Accubond early expansion problems.

[Westernhuntr]

What is your preferred bullet for a hunting situation that can be up close or long range?

If you have a 30 Cal or 7mm check out the Federal Edge TLR, it'll expand down to 1300 fps but has a solid copper shank for guaranteed penetration if you hit a shoulder bone.
I'd be using them if they were available in 338

 

[ScottB338]

I've shot a few deer with Nosler Ballistic Tips and Accubond bullets (308 and 165-168 grain, 270 and 130-140 grain and 338 with 180 and 225 grain weights). MST were taken with the 308. Raking shots with the Accubond worked out fine. The BT showed much more dramatic expansion in my experience. I wouldn't take any shot much more angled than quartering with it.
I also have a 300WM. It gets nothing lighter than 180 grain slugs. I would expect it to provide violent expansion with 165-168 grain slugs, unless you went to a mono (which I have very little experience with).
I read somewhere that the 150's were made for the 308 class, 165's for the 06 class and 180+ for the mags.
The only hiccup I have had with Accubonds was a frontal shot on a WT doe at 90 yards with 270 Winchester and a 130 gr. Center chest hit and portions of the bullet were fount throughout the left hindquarter. I was hoping to find an expanded bullet, but all I found was fragments. Not seeing this as a failure, just glad I kept it off the shoulder.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

With all due respect I will take the couple hundred elds and bergers I've put in gel and game Over a 22" stump and mud plus one bull? I get a nuisance permit to kill deer in bean fields every year. Between 3-6 farms per year average 40 deer per farm shots from 200-1200 yards. I know what works and what doesn't at this point. Bergers expand later than man LR hunting bullets. ELDx open quick and expand well ABLR expand the fastest and penetrate the least.

last year I used

300wby 30" rl26
210 berger hunting vld @ 3320 fps
208 amax 3328fps
212eld 3324fps
215 Berger 3295fps
190 ABLR 3410fps
210ABLR 3274fps

7wsm
175 ABLR 3110 fps
175 ELDx 3090fps
162ELDx 3190fps
162ELDm 3190 fps
180 ELDm 3060 fps
150ABLR 3340fps
175 Berger 3070 fps
180 Berger 3040 fps
160 TMK 3180 fps


each load killed multiple deer. if you want to span this over a 7 year period say on average 4 fields per year. 40 deer per field thats that's 1,120 deer. Enough that my weatherby is having to get a new tube. The reason there's no 6.5s on there last year is my 6.5-284 was getting rebarreled last spring. The ABLR is a very explosive Bullet in my findings. The normal accubond isa very respectable tough bullet. I've only recovered a normal accubond on long ways shots and then it's in the hams. Get a accubond with sectional density in the .270-.285 region and it will expand well and penetrate as far as you need it and then some.

@JIsbell40 Ignore this guy(@Westernhuntr) - he is a joke. He was claiming on another thread that the eldm blew up on him on a 700 yard shot.

 

[bigngreen]

Accubonds will break up sometimes from what I've seen, I don't know if it's from something in the bonding process or what but I've seen evidence of a couple just chunk up which I honestly prefer as long as it happens after a few inches, I've had more issue with Accubonds just not getting through elk shoulders because they open big and early and loose their momentum and stop, I personally don't trust even the 200 gr AB on a close elk shoulder shot.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

I was launching the 200's at 3380. I've had several shots under 200 yards. They've never blown up just make a mess going through.

First kill, an aoudad (300lbs) 160 yards. Broke the shoulder blade in half and blew the meat off it, punched through and exited in a golf ball size exit in front of the off side.

Another it was a blood shot mess from entrance to exit. That was roughly 210 yards.

 

[JIsbell40]

@JIsbell40 Ignore this guy(@Westernhuntr) - he is a joke. He was claiming on another thread that the eldm blew up on him on a 700 yard shot.

I gotcha hommie. The ELDm work well @ 700yards as long as it's not a whimpy 6.5

 

[Westernhuntr]

@JIsbell40 Ignore this guy(@Westernhuntr) - he is a joke. He was claiming on another thread that the eldm blew up on him on a 700 yard shot.

