200 Grain Nosler Accubond or 180 Grain Barnes TTSX?

[MDGrand]

Hey..

Got a good debate for all you Bullet nuts out there.. OK.. so I just had some custom ammo made for me: 200 Grain Nosler Accubonds and 180 Grain Barnes TTSX. BOTH give me less than 1" MOA.. BOTH have the same point of impact which is awsome because it means I do not have to adjust for each load.

So.. Going on a Alaskan Trophy Black Bear hunt in May.. Bears are all over the beaches and reguarly get close to 7ft if not bigger.. Which bullet would you choose?

BC on the Nosler is higher at .588 vs. .558 on the  Barnes. Both are being shot out of my 300 weatherby. Obviously the Barnes at a distance will not drop as much as the Nosler.. but BC on Nosler is higher and will hit with more energy.

What would you choose?

[WDFW-SUX]

Where in AK?  if there are brownies I'd shoot the Barnes bullet. If its POW id shoot the Nosler.

[Jamieb]

In your situation, I'd use the TSX's.
I love the TSX for knowing it will penetrate from stem to stern, break heavy bone.
With that said I use more accubonds, they buck the wind much better and dont have those groves cut into them like the TSX's. I loaded barnes X's in pretty much all my big game rifles until barnes discontinued alot of them to promote the tsx's. Those groves in the TSX's ruined the aerodynamics.

[bobcat]

BC on the Nosler is higher at .588 vs. .558 on the  Barnes. Both are being shot out of my 300 weatherby. Obviously the Barnes at a distance will not drop as much as the Nosler.. but BC on Nosler is higher and will hit with more energy.

I don't understand why you say the Barnes will not drop as much as the Nosler. If the Barnes has the lower B.C. then it will drop MORE than the Nosler, and hit with more energy (maybe, depends on starting velocity)

Either way, I would go with the Barnes. A little lighter, less recoil, that's a plus in my opinion. A Barnes will punch through no matter the angle or shot placement. The Accubond probably will too, but not quite as reliably and may break up somewhat.

I don't think the B.C. is important, unless your shortest expected shot would be 400 yards. I also don't care about energy. To me it is a meaningless number. #1 priority for me would be accuracy and #2 is I would want an exit hole. The Barnes would give the best chance of always having an exit hole, and therefore a better blood trail.

[MDGrand]

WDFW - Sux.. going to Stephens Passage, probably Kupreanof Island. No Brown Bear.. Black Bear it is.

Im a fan of both.. Have seen the Accubond mushroom perfectly in Elk.. did not penetrate all the way through though.. All the energy was displaced though. TTSX.. great bullet too.. Looking for that dead right there preformance. Last time I used my Accubond.. I shot the Elk at 350 yards and it went right through the heart.. left a hole about the size of the size of a silver dollar.. but it did not "drop" the animal... well it did fall.. just about 30 yards away. maybe I shouldn't be so picky.

[MDGrand]

Bobcat..

Well.. if you graph the trajectory the Accubond due to weight will drop about 5 inches more.. this is according to the graphs I have seen.

[h20hunter]

I like the Barnes for the same reason as the "stem to stern" argument. With bear I would want an in and out for bleeding out purposes vs. an "in and stay" affect. FYI, if you don't post pics of the results we all will be greatly disappointed.

[WDFW-SUX]

Blackbears are pretty easy to kill id go with the big nosler at 3000 fps and do some serious damage...cant really go wrong with either one.  I like the MRX better than the tTSX

[Intruder]

I prefer the Barnes.... my guess is, in the end it will still have a higher retain weight thant the Nosler.  That all being said it is a pretty accedemic question cuz in the grand scheme of things if you do your part either of those loads will work just fine.  I'm guessing you can shoot the Barnes a little faster hence the better trajectory.  I didn't remember the 180 Barnes having that high of BC.... thought it was high 400s not mid 500s but I  , haven't looked in while.   

[carpsniperg2]

nosler for me. i have always been a big fan and it will do more damage i have tested both bullets and at the longer ranges the nosler will still mushroom out more than the barnes. i have kinda shyed away from barnes when i got a box of varmit bullets from cabelas and they were varmit atore "spelling" and there are 2 diffrent sizes of bullets they were supposed to be 22cal and there are some 20 cals mixed in with them. i about $hit when i was loading and went to seat and bullet and it fell into the case. i am glad it did or i might of not checked and had one just barely seat and when i chamber it shove back into the case then pull the trigger and blow me and my gun into bits it is very very bad deal and i called barnes and they said i did not resize my cases and i told them what i thought of them and tell them my calipers don't lie!!!!!!!!!!! and i kinda know what the hell i am doing  

[Rufous]

I would use the Barnes. It is more likely to exit the animal, thus giving a better blood trail if needed.

