Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Have Your Tried the Nosler AccuBond?

Shot a medium size doe at 260 yds. with a .25 cal. 110 grn. out of my 25-300 win mag. Imp. at 3800 fps. No meat left on the off side shoulder. way to fast for this bullet.

I don't remember if I posted this here or another site...

This is a 140gr .284 bullet recovered out of my mule deer last year. Weight was right around 100gr, and 2x diameter.



This is a typical group from my 7mag, and my 280 will group just as well or better.



Well I'm up to 5 critters and my wife one with 160gr accus out of either my 280 or 7mag... and one with 140's out of the 280.

The first animal was a very large bodied mule deer, 85-90 yards broad side. Shot with the 280 and 140gr accubonds, bullet didn't exit, but was found under the off side skin. He spun 90 degrees ran toward me about 5 yards and fell over dead. recovered bullet was a perfect mushroom weight was 100 grains.

Cow elk - broad side at 335 yards, solid rest, bang flop double lung/top of heart with the 280. Bullet exited.

Bushbuck - shot in his bed at about 70 yards with the 280, double lung, never got up, tiped over dead. no bullet recovered.

Impala - shot while standing quartering toward at about a 100 yards, again with the 280, broke the facing shoulder, exited at the point of the hip... ran 20 yards squirting blood... DOA

Warthog - quartering toward at about 50 yards, same shot placement and exit same as with the impala, he turned and ran into the brush about 15 yards... DOA

Blue Wildebeest - My wife actually shot this one with my 280, the shot was from about 125 yards, quartering away. Bullet pentrated about 3-4 ribs from the back of the cage, and was found lodged under the hide on the point of the shoulder, approximately 28" of penitration maybe more, bullet recovered weight was 120gr. Bull ran about 75 yards and piled up.

The last one was a fairly large bodied bull elk. Shot was broadside from about 75 yards with a hot load in my 7mm. Double lunged him right behind the shoulder, he spun 180, and took two steps down hill and then nose dived... Bullet exited and very little blood shot meat. If they held up to a 3050 ish fps load out of a 7mm at close range thats good enough for me. I'm 100% sold on these bullets!

I have had the same results so far with the Accubond and the Partition's. I have never recovered either. I am thinking about a total switch to the Accubond only because the tip of the bullets won't get deformed. CD

I shot some good groups with the 140's out of the 7Mag. I'll test them on some hogs this spring and get back with the results of that....

Just got back from my NM landowner cow elk hunt. Used the 180 Accubond in a 300 RUM. The cow was quartering away at 45 degrees. Distance 350 yds, velocity of bullet 3375 at muzzle, vel at animal just under 2900. Placed the shot so the bullet would hit the offside shoulder. The cow ran off through the thick stuff after the shot. There was no blood to follow for over 50 ys. It got dark and it took the land owners son-in-law some time to find the first drop of blood. ( we tried first and got skunked then asked for their help) The elk ran around 100 yds and piled up. The blood trail was almost non existant for the entire distance. Only 3 or 4 drops which were 1/8" in dia for over 75 yds. The dirt in the trail was disturbed by running elk and that was what how it was really located.

When it was cleaned we found out what had happened. The bullet hit next to the third rib from the rear, nicked the paunch, hit the lungs and maybe some of the liver, went out through a rib next to the shoulder and lodged in the shoulder meat 1/2" away from the skin. Saw a small bruise in the middle of the shoulder and when touched could feel the bullet. The bullet weighed 68% of its 180 gr. Traversed around 20" of animal.

This situation made me uncomfortable. Darn near lost the animal for the evening and that would have probably ruined the meat, the main reason I hunt. I realize it was one of those difficult shots. Only a failsafe, an X, or a heavier bullet could have exited. Has me reconsidering the choice of bullet. While the same situation could yield an exit and a good blood trail, it sure puts some doubt in the picture.

Now considering the 168 TSX as perhaps a better choice. Either that or a 200 gr accubond or a partition.

AZ: Interesting post, thanks. I recovered two Hornady 139g IB out of a 7x57 from two bucks in Minnesota this year--both quartering away. Both were rear rib hits and the internal damage was impressive as was the bullet's performance, 2x expansion and 90% or therabouts retained weight. Both bullets were lodged under the hide. On the second buck six ribs were cut high and pieces of rib traveled through the heart and spine. That mushroomed bullet had a slight bend to it...

These bonded bullets did as much internal damage as any ballistic tip or bronze point (the ultimate exploding bullet) ever did. I imagine broadsides would be as nigh to perfect as possible

Both killed the deer very dead very quickly, but no exits. Precious little blood on the ground from the first buck who made it about 50 yards with lungs and heart diced to pieces.

Were this open country with dry ground and I wasn't red/green colorblind it would be peachy. Trailing deer in the nasty understory and broken terrain in upper Minnesota and Ontario has to be experienced to be appreciated. I prefer an exit and the bigger the better. Was pondering the Barnes MRX or even the Swift A-frame for that bonded mushroom action with a longer retained shank for the exits, rather than heading up in weight.

Pardon the diversion from the original post

AZ, given the shot you took on that cow, that's pretty good performance. I'm not sure you'd get a pass through with other bullets under those circumstances.

