Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 7mm 140 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip vs. Accubond

I have shot the 140 nbt out of a 7 08 with great success on whitetail. The same bullet in my 7rm has give me the same result. I only killed a couple with the 7rm becuase it is my backup, but nevertheless it has dropped both in there track. I've gotten a exit on every shot with both guns. Currently shooting the 140 in nbt out of sendero but have not hunted with it yet. Great groups tho

If you knock out shoulders, there is better out there than a 7mm 140 NBT.

And if you're a slat shooter, there are better than monos.

"Know thy bullet, and to thine own bullet be true!"

I think you have your answer there Jeff. At lower velocity, the NBT will expand reliably. You shouldn't have any bullet blow-up issues, even at close range. I think you're doing yourself a favor by using your lighter/handier rig on this hunt.

Believe it or not, the majority of mule deer hunting is not often done at really long ranges. It can lend itself well to long-range hunting, but often the land is too broken and you won't get a great long range shot unless the deer skylines. The draws, coulees, benches and finger ridges where you'll spot mule deer will keep you from seeing the deer from a long way off unless its on an opposing ridge from a long way away.

Yeah this is impossible for some first(or 2nd, third, 4th, or fifth) timers to wrap their head around.....for some reason they picture themselves having to dial up for a 600+ yard shot,and make a 2-3 foot wind call or they are doomed to failure.This is mostly untrue.I know mule deer hunters whose "take" of huge mule deer rivals or exceeds that of anyone posting here.....they kill them with simple gear and bullets,and none of these guys are "LR" shooters;but they do know how to hunt big mule deer.

No doubt this is sometimes true,in some western country,and you never know what you will bump into...and it may come from the fact that younger, less worthy mule deer bucks are famous for lolly-gagging in the open and can be easy to kill.

But by the time a mule deer buck hits 5.5+years old, and grows a rack worthy of consideration his primary,#1 defense mechanism is not being seen ,using cover and terrain to avoid detection in broken country,and he may be more expert at it than any other animal on the Continent,except a similar whitetail buck.He is cooler,smarter,more deliberate,and slower to panic than anything younger and dumber...and some cannot be glassed up or killed at distance by any means,because of where they live,and bed,and conduct themselves.Generally, they are smarter than us.

Running through a quick laundry list of some of the better one's I have killed or had a chance to kill, the distances were app: 250 yds (killed),225 (killed),175 (killed),60 (killed),70-80 (killed),340 (killed),50 (seen),and 30 feet ,(seen),325 or so.

Longest shot was on a 200+ non-typical wounded by a companion,at about 500 yards +-,shot with a 7 Rem Mag and 140 Nosler Partition at 3250.

Given the distances involved and the fact that angles are not always perfect,and that every one of these bucks weighed more than 200 pounds live weight (some a LOT more ),they were all mostly killed with bullets that penetrated well and still expanded at distance. I will defer to penetration over some other qualities,because distances are not overly long and I know a Partition kills splendidly both up close and out to 400-500 yards.

Watching hunters after trophy quality mule deer, I notice it isn't the LR shots and chances that get "blown"....IME there aren't that many of them. It is mostly the hurried chances at well under 300 yards and often much closer,that I've seen leave some guys slack-jawed and gawking when they should be up shooting,but lacked confidence to make a shot from a hurried and unsteady position with the clock ticking....they did not realize,that was their "chance",and blew it...sometimes that is the only chance you will have at true,trophy quality mule deer buck.

We've conversed on this point before but this is the hardest thing to teach and get people to do. Once you se that he's the one, your whole focus should be getting into position to kill it. IMO take the first makable shot you get. Don't wait for the "perfect" one.....

At that velocity, I would go with the BT.

Worth reading again...

I had one solid and standing rule in s.Texas. Never wait for a better shot! I did once in my younger days and it cost me. I felt like if I could see him within 400yds...I could kill him. powdr

Geez... you guys sound like my buddy: "if there's lead in the air, there's hope!"



I'm pretty ruthless about killing when it's time to kill. So I'm not worried there. I do feel I've got a weakness in my shot repertoire in the 200-350 yard range where things have to happen FAST. Much further than that and I need to get into a solid position anyway. I won't be beating myself up about not shooting at say 450 if there's not time to get right... deer wins.

Agreed. That's why I use Partitions and AB's. They perform reasonably well in both circumstances.

I'd not send an Accubond to do a job I'd not trust to a Ballistic Tip..... or visa versa. Too bad we've yet to see the 7mm 120 Accubomb.....

I've really become a fan of shooting sticks. Mine are made from really long arrow shafts with field tips that dig in well into the ground. A friend of mine that I took on a mule deer hunt commented on how fast I get down and ready to shoot. You have the summer to practice getting into semi-supported positions and getting an accurate shot downrange. Learn to use large rocks and various other readily available objects as well. You probably already know this, but don't rest your rifle directly on anything hard. Pad it with something, even if its your hand.

Thanks, yes. I've got a great spot for working on that intermediate stuff, and you guys have convinced me that it's the most likely range (if not closer) that I'll be shooting a mule deer at.

I have a .223 which is good for that sort of practice, as the recoil isn't a factor. Sometimes those improvised positions can slap you around pretty good- at least in my experience.

Note to self: pack some clay pigeons next time I do my hike/shoot!

If you'd shot both into mild steel plates at almost identical velocities, (7mm 140's) you'd know there is a difference betweenxt the two.

I'm thinking that DS has probably shot more than a whole lot of steel plates with probably every bullet he talks about. Like he said, BT's would get the nod pretty much everywhere an AB would, for me.

Mild steel plates make both poor targets..... and poor jerky. I've only personally seen about 10 accubond vs. Critter collisions..... and about 30 NBT vs. Critters..... so I have limited experience to draw on......

But, out of those 10/30...... I've seen more accubonds stop in fur covered stuff.... than ballistic tips. Atmitedly.... all critters died poste haste..... and very few needed another dose of either.....

I reckon if I ever do draw one of the coveted high country mild steel tags here in Colorado..... I'll definately heed your advice.....

I've seen a few collisions myself, with the liberal bag limits in Miss. & Louisiana and years spent culling feral hogs off of farms, my experience tells me there is a difference, especially when bone or bad angles are encountered.

Pass thru's on mature Russian boar were at best a 50/50 proposition with NBT's. Accubonds and Partitions were significantly higher. We quit using NBT's for that reason.

We had state permits that allowed us to shoot at night. We were required to recover every animal and report kills to the MDWF. This means tracking the runners in the dark thru corn or soybean fields.

A job made much easier when the critter has 2 holes to bleed out of vs. one...

The above is Knowledge gained from doing instead of guessing, but what do I know, I've only killed a couple of hundred deer and pigs.

No match for a guy who may shoot 1 elk and 1 mule deer a year...

Take sound shots with NBTs and schitt goes down..... I add the large for caliber Amaxes in here too.... 140/6.5, 162/7mm, 208/.30....