I know bullet accuracy is rifle specific but over time…general trends occur and opinions form.

Question:
Of the 3 principal Nosler hunting bullets…which is generally considered the most accurate?

Choices:
Accubond
Ballistic Tip
Partition

 

The person who taught me how to reload said, “If you want to know how well your gun will shoot use a Ballistic Tip.” That’s really all you need to know. My friend has passed away and he was a gift.

I voted for the ballistic tip, but I suppose it depends on the rifle and other reloding components that might have been tried but were not.

For example, if I didn't try an Accubond with "x" grains of IMR 4320, how could I know if the Accubond would not have been more accurate than the BT which was very accurate using "y" grains of IMR 4064?

the acu-tip is a tipped acu-bonded.

I couldn't care less about 1/4" at 100yds.
I care about what happens when the bullet gets there.

I have used the Ballistic-Tip bullets to win many matches over the decades. The tip protects the nose of the bullet from being deformed while being chambered.
The original BT's did have a problem in ranges farther than 500 yards as the tip would melt from air friction causing a loss of accuracy.
The plastic used has since been changed and no longer melts in flight.
In test I have run at 800 yards, there is no diff between the BT's and Sierra Match King bullets of the same weight and body shape/base.

quote:

Originally posted by slim buttes:
The person who taught me how to reload said, “If you want to know how well your gun will shoot use a Ballistic Tip.” That’s really all you need to know. My friend has passed away and he was a gift.

Meaning the BT is likely to be accurate in most rifles???

Definitely not true; look at the bullets that bench resters use. Not boat tails.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Definitely not true; look at the bullets that bench resters use. Not boat tails.

That is an interesting observation. But bench resters dont use soft points either.

I know BT's are very accurate, but I suspect that their popularity in that aspect is also related to their cost. I have found accubonds to be just as accurate. In fact I have used BT's for practice and hunted with accubonds. I have found their performance to be very comparable.

Flat based accubonds anyone?

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Definitely not true; look at the bullets that bench resters use. Not boat tails.

This is a fallacy. Times have changed. Benchrest shooters, both short, and long range, use boat tail bullets. There are two disciplines in short range, group, and score. In group, the 6ppc is king, and boat tails are the norm, with a few still using flat bases. In score shooting, the 30BR is the top dog, and flat bases are more common.

quote:

Originally posted by pointblank:


This is a fallacy. Times have changed.

Times may have changed, but physics has not.

https://www.gunsandammo.com/ed...e-projectiles/375628

All the BR shooters here at one and two hundred yards, use flat base Bergers. They say a boat tail is not needed for such short ranges. I see them load right on the range. In the summer; not now.
I do not shoot it myself, however.

Unless hunting deer or bigger game (many would argue the ballistic tip is the better deer bullet)…there is no reason to spend the extra money for the Accubond over the Ballistic Tip. But how many feel the Accubond is as accurate as the Ballistic Tip?

We've always said that if a gun won't shoot Sierras or accubonds, the gun probably won't shoot anything well.

Zeke

I voted Ballistic Tip having shot thousands over the years from all my rifles. I use them to perfect loads then use the partitions for animals larger than Deer. For Deer sized animals the Tips do the job well. I shoot fewer Accubonds because of cost mainly but when the Nosler Pro Shop runs sales I will stock up on all of them. I thank Nosler for those great sales that I have taken advantage of for years. I used to keep quite about the sales but now I have accumulated so many I don’t worry about it anymore. Good Shooting.

Unless you are going to be shooting in competitions any innate accuracy difference between these bullets is insignificant. If you are going to be competing, use a target bullet. However, if you are looking for a Nosler hunting bullet optimized for long range hunting then maybe you should try the Accubond-LR.

quote:

Unless you are going to be shooting in competitions any innate accuracy difference between these bullets is insignificant.

+1

+ I am a hunter and have and continue to shoot many different types of bullets as circumstances dictate.
Therefore the "most accurate" term is meaningless to me.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Definitely not true; look at the bullets that bench resters use. Not boat tails.

That's changed quite a bit in the last few years.....lots of people in short range bench rest, ppc shooters, have switched to 68grain boat tails.

Everyone shooting long range bench rest shoots boat tails.

pretty much in every rifle I have tried all of them in, the BT is the most accurate of the lot.

That's not to say the partition or accubond can't be very accurate, but the BT seems to be easier to get to shoot well and I've yet to not be able to get the BT to perform adequately from an accuracy perspective.

On the other hand, I've had BT's act more like varmint bullets at times, and I've stopped using them for big game. I use a lot of them as my go to varmint bullet. We have so many options available, its a nonissue.

I actually prefer the partition over the AB and the BT when I can get sub MOA with them.

quote:

I know bullet accuracy is rifle specific

Yes, indeed, so we're talking about averages here, not what one particular bullet does in one particular rifle.

My answer to the poll was "Ballistic Tips", but that is because they are available in a wider variety of calibers and weights than the Accubond. Thus, we have much more experience with the BTip and tend to believe it the more accurate.

In those calibers and weights that are identicalI've found the BTip and Accubond to turn in essentially identical performance, generating similar velocities and pressures with the same powder charge and shooting to the same point of impact. I work up a load with, for example, the less expensive 180 grain BTip, then use the same load with the 180 grain Accubond for the actual (elk, in this case) hunting. An aside: Last season my son's .30-06 was sighted for his 150 gr BTip deer loads, so he used those elk hunting. A very large cow presented itself quartering shoulder-on to him at about 80 yards. His shot was through the meatiest part of the near shoulder. The cow made it about 30 steps before collapsing in a motionless heap. A relatively light Ballistic Tip isn't my recommendation for elk, but it's hard to argue with results.

Comments on BTips and Accubonds aside, I've had excellent accuracy from most combinations of Partitions that I've used. Because they are somewhat more expensive, I, like most people, attempt to limit accuracy experimentation with them to simply achieving acceptable hunting accuracy. If you were to run a hundred or so through a particular rifle searching for the most accurate load, then you might find them virtually as accurate as either of the other Nosler bullets.

The Nosler Varmageddon was left off of the poll. Of course, it is only sold in "varmint" calibers and weights, but I have found no difference in it and the more expensive Ballistic Tip in terms of accuracy using 40 & 55 grain .224's and 70 grain .243's.

IN as much as we all realize that bullets are rifle specific, the question is void..but for game I much prefer the accubonds over all bullets for up to Moose and they shoot as well as balistic tips in all my guns. the big bears? I will go with partitions out of habit...The bench is your best advisor..