Rick,

My experience is pretty much the same--especially after hunters with .300 and .338 magnums shot for a week or two. (Eileen and I have taken wildebeest, zebra and gemsbok with cartridges including the 7x57, .308 and .30-06 without any problems, with various bullets.)

A rare exception was a young guy on his first big game hunt of any kind, who used a .338 WM with 225 AccuBonds and killed his first 10 or so animals with zero problems, including several kudu and wildebeest. But he then wanted some blue wildebeest hides without holes in the body, so started trying for head shots. Dunno if the problem was "accumulated recoil" or just not enough knowledge of exactly where to hold, but he ended up chasing a couple around.

One of the other guys on the same month-long cull-hunt shot a blue WB behind the shoulder with a 140 AB with a 7mm-08, and it went around 50 yards before keeling over.

I have heard Allen Day was a really nice guy, but never met him. However, I do know he bitched to Nosler about the performance of 225 AccuBonds from a .338 Winchester on a safari he made--during the same year the guy I went on the cull with did so well with them. Nosler invited Allen to the factory, and tested some of his handloads in the same media they then used for every lot of bullets that went out the door. Allen's penetrated the same as usual. He then started telling them they were running their business all wrong, in ways other than making bullets--and if I recall correctly, offered to straighten them out.

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