Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Accubond or Berger VLD

I know that you dont like the performance of Bergers, however VLD's have no problem getting through bone, especially bear. I know a couple of guys who have killed grizzlies/brown bears with Bergers as well as with Partitions, TSX, and Accubonds. They prefer the Bergers....

Catch about 25-30%.

That's from 2 dozen animals using .277 140 AB's. I don't remember exactly, but at least 2 or were found in elk and pretty sure the rest are buck deer and bear.

It was dumb luck a couple times, but I've found every one that stopped in an animal.

Formid: Ive killed two of them using Bitterroots and Partitions. I could find nothing to fault.

I also have a number of friends (one has killed 17) who in the aggregate have killed around 25 or so total.They all used mostly the same bullets I did.

I don't say this as any form of one upmanship....just to illustrate where my comfort level is and why I say what I do.

Guess tat's why i would stick to the traditional stuff I have used before.


But I'll take your word for it.

Bob,


I don't blam someone if they don't like what Bergers do terminally.... or A-MAX's, ELD-M, etc. They create extremely big wounds, sometimes leaving massive exits and in the case of A-MAX/ELD-M if they hit bone can cause a lot of meat loss in what they hit. My point was that Bergers do not have an issue getting through bone especially "shoulders".

We are somewhat screwed to our area on our lease in the hill country. And because I take Carolyn and our cur Tiger with me, we probably hunt out of a blind 50% of the time. Gives me time to put the muffs on the dog if one of us is going to shoot etc..

But the other 50%, we are often just out sitting in our general area, can't even see a feeder or a stand, watching travel lanes, feeding areas and so on. And generally speaking not much cover, IE no brush blinds, and we don't wear camo unless its all we have, IE cold weather stuff all I have thats rain proof and quiet is in camo. The dog has no camo... LOL...

Most folks though, as you note, were born and raised inside boxes... I never cared for the things, found one once, as a young lad, that had a front built onto it, with a few cedar logs and some brush stuffed in it. No rest for the gun, but a crude seat. I spent many hunts in that little nook of brush.

Since then I just gravitate away from blinds mostly, though when its really cold and the dog wants to go, we go to a blind. When its raining same thing.

OTOH for us, it was cool last weekend, wind chill into single digits, I left Tiger home, and was out laying on a tank dam, sitting against a couple of different trees, crawled up in some yaupons all weekend long off and on. We took one deer around 1240 just after noon, no stand, offhand shot. And another sometime close to dark again, offhand and around a tank dam corner.

I actually don't even have a blind at home currently, though I do have a great big one in the build process for friends to use with children or when my 85 year old mother wants to go watch and so on.

I'm good again... I just got a bit riled up.

We have a few things that can get you down here if not careful. But unless its charging at me I"m not shooting again if I'm confident with the first round. Probably comes from the ability to call my shots from who knows how many rounds of rifle competition to silly distances.. if my crosshairs were right when the gun went off, I just relax and give anything I shoot time.

Time is always a plus on my side. Regardless the conditions.

But I've run a bolt gun fast in competition, including reloads... and I can get myself to do it again.

And certainly on dangerous stuff if its coming my way I"ll have to shoot again.

I've only shot 2 times once in AK. First shot was called low by my spotter, it was a fair distance, and called a miss. So I held for the spine on the next, and broke the spine. First shot had hit the lungs. But just over 800 yards away, I doubt the caribou even really knew he had been hit except for feeling weak as his lungs filled...
The rest of all my kills have been well placed one shot at a time. Not what I hear from most though while we are out with the locals... generally it sounds like a small war once the first shot goes off. Dunno really why so much, moose are big, they take a bit of time to bleed out.

One of the first I shot, I went back to camp and had breakfast... there is no rush. In fact that was even shot with a single shot. LOL.

Like I said it just rubbed me wrong, my apologies for blowing steam.

Jeff

Nice, I've recovered just a few barnes. Never had one though that wasn't peeled back perfect and weighed 100% of the weight yet. Obviously after a handful if you could catch them, you might find some weight loss here and there. I have had a few lehigh shed a petal though, basically the same bullet type.

But all in all, thats not nearly as bad as I expected for the accubonds.

I think we ought to ask this question to Phil Shoemaker, the badass. No offense whatsoever to you formid, but I'd bet significant $$$ he doesn't have Berger in his Top 5.

It is what it is man, and when in Rome.....I've obviously hunted out of the boxes many times too (though I hate it). This year I hunted military land and took a buck while leaning against the base of an oak tree overlooking a pasture with mixed cedars while rattling , worked pretty well. I've actually hunted leases where you HAD to be in a blind , lease rules. I'm working pretty hard right now to get back to alaska permanently and man it can't come soon enough.

I've recently worked up some great loads with both 165 and 180 Accubonds for my new Montucky and I was hoping for a little better reviews on their performance, thought the whole Accubomb stigma was gone!

Damage from a 180 Accubond out of a 30-06 on a grizzly. That's a lot of damage!

The mangled shoulder is the exit side, you can see the Bullet laying in the meat

Don't you expect lots of damage when you crash through bone/shoulders?

Of course, but I'm impressed with how well the Accubond held up. That's not exactly Accubomb results, looks a lot more like a Partition or an AFrame

I hope the "Accubomb" effect is over. I'm really hoping to use the .308 200gr variety in my 300 Win for elk?

That has been my results with the 260 gr in 375 Ruger on black and grizzly bears, the 200 gr on black bears and 225 gr on moose and other game in 35 Whelen, 180 gr on goat and deer in 30-06 and 130 gr in 260 Rem on deer. One of the 180 gr 30-06 opened up a bigger hole on a deer than I liked but I chalked that up to one of those things that just happens sometimes. All others put decent holes through with a lot of bloodshot meat. The 358 and 375's have been very good in that regard in particular and are my favourites in those cartridges.

I'm not the least bit surprised. As I mentioned before I've crashed them through zebra, kudu, wildebeest, aoudad, etc and it's pretty typical from my experience.

Should have also mentioned I want to try the 170 gr Berger from my 270 Win on a black bear this spring just to get some first hand experience with the Berger bullets finally. It is good to try all sorts of bullets instead of just trying a few favourites and being close minded after good experiences.

That said the Accubond is my go too bullet but experimenting is fun......

Formid: I understand . Thanks.

That'll be cool Gerry. I'll be looking forward to seeing what it does.

Take a look over on Nosler. We've posted up quite a few Accubonds from animals and some water jug tests. I've got no issue using an Accubond anywhere I'd use a Partition. Especially the 7mm 160 and 200 308.. both have a great track record.