Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Ballistic Tip and Accubond

I was looking at some old targets and found a 5/8" 3 shot group from my Ruger 77 7X57 with a 140 grain Ballistic tip and 50.5 grains of RL-19. My question is, will a 140 grain Accubond perform similarly? Or will I have to work up a different load with this bullet. They look the same side by side. No big deal if I have to start with a new load. I was just pondering the idea.


Ron

Load will generally be the same, accuracy will generally be different. The Accubond is one of the more finicky, inconsistent shooting bullets out there. Not so the case with the Ballistic Tip.

Any idea what makes them inconsistent?

Great question, Just a Hunter. Waiting for an informed answer.

Thanks Brad! I'm going t have to try to load some Accubonds this Spring and see how they stack up. Also plan on loading some 130 grain Barnes TTSX in my Stainless Hawkeye 30-06 and see how they shoot. Now that I'm retired, I have more time to do some testing.


Ron

Anytime you add complexity to the bullet making procedure you can expect a degradation in accuracy. The bonding process, which essentially welds the jacket to the core, does exactly that. For that reason, I typically only resort the the accubond when necessary, such as velocities over 3k.

I've never had any trouble getting accubonds of any weight to shoot well.

I have found that Ballistic Tips shoot better than Accubonds and they're easier to find.

I’ve also found Accubonds to be a rather inaccurate bullet. I’ve tried them in 30 cal 165s in the 308, .338 cal 180, 200 in 338 Fed and 225s in the 338-06. In every case other bullets shot better. ABs are never terrible, just never great.

I am going to agree with the folks above.

I have tried on several occasions to develop twin loads with AB's and BT's thinking I could buy BT seconds real cheap and hunt with the AB's and have failed each to meet same accuracy with the AB's. Not to say I haven't found a few good AB loads, but in general its been harder with the AB's than BT's, my experience is you can't simply replace one for another in a load and expect identical results.

The other thing is that years ago I felt that BT's weren't constructed strong enough for bigger game or bad angles, but over time Nosler has really bumped up a lot of BT's and they are really a very good game bullet now. They wouldn't be my choice for a big bear or even elk or moose in a "light for the Game" cambering, but in a good sized caliber Id have no second thoughts shooting a heavy for caliber BT into a moose or Elk.

True about the NBT's and light for caliber load. I typically look for the heaviest NBT I can shoot at 3K.

The .30 cal 180gr NBT has a reputation as a great elk slayer, and I can speak from experience that the .338 200gr NBT is death on elk.

+1

Antelope_Sniper, summed up my thought about the AB's construction quite nicely.

Having said that, the .308 180gr NAB is one of those that often shoots pretty well. The .308" 165gr, not so much. Go figure, but I've found this disparity with these two over and over with various 30 cal rifles.

I had some 165 NBT's that shot great in my 30/06 so I tried 165 NAB's and could never get them to group.


I bought a bunch of 180 NBT's and have been very happy with them.

Same bullet shape, same B.C.

My .300 WM shoots the 180 NBT slightly better than the 180 NAB, same POI, same trajectory.

So, I would shoot NAB's expecting same POI as NBT, would adjust accordingly.

The later NBT's tend to be tougher than the earlier versions.

DF

I'm another that has found the AB's to be accurate in several of my rifles. What I found was they like a bit of jump. In my 243, they're at .1 off the lands.

500 yards - 4 shots:

I'm one of the lucky ones I guess. In both the 7mag and 7-08, AB's and BT's shoot the same load into the same holes, little bitty ones. I've never had any trouble whatsoever getting AB's to shoot really well in any cartridge.

Plus one more.

I’ll also add, they are not necessarily the same shape for the same weight/caliber. The ogive of a .338 180 BT is not the same as the 180 AB. No idea if that applies to other combinations.

I shoot the two interchangeably in my 7mm-08 with 140s. BTs for deer and ABs for elk.

Field tests have shown they have the same POI for me at least and others have echoed my exp. worth a try. I didn’t work up a new load or anything just plunked them in and shot them. After ringing the 6” gong at 500 yards 20 or so times I put in an AB it it hit the same point. Same thing at 100.

I have mine under a max load or Varget and they shoot great and I get pretty decent speed.