Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Of these three bullets...

smokepole, The next time you load for a "friend", put powder in the case!!!! memtb

2960 fps is not too fast for the 160 ab. It will be fine at 50 yds to 500 yrds. God, you guys just overthink everything. How many elk have you killed or seen Killed? They are not bulletproof.

Dre,

Would love to hear why you think a 160 AccuBond might not work at 50 yards. I've seen a lot of 7mm 16p Accubonds shot into big game, some at considerably higher muzzle velocities than from the OP's rifle, with nary a problem. One was shot into the shoulder of a wildebeest the size of a mature bull elk, at around 50 yards by a hunting companion with his 7mm Dakota, muzzle velocity around 3200 fps. It worked fine, breaking the shoulder and ending up under the hide on the far side.

This thread is a classic instance of paralysis by analysis, something apparently encounraged by the Internet. Apparently we can't go hunting anymore without initiating a Campfire poll.

Any of the three will work fine for the OP's purpose, as will a bunch of other bullets.

True.



Can anyone define "over kill"? This should be good for 5-6 pages.....

MD,

Yes, the campfire poll is an interesting internet phenomenon. And when it finally winds down there is rarely any definitive answer. In this case, three stout bullets supposedly shooting under .5s and which one should I use????

The early NBT's were death on Deer-the stouter ones are also-but they came apart too quickly for some. Now Berger's and such are the rage.

This...

Accubond.

I have never had an accubond fail. Course, my 160 gr loads were just loafing along just below a muzzle of 2900 fps in my 280 rem.

Bud of mine ran them out of his 7 rum in the area of 3300 or 3400 muzzle vel IIRC, and filled his dodge many a time with elk/deer and not one failed accubond did he snivel.

I'm of the school of 'secondary' projectiles from an expanding bullet help kill. You know, the thing the peoples republic of California has deemed too deadly for use.... lead.

In my post, I did say I COULD BE WRONG and I thought the OP was shooting over 3000 fps.
The reason for my answer was I once shot a ferrel pig with in less than 10 yards, when it came out of some brush.
I had 30/06 with 180 core lokts and shot it in the head. the bullet never exited. thats with heavier bullet at lower velocity.
SO, since then I went to better constructed bullets. and yes I know the AB is much better.

I'll have to try that and see how it works. What are friends for??

Not Dre, but thinking dropping one into an elk 3-4 feet behind the shoulder might be a 'skosh' messy. (... which isn't to say that the others wouldn't be essentially the same.)

I'm neither an elk hunter, nor have I used the Accubond much. And I can think of no single bullet which is better suited than all others at all distances since all of them compromise something. But going 'retro' with a Partition seems about as broad in scope - and still the pinnacle of 'all-around' as one can get (and seems to be performance that Barnes' 'X' bullets have circuitously evolved toward). And the Accubond is reputed to be generally a Partition equivalent with a more modern ballistic touch. I can't imagine why not.

RBros built full custom. It does its job if I do mine.

Have used ABs on deer and elk before, but only punched paper and rocks with Barnes so just getting some opinions on them

If you're the kind of guy that only takes broadside shots behind the shoulder, you don't need to use Barnes bullets. But if you're no stranger to raking shots where the bullet may go through some meat either before or after ventilating the vitals, and you like to target shoulders on broadside shots, it's nice not to have bits of core/jacket in the meat, which is a benefit with a mono. Penetration without destroying a lot of meat is another. The LRX should be a bit more reliable at longer range and lower IV than the TTSX.

My experience with AB's hasn't been all that positive; at least they haven't always performed according to my preference. I've seen a lot of destruction and a lack of penetration, so they're not my first choice for close-range work. I'm sure they work perfectly fine for those that prefer their performance profile, though.

You have a really accurate rifle. Although day in day out easy carry .5rifles are and always will be to me rare. Still, it seems much more than adequate. Those three bullets should easily also be more than sufficient and as far as opinions on Barnes bullets on Elk, thread after thread have been discussed regarding same. Along with many pics as proof.

Best of luck on your hunt.

Addition: Have only shot one Elk myself: .300W 180gr coreloks. Others I've been around .300W 180gr Coreloks x 2, 300W 180gr NBT's, 30-06 180gr Corelokt and a .30-06 that I don't know what he was using. None of those rifles were as accurate as yours, nor were the bullets equal to anyone of your three by today's standards. You should be fine no matter which you choose.

I shot a ratty horned mature bull once with a 7x57 handloaded with 150 gr. corelokts at 2580 fps and it did a nice job of making him Dead. Anything faster or fancier would be Icing on the cake...........

I'm not talking about ass end shots,...... but otherwise if you can't shoot them anywhere you want with a bullet, why would you even take it hunting?

If you can push a 160gr as fast as a 145gr, why would you ever opt for less bullet?

160 Accubond all day, and twice on sundays.

I'd launch that 145 and then start figuring on how your gonna get the meat outa there.

You're showing us the "best" groups with the bullets used. Which is the most consistent shooting of the 3? All excellent bullets that will work on elk. Almost to the point that your question could be considered rhetorical. Personally, I'd pick the most consistent shooting one that shot well at the ranges I intended to shoot and worry about something else like how I'm going to pack the elk out or which knife to use. Make sure your rifle is dialed in too and know your dope like the back of your hand. Also, what temps did you develop your loads at? I see you are using IMR4350, you might lose some velocity when the temp drops. Know how the rifle is going to shoot when it gets down to hunting weather temps. For me, that can be anywhere from -5 to about 30 degrees. Your groups may open up a bit when it gets colder if you developed the loads in the summer time... Generally I develop my elk loads in the fall when temps get lower, especially when using IMR4350.

The 145 mono will out penetrate the 160 ab all day and 3 times on Sundays... and end up with more MV, and a good BC due to shape and length.

I'd never run cup and core when mono is available all other variables given... IE MV, Accuracy etc..

I have no doubt the 145 can be pushed faster than the 160, the fact is that he is not pushing it faster.

At the muzzle velocities listed, 160 all day.