For those of you who are interested, I used a .338 Win Mag with the new 225 grain Accubonds. I moly coated them using on old BBQ rotisserie and loaded them to 2889 FPS. With a B.C. of .550, they are very flat shooting and have lots of powder. Vaughan baited me the first day by telling me that he did not allow ballistic tips in his camp. I tried to explain that they were not ballistic tips, since they had a bonded core. They were a whole new bullet by Nosler that just looked like a ballistic tip. It made for some lively conversation and he sure got me riled up for a time before finally telling me he was pulling my leg. At least i think he was pulling my leg. Maybe he just knew when to quit.



At any rate, IMNSHO they performed flawlessly. My Zebra was shot at a range of 225 yards. The bullet broke the on shoulder, quarterd through the chest taking out the back of the heart and the bottom of the lungs. The Zebra reared up on impact and ran a total of about 100 yards in a 30 yard circle, falling and getting up a couple of times. there was a ton of blood immediately visible and it did not require a second shot. The bullet penetrated completely and was not recovered.



My springbok was shot at ~235 yards. It was hit low in the chest while quartering away. The bullet went through the heart and exited out the neck in the off side. It fell stone cold dead in it's tracks without a twitch.



The Gemsbok was a slightly different story. It was shot at last light at a range of 288 yards off the shooting sticks. I had a steady hold and was just squeezing the trigger when it ran right. I tracked it in the scope and when it stopped quartering away, I didn't waste any time for fear of it running again. I made a quick shot and it dropped straight down. The bullet hit just behind and above the chest, shattering the spine and continuing through the top of the chest on the left hand side, breaking a rib. Penetration was over 18" and the bullet was balled up under the hide. When we approached it was still alive and tried to get up. Vaughan yelled to, "Shoot it again!" then said "...in the chest!", but the animal was flopping all over the place. I tried repositioning myself by circling the animal and waiting for it to raise up on its two front legs as it did when we first approached so i could get a broadside chest shot. Vaughan continued to yell, "Shoot it! Stay away from the horns! Shoot it!" I finally just capped it matter of factly as it was on a downward flop. The bullet hit it through the spine again angling through the bottom of the chest, just behind the shoulder. That bullet was also recovered. The chops unfortunately were pretty banged up. Both bullets held together and looked like those you see in the marketing photos. I haven't measured the weights, but I suspect they are running about 60-70%. The second shot at near point blank range seemed to have lost more weight, probably due to hitting bone at such a high velocity. At any rate, I was very happy with the performance.



The accuracy of this bullet also makes it attractive. I get three shot groups of .4 consistently. I will post a photo of my groups and the recovered bullets later. I use 73 grains of IMR 4350 and a Federal 215M primer. I moly coat my bullets using an old BBQ rotisserie. The bullets are seated .015 from the lands and I still have lots of room in the mag of my 700.



In summary, I loved the accuracy of the ballistic tips, but not the tendency to blow up on big game. I was excited about Swift's Scirrocos when they came out, but the accuracy was inconsistent in my rifles. I have been saying for several years that a bonded core ballistic tip would be the ultimate combination of accuracy and performance in a thin skinned big game bullet, and I believe that even more now. I think Vaughan was also impressed, but then again, you have to ask him for sure. We both would have like to have seen a straight broadside shot through both shoulders of a zebra or gemsbok, but didn't get the chance. I don't think things would have changed much, even at the long-ish ranges the animals were shot at, and especially since a straight broadside shot would have provided less bullet travel through the body than the angles at which they were actually shot.



For those of you interested in ballistics, at 500 feet elevation (Namibia) aned at 85 degrees F, this load has a starting ME of 4169 FT/LBS, and at 400 yards, still has 2849 FT/BS left. The drop from zero to 400 yards is only -14.2 inches.



Later,



Sheldon Charron

Thanks for the report Sheldon. I have decided the 225grNAB is the bullet for my .338x74K. I uaven't taken game w/ it yet but tests in wetpack show they hold together very well & you are right, accuracy is outstanding. Congrats. on a great hunt.

GReat report Sheldon. Regarding your load of 73grs of 4350, do you think the moly coating is a factor with pressure? Thanks, jorge

Excellent report--great pictures, too, on your other post.

Congratulations!

We will soon have a lot in common, since I will also be hunting with Vaughan in July and will also be using a .338 Win. Mag.! I am sending you a PM.

jorge.

The groups opened up as I went up to 74 and 75 grains.

I find that I always have to increase powder charges slightly compared to naked bullets of the same make/model. I do it for the consistency I get between cleanings, and because it seems to to help barrels that might not be perfectly smooth inside. My .338 is the only rifle I have left with a ctaory barrel. It didn't shoot worth crap when i first bought it, and I was dismayed to find that it was heavily used by the owner of the shop and placed back on the rack afterwards. It took several hours of Shooter's Choice Kroil and lots of JB to get all the copper out. When it was finally clean, the JB must have polished the bore, kind of like hand lapping, but because it shot extremely well afterwards. That , plus a pillar bedding job, trigger job, free-floating, etc. It is now my favorite hunting rifle.

Great report and you sure rung them out proper, the spine on big animals seperates the men from the boys in bullets and that Nosler Accubond passed in flying colors, few bullets can take that kind of abuse...I am going to have to try some of those bullets for sure...good report.

