For those of you who have killed deer, elk, and moose with Accubonds - especially the 140 gr. .277 and the 160 gr. 7mm - what was your impression?

I ask because I have a bunch of 140 gr. .270 wcf moving about 3000 fps; I love these on deer, but am hesitant to use them on elk or moose.

Moreover, I have a bunch of 150 gr. A-Frames for my .270, again moving about 3000 fps. These have performed excellently on moose, and are very accurate too!

I ask about the 7mm, as my father has a 7mm Rem Mag, and I'm curious about the 160s on elk & moose (though I wouldn't hesitate w/ 160s - would you?).

Thanks!

friar

I run my .270 WSM with 140's at 2950 fps and love the results from Accubonds with it. I have switched to Accubonds for all of my rifles. I run 140's in my 7-08 and 160's in my 7 Mag.

Great bullet!

Friar, that load out of a 270 will do wonders on Elk or Moose. I have seen Moose dropped on the spot with a 6.5 Accubond (130 Grains I think).

I have seen the 270 with the AB do it's work and it is simply great.

No way would I sweat it with 160's out of a 7, I usually run 140's in my 7's too, 280 AI and 7 Dakota, great results, I have not personally shot a moose with one though.

Shot a couple really big hogs at some pretty close distance, which is where I think these bullets get tested most stringently, and they hammered them.

I think the AB's are a really good value quality bulllet.

My 280PDK sends a 160Accubond down range at just shy of 3000fps. I've used it for Hog, Kudu, Elk and deer and several other thrown in. It has always worked for me. If I was going to use a 7mm on moose I would grab it.

We use the 140s at around 2875 from my wife's little 7x57 for deer, oryx, elk and hog. Always excellent results.

Comment #1: The only deer I've ever lost from a bullet was hit with a 140 AB from my 270 with a shot distance of ~ 45 yards.

Comment #2: I carried the same loads as backup this past season while hunting in KY. Primary loads were 150 Bergers.

#3: I will use the AB again, but you know how humans are. We get one bad taste in our mouth about anything and we are hesitant to try it again in the future.

With the bullets you have, I'd use that 150 Aframe at 3000! That is a very attractive combo that in my opinion, will out perform the AB every day of the week.

I have killed elk, dozens of deer, and coyotes with the 160 gr 7mm accubond. All pass through, all performed excellent. I don't recall any animal requiring a second shot. It's my go-to bullet for the 7mag.

quote:

Originally posted by Fish30114:
Friar, that load out of a 270 will do wonders on Elk or Moose. I have seen Moose dropped on the spot with a 6.5 Accubond (130 Grains I think).

I've seen the same thing happen to a kudu and an oryx with the 140AB out of a Swede.

quote:

I think the AB's are a really good value quality bullet.

So do I!! It will be a toss up between the 160AB's and 160gr Woodleighs when I finish my 7x64 build.

my son has killed elk and deer with his 7mmremmag, and 160gr ab's. no problem.

Six deer thru the shoulders with a 130gr AB from a 270WSM. All bullets exited, no deer took a step. Ranges were from about 100yds to about 225.

I've taken four different animals with .30 caliber Accubonds. Only one, a whitetail shot properly in the thorax, was a one-shot kill.

A skunk took three shots, but that might be because I missed him with the first two.

A coyote took two shots, even though the first one took him square through the shoulder (however it was the "rear" shoulder).

And a feral hog had to be finished with someone else's gun after I emptied mine at a sounder of running porkers and hit the last one in the pelvis.

In my opinion, Accubonds are pretty sorry bullets as they only work when you actually hit what you're shooting at.

Our family has used Accubonds to take deer and elk with good performance. However they were all out of a .300 Win Mag and taken at longer distances. No fleas on those bullets.

Thanks everyone for the experiences!

friar

I've only shot one elk with a 160 gr Accubond form my 7mm Rem mag. It was a 140 yd broadside, behind the shoulder shot, and it was bang, flop, slide 30 yds down the hill, dead.

I also used that same 160 gr Accubond load in my 7mm Rem mag in South Africa on 6 plains game antelope from Duiker to Hartebeest. All broadside, behind the shoulder shots resulted in bang, flop, dead animals. One PH was continually amazed of the internal damage that these bullets did.

The Accubonds are like any other bonded bullet but with a plastic tip for better ballistic coefficient. You get the flight characteristics of the ballistic tip with the penetration of a partition. They are not Solid base ballistic tips and do not expand as quickly so they are not a good choice for deer IMO. Assuming that the 140 grain Nosler ballistic tip was perfect 270 winchester deer bullet how is making it more robust going to improve its performance on deer? It's not, but it would make it more effective on larger critters.

