Accubond, Hammer or Berger?

[odoylerules]

I'm developing a load for my Tikka TX3 lite in 270wsm and have tested all 3 of these bullets. I did a 600 yard ladder, group and pressure test already, the gun seems to like them all. Now I'm trying to decide which one to roll with. I'll be using this for pronghorn thru elk. Terminal performance on game is the deciding factor. Here's the details on performance at 200 and 500 yards:
(100 yard zero)

Nosler AB 150gr 3155fps- 66.3gr RE-26
200y- 2796fps 2604ft-lb 0.3mils
500y- 2313fps 1782ft-lb 2.1mils

Hammer Hunter 124gr 3460fps- 69.6gr N560
200y- 3004fps 2485ft-lb 0.2mils
500y- 2400fps 1587ft-lb 1.7mils

Berger 140gr 3260fps- 68.0gr RE-26
200y- 2918fps 2647ft-lb 0.2mils
500y- 2451fps 1868ft-lb 1.8mils

 

[Idaho Lefty]

I just switched from, 140 gr Accubonds to, 140 gr Berger, Classic Hunters, in my .270 WSM, 24" SS, Tikka T-3.
Reason ONE,. I shot an Elk in Arizona, a couple of years back ( at close Range ) and he walked around, a bit ( for what seemed like, a couple of Minutes ). After Bullet went thru, Lungs and thru, the Shoulder blade on opposite side, the Elk, showed LITTLE, effect of being shot !
PERSONALLY, I think, they are "hard" bullets or, just not, "Mushrooming" much and unable, to push a large Hole thru Lungs !
My thinking, IS that, the Bergers will, "Scramble", the Heart / lung area, better ( do MORE damage ) than, the AB's.
Reason # 2, is just, "Icing on the Cake" for me, the Classic Hunters "shoot" Sub 1/2 MOA groups, vs 3/4+ MOA of the AB's.
Picked up, a little extra Velocity and they "Drop" LESS, too ! Cl Hunter's, BC is .528 vs an ACTUAL "tested / Verified" BC of about, .480 / .485 ish of, the AB's ! My Load, 65.7 grains of, IMR 7828, Fed 215 mag. pr's, Rem Cases, 140 gr Classic's for a Velocity of, 3,180 to 3,185 FPS. Yup, RE-26 gets more, Velocity. But, I HAVE 5 Pounds of the 7828 and it, "shoots" good for me ! Classic hunters, GET, the Accuracy and "hopefully", the Terminal Performance that, I desire.
Let us know, HOW you do !

 

[Idaho Lefty]

Years ago, I had read ALL, the "Horror Stories" about, Meat destruction / debris, / blood shot meat, etc. on Bergers and found that, MOST .270 WSM Hunters used, the Accubonds and "some" have had, good Luck !
I went with the "consenus",.. BUT,.. I'm NOT, impressed !
My load, is still going OVER, 2,000 FPS at, 800 Yards with the Classic's and I have, a self imposed Limit, on shooting Elk at, 700 Yd's or,. less !
I just put, 5 Bergers, into, a small Desert sized, Pie Plate at, 700 yds, last week (very lite Wind, tho ! ).
I Zero my rifle for, 200 Yards and "Dial" for shots past, 350 or so and I always carry, a WIND Chart for, this load.
The .270 WSM with, 140's is about, all, the Gun / recoil, that, I want !

 

[HARPERC]

Another of those examples of so many good products these days. My last antelope was shot with a Hammer, and my next one will be as well.

The other 2 guys went with Accubonds, and my previous trips were with those as well.

I think whatever shoots good is a good response, and I have found Hammer the easiest to find a good load for, Accubond second, and Berger third.

Although in the final load stage that could reverse Not enough to change a hunt plan for me, but important to others

 

[Bdubose]

ALL bullets will react differently at 50 yards vs 500 yards.
I shot an elk 3times with Berger's and the bullet speed was so high they blew up on impact with very little penetration. If I had not spine shot him on the last round would have lost him.

