five day hunt, it was more of a challenge to determine which one you wanted to go after. I wanted a clean, long tined bull and that's exactly what i was able to take. The Tahr hunting was a completely different story. I can tell you, is not for the faint at heart. These critters live in some of the steepest stuff imaginable and traverse it like it was flat pavement. Whether on private ground or in the free ranging areas, you can access, the Tahr hunt is incredibly challenging and hard on the body! Finding them on the mountainside is one thing getting a clean shot on one and making the recovery is a different story.