Took a 150lb feral hog at 220 yds. Broke facing shoulder, both lungs. Exited. Bang Flop. 140gr Accubond .270Win

Thanks for trying to make me feel better, KCM270.

I am pretty sure a 200 gr partition would have just passed through. Absolutely certain a 180 TSX would. Guess it is one of those circumstances that cannot be duplicated to prove or disprove.

If we get to hunt there again I will most likely be using my 375 taylor with a 260 gr nosler accubond as insurance.

--Ross

FYI the meat is excellent!

I had a 180 TSX this year from a 300 WSM that didn't penetrate through the other side on a cow elk at 75 yds...rib cage shot. I recovered her, but there was nothing for a blood trail.

The problem you have is hitting that opposite shoulder. The bullet is mostly spent, then it hits that hard shoulder bone. I've done that shot with partitions, and the opposite quartering toward that lodges in the hip, and have always recovered the bullet. It's like running 24 miles of a marathon, then seeing a steep uphill grade...the bullet just doesn't have the spunk to do much more than break the bone, and then, it's got the springy hide to defeat.

Glad you got the elk, and glad you're enjoying a few fine dinners. Good shooting!!!

Now that is interesting KCM270! A 180 X not going through.

I had shot many a cow in the past with the 200 gr partition from a 300 win mag. Most shots were in the woods at around 40-60 yds. Never found the bullet as it always left the animal, even when the shots were raking. Guess I got spoiled. Know distance makes a difference.

Sure makes for interesting conversations. I was sure that the accubond would do well after reading the African stories on the main page. If the cow was killed in an open meadow and ran across it.....there is always next year.

Stalking closer is an option.

Two years ago, I shot a bull at ~150 yards through the fleshy rears of both shoulders (1/2 way up), hitting no shoulder blades, and the bullet was just under the offside hide and had punched a small hoe on the off side. No blood trail, but he went about 50 yards through open,sparse PJ. Bullet was a 200 gr Accubond from a 300WSM, MV~2900fps, and retained about 68%.

This year, I had complete penetration behind both shoulders, 1/2 way up, on a cow elk at 200 yards. She went 40 yards with no blood trail. 180 Accubond from a 300 Win mag.

I think the chest cavity is pretty big and has a lot of volume to fill before leaving a blood trail. Don't know if the TSX would solve the blood trail problem. A hit lower in the chest might be more suitable to leakage.

RR

I suppose getting them in the neck just in front of the shoulders is a good place to wack them, then there is no doubt where the elk went.

I did think that the chest just filled up with blood on my case but didn't consider it with a pass through in a mid body hit. Something worth considering is a lower hit if possible.

If they pile up fast or go through a large open area all those hits are no big deal.

Good comments guys....

I took the factory Federals Premium in 180 Grain Accubonds to Africa last year. I shot 11 animals with 12 shots, the Kudu took 2. My father also shot around 13 animals and had good performance. I do like like a few things with them such as killed all the animals I shot at!!! There were things that bothered me a bit though.

We recovered about 10 bullets, they weighed from 114 grains to around 130 something. That means all bullets lost on average about 33% of its weight. I do not like this.

The heavy animals such as kudu, gemsbock and wildebeast, normally stopped the bullet in there skin on the far side of the shot. I normally like bullets that pass completely through. But everyone has there own opinion.

I am not going to use these bullets for heavy animals in N. America such as Moose or Elk or Bear, and I will stick with the Partions or TSX's or similiar bullets. I have also found that if you increase the speed over 3,000 fps, the bullets fragment more. I do not feel that Accubonds have the weight retention needed for heavy game to completely pass through. The swift scricco's actually have better weight retention in my testing than the accubonds. They are a quality bullet often overlooked.

In my experience, an exit hole doesn't guarantee a blood trail. Just this year, I shot the biggest whitetail of my life with a .30-06 loaded with a 165 grain Sierra BTSP. I shot him broadside at about 25 yards behind the shoulder. There was a quarter-sized exit hole behind the shoulder on the far side, but there he left hardly any blood before piling up. I've had this happen before so exit holes aren't as important to me as they are to most people.

Just my $.02 worth...

I loaded fifty 180 grain .30's for .300 Weatherby. My friend brought them to North Carolina and shot four deer with them.
None of them stayed in the deer, zipped right through.

We tried ballistic tips about 20 years ago, found the 165's in .300 Win and Weatherby explode and turn deer to mush. The 180 grain ballistic tips blow through, even length wise, but seem to ruin less meat. I think 180 gr Ballistic Tips vs. Accubonds for deer, both do the job equally well. If the purpose of a bullet is to stay in the animal, mushroom and deliver all it's energy towards killing the animal, Sierra Gamekings are the only bullets I've ever recovered with the .30 Mags.

They have been very accurate in every rifle I have tried them in. I took a big Mule Deer with a 160gr Accubond out of a 7mm Ultra this year and got excellent penetration. This is a good bullet.

They shoot well in my 270 WCF and 300 WSM. They kill good too. Three elk, one bear and several deer.

This is the entrance hole of a bobcat shot with a 7mm wsm 140 Accubond. Exit was about dime size or less.