On the subject of AccuBonds breaking up, I'll repeat what I KNOW about the situation, which happened long ago but apparently will never be forgotten on the Campfire.
It was NOT problems with "early" production, if we define that as the very first AccuBonds. Nosler thoroughly tested them before the introduction, and at least the first year's production worked so well that demand rose very rapidly.
Somewhere about 1-1/2 years into production, one of the guys working on the Nosler production line got the bright idea of speeding up his station, so more bullets could be produced to help fill the demand. Unfortunately, his job involved bonding, and the speed-up not only resulted in unbonded bullets, but since the bonding process (as with many bonded bullets) involved heating them until the lead core melted slightly, and soldered to the jacket. This also resulted in some loose tips.
Since Nosler test-fires bullets frequently, both for accuracy and penetration, the problem was discovered pretty quickly--but not before a FEW boxes were shipped. They recalled what they could, but some did end up in the hands of handloaders.
The number wasn't great, and apparently I was lucky. I started using AccuBonds as soon as they appeared, and have used them considerably since on animals from whitetail does to my biggest kudu and only grizzly--and seen a bunch used by hunting partners as well, on a similar range of game size. All of them performed like Nosler designed them to, very similarly to Partitions of the same weight and diameter.
But yes, a few defective ABs went out for a very brief period--as have some bullets from other manufacturers.
