Accubond, Hammer or Berger?

Accubond, Hammer or Berger


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i've had nothing but good success with accubonds in a 6.8.

the 2 270win rifles i'm getting done will be shooting the 165 ABLR due to said success in its little brother.

i would love to grab some 168hammers but according to a few calculators and hammer themselves even the 1:8 twist will barely stabilize them at my location.
 
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OY...lots of numbers gackola, curious what kind of groups have you gotten out of all 3 of them @ 500 yards?
These are the groups at 600 yards. The conditions were not ideal as some wind and rain came rolling in mid test. That said the groups were still ok. The orange sticker is about 3" big
 

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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
I'd consider running BOTH the Berger & the Hammers. Run the Hammers close out to a certain distance & Berger's at longer distance.
 
Problem with these type of threads is they always turn into "let's bash the one we don't like" threads.

I've used all three and all three have performed excellent.
It's always good to hear from folks with real experience vs "I know a guy that...." I don't mean to single out who posted this but during my career, I would have hated to go into a R&D meeting with statistical data to present and start off with "I know a guy that..." Many negative comments seem to come from those with little or no real experience with whatever is being critiqued.
 
Is this any different than " I know a guy". Maybe he wasn't " my friend" !! You singled me out and I have plenty of REAL experience.!! BYE
You left out "with a Federal Fusion bullet", a bonded cored bullet, which was the context. He gets it in one shot, not seven.
Here's the Fusion from his last elk:
 

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You missed my point. I like bonded core bullets. Most of the of the bullet failures I've had and seen were with Bergers. Mostly pencil hole and or a ugly blood shot jello mess if they come apart. Thats why I quit using them for hunting. The 180 7mm ELD M is another one that I found out is a bad recipe for elk. Too fragile. Fine for deer and goats. The Nosler accubonds and long range accubonds have never let me down. They have worked up close and far away.
 
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!
Which bullet out of curiosity?
 
You missed my point. I like bonded core bullets. Most of the of the bullet failures I've had and seen were with Bergers. Mostly pencil hole and or a ugly blood shot jello mess if they come apart. Thats why I quit using them for hunting. The 180 7mm ELD M is another one that I found out is a bad recipe for elk. Too fragile. Fine for deer and goats. The Nosler accubonds and long range accubonds have never let me down. They have worked up close and far away.
Good post. You can always draw conclusions from an autopsy. I might also mention, I'm killing elk with VLD-H Bergers, not their VLD target bullet.
 
I know a guy that shot a cow elk 7x with 185 classic hunter in 300 WSM,. Under 200 yards. no penetration. I quit shooting Bergers for hunting after using 175 LRAB in 7mm and 210 LRAB in 300 prc. Near or far they have been 100 % reliable.

That is interesting. My cow elk was 1 round down in 20 yards on my cow elk 2 years ago with a 6.5x55 shooting 135gr Classic hunters. In fact 2 mulies and 2 cow elk have died very quickly from 2 different 6.5x55 rifles shooting that bullet.
 
I know a guy that shot a cow elk 7x with 185 classic hunter in 300 WSM,. Under 200 yards. no penetration. I quit shooting Bergers for hunting after using 175 LRAB in 7mm and 210 LRAB in 300 prc. Near or far they have been 100 % reliable.

I have read alot of threads on Bergers issues with not penetrating or blowing up, and the one thing I see the most is it seems like almost always 30 Cal bullets that are the ones showing issues.

My hunting buddy and I have killed 3 cow elk and 2 mulies with 6.5 or 257 cal bergers and never had a failure. That isn't a ton of animals, but it is still 100% success.
 
I'd like to get some "Autopsy" responses from anyone, who HAS Killed an Elk or, Moose with, any Berger, Classic Hunters from, 130 grains in 6.5 / .270's up to, the 150 grain, 7mm's. Be especially NICE to hear from, a .270 WSM user and the 140's.
I have been 1st hand at 3 cow elk with Bergers.
2 were 135gr Classic Hunter from 6.5x55. Both had good shots behind the shoulders and hit lungs. The bullets punched good holes in the lungs and didn't exit. The 3rd was a cow elk with 115gr HVLD from a 257 weatherby. Shot 1 was double lung. She ran 30 yards and I shot her again quartering away. Punched the lung and ended up with a decent amount of blood shot meat on the far side shoulder. Shot 1 left quarter size holes in the lungs, she was going to die from shot 1. Shot 2 just anchored her.
 

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