Nosler ABLR and Hornady ELDX weight retention???

[Karl Blanchard]

I ran the 190gr 30 cal ABLR for a season and shot 12 animals with them from 60 yards to 750 yards. Amazing performance. My complaint is they are incredibly finicky to load. I'm a pretty darn good hand loader and I could never get the accuracy/speed in my rifle that I expected from a gun capable of .3 accuracy with other bullets.  If they were more forgiving they would be my all time favorite bullet. They performed like traditional accubonds but without the velocity limitations for reliable expansion.

Following season i gave the 212gr eldx. Great accuracy and very easy to load with. 8 animals taken with them. While they killed just fine, I never got that that "wow" moment with them. Jacket/core separation was a given, which I don't mind all that much as long as it does it inside the body cavity and reeks havok inside.

I ended up going away from them as lot to lot variances was inconsistent and with the heavier weight I had a hard time spotting my shots. Went back to the 185gr Berger vld's and dont plan on looking back.

What caliber did you try those in? I used the 185 bergers in my 300 WM and liked their performance.

300wsm

[ELKBURGER]

I ran the 190gr 30 cal ABLR for a season and shot 12 animals with them from 60 yards to 750 yards. Amazing performance. My complaint is they are incredibly finicky to load. I'm a pretty darn good hand loader and I could never get the accuracy/speed in my rifle that I expected from a gun capable of .3 accuracy with other bullets.  If they were more forgiving they would be my all time favorite bullet. They performed like traditional accubonds but without the velocity limitations for reliable expansion.

Following season i gave the 212gr eldx. Great accuracy and very easy to load with. 8 animals taken with them. While they killed just fine, I never got that that "wow" moment with them. Jacket/core separation was a given, which I don't mind all that much as long as it does it inside the body cavity and reeks havok inside.

I ended up going away from them as lot to lot variances was inconsistent and with the heavier weight I had a hard time spotting my shots. Went back to the 185gr Berger vld's and dont plan on looking back.

What caliber did you try those in? I used the 185 bergers in my 300 WM and liked their performance.

300wsm

[Yondering]

I am a huge nosler fan......but the ABLR gets a really bad rap by most I have talked to.   I would shoot the standard accubond before the LR's any day of the week.  The acuubonds will shoot to 800-1000 yards without a problem.   I hunt my 6.5 to 600 and it is stupid accurate with standard accubonds.

The bad rap is because most hunters, including the OP, don't seem to understand the purpose of the ABLR even with the giant hint in the name. They're designed for lower velocity impacts that occur at longer range. A 240 yard shot with a high velocity 28 Nosler is definitely not what that bullet was designed for. The fact that it worked well anyway speaks to how versatile it is, not how it's a bad bullet. That's just a bad application for a great bullet.

Pretty sure I understand it's purpose just fine. Never asked what the bullet was for or anything about velocity or range. I asked about weight retention and other peoples experience with it. I almost NEVER recover bullets so, while I do shoot, I do not have a ton of experience in weight retention after shots no matter what the range.

If you understood what the ABLR was intended for, why did you use it for a high velocity short range application? That's a bit like hauling plywood on a Corvette.

[BULLBLASTER]

I am a huge nosler fan......but the ABLR gets a really bad rap by most I have talked to.   I would shoot the standard accubond before the LR's any day of the week.  The acuubonds will shoot to 800-1000 yards without a problem.   I hunt my 6.5 to 600 and it is stupid accurate with standard accubonds.

The bad rap is because most hunters, including the OP, don't seem to understand the purpose of the ABLR even with the giant hint in the name. They're designed for lower velocity impacts that occur at longer range. A 240 yard shot with a high velocity 28 Nosler is definitely not what that bullet was designed for. The fact that it worked well anyway speaks to how versatile it is, not how it's a bad bullet. That's just a bad application for a great bullet.

Pretty sure I understand it's purpose just fine. Never asked what the bullet was for or anything about velocity or range. I asked about weight retention and other peoples experience with it. I almost NEVER recover bullets so, while I do shoot, I do not have a ton of experience in weight retention after shots no matter what the range.

If you understood what the ABLR was intended for, why did you use it for a high velocity short range application? That's a bit like hauling plywood on a Corvette.

Who cares? The purpose of the thread was asking for experience from other guys that have used them.

[jasnt]

Yup who cares, nosler sucks anyway.....come on over to the dark side


 

[b23]

Yup who cares, nosler sucks anyway.....come on over to the dark side


 

LMAO!  Trouble maker... 

[jasnt]

Yup who cares, nosler sucks anyway.....come on over to the dark side


 

LMAO!  Trouble maker... 

just trying to thin the air a bit. As much as I hate to say it....both the acubonds are great bullets.  If weight retention is your preference then use the original and if you want a bullet that will expand even way out where some bullets wouldn’t open the lr will do it.......of course if you want the “best” you’d shoot bergers

If lead is a concern try hammers. 

[CoryTDF]

I am a huge nosler fan......but the ABLR gets a really bad rap by most I have talked to.   I would shoot the standard accubond before the LR's any day of the week.  The acuubonds will shoot to 800-1000 yards without a problem.   I hunt my 6.5 to 600 and it is stupid accurate with standard accubonds.

The bad rap is because most hunters, including the OP, don't seem to understand the purpose of the ABLR even with the giant hint in the name. They're designed for lower velocity impacts that occur at longer range. A 240 yard shot with a high velocity 28 Nosler is definitely not what that bullet was designed for. The fact that it worked well anyway speaks to how versatile it is, not how it's a bad bullet. That's just a bad application for a great bullet.

Pretty sure I understand it's purpose just fine. Never asked what the bullet was for or anything about velocity or range. I asked about weight retention and other peoples experience with it. I almost NEVER recover bullets so, while I do shoot, I do not have a ton of experience in weight retention after shots no matter what the range.

If you understood what the ABLR was intended for, why did you use it for a high velocity short range application? That's a bit like hauling plywood on a Corvette.

You sir are hilarious. I guess I forgot to have me secondary backup  "short-range" rifle on standby in the case that my long range gun was useless because the animals just happened to be closer than 2156372634579624395679247365924673724357862473656792463578624375624635971657624356770924365247350762430756247835624783659-857264305762403756079243 yards away. I would love to see your set up for hunting! I bet if your million yard gun was on your shoulder and you had an animal jump at less that seven trillion yards you would give it a pass due to the risk of bullet separation. Do you teach classes? I would love to learn from such a skilled and knowledgeable master of the shooting arts such as yourself.