I don't believe that there is only one bullet for everything. You need to match the bullet to the game.

Fin, I agree that the Accubonds aren't as frangible as B-tips; still, I think they're a perfect choice for deer (large and small) at long range and short.

The reason I wonder about the .277 140 gr. on large animals like moose or elk is because I have shot 2 average to large whitetail bucks and did not get exits.

The first, and smaller of the two was quartering away at 100 yards. This bullet showed absolutely perfect expansion and altogether annihilated the heart & lungs. It broke the far shoulder and stopped just under the hide. The deer dropped at the shot, kicked for a few seconds, and was D.E.A.D.

The second, on a buck that went, let's say 160, maybe 180 lbs. field dressed - I shot broadside at 240ish yards and drilled it thought the back of the lungs, diaphram, & liver. I lost the sight picture at the shot, but can say that he went maybe 20 yards and laid down. I walked up 30 minutes later (I was worried about the shot) to find him stone dead, with his head resting on his front feet like a puppy dog.

I was surprised that this 2nd bullet didn't exit, as it (likely) didn't hit major bone.

All this said, I've had many other deer where this bullet did exit.

Also, I've always had great destruction in the animal, even on very small deer ( ) shot at close range.

I think I'd use the 140 gr. Accubond happily on all game if I didn't have the A-frame load, but I'd be lying if I said I'd shoot a really big animal without hesitation.

Ahh, too much time on my hands to think about esoterics! Back to the Christmas grindstone!

friar

I shot two caribou with the .277/140gn NAB. Both at near 150 yds. One pass through the ribs and the other was a hard quartering away shot. Found the perfectly mushroomed bullet on the inside of the off shoulder blade.

My first time using the Accubonds I shot a 165 lb.(dressed) 8 pter. this year at appox. 65 yards with the Nosler ABs in 270 Win./140 gr. The bullet went clean through both shoulders. Small entrance hole, small exit hole with a surprisingly a small wound channel for that distance of shot. There was definately damage to the main arteries going to the heart but one would have thought the bullet would have opened up a bit more after going through the first shoulder blade and rib on the entrance side at 65 yards. The amount of bloodshot meat was not what I expected to find either which was a good thing.

Not complaining by any means and definately plan on using them again as they are accurate. One time usage isn't enough to form a conclusive opinion from my standpoint, but as you can see, many here do like them with minimal negatives about them.

The Federal 160 Accubond is my load of choice for my 7mm Rem Mag Blaser. It groups .35" with it, and has taken Whitetail, Fallow Deer, Aoudad, Scimitar Oryx, several Sheep, and a number of Hogs. If I keep using it, I'll slowly lose my tracking skills, because they've all dropped where hit.

I can see the bullet debate warming up again. Their is nothing wrong with or anything extra special about the Accubond bullets. The fact that they are bonded to the jacket only serves to hold the bullet together and slows the expansion process. Taking these facts into consideration I would rate them as better than the Partitions for thinned skinned game but not as good as Ballistic tips for a given caliber or bullet weight. It comes down to a terminal performance debate and the multitude of variables that affect it. I will say it is a much better choice for the one bullet to do it all kind of shooter. I personally prefer to match the bullet to the game and their are excellent choices for every caliber and condition.

These may not be the exact situations or Accubonds you're inquiring about, but I post this to illustrate that they do indeed perform as advertised and should do just fine for you on elk or moose in the heavier configurations.

One hogs, they expand well and almost always exit unless the presentation is facing or sharply quartering. They transmit ample shock and usually put the animal down on the spot. When they don't immediately drop, an ample blood trail is left -- and it's generally a VERY short tracking job. (A couple of the photos are graphic, but I included them anyway to show exit and blood trail)

Also, I've recorded doubles on hogs a few times, including two different occasions with the 7mm/140s and 2 with the 30/150s. The bullets passed completely through and were not recovered.

I only wish Nosler offered a 7mm/120 or a .30 caliber/125 for lower-velocity cartridges.
The first is a 7mm/140:
















And unlike some premiums, the ABs will expand with minimal contact, even on thin-skinned targets:

I love my 140gr ABs in my 270 for anything up to kudu cows (240 lbs max), but definitely prefer a bigger rifle-bullet combination for elk-sized kudu bulls or gemsbuck.
I don't hunt elk or moose but prefer the idea of the 160 gr 7mm or at least a heavier and stronger bullet for the 270.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobby Tomek:

I only wish Nosler offered a 7mm/120 or a .30 caliber/125 for lower-velocity cartridges.

From your lips to Noslers ears.

quote:

I love my 140gr ABs in my 270 for anything up to kudu cows (240 lbs max),

Karoo: Is that 240 pounds, or 240 kg? I would have thought that most mature kudu cows would top 240 pounds. Won't mature bulls go around 500-550 pounds? Just asking.

