Have to respectfully disagree with Mule Deer here.
The 250 9.3 accubond flies great but below 2000 fps it needs to run into a big tough animal to expand. That is what I have personally found. If someone has found differently--ie run it into smaller animals below 2000 fps and seen good expansion, I would love to hear it. I wanted those bullets to work on animals at longer ranges but they do not seem to expand at slower speeds. .
To sum it up, the .358 225 accubond is a 500 yard bullet (at sea level) if you can get it started at 2700 fps. This is also about what the Nosler factory ammo is loaded to, at least out of three different rifles I have chronographed.
By comparison, if you load it to 2600 fps, the 250gr 9.3 accubond is a 300-350 yard bullet if you are expecting it to expand on non-dangerous game. But, at least out of my rifle, the factory 9.3 250 accubond ammo is way slower, 2400 fps from my 24" barrel, which makes it a 275 yard bullet. Again, if you want expansion without having to run the bullet into a grizzly or moose shoulder.
If you need to launch 286gr+ bullets at animals or you're shooting shorter distances, the 9.3 is your huckleberry. But the Whelen is in another class in terms of flexibility. At least until someone comes out with a soft 9.3mm bullet that also flies well.
Some good points. MV from my Tikka T3 Lite in 9.3 x 62 motivates the 250 AccuBond at +2700 fps from a good dose of RL-17, WLRM primers, Hornady brass @ 3.37" COL. At 500 yds it's still making over 1900 fps. I've not tested it for expansion yet, except in one 6' black bear at 85 yards where it left a blood trail for 20 yards to a very dead bear, that looked like it came from the nozzle of a water hose! With a (claimed) BC of .493 I'd surely take it on a moose hunt to the north of our province and take a poke at a bull at up to 500 yards (my limit). Even if it expanded little, with over 2000 ft-lbs KE nothing good would happen to the moose if hit where aimed. I'd believe that until proven otherwise.
Still, I agree, a good lighter bullet like the GS 195gr might be preferable in some scenarios. But the 250 AB at +2700 fps and 286 NP at over 2600 fps are both more than I'll ever need.
My experience with the 250 AccuBond 9.3 at 2650 fps indicates it expands very well on smaller big game out to 300 yards. Have used it a lot in Africa out to that range, started at 2650 fps, on animals from 50-700 pounds, and it has always expanded well. Dunno why it wouldn't, as it's designed to expand like Partitions (softer up front and harder in the rear) and plastic tips definitely enhance expansion. Shot a blesbok about the size of a mature whitetail buck at 300, and the bullet left a 1-1/2" exit hole. Had far less expansion from a Barnes 250 TSX on an oryx shot at around 150.
But if I'm going to consistently shoot stuff at over 300 yards, tend to prefer somewhat more muzzle velocity and BC. Lately have been using the 175 Barnes LRX from my NULA .30-06 at around 2830 fps, and it seems to expand and penetrate just as well as the 200-grain Nosler Partition I used for decades at 2675 fps. It does shoot a little flatter and drift a little less in the wind at 400+ yards, but not much.
In general have found the .35/9.3/.375 rounds don't make all that much difference than .30-.33 caliber bullets when they hit something unless the bullets are 250+ grains in weight. And even then there often isn't much difference.
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