Accubond performance?

[Damnimissed]

I haven't used accubonds until this year, when I started handloading. I'm loading 140gr accubonds over 57gr of imr7828 in my 270win. It should be in the neighborhood of 2950fps.
The other day I took a hard quartering shot on a blacktail, which entered through 3 of the back ribs center punched the heart and exited out the brisket with pretty much no bloodshot. Now, I'm used to 300wm performance with core-lokts. A heart shot with that combo is devastating. So I'm wondering if this kind of performance is typical. The penetration was impressive but does expansion look ok?

[actionshooter]

Looks like it died............

I have had great luck with accubonds all the way around, penetration and retention.

[Griiz]

Looks good to me. That bullet is made to hold together and penetrate and not blow up like a corlok.  You will put animals down, get exit holes, and not ruin as much meat. I personaly like knowing I will get good penetration.

[Hunting7mm]

I shoot 160gr. Accubonds out of my 7mm mag. I matched my bullet speed 2850 to my Leupold BC reticle.  I've been shooting accubonds for years and have taken numerous animals.  My problem is the amount of damage Accubonds do.  This years blacktail had a hole the size of my fist exiting. 

[Damnimissed]

yeah, I'm aware of how tough they are. It just got me wondering if had I not hit his heart, would it have been a long tracking job. I really like the lack of bloodshot

[Biggerhammer]

Hahaha! It's dead!

Their supposed to do "Damage".

Accubonds are pretty much all I shoot. But I still have soft spot for the  Hornady Interlock's and depending on the cartridge still slum them and animals die just the same.

Here's a few we have recovered.

260gr Accubond, recovered from a Mulie I shot at 560 yards with a .375 Ultra Magnum.







150gr Accubond I recovered from just under the hide on the off side of a mulie I shot in the 380yard range or so with a .300 WSM.










Those two bucks are almost identical, accept the point sides are reversed. Both shot within 300 yards of each other 3 years apart.

[jrebel]

I would have expected more damage.  My muzzleloader did more damage to a bucks heart with significantly less velocity.   With that said I think if you hit vitals it will kill it with the expansion seen there.   

[BOWHUNTER45]

I shoot 160gr. Accubonds out of my 7mm mag. I matched my bullet speed 2850 to my Leupold BC reticle.  I've been shooting accubonds for years and have taken numerous animals.  My problem is the amount of damage Accubonds do.  This years blacktail had a hole the size of my fist exiting.

I loaded some for a friend and he just killed a dandy blacktail and the exit hole was about the size of a quarter .. very little meat wasted and dropped on the spot ...1st time I ever messed with them ...he now loves them 

[Biggerhammer]

I feel they perform almost identical to the Nosler Partition but have a higher BC and the polymere tip. I really like the Nolser Partition.

[sirmissalot]

Looks perfect to me

[RadSav]

How far was the shot?  Hard to tell what the damage should look like until you know what the impact velocity was.  What did the lungs look like?

[Taco280AI]

I've had great performance with them. Only recovered two out of ten(ish). Had a blacktail a bit over 200 yards, quartering away downhill. Broke three ribs on impact, took out a third of his heart, one of his lungs, broke the off shoulder, and gone. Another was a quartering away BT at 100 yards. Broke seven ribs before crossing the body and two more on the off side before coming to rest under the hide.

[lewy]

  I have recently changed to accubonds and have killed deer, elk and moose so far with them. I have yet to try em on a bear, and am a little concerned due to the pinhole in affect and minimal blood trail. I typically hunt bear on the westside in the thick stuff so a blood trail is vital in recoverey.

[starbailey]

I've had nothing but good results with Accubonds and have been shooting them for years. 180s in a 300 ultra, 160s in 7mag, 140s in 270 win. I've killed more with the 7mm combo with the latest being a moose at 220 yards. First shot took out the front shoulder and was found next to hide on far side. Bullet performance looked perfect.
 All around great bullet.

[Damnimissed]

How far was the shot?  Hard to tell what the damage should look like until you know what the impact velocity was.  What did the lungs look like?

I knew I forgot some critical info lol
It was about an 80yd shot. It clipped a lung, as well.
I guess I'm just used to scooping out liquified internals and this is the first non magnum I've used on game (I'm not a kid anymore) so I was just a little surprised at the results.

