Some recovered 85 gr TSX's from a 240 Wby Mag.....

[littlebuf]

i had Barnes not open up on a bear i shot. i shoot accubonds now. Barnes are a very accurate bullet and ive taken a few deer with them but losing that bear was it for me.

Ya littlebuff, I think the TTSX's will fix the not opening up problem. I'd try em in the 240 and 257, but I don't like their offerings. I'll either run accubombs or Siroccos' in the 300 Roy though, whichever shoots best....

it was a TTSX and I'm pretty sure it didn't open because of how close the shot was. 30 yards with a 300 right in the lungs, he stopped bleeding after about 50 60 yards ran 200 and went off the edge of a ravine where he died. tried for 9 hours to get to that bear. if the bullet would have opened up I'm sure he wouldn't have gone that far. i really like how accurate the TTSX is out of my rifle but after that i switched to a softer bullet, hence the accubonds. best of both worlds so far...

[257 Wby Mag]

Wished they made a 85 grain .243, and a 100 grain .257 in the accubomb. Hopefully they will soon.

I also learned to blow a bears front diggers out. Got tired of trailing them in briars on my hands and knees. Even then, they will still cover ground with both shoulders blown out.... Later

[ing]

I shot a buck this year with my 25-06 using 110 grain accubonds.  The exit hole was the same size as the entrance.  The damn thing didnt mushroom. punched rite thru one shoulder, clipped his lungs and then out the other side.  Not even a blood trail.  I'll be using 100 grain Hornadys next year.

[257 Wby Mag]

Who'd a thunk it? Most critters I've shot with a accubomb, looked like it had been shot with a BT or Hornady. I have a pile of 100 grain hornady's in a bowl from my 257. Not very perty, mostly just copper jackets, but alot of dead critters... Guess I should just stick with what works? Kinda fun to experiment though...

[ing]

yeah it is fun to experiment.  I shot him at about 120 yards, maybe a farther shot would have allowed the bullet to expand.

[Tony 270WSM]

That logic sounds backwards to me... if it were farther maybe the bullet would have expanded?

The closer the target, the faster the bullet speed. Faster speed means more violent impact. Slower speed less velocity, less energy, less of an impact.

I think of it like an auto accident, have two cars going 10mph hit head on. Slow speeds, not a mangled wreck. Have two cars going 50mph hit head on... not much of anything left.


I've never had any issues with Abonds. Used them on about 10 different animals, from a coyote to blacktails and muleys to elk, with great performance.

[ing]

That logic sounds backwards to me... if it were farther maybe the bullet would have expanded?

Correct me if I'm wrong here.... The accubond is a stronger more durable bullet than a standard soft point bullet right?  At a 120 yards that bullet was still going around 3000 fps.  I guess what I'm saying is if the bullet was moving slower wouldn't the deer have taken more of a hit?  The bullet passed rite thru him and he didnt absorb any of the shock.

[wadu1]

I have had to take two shots with Accubonds and Hornady bullets on deer. I switched to Barns three years ago 3 for 3 and three shots. I have never reclaimed any bullets all have been Thu and Thu the first to went 50 feet and fell over one at 125 yards and the other at 60 feet. The last was 197 yards and it fell deader than a door knob. But for bears I will stay with soft points because I have over 200 loaded for both my 45-70 and my 9.3X62.

[Tony 270WSM]

I see what you're saying. IMHO I'd think it is the bullet construction and where exactly it hits, not the speed at which it impacts. An Accubond, for example, going through light tissue probably won't expand as much as a soft point going through the same tissue at the same speed. Hit heavy bone and story is different with the Abond expanding and still punching through everthing.

But an Abond going 3200 fps will expand more than an Abond at 2900 fps. More speed, more expansion, all else being equal.

Have had a ballistic tip pass straight through with good performance. Have also had a quartering away shot where it flew apart on impact and left a damn near, one foot hole in the side.

Also had a similar quartering away shot using an Abond, similar velocity as well, and it broke three ribs on impact, blew 1/3 of the heart off, took out one lung and broke the off shoulder before exiting. Somehow that deer took off faster than any other I've seen... for 30 yards till it stopped as fast as it took off.

[bobcat]

That logic sounds backwards to me... if it were farther maybe the bullet would have expanded?

Correct me if I'm wrong here.... The accubond is a stronger more durable bullet than a standard soft point bullet right?  At a 120 yards that bullet was still going around 3000 fps.  I guess what I'm saying is if the bullet was moving slower wouldn't the deer have taken more of a hit?  The bullet passed rite thru him and he didnt absorb any of the shock.

As Tony said, your logic is backwards. The faster the bullet is moving, the more it is going to expand.