I gotcha hommie. The ELDm work well @ 700yards as long as it's not a whimpy 6.5

Predator Slayer is a little slow.. or just ignorant
A 225 ELDM will absolutely blow apart at 700 yards if you hit the shoulder bone on an elk.
Here's the pic from last season where my buddy did just that.

I'm getting tired of totally ignorant people running their mouths when someone states a factual experience with a bullet that they are in love with.

I'll take your word on the ABLR's you used being explosive, but so far I'm not seeing that evidence with my testing of the 265's. However I'm open to the possibility and will keep testing it in hopefully a more realistic media.

225 ELDM
300PRC MV 2870
700 yards, impact center shoulder
Result wounded elk that required tracking approx 1/2 mile.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I gotcha hommie. The ELDm work well @ 700yards as long as it's not a whimpy 6.5

Or 7mm wizzzum ;-)

 

[bigngreen]

I've been hunting with Elds and Berger's for years, I've had them come apart on many animals not just one bull.
I haven't shot any lighter ABLR's but from what I just witnessed the 265 is much much tougher than berger 250's
I don't care if it's not ballistic gell the comparison is still valid, one was explosive and one was not.
I'll use a totally wet media and shoot them both again

Huh, I've been trying for 10 or so years to see a Berger fail and have only seen one 210 fail to open but still killed rather fast. Seen a LOT of elk one shot killed with them in many cals and a lot of elk guides turn to them after years of Accubonds and Barnes, I've seen hundreds of elk one shot killed with a Berger loaded heavy for cal and not one took a second round, maybe someday though I keep trying bullets all the time but keep coming back to Bergers though the Hammers have proven a favorite for lethality and accuracy.

 

[David Emerson]

Just thinking out loud here but I wonder what would happen to the bullet world if Nosler would take the Partition and add a boat-tail design and an ELDX type heat shield type tip on it . Jack Carter was getting close. Think it would open up at long range?

The federal premium tipped TBBC or the edge TLR. Best of all worlds except they don,t make a 338 for the reloader trade. But then again I( like penetration from all angles and 2 holes

 

[ATH]

These threads are always a bit entertaining due to the variability in perceived performance. For be, the 200gr 30cal AB has been the most consistent and reliable rifle bullet I've every shot. From 50 to 700 yards, it has expanded, held together, and exited every time from a 300WM. I've shot the ELD-X in 338 for a few years, from 200 to 750 yards it has shown more expansion but always exited.

I don't shoot Bergers due to a large number of observations in the field of hunting partners' shots. Very inconsistent performance, depending both on distance and part of body hit. Everything from penciling through to explosiveness, often the full range at similar distance, depending whether bone was contacted. I have no use for such an unpredictable bullet.

I tend to stick with what works so I haven't tried the newer options. In general my luck with monolithic copper has also been lackluster.

I would agree that shooting 168s in a 300WM is asking for trouble, those bullets were designed with lower velocities in mind.

 

[David Emerson]

Accubonds will break up sometimes from what I've seen, I don't know if it's from something in the bonding process or what but I've seen evidence of a couple just chunk up which I honestly prefer as long as it happens after a few inches, I've had more issue with Accubonds just not getting through elk shoulders because they open big and early and loose their momentum and stop, I personally don't trust even the 200 gr AB on a close elk shoulder shot.

My experience exactly. They open too fast. And nosler uses a lead alloy that does not stick like a true bonded core.Slam something hard and 50% is usual

 

[sp6x6]

Berger vrs the elk form earlier, rear 1/4 bone 200 yrd 300 otm.As mentioned blew the whole works threw the 1/2 target back 2' hole,shot each end,my test on bone.I blew two hole threw elk in brush,bow range hole on R

 

[sp6x6]

Ive had good luck also with the regular AB,this was close timber shot recovered at hide opposite,325 wsm,200 Shoot them in my 257wby