[littlemac]

I have used both my .300 and my .340 Weatherby on black bears, always with Noslers.  180 gr in the 300 and 210 gr for the .340.

I must say that I didn't have an exit hole on any of them, but little to no tracking was needed either.  Of my six black bears the only one that went over 10 yards was the one I shot on a side hill bench and he rolled over the bench and down the hill 15 yards or so.

It seems to me a bit like the Ford or Chevy argument, mostly a personal preference. 

For me its Nosler as I have always used them in most all my hunting with large caliber rifles and without disappointment.

[Jamieb]

The more thought that I put into this, I'd have to say use the Barnes. Break at least one shoulder, both is better.
You want the bear to die on the beach. From what I've seen on my bear hunts on POW, as soon as you get off the beach the brush is very, very thick and the ground is covered with moss so a bear wont leave tracks. Break the front legs and take out the lungs, a bear wont go far.

[MDGrand]

Thank you, everyone for your feedback. I guess at the end of the day it shouldn't really matter as long as the shot is well placed.. which brings me to my point...

To me the type of bullet selected should be 1. the most accurate out of your rifle and 2. The one that causes the most damage and stops the animal when a less than preferred area is shot.. i.e. the guts, the leg, etc..

Based on that theory, which one would you choose then?

[bobcat]

There's no way of knowing what is going to "stop an animal." But the Barnes will almost always go all the way through, no matter the angle, and that's what I'd want. That way if the animal is not stopped immediately, you will have two potential holes for blood to come out, rather than just one. With just one hole, there may not be any blood trail at all. With two, a much better chance of having a blood trail.

[Bighorse]

I'm going to Kuiu in 15 days for a week of Black Bear hunting.  I'll have my 300 H&H loaded with 200g Nosler partitions, handloaded.  That being said...I also have a few (six) 200g barnes that I'll take along too.  They seem to be more accurate at longer distances than my particular load for the partitions.  Likely I'll just end up killing a bear with the Partitions though.    After I get the first one processed I'll play around and try to get close with my 41mag pistol and shoot one with a 265g hardcast.  I'm an AK resident and get two tags. 

All things going perfect you don't have anything to worry about.  I killed a big coastal brown bear last Oct. with a 120g nosler partition from my 25-06.  One shot like a bow hunter through the pump.

Take both rounds.....in close Nosler......past 300.......TSX.  Just get close though and make it a good death.

Enjoy Spring in SE AK it's a special time of year here.

[MDGrand]

Thanks, Bighorse.

What can you tell me about Kupreanof island? I was told the islands there are crawling with black bears.. easy to see.. have to be selective because of opportunity.. do you agree?

From what I understand the Barnes are always going to be more accurate than the partions.. basically because of the design.. one is boatail the other is basically an A frame.. makes sense over the island.

[bobcat]

From what I understand the Barnes are always going to be more accurate than the partions.. basically because of the design.. one is boatail the other is basically an A frame

I don't know about that. I think either one can be accurate, it just depends on which one your rifle "likes." I have never heard that Barnes are "always" more accurate than Nosler Partitions. I'm not saying it can't be true, but just that I would be surprised if it were. It would take a lot of shooting to prove it either way.

[carpsniperg2]

i can tell you that is not true for a fact. its all about what the gun likes to shoot period. i have a 25-06 that i shoot partitions threw 1/2" groups at 100y bought 115g barnes to try and see best group i got was 2.5" at 100y  i have seen the same things in my 300 and 270 wsm so that info is not true for sure.

[MDGrand]

You're right Bobcat.. Barnes are not always more accurate.. but generally speaking.. Barnes are more accurate out of more rifles vs. the Partitions... just what I have heard from most people..

[Intruder]

Based on what I've seen and experienced the old tried and true Partition doesn't qualify for what I'd call an inheriently accurate bullet.  That being said, the Barnes really don't either.  Both are accurate enough to do the job however.  And as others have pointed out, a lot depends on the load and the gun.  While they may not be inheriently accurate... some guns/loads are very accurate (sub MOA).   

[hornhunter]

Bobcat..

Well.. if you graph the trajectory the Accubond due to weight will drop about 5 inches more.. this is according to the graphs I have seen.

5" at what yardage?  ALOT of variables.  Barrel length.  Will mess those graphs all up, just for starters.  Like Bobcat said, less than 400 yards 200 grain would be my choice.  More than 500yrds, you better know how to shoot that far first, then know exactly what that bullet is going to do at that range.