Thanks for that great report. I have used B.T. for a few years now in .223-.243-.280 and they are the best I have ever used for lighter game. Last year I shot a whitetail buck at 250 yards quartering away behind the shoulder and the bullet traversed across the chest and broke the opposite shoulder and landed just under the hide on the off shoulder. It seperated but core and lead where there together. The deer went up in the air and all 4 legs went out straight and it landed dead right on the spot. This was with my .280. The accuracy has always be outstanding with these bullets and I was wondering about the new accra bonds. Now I dont have to wonder anymore . I'll just have to get me some now. Thanks again....

Thanks for the report. In the past I have used Fail Safes in my .338 Win. Mag. in Africa but won't be using them anymore. Accubonds may be what I'm looking for although I'll be using commercially available ammunition.

Sheldon,

I plan on using 260 grain Accubonds in my 375 H&H strictly for plains game in two weeks. The rifle will be a back up to my 35 Whelen. Largest game being waterbuck and black wildebeest.

With the Accubonds I shot my best group ever with my 375 Whitworth of 0.350" center to center. Hopefully I will get the performance you observed in your 338.

BigBullet

I have been shooting Accubonds for almost a year now in my .308 and my .300 WSM. I have found them to be both accurate and effective. I haven't shot much really big game with them, but I look forward to trying them out on all manner of African game next month. I am glad to see they worked well for you because I was a bit concerned about how well they would work on Zebra.

Ray.

I agree with you regarding the spine being a good test. I don't think Vaughan was totally convinced, as he mentioned it would have been nice to have seen what the bullet had done if it had gone through both front shoulder blades.

I suspect that the results would have been the same, meaning the bullet would have completely penetrated the animal. The only thing I think that would have been different, is that the zebra would have gone straight down and not gotten up at all, other than (possibly) a bit of plowing along with its back legs for a spell. With the shock that would have resulted from breaking both shoulders, I don't think it would have had much jam left to plow far, but I have had elk do this in the snow for ten yards or so, even with two shattered shoulders, so it is possible. I guess it depends on which animal you think is more robust. In NA, I've always been lead to believe that Elk were among the hardest game animals to put down, but I have no idea how they compare in toughness to Zebra. I can say that I was suprised that the zebra didn't get knocked down at the shot. Granted the bullet did not transmit as much shock as it would have with a direct hit through the shoulders. The bullet instead struck low on the shoulder, broke the ball joint where it attached to the blade, and then raked low through the off-side chest and exited at the bottom rear of the chest cavity.

Greg.



I'll try and post a video of the zebra shot tonight so you can see the performance like you were right there. You WON'T be disappointed. I watched with a friend last night. It's quite remarkable how well it killed. Sure it ran, but it didn't go far and had a hell of time getting to where it died.

Big Bullet, can you post your loads for the 375 accubond. I'm awaiting my whitworth's return from the gunsmith and am looking for loads for the accubond to try. Thanks, Bob

Thanks for the info Sheldon. I'll have to try that load in my 338. Can't wait for the zebra video! jorge

BobC,

The accurate load I mentioned earlier is 70.5 grain R-15. Velocity is on the low side at 2675 fps, but it should be sufficient for plains game. My starting load was 69.0 and was working up at 0.5 gr increments, when 70.5 gr grouped so darn well, with adequate velocity, I stopped there.

Other info; W-W cases, FedGM215M primers, 3.600" OAL.

Good Luck,
BigBullet

Hi guys.

Well here are the pics.

The one on the left was the first one that struck the spine at a range of 288 yards and traveled ~18", breaking a rib on the off side and balling up under the skin. The reatined weight was 146 grains of the original 225 grains.

The one on the right was the second almost point blank shot, also through the spine and down through the chest ending up somewhere in the brisket under the skin. The reatined weight is only 120 grains, but under the circumstances that is not so bad IMO.

I'm impressed. I was waiting for a report such as this to come up with a different bullet for my new 300 Ultra Mag. I think I've found it.

Mike.



My idea of the ideal bullet is one that imparts all of it's energy into the animal while leaving just enough to poke through the skin and fall softly to the ground. That is compared to one that imparts only partial energy, plows through the animal and puts the remaining 50% (or whatever) into a tree, the dirt, etc.



While it's tough to make a bullet that accomplishes this in all cartridges one caliber of bullet may be used in, and at all the ranges and impact velocities encountered, and in all the different sizes of animals hunted, and in all the different possible combinations of angles and bone you can end up having to contend with, I sincerely feel that this is MY ideal bullet of all time for thin skinned game. I think we will be hearing much more about it as the NA hunting seasons approach.

It seems the Accubond and Interbond have about the same characteristics as to accuracy and exterior ballistics. Has anybody gathered enough data to get a sense of which is superior in terminal ballistics?

Thanks,

t

Very impressive. Great shooting !

Don.

I'm not sure. Both MFGs make excellent bullets. I do like the heavier base of the nosler both in their hunting and varmint bullets, especially wehn pushing the varmint bullets at extreme velocities. However, I use Hornadys in my muzzle loaders and have used the Amax now and then. I don't know much about the interbond, but I suspect they would both work very well. I'm not sure hornady makes them in .338 or higher yet. Can anyone clarify this?