Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game bullets recovered from plainsgame

I seldom recover one, but I will say the hides on those Waterbucks are real thick! Combine that with a bullet that expanded to over .7" and pushing through bone entering and exiting and then hitting the off-side hide is going to be a tough challenge.

Blacktailer,

If you haven't recovered any Barnes bullets, then you haven't shot a lot of game--or have used bigger bullets.

They do penetrate deeply, but they aren't magic. In fact, I analyzed the notes from my hunting a couple years ago, and have recovered a higher percentage of "monolithic" rifle bullets than Nosler Partitions, whether TSX's, E-Tips, or whatever. This may be due to using somewhat lighter monos than Partitions, but may not.

In my limited experience with the 160s and 185s, I'd say the 185 definitely penetrates a bit better, but the internal damage by the 160 seems a bit more impressive. Both result in very dead animals. Looking forward to using a Partition on elk this Fall.

My limited experience on 12 head of African game. These are the only bullets caught from my 7RM w/160 accubonds, 71.5 Retumbo going 3100 @ the muzzle. Shots from 100-160 yards or so. One shot kills except for one oryx. I could't have asked for much better performance.

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Hot Core isn't even in the same league as a Nosler Ballistic Tip and a Accubond is tougher than a BT.

Very cool; thanks for taking the time for this!

I haven't used Ballistic Tips on elk because Nosler makes them for deer sized stuff. They make the PT & AB for elk & moose.
From their website:

I have used BT's on elk. Specifically the 30 cal180gr BT and at speeds much faster than. WSM. Works very well, even on bone. It also has the same jacket as the 180 AB minus the bonding..
It's funny you slam AB's but pump Hotcores which are one of the most fragile cup and cores out there.

Well... eerr.... here are a few samples of .416, .284, .264, and .224 ...

Not me, I have recovered fewer TSX than lead cores including partitions.
Just goes to show that there are no absolutes.

How is that? An Accubond is a bonded Ballistic Tip is it not?

I've shot a number of elk with both the AB and the Hotcore. There's no comparison to how well they hold up. The Hotcores will roll up in a ball but the weight is still there. The AB's come apart.

Last fall I got my hands on a bunch of Deep Curls. I shot 1 elk with one but I spined it and that's not a good test of what they will do. I'll be using them this year, too. I have about 250 of them left and when they're gone, they can't be replaced.

IME, only about 40% of an accubond, or partition for that matter, "come apart". Just the way they were designed. As long as there are Noslers being sold I will never see the need for anything Speer.

If you look at the OP's pics, you'll see AB's with nothing but the jacket. The core is completely gone. That's what I've seen when I've used them.

Rock Chuck,

Go back and look again. The ones with the core missing are Bergers.

AccuBonds, like Partitions, are designed to retain differing amounts of weight, depending on the bullet's intended purpose. In general the bigger they get, the higher the % retained. Small AB's usually used for deer may retain only 50% or so, while heavy ones may retain 80%. In my collection is a 250-grain 9.3 AccuBond recovered from a grizzly that retained 83%.

If you reread BBergs post, he said that is how AB's and Bergers typically look. I'd be willing to bet the one that just looks like a jacket is the Berger. BBerg will have to answer that though.

The 160 AB pic that he posted, looks pretty much identical to all the AB's I've ever caught. Never had one come apart even when shooting them at over 3000 fps into dry newsprint at 20 yards.

EXACTLY why is use T/TSXs almost exclusively now.

Please explain the logic used to get from point A...


To point B, given Federal touts the Fusion as a deer bullet.

I do use heavier bullets than most. In Africa 300's or 350's in the 375 and 165's in the 308 and I only use the 308 on the smaller stuff when Mrs Blacktailer lets me barrow it. In NA I also tend to go heavy. I like penetration!

Federal might say that Fusions are for deer but Speer advertizes the Deep Curl as all around and that's what I've gone by.

As far as the OP's pics of the hollow jacket being the Berger, not the AB, the AB's that I've recovered have come out being the hollow jackets.

I'm just going by my own personal experience. Over the last 40 years, I've used a lot of Hotcores, a number of AB's, a few PTs, and 1 single Deep curl on elk. Of the one's that I've recovered, the Hotcores and PT's have penetrated almost the same and have looked about alike with similar weight retention. The AB's have consistently come apart or lost 50% or more of their weight along with massive meat loss. The 1 single Deep Curl hit a spine so it wasn't a good test. Any bullet will drop an elk with a spine shot.