Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Anybody work with Federal's Tipped/bonded.?

I've got some questions about the Federal Premium Trophy bonded Tipped bullets.

Guess I'll start by asking;

1) Anyone here have experience with these bullets on game AND/OR paper, and if so, what are your conclusions.?

2) What's up with the Nickel plating.?

270wsm. 130grn. 3,300fps

They are very accurate. It was easy to get them to shoot. First load I tried and 2nd seating depth was excellent. Hold .5 min angle to 325 yards which is as far as I have tried them on paper.
They have penetrated and expanded very well on the 2 deer Ive shot with them thus far. Pass throughs and good exit. 300 & 475 yards.
Average BC, but good enough for me out to 500 yards.

Launched two 180 gr. out of a .300 Win Mag at a moose a couple years ago. Caught both from a little over 200 yd.

First, killing shot, quartering away lung shot, caught under skin in off shoulder.

Second, bull moving, hit hip socket and caught in off side quarter.

Would have preferred an exit wound, but put meat in the freezer.

Planning on using it on an Afognak cow elk hunt this fall. Results will determine if I use them again.

There is a short discussion on bonded bullets here. https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/14043659/Searchpage/1/Main/946500/Words/%2Bbonded+%2Bbullets/Search/true/re-comparison-of-bonded-core-bullets#Post14043659

MD makes 2 entries and in his second he mentions the Trophy Bonded

Caught at 100 yards in milk jugs of water. 130 grain .277. Launched with 55 grains of Imr 4350 from a Tikka T3. Big rivet. Doesn't fold back tight like the Accu Bond. Less likely to pass through. Accurate and easy to tune.

The Accu Bond is the first bullet on the left. All 130 .277 with the exception of the 110 TTSX on the right.

Nearly all the recovered Trophy Bonded Tipped bullets I've seen folks post have the big frontal diameter like that. This leads me to believe they'd be a great bullet when using something slightly heavy for caliber so there'd be enough driving mass to get penetration. Bet they will knock a sizable exit hole.

I like them a lot. They’ve been really easy to get to shoot in a few rifles. I use the 130 version like Otter 6 does in my 270 over 26 for 3150, my little brother used the 140 in his 270 at 2900 flat. He crushed a big cow last fast taking a bunch of bone near the front legs and spine. Never found a bullet but from the few deer and elk they’ve worked excellent. They expand wide, seem to hold onto weight real well and load work has been a snap.





Those are from water jugs at near point blank started at 3150.

Have a friend who swears by them in his .270. I tried the 140g in my 700 XCR II .280 and got groups just under an inch. The Meopta Ballistic reticle webpage lets you pick your factory ammo and shows you where it will (supposedly) be on the extra hash marks. Supposedly this .280 load matches up almost perfectly. Time will tell

They do shoot well.

Just loaded some 165s for a 308 which I'll be trying out here soon. I'll post results once I get out to the range.

Tagged.

I assume they have been usurped by the Federal Edge TLR. Once those hit the shelves the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw departed the scene. I have about 1000 in .284, don’t expect to see them again.

Great responses.

I am wondering if they penetrate better than the Swift A Frame and NPT.

Probably won't dig as deep as the Mono's, but deep enough just the same.

No, they haven't.

I don't think they will pass up a Partition especially since they seem to hold onto more frontal area, but I can't think of a case where the same weight TBT doesn't work as well as a Partition or A-Frame. Right now, you can't beat the price for them either. Count me as a fan for hunting. Once I get through this fall I plan on trying some of the 200 TLR's out in my 300 RUM. Thinking those will be an excellent combo as well.

I need some in 375 disguise for my Bee

I can remember when the big selling point of the soft copper jacket/soft lead core bullets were that they "wadded up wide" to help "shock" big mean lions, tiger and bears. I'm sure they did. I've only been "charged" by big mean hogs ( more sows than boars!) and the 150clkt/30-30 always did a number on them. Well, one was with the 30-06/165 Sierra sbt, it too worked swell, ha. I really don't think the average game animal would ever tell the difference between being hit with a bonded or a mono. If they shoot well, groovy. I know I "loved" the old 55gr TB Bearclaw in the 220 Swift. That caliber benefited from the wide ( .45 caliber) mushrooms it made.

From yesterday, heres a recovered 130 grn .270 Federal TBT. 270wsm at 3,300fps.

Range 358 yards

Angled lung shot recovered from off side hind quarter.

That’s perfect. Don’t get no better.

NZSitka, Thanks for the report, and pic. Congratulations on the Kill.

I’ve used the original bullets made by Jack Carter and the new version. The new bullets are more accurate. They are both great bullets!

Great bullets. They are very accurate and perform outstanding on game. They’re pretty cheap for a premium as well. In my opinion they’re in between a partition an TTSX, which is about as good as it gets.

Not sure if they are the same, but I ended up with a bunch of Factory Federal 200gr Edge TLR for my 300wsm. They group as well as I can shoot. Usually around 1/2". I have one mule deer that was shot at a bad angle and penetrated almost lengthwise and exited.

Shoot the 130 TBTs out of my 270. Group as well as anything, the one deer I’ve shot with them died very quickly, leaving a massive blood trail due to the big exit hole.

That's a fair amount of positive reports concerning this bullet's performance.

I appreciate it.

No doubt it is a great bullet. Have these always had the nickel coating? I'm wondering if the nickel affects fouling, wear on the barrel etc?

The 3 guys whom I shared a Newfoundland moose camp last fall were using these in 2 300 Win Mags and a 300 Weatherby. All killed their bulls at around 200 yards with broadside lung shots. Two of them took 2 shots, last guy a single. The second shot wasn't necessary for either of the first 2 guys, as determined at the autopsy. None of the bulls went more than a few feet. All bullets were recovered at the hide on the off side, picture perfect expansion. No complaints by anybody, especially the guides.
Believe the nickel plating keeps the ammo a little cleaner and does not tarnish. Mostly marketing foo-foo to help justify the price. Ain't they pretty!

taken a few deer, no recovery of bullet , 1 black bear out the other side and too deep in ground on other side to dig out. I tried! all with 3006 factory ammo. I have a few 240 gr. 35 cal from way back, Jack Carter made them. I would use them on anything in north or south America.

Cool report. We are using them in a couple of rifles again this year. I do like the price they sell for though. Pretty decently priced as component bullets and I think they are a nice killing Bullet.

I have a couple of boxes of Federal ammo loaded with these bullets, waiting for it to cool down a bit here in Georgia to see how these shoot in my 270 Weatherby Magnum's. I have heard a lot of good things about this bullet so far, and very little bad.