Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Accubond or Partition

During a recent post, one of the members here stated the Accubond is better in magnums and needs around 2400fps to do it's best work. I have only used them on close shots so far inside 100yds, so impact velocities have always been high. What experiences does anyone have with longer range and lower impact velocities with the Accubond in the way of terminal performance? And is the Partition better in these situations? Looking for experience here, not conjecture please.

I've killed 9 elk with 130 Partitions all 1 shot and done within a few yards.
My son has killed a BUNCH of deer with 130ABs and I'm sure they would work just dandy on elk.

They are both fine, Accubond is better for long range
I would think.

This 200 AB came out of a bull shot at 550 yards from a 300 RUM 1-10 twist with a start speed of 3150.





This 200 AB came out of a bull at 275 started at 3075 from a 1-10” 300 Wby.





This 200 AB came out of a bull at 675 from a 300 Win Mag with a 1-8”





I don’t fret Accubonds expanding at longer distances myself.

Whichever one you can actually find for sale.

I'm a fan of the 110 grain 0.257" and 130 grain 0.264" ABs for behind the shoulder shots, but if I want to break bones to anchor an animal, I opt for a Partition. ABs have better BC numbers than Partitions of comparable diameter and weight, so they slow down faster, something you might want to factor into your decision hierarchy.

Thanks for the responses and taking the time to post pictures. Its always nice to see verifiable results. Seems the Accubond will do just fine I think, as would the Partition, I'm sure.

Can't lose with either. Someone mentioned the one that shoots best and ultimately the one you can buy is the best!

Those look picture perfect!

I posted else where, for KY Whitetail, I have gone back to 130gr Partitions and Ballistic Tips in my .270. For ~15 years, I had a long string of bang-flops with 95gr NPT's in a .243. 5 or 6 years ago, I started using a .270 with 130gr Accubonds. Every deer I shot died. But it ran first. Zero bang flops. All shot through the lungs. Inside 100 yards. Much less damage to the lungs than I would have expected. I now have several hundred rounds each with 130gr Partitions and Ballistic Tips. I will tally up again in another 5 years...

Not a single bullet ever produced day in and day out more reliable than a NP. End of story. Literally every single bullet manufacturer wishes they could produce a bullet as awesome. Yard per yard velocity per velocity pd for pound nothing compares. Others are great at distance. Mono's tough as hell but require a certain velocity to be reliable. The NP the greatest bullet ever built near or far tough as hell.

That has got to be the most overstated, bull headed opinion that I’ve ever agreed with. 😳

He's right. The partition is the gold standard. If it's accurate enough to hit what you are aiming at, it's going to kill it, when put it in the right spot. If not, it's as worthless as tits on a boar hog. If you plan on shooting way out there, like Scotty posted pics of, maybe the accubond is the better choice. Not a lot of guys are going to be effectively shooting that far out on a big game animal though, so the partition is the right choice about 98% of the time. Only you know which will work best and your rifle will also tell you what it likes best. Give me a partition over the accubond most times because the partition is generally easier to get to shoot well. The accubond can be a finicky sob. Just sayin. That's been my experience.

"Others are great at distance" !

That identifier ....... Tells me you're a gd gundummy Fudd ....

What TF does "Distance" even mean exactly ? 10 yard distance ? 100 yard ? 1000 ? 1 mile ? 10 mtrfkn miles of distance ? FFS

Haha! Well said!

Lol.. It's ok little fella. You'll figure it out someday.

Been using 180 accubond in my 300 Rum for over 20 years. 2 bull elk and several nice whitetail and Muleys. They have never failed me from 100 yards to 500. Spectacular performance with bullet almost always resting against the hide on opposite side. I play around with partitions when working up loads for rifles and just always find it easier to find a great load with accubonds. I’d definately use either if it shot good though. I know enough people that have used partitions over the years with no problems.

Unless I was going to shoot over 500yds, and I never have or will, I'd NEVER choose an Accubond over a NPT. Never had a rifle that wouldn't group acceptably with either one although the Accubond will usually deliver tighter groups.

For a long time I've used cup and core bullets, never really seeing the need for premium models. So my experience is virtually nil, one deer with a 180 gr. Partition and one cow elk with a 165 gr. Accubond. Cartridge was the 30-06 both times.

The deer was the biggest bodied Mule Deer I ever shot. A real old timer. I ran across him at roughly 35 yards and took the shot He had no idea I was even there. At the shot he did a 180 and I shot again. Again, he did another 180. WTF? Did I miss both times? Shot number three was a total miss, my fault. Number four clipped an antler. Last shot broke his neck as the hit on the antler must have stunned him and was standing still for the last shot. I did the gutting and moved my truck to where I could get him in and found I had the cut him in two to get it into the truck. Damn thing was close to being the size of a cow elk. Did an autopsy of sorts and one bullet had clipped the heart but didn't break through. There was a nice groove where the bullet passed. another bullet punched through both lungs, the holes looking like someone had punched them through with a half inch dowel. The neck shot smashed the spinal chord and ended that fiasco. The bullet was the 180 gr. Nosler Protected Point Partition. A few years later I''d moved to Arizona and acquired a chronograph. I still had half a box of the load I shot the deer with so ran them over the chrono to get the brass and see if my velocity guess wen I loaded the ammo back the was close. I'd guessed 2650 FOS and the chrono read 2600 FPA average so the bullet was going fast enough. I never did figure out why those bullets didn't open up better at that range???

The cow elk was a much simpler affair. The scope on my .35 Whelen turned toes up the day before the hunt so was forced to use my back up rifle, a 30-06 with the 165 gr. AB at 2800+ FPS. Range, about 100 yards. Bullet hit at about the last rib and ended up in what was left of the left lung. No exit and the bullet was never found. Elk went about 30 yards, collapsed and was unable to get up. She required a finishing shot by the guide. We were up about 9500' elevation at the time and I was having difficulty breathing. I had the elk quick butchered and frozen and left for home the next day. Saw my doc and he said I had pneumonia. Damn stuff really knocked me on my can. I had to do the driving on the way home because my wife did't know how to drive a stick shift. Was not a fun trip but at elk sure tasted good.
PJ

Very good stories. I have to admit, some of these posts made me laugh. I also have never killed an animal with the Partition. I always enjoy hearing stories and first hand accounts of big game bullets and rifles. Thank you!