Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 9.3 Aficionados: Where are the 250 Accubonds?

Seriously..... I've looked in most of the usual places and can't seem to find any. In fact, a number of places indicate backorders are not possible. I haven't called Nosler yet but my first thought was to check with the experts here. -Thanks

I asked Nosler the same question a few months ago, and the response was basically the 250 AB's were still in the line-up, and would be produced sometime.

In the meantime I kept my eyes open and in a local store happened to come across several boxes, probably because they were on a shelf only maybe 18 inches above the floor, in a dim aisle. I bought two boxes, which along with the rest of my 9.3 stash should last the rest of my hunting life, but out of curiosity looked again the last time I was in that store. The rest were still there.

Dammit! Now I have to go shop... Thanks for the quick reply.

Glad I have a few boxes in my stash. Just stuffed some on top of RL15 for my X74R Ruger No.1 for this fall. Hope to test them. Haven't shot a critter with one. Hardly any retailers up here stock 9.3 bullets. Almost always a mail order thing for me.

Jeff

The 250 AB's work very well on big game--I've taken quite a few animals with them in both North America and Africa, at 2650 fps or so from either my 9.3x62 or 9.3 B-S. Their BC is high enough that they shoot a lot flatter than most hunters would guess, since so many assume the 9.3's are "timber" rounds. At that velocity their trajectory is very similar to the standard 180-grain .30-06 load, and I've had no trouble taking game out to 300+ yards, and wouldn't hesitate at 400, where the retained velocity is still right around 2000 fps.

I too wish they would make another run of them, along with some 100gr 6.8s for the boy's rifle. My rifle with a 20.5" barrel gets 2525fps with the accubonds and great accuracy. I haven't killed anything with them yet, mostly because I suspect the 286 partitions would penetrate better on a grumpy brown bear at 7 yards. That worst case scenario is my only hesitation with them.

I read on another forum over the weekend that Nosler quit making them. I have not verified this with Nosler. I have a ton of 286 Partitions so I haven't been in a rush to find out.

Not a gunwriter here but built my FN 9.3x62 as an Elk rifle and managed to squirrel away a lifetime supply af 250 Accubonds. Many found by calling small gunshops around the country that had a box or two collecting dust on a shelf.
Funny part is we keep drawing archery tags.

z1r,

Of course they quit making them--for the moment, which is why they're so scarce. But Nosler doesn't "delist" bullets from their website if they're still planning to make more, and the 250 9.3 AB is still there.

Like any other bullet company, they don't constantly produce all their bullets, all the time, because they don't have a separate machine to make every bullet. They make bullets that are less in demand during slower times of year, when they can take the time to switch out the dies and other equipment. The 9.3 AccuBond isn't in nearly as much demand as, say, 180-grain .30-caliber Ballistic Tips, and neither is the .17 caliber Tipped Varmageddon. But they still make both the 9.3 and .17, when they can.

+1

Much prefer 286gr. NP in my 9.3x62

Yeah, if I wanted to shoot 250's I'd use a Whelen!

I've had such good luck with both the the Prvi 285 and NP 286 that I just never saw the need to try anything else. I've built several 9,3x62's for customers that love the 250 AB or the old BT though.

It's good to stock up on favorite bullets while they're available. I've been pretty good about that, but almost ran out of .375" 260 gr Accubonds last year. Found a dusty box of 50 on a shelf at the local gun shop, and snapped 'em up!

Usually though, I have hundreds of my favorite bullets on hand. Never know when there's going to be a shortage of something in particular.

Find a bullet you like? Buy a mess of 'em! Now I'm worried about my dwindling supply of H4350...

Guy

Same here. Love those Prvi's.




Travis

hoping I have plenty of H4350 also. Then again 15 lbs !

zlr, FOsteology, etc.,

I have a question, which is not intended to start an argument--though I will make the observation that both your responses about preferring the 286 Partition to the 250 AccuBond resemble a lot of Campfire responses to a specific question. Somebody asks about a specific cartridge, rifle or scope, and several other people say, "Nah, don't use that," though they don't provide a specific reason--but sometimes add, "Thank me later."

Similarly, both of you failed to mention any specific reason for preferring the 286 Partition, though zlr does say if he wanted to shoot a 250 he'd use a .35 Whelen.

The reason for my question is that, due to my profession, I try as many things as possible, in order to provide a reasonably knowledgeable answer to readers who ask questions. I've been hunting with the 9.3x62 and various similar 9.3's for 15 years now, and according to my hunting notes during that period have taken 15 species of big game with them, both in North America and Africa. (That's 15 species, not 15 animals.) The game ranged from "deer-sized," including some actual deer, up to around 1200 pounds, with many in the 500-800 pound range.

Though I've used some other 9.3 bullets, including Barnes monolithics and the Hornady Interlock 286, the majority of that hunting has been with 286 Partitions and 250 AccuBonds, and in just about equal numbers. Partly this has been due to my 9.3x62 shooting both to the same point-of-impact at 100 yards, making it easy to switch between them. During those 15 years and 15 species, all but four bullets have exited. Those four were a pair of 286 Partitions and another pair of 250 AccuBonds. This doesn't mean either bullet won't penetrate well--all four instances were on larger animals, and three of the four were severely angling shots, often including heavy bone. The fourth was a broadside shot with a 286 Partition through the shoulders of a big British Columbia bull moose.

