This forum always has some good advice and observations, and I welcome the comments. I think Kyler said it well, maybe best of all.

I will also give the Barnes bullets a try. They do indeed have a great reputation for penetration.

And that may be what I find most disturbing about the Accubonds - the lack of penetration in a bullet of that caliber and weight. The 40%weight was shed (apparently) pretty early, since the penetration wasn't that great on the eland, and the kudu hit in the neck peeled way back, not exiting.

I continue to believe the 338 is plenty of gun for animals up to and over 500 pounds, with the right bullet. I know that a 225 grain bullet will do just fine on elk, as I've killed a few with both 210 grain and 225s in the Nosler partition. Generally they exit the animal (penetration, again). I also believe it will work on moose, and most plains game, though I will switch to 250s next time for eland. But I won't be using the Accubonds for anything over the size of a mulie!

Yup, they all died. However, the eland was helped along by a considerable dose of 458 supplements. And the others were dirt simple shot angles. I'm glad of that, by the way, and will quit while I'm ahead.

Here's the Nosler description of the bullet:

"AccuBond� represents the most advanced bonded core bullet technology to date. Through a proprietary bonding process that eliminates voids in the bullet core, AccuBond marries Nosler�s traditional copper-alloy jacket with its special lead-alloy core. The result is a bullet that flies true, penetrates deep and retains its weight�and won�t cause extensive barrel fouling. Nosler AccuBond�--the benchmark by which all bonded core bullets will be measured."

I'm taking issue with the phrasing about deep penetration, and some exception to implying superior weight retention. Those are not the results I had. Granted that the experience I had was indeed limited - one trip, a few animals - but I think the results would at least give any serious hunter pause for thought. My conclusion is they are not the standard to measure all bonded core bullets against, and I don't believe I'll be taking a chance on them again. Other, better choices are out there.

Of course others will (and have) come to different conclusions. I'm just offering my results and thoughts for consideration by the forum members.

Left off the Barnes X. Now that one is perhaps the best of all.