Are the Accubonds more accurate than the Ballistic tip?

[SmoakAllen]

Seems like everyone uses the Accubonds..why?

 

[mikebob]

They are not anymore accurate from what i could tell, but they are a better expanding bullet without the blowup factor of the ballistic tip. I have shot game close and far with the accubond and it performed flawlessly in all accounts. I think the jackets are heavier than the ballistic tips eliminating the so called blowup, but I quit shooting them a few years back and started shooting the bergers.

 

[royinidaho]

I've done the same thing with BTs. Near and far on deer in 270 Win 3200MV. Even hitting bone upon entry got great penetration and terminal performance.

I'd say it's 6s for either. But the popularity is with accubonds. Accuracy is about the same.

 

[Michael Eichele]

One or the other could be more accurate for an indavidual rifle but the quality and and concistency of both is very very good and both are capable of very good accuracy. There is some internal differences that could change the way one rifle reacts to each one. Most high quality barrels will shoot both bullets very well. Some will shoot them both exceptionaly well. I like AB's over BT's due to the AB's ability to open up at lower velocities yet stay together very well at higher velocities. They work much better for the game I like to hunt such as big bull moose and big bull elk. I dont trust the BT's for big heavy boned thick hided game. I do however trust the AB's for that job and have personaly proven to myself the ability of the AB's performance on big heavy game.

 

[7mmSendaro]

My 300WM shoots both to same point of impact which comes in very handy at times. I have had best luck with CT on antelope and AB on mulies. Both group indentically in my rifle.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I shoot them both and they do well, the bonded core of the AB keeps the bullet from violently expanding when your shooting high velocity and get a close range opprotunity. keep a BT at 3200 fps and below and they do well for game hunting. The BT will suffer jacket/core separations if driven too hard, the accubonds hold togather at incredible speeds.
RR

 

[7ultra]

I've loaded and shot both out of my 7mm Remington Mag. 150 grain for the Ballistic Tip and 160 grain for the Accubond. I have shot two deer with the ballistic tip (35 yards and 100) and two with the accubond (20 yards and 100). At these close ranges, performance was really a non-issue, all were heart shots, two dropped in there tracks, two were dead running on there feet. I will say that the accubond seems a little more consistent with its expansion/performance. The buck I shot at 35 yards with the 150 BT had no external signs of bleeding. Pin holes for entry and exit. Open him up, and there was literally a softball sized hole on the exit side rib cage, under the skin. The buck I shot at 20 yards with the 160 AB did not have that much damage, noticeable exit hole, but no grenade blast under the skin. At 100 yards, it was interesting. BT was in and out, and actually didn't seem to expand all that much. Maybe it was shot location, but it simply hit the heart and left with about a X2.5 exit hole. The AB at 100 broke the onside shoulder, took the top f the heart off, gelled the lungs and from all appearances, left in uniform fashion. Chalk it up to shot placement, but the AB held together pretty well. On paper, both shoot well, with the nod going to the BTs, could always get them to shoot better. However, I hunt with ABs now.

 

[NYLES]

I like the AB's over the BT's...BT's seem to have core seperation issues AB's dont! AB is the bullet for deer. However when it comes to detroying cyotes BT all the way!.....ballistic explosion on impact!

 

[Ridge Runner]

here's an exit from a 160 accubond with a mv of 3500 fps, POI was through the last couple ribs as the doe was hard quartering away, it was a bang/flop, range was 532 yds.

RR

 

[DartonJager]

Seems like everyone uses the Accubonds..why?

Simply stated by Nessler's own admission the Ballistic Tip was designed for medium sized thin skinned game like whitetail, Mule deer, and antelope and Nosler christened their BT "THE whitetail bullet".
It's not the best choice for Elk or moose or when high weight retention and deep penetration are must haves.
In smaller calibers with lighter bullets the NBT because it's both a boat tail and is not a bonded bullet like the Accubond, also doesn't perform well at close range very high impact velocities on big critters like elk and moose or if it should strike a major bone mass at close range and high velocities on smaller game like the Partition does.
Also the Nosler Partition is a flat based bullet which also holds up better than BT bullets.

The Accubond was IMO Nosler's (and I believe I read it in more than one article) attempt to meet the long time request of their customers to get the accuracy and higher BC of their BT/NBT and have the toughness of their famous Nosler Partition. The NBT was almost always a more accurate bullet due to it not having a sectional design like the Partition does and due to it's boat tail designed it had a considerably higher BC, which is all the rage now.

IIRC, the Accubond performs near identically to the Partition and it mushroom's to about 1.5x it's original diameter and retains a minimum of 60% of it's original weight same as a NPT making for a controlled expanding deep pernitrating bullet.
In short all the accuracy and higher BC benefits of a NBT with all the durability and reliable expansion of the NPT and a if you will one bullet for all north American game.
I personally can attest to the excellent accuracy potential or the NBT. I have gotten my best groups to date out of my 300wsm, 300wm and even my 308W shoots NAB as well as the NBT.

 

[cornshank]

For me , I handload both for a 300 weatherby mag, and both shoot well out of my rifle and do great on elk out to 500 yds.
The bonus with the ballistic tips is if a tip comes off in my pocket, I use it anyway and then it's a hollow point.

I asked the elk in the freezer if he liked Noslers ,he said what do you think ? , I said ,see you at dinner.

 

[Tgunz64]

I've loaded and shot both out of my 7mm Remington Mag. 150 grain for the Ballistic Tip and 160 grain for the Accubond. I have shot two deer with the ballistic tip (35 yards and 100) and two with the accubond (20 yards and 100). At these close ranges, performance was really a non-issue, all were heart shots, two dropped in there tracks, two were dead running on there feet. I will say that the accubond seems a little more consistent with its expansion/performance. The buck I shot at 35 yards with the 150 BT had no external signs of bleeding. Pin holes for entry and exit. Open him up, and there was literally a softball sized hole on the exit side rib cage, under the skin. The buck I shot at 20 yards with the 160 AB did not have that much damage, noticeable exit hole, but no grenade blast under the skin. At 100 yards, it was interesting. BT was in and out, and actually didn't seem to expand all that much. Maybe it was shot location, but it simply hit the heart and left with about a X2.5 exit hole. The AB at 100 broke the onside shoulder, took the top f the heart off, gelled the lungs and from all appearances, left in uniform fashion. Chalk it up to shot placement, but the AB held together pretty well. On paper, both shoot well, with the nod going to the BTs, could always get them to shoot better. However, I hunt with ABs now.

I had the same thing happen this season on a deer with 212 ELDX as you did with your 150gr BT. Pin hole entry. Quarter size exit. Heart shot and heart was completely obliterated. Softball sized or so hole on opposite rib cage. Rib cage was mangled but nothing exited in that spot. Bullet broke opposite front leg and exited out there. Shot was somewhere around 120 yards from a 300 PRC.

 

[FEENIX]

Zombied after nearly 15 years.