From this evidence I've come to the conclusion that the 9.3x62 and similar 9.3 rounds deserve their reputation for deep penetration, and the particular 9.3 bullet may not matter as much as some believe, probably due to the moderate muzzle velocities. Now, if you've gotten different results when using both the 286 Partition and 250 AccuBond I'd like to hear about them, because I'm always interested in more information.

The one difference I've observed in my experience is that 250-grain bullets shoot noticeably flatter than 286's over what many hunters consider "normal" big game ranges. This is understandable, since out to 300-400 yards, muzzle velocity makes more difference in trajectory than ballistic coefficient, and 250's can be driven around 200 fps faster than 286's--and about 100 fps more than 250's from the .35 Whelen. In fact, at .30-06 pressure levels 250's can be given about the same muzzle velocity as 250-grain factory loads in the .338 Winchester Magnum.

Which is why I usually choose 250's for hunting more open country with my 9.3's, and 286's for less open country, whether timber in North America or thornbush in Africa. Now, if you do have some other reason for preferring the 286 Partition to the 250 AccuBond, I'd like to hear about it. But the only significant difference I've seen is trajectory, not on-game performance.

As usual, well written John. Your broad experience with the 286 and 250 Nosler offerings is cause for optimism. One problem most of us have (myself included) is once we find something that works there's powerful hesitation to deviate from it and a corresponding loyalty at the good results and our own genius for discovering it.

John has an excellent sense (due to actual field experience) of the difference between the 250 NAB & 286 NP.

The supply of 250gr NAB's has dried up in my area while the 286's are available to a certain degree. The 250 NAB stretches the distance of the 9.3 a good amount and can be driven at ~2660 ft/s while the 286 NP will run 2500 +/- ft/s.

The 250 NAB makes the old 9.3 a 400+ yard capable round, with no down side.

John,

My experience (12 yrs with the 9.3) mirrors yours. I've hunted with my 9.3x62 a handful of times in Africa, Canada, and quite a bit here in Texas primarily on feral hogs.

Boils down to personal preference. The bigger bullet gives me "warm fuzzies", and aside from my experience hunting on the rolling plains of Namibia, I've never had to take a shot past 200 yards with the 9.3x62

Also, like the previous gentlemen indicated, if I wanted to shoot lighter bullets, I have other choices readily available (previously a .350RM).

In addition to the above, the 286gr. NP has been much easier to source, and at a reasonable expense.

John,

My experience has been that while both bullets, the 286 Partition and 250 AB (and the older 250 BT) are excellent performers on game, I prefer the 286.

In my rifle. I did not find a big advantage of the 250 over the 286. When loaded to the velocities that proved most accurate in my favorite 9,3x62, there just wasn't enough of a difference for me to want to use the 250. I just ran some numbers using Hornady's calculator and find that their results pretty much confirm my findings at the bench. The 286 has a BC of .482 and launched at 2450 fps and sighted at 150 yds it is -3" at 200 and -7.9" at 250. While the 250s with a BC of .494 launched at 2550 fps and sighted at 150 yds hit 2.6" low at 200 and 7.1" low at 250. This is about the limit I prefer to shoot at with this rifle. FWIW, at 450 yds the 250 AB enjoys a 5" advantage over the 286. If I anticipate having to shoot at between 250 to 450 yds, I'll take another rifle, one I feel is better suited to longer range shooting, one a bit heavier that settles down better. My 9,3x62 weighs 7.5 lbs scoped and I prefer it settings where it is carried more than slung. Another reason that I prefer the 286 is that ,while generally the 250 would do all I needed, it is nice to have a heavier load in case I get the opportunity to hunt something larger on short notice. For those whose rifles give acceptable accuracy and higher velocities, the 250's may be a better choice.



If I feel the need for more velocity, I'll simply grab my 9,3x64, it shoots both the 250's and 286's at considerably higher velocities. Or my 338-06 which, when loaded with 250s give the same drop at 450 as does the 9,3 250. It is a 9 lb rifle and easy as pie to shoot at long distances.

One of the advantages of the 250 is less perceived recoil. Several of my customers cited this as their primary reason for selecting the 250 over t he 286. Since they felt both bullets were more than adequate, they opted for the one they felt kicked less. Not a bad reason in my opinion.

Thanks, guys.

Maybe 3-4 years ago the 250 AccuBonds were widely available, and the 286 Partitions weren't. In fact I ended up selling a box of the 286's to a guy who really needed some for an upcoming hunt. So it can work both ways.

Have used my 9.3x62 as the "light" rifle on one buffalo/plains game safari where longer shots might be necessary, and as the larger rifle on a purely plains game hunt in semi-open country as well. I sure could have taken another rifle (there are certainly enough of the damn things lying around here), but since starting to use the 9.3x62 in 2002, my other medium-bores in that class have been gathering dust--except for my 9.3 Barsness-Sisk, which provides the same ballistics in a short-actioned, lighter rifle. The B-S was the one that got picked to go to Alaska for an interior bear hunt, for instance, where it took both a black and grizzly.

Used my .338 Winchester Magnum for many hunts in the 1990's, but for the same purposes I now use my 9.3's with 250's. Used to use the .375 H&H quite a bit as well, in fact had two for a while, though now am down to one. But now I use my 9.3's with 286's instead. Maybe that means I'll lose my Rifle Loony Card pretty soon!