I have not taken an elk with the Accubond LRs yet but shot. 250 pound hog through 4" of fat, both shoulders and even caught some of the spine. 1" wound channel, thru&thru = lethal DRT!

Bullet speed at time of impact is critical to expansion, weight retention etc!

 

[ATH]

Seen too many inconsistent results with Berger...can be great or bad. Regular (not LR) ABs have been the most consistent and dependable for me.

 

[Peter K]

Have you thought about trying Partions in your 270 wsm? I'm heading to the range in the morning to try some 160's over 7828 sec.

Peter

 

[Peter K]

I also have some of the 140 classic hunters on order, but will be saving those from deer size animals.

Peter

 

[Rick Richard]

I shoot Berger and Hammers from 110 grain HH to 230 grain Berger's and I guess I must be lucky since I have never had any issues with either brand with deer, antelope and elk. All died just fine.

 

[Deleted member 107796]

Berger, if you're trying to cover lope to elk.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

Over the years, we've killed quite a few,.. Deer, Antelope and 3-4 Elk with, Partitions and IF, I HAD to Shoot, a Grizzly, Brown Bear or, Alaskan Moose with, the .270 WSM,.. that's the Bullet, I WOULD choose !
For 400 PLUS yards on Elk,.. NO, as it Drops a lot and they usually aren't, "that" accurate for, the longer, ranges.
For Dark Timber ranges, it's,.. GREAT !

Have you thought about trying Partions in your 270 wsm? I'm heading to the range in the morning to try some 160's over 7828 sec.

Peter

 

[The Oregonian]

ALL bullets will react differently at 50 yards vs 500 yards.
I shot an elk 3times with Berger's and the bullet speed was so high they blew up on impact with very little penetration. If I had not spine shot him on the last round would have lost him.

I have not taken an elk with the Accubond LRs yet but shot. 250 pound hog through 4" of fat, both shoulders and even caught some of the spine. 1" wound channel, thru&thru = lethal DRT!

Bullet speed at time of impact is critical to expansion, weight retention etc!

What bullet speed? I have shot 4 deer, including a big bodied Kansas buck, with a 6.5 140gr VLD and been 2750 to 2850 fps. 3 shots right through the shoulder, 1 was straight on through the brisket….2 DRT and 2 went maybe 20 yds.

Have also shot a few with a 280AI and the 168 VLD, again, one a Kansas big bodied buck, from 2700 to 2950 fps. None blew up and all deer died with 40 yds.

Im not saying you are wrong at all, just saying that we need to define high velocity as that will be defined differently by different people. Some will shoot a 245 out of a 30 Nosler and some may shoot a 165 out of the same chambering, and game may be shot at 750+ or it may walk out 50 yards away. Those people will probably have different definitions of high velocity.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

When I talk about, Bullets and their, "Terminal, Performance",.. I like to, SEPARATE, Deer & Antelope FROM, the Elk and Shiras Moose that, WE Hunt here, in Idaho and MOST of the Western US. into, TWO catagories, Medium Game ( less than, 300 lbs ) and BIG Game ( OVER, 450-500 Lbs. ).
I've Killed, many Deer and Antelope with, .243's thru .270's and 06's with, regular, Cup / Core Bullets and USUALLY, NO, "problems" !
In the OLD Days, NOTHING beat, a Partition ! I also liked, Hornady 150's, a LOT, in the 06 and 130's in the .270's .
Love em' or Hate them... Berger's are HERE, to stay.
And I think that, they are close to, "Optimal" ( maybe NOT "perfect" ), in the .270 WSM.
At close Range, I'll Neck shoot, a Bull Elk / Moose and after, 100 yards or so, it'll be, IN,.. "the Boiler Room".

 

[Hespco]

When it comes to elk I want a copper mono, no matter what brand. I voted for the Hammer because it is a mono, not because it is a Hammer. If it had been Barnes I would have voted for it over any lead core bullet. I have had disastrous results even with bonded bullets at close range. Many of the elk I have taken have been under 100tds. Years of actual in the field results mean far more to me than BC.