Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Bullet questions.

Reading of late I find that these new bonded core bullets are supposed to be "the $hit". I am quite sure the marketing agents for Swift, Nosler, Hornady, etc are at the heart of it. I know that I have just started to try them believing the hype and they shoot great so far. In particular the 7mm 160 Accubonds and 150 Sciraccos in my Steyr 7mmRM. VERY accuarate. However I am reading here and other places where real hunters write about these bullets not performing like premium bullets and would love to get some "war stories" about them, whether positive or negative.

The theory behind them is sound from what I understand, but I guess ultimately my questions are: are these premium bullets for bigger game such as elk and moose. Or are they retread Balistic Tips? Could I feel comfortable lining up my first elk hunt that I saved years for and shooting Accubonds at relatively high velocities from my 7mmRemMag or .300 WinMag? I have plenty of shots at whitetails with Balistic Tips. They do tend to come apart, but really that is not a big handicap with a decent shot on our 150lb Alabama deer.

I started using premiums when your choices were just basically the Nosler Partition. On deer size critters you don't see much difference. The exception is the Partition would exit where sometimes others wouldn't.
Move up to the much tougher elk class stuff and it's a much different game. There the premiums, as a rule, make a much bigger difference.
However, I have reason to suspect that some, because they spread so wide, don't give you much more in penetration. I've noticed, for instance, that the Hornady Interbonds don't seem to penetrate as well and the same weight in the nosler Partition. When you compare them to the Barnes X, there seems to be a bigger difference.
So, for me, as a .280/.308 hunter, if I'm hunting elk, I'm loading up with either the X or the Partition. If just deer are on the list, I still like the Interbond. E

i shoot a 7 ultra mag and cant say enough about the 160aubonds..shoot great out of my gun and hold together for pass through shots..you will be just fine useing them on elk
have shot many deer both whitetail and mule.worked great on them all...

I agree. I haven't taken an Elk with one but I have used the 160gr in my 7 Ultra on Mule Deer and they are excellent.

IMO the bonded core designs from Swift, Hornady and Nosler are excellent bullets, a quantum leap over conventional bullet construction methods. Much better structural integrity, excellent accuracy and generally very high BC's. They are NOT the equivalent of the Swift A-Frame, the Partition, or several other designs intended for large and/or dangerous game...the folks at Swift will tell you that for the asking, I suspect Nosler and Hornady would do the same. First and foremost, they will not penetrate as deeply due to softer alloys and the boat tail designs. If you have to bust bone and a lot of muscle use a bullet intended for the purpose.

Until I started shooting the 405 I never really saw the need for a bonded bullet. Still really don't, but Hornady's .411 bullets were prone to come apart, I tried Northforks, and 300 gr bullet recoverd from elk still weighed 298 grs. Hornady's 300 gr came back at 150 grs.
But other than that I've recovered several of the Hornady interlocs from under the hide on the off side, with 75% or more weight retention from several different cartridges, except for the 7x57 and then all there was was an entrance wound and about a 2inch exit hole on the opposite shoulder.

.280Rem,
The rule that I use is:Over 3000fps use premium bullets.
Under 3000fps,Shoot the bullet that groups best(premium or non).
My 120gr.Speer load in 6.5x55 is a great load for deer and hogs.
Bart

I�m with you Bart. Kinda anyway.
My rule is that if you�re gonna use a light for caliber bullet, say a 140 grain in 7mm, a controlled expansion bullet could be needed. Especially with a high velocity magnum, like a 7mm Mag. How can we go wrong?
Smitty of the North

I like the accuracy of the 180 accubond in my 300 RUM. I shot it at a cow elk last month and while it worked I am questioning the choice.

Perhaps it was the shot and not the bullet. The distanc

I like the accuracy of the 180 accubond in my 300 RUM. I shot it at a cow elk last month and while it worked I am questioning the choice.

Perhaps it was the shot and not the bullet. The distance was 350 yds. The cow was quartering away facing left. The bullet was aimed at the center of the offside shoulder. The bullet hit with a velocity of 2900 fps, passed between the 2nd and 3rd ribs to the rear, cut the edge of the stomach, passed through the lungs and lodged in the offside shoulder. The bullet was found after skinning. There was a bruised area in the shoulder and the bullet could be felt 1/2" down from the outside. It weighed 69% of it's original weight. The downside? No exit and this shot yielded no blood for over 50 yds. It was near dusk when I shot and I had a very hard time finding the elk. The NM landowner's son-in-law Denny managed to track the elk and the blood droplets he showed me were 1/8" dia! She went 100 yds into the thick stuff. Blood was finally showing the last 10 yds.

This situation was discussed on another thread. Some speculated that even a passthrough would have not had a blood trail because the wound channel was not low. It takes time to fill up the chest until it spills blood out of an entrance or exit.

The accubond did exactly what it is supposed to do and is very accurate. I will leave it up to you to decide if you want to use it or not.