looks like the nbt's are shootin great for you dirtfarmer!! im still leaning towards the 165s tho...i dont see the 165 grain accubond not bein a stellar performer on elk or caribou, and ill get a lil flatter shooting..have you by chance tried the 165 bt's out of your 300 wm?
I use the heavier 180's because I like B.T.'s, but realize they can be pretty explosive. By using heavier bullets at slower speed, my reasoning is I can justify using them. I'm pushing them at 3,050 fps or so. I'm think that lighter bullets would be moving too fast and may blow up on deer sized game. B.T.'s are some of the most accurate hunting bullets, IMHO. I also like their high B.C. for long range shooting, other than VLD's, probably the highest in their class at around .507. And, at extended range, they still have great expansion. Accubonds are tougher, just not quite as accurate in my experience. They have the same shape, same B.C. and POI, making them a good substitute when needed.
A few years back, I was in a deer stand and a bunch of hogs entered a shooting lane. With this load, I shot a 250# sow in the head at 150 yds. and before they could all move away, shot an 80# pig in the head at 175 yds. I was on my cell phone with my wife, planning how we were going to process all this pork, when several pigs returned to the scene. I think they were her litter, even though they were all 80#'s or so. I was able to shoot two more in the head, the last at 200 yds. I had 4 head shot hogs all lined up. These 180 gr. Ballistic Tips, tore those hogs up really bad. The most damage was on the entrance side, looking like something a Claymore would have done. Hogs were DRT, no doubt, but I was shocked at the damage. My 6.5-284 with 140 gr. SST's at 2,950 will shoot through a hog's head, no explosive entrance wound, just a nice entrance and nice exit. I would use SST's or similar in this gun, except B.T.'s are the most accurate I've tried. I use 150 gr. B.T.'s in my .308, but at 2,800 fps. They're also the most accurate in that gun.
Bottom line and in my experience, Ballistic Tips are some of the most accurate hunting bullets available, just a bit too fragile and explosive if one doesn't watch the speed. And, even then, they can be pretty volatile.
DF