[RadSav]

At 80 yards I'm a little surprised there was not more devastation too.  Now you know why bonded bullets are not recommended for LR hunting...Unless you are Biggerhammer shooting a Bigger Hammer

I have not shot anything with the Accubond out of my 270 short mag yet.  But out of the 7RM and the 325 they have been quite a bit more destructive than that.  One bear at 40 yards had an entrance wound I could have put my fist through, and the rest was even worse   I would not be complaining too much about what you are showing there, though.  Heck of a good shot...even if it was only 80 yards!

[slm9s]

Shot my 1st elk with a 140 accubond out of a 270wby.   Excellent performance.     250 yards, ran 20 yards and nose-planted.

[Damnimissed]

Thanks for the input fellas. I'll probably stick with accubonds based on so many positive opinions and because they shoot so nice out of both the rifles I've loaded them for. I'll just make sure to heart shoot em every time

[Curly]

You're going to be wondering why you didn't kick those Corelokt's to the curb years ago.  I know that people swear by them, but why eat lead fragments when you can go with other bullets that don't blow up?  That accubond looks like it expanded really well....that is a nice size hole in the heart.  (My wife gets very disappointed when I heart shoot an animal since heart is her favorite).
 

[Damnimissed]

Haha I was bummed I took out the heart. Makes a great snack after a good hunt. I almost tried to salvage some of it!

[carpsniperg2]

I have been running accubonds threw a lot of critters for years. I was a die hard partition guy until my friend at nosler got me to run some accubonds. Now they are pretty much all I shoot. I will switch to the etip from time to time depending on the hunting I am going to be doing. 65-75% weight retention is pretty common on the bullets I have recovered over the years.

I have been playing with some bergers in guns that won't let me use the accubonds. I can tell you at a high rate of speed and close ranges under 300. I am not liking the bergers very much.

[kbrowne14]

I have shot 3 animals with Accubonds.  I shot a whitetail at 40 yards or less with my 30-06 180 gr. AB moving 2800 fps.  Blew right through, wound was devastating, 4 inch exit wound and a broken leg on the opposite side. 

I shot a cow elk at about 400 yards with that same 30-06 load.  Bullet broke the spine and exited the opposite side about 9 inches down from the top of the back. (high angle shot, and a little bit high.)  Good exit wound.

Last year My father in law shot a cow elk at 800 yards with a 200 grain bullet.  Hit it once in the chest, bullet went through and through, big cavity, big exit wound.  He shot again, the bullet entered the low neck area, went through the shoulder, and broke the shoulder on the opposite side.  Absolutely devastating wound terminal ballistics on that one. 

I shot a Big whitetail this year with my 300 win mag 200 grain AB at 2840 fps.  The deer was quartered away.  I shot, Hit the back of the front shoulder, broke the shoulder, bullet turned hit the spine and traveled up the neck along the spine and embedded in the skin of the deer on the same side as the shot was taken.  The bullet traveled approximately 18 inches inside the animal before it stopped.

Every single one of these animals fell in their tracks, and didn't move at all.  I love the accubond.  It also has a great B.C.

[Tom Tamer]

I found if you hit a heavy bone that's where the damage does. I run 160s in a 7mm Rem Mag. One BT at 150 yds hit in quatering toward in the center of the shoulder, it lifted him and threw him about 5 feet back. Ended up losing 1/2 of both front shoulders. Yeah a little bloodshot but stone cold dead.

This year using a 25-06 as a backup gun on an elk hunt, I used the 115gn CT bullets which is basiclly the accubond with Winchesters coating on it. went through front shoulder destroying the liver and coming to rest in the backside front shoulder after breaking it. the bullet held great retention even on an Elk. Normally wouldn't go that small of a caliber for Elk but a .300 WM was the first hitter. Love the Accubonds with how they kill and how high the BC is they fly great.

[Hunting7mm]

Here's a deer I shot three years ago with accubonds.  All the deer I've shot with them have similar damage. 7mm mag. 160gr. accubond.  They do put down the animals.  Only had one elk that gave me trouble and he took four shots.