Bobby Tomek: Great photos! Is that the old Nosler lead tipped Solid Base on the left in the photo of the three bullets? If so, it appears to have turned in a virtual dupicate of the Accubond's performance. That's not all that surprising since the Accubond shares its solid base heritage.

The Solid Base is/was one of my very most favorite bullets and I still use my horde of them exclusively in hunting loads for .243 and .270. My seven year-old grandson used 60 grain Solid Bases out of a .223 for two one-shot kills on whitetail bucks last fall (despite the fact that anyone with internet access know a .223 won't kill a deer). One of those bucks was a rangy older West Texas deer that was half again the size of a Hill Country buck.

If the Accubond combines the Solid Base's performance and the Ballistic Tip's accuracy, then if it was only PRICED like the old Solid Base it would be the world's most perfect bullet.

I can't really tell the difference between the solid base sptzr and the accubond. The difference illustrated in the photo's show such an insignificant difference that there would be no likely improvement in terminal performance.

Like I had stated earlier I think that the bonded bullet would show greater bullet performance as the bullet weight gets reduced. The 7mm 140 grainer still has enough sectional density to enable the solid base bullet to hold together and perform perfectly.

You can clearly see how a layer of lead has bonded to the jacket while the solid base shows a clean torn jacket. What I would expect to see with a shorter bullet is a jacket separation from the solid base but not with a bonded confirming my opinion on bonded bullets.

They only offer better terminal performance as Sectional density is reduced but likely don't offer any advantage when compared to the larger bullets of a given caliber.

I have been vry impressed with the performance of 140gr Accubonds in my 270WSM (both factory WS and reloads). Between myself and my wife we have taken elk, moose, bears and deer at various distances with the same results-majority of the shots have been double lung complete pass thru penetration and either the animal drops in their tracks or goes a few steps and then drops.

Its the only bullet I reload for my 270WSM and 300WM. Had TSX's back then but was vry happy with results at the range and on big game so I traded the TSX's for more Accubonds.

Of recovered bullets from the 270WSM and 300WM, weight retention between 67-85%, with perfect expansion. From the pass-thru shots, small entrance wound-HUGE exit.

quote:

Karoo: Is that 240 pounds, or 240 kg? I would have thought that most mature kudu cows would top 240 pounds. Won't mature bulls go around 500-550 pounds? Just asking.

240 pounds. The US seems to use a different abbreviation to our old British system. A very big bull would be 500 pounds. Our Eastern Cape kudu are a bit smaller and wirier than those up north.
The thing about kudu bulls is not so much their size that needs a bigger bullet than my 140 AB, but that they are often in difficult terrain and at distance and so need to be anchored.
Not qualified to comment on elk and moose, though.

Stonecreek-

Thanks for the compliment. And yes, that is indeed the old-style Solid Base bullet.

I have a few tucked away also, as these were by far my favorite medium game bullet, particularly the 6.5/120s and 30/150s.

And those 60 grain SBs did a heck of a job in an old Rem 788 22-250 as well, though that's another caliber that we've learned -- thanks to the proliferation of "expert" information on the internet -- can't kill anything bigger than a field mouse, either.

Karoo: Is that 240 pounds, or 240 kg? I would have thought that most mature kudu cows would top 240 pounds. Won't mature bulls go around 500-550 pounds? Just asking.
I should also have removed the word "max" and considered my math better, converting from dressed weight to live weight.
I am encouraged by the support of Accubonds by other posters.

Big game have been taken with 3030S for many a year, so anything over that should be freakin fantastic.

quote:

Originally posted by winbag338:
Big game have been taken with 3030S for many a year, so anything over that should be freakin fantastic.

big game have also been lost due to the dirty thirty as well. But I understand the point you are making.

When considering the 30-30 it is all relative to distance. At 100 yards it performs the same as an 06 at 400 yards.

They will kill everything on the plant easily enough in the right calibers. I might not use them as a stopping round for the most dangerous of game though.

I was able to cull some deer with the .277 AB/140 grain when they were first released. I found them to be excellent performers and would not hesitate to use them on larger animals such as Elk.

FYI my MV was 3150 ft/secs, 26" Ruger #1 and R22.

Went through two boxes of 130 & 140gr AB for 270 win. Never got the accuracy I was looking for. Hornady SP, Sierra SP, and Berger VLD all seemed to produce great groups with different powders without much experimenting. But that's just my Sako.

Well, I have shot a few animals this year with out of my .270 Win with Nosler Partitions and Woddleigh PP all in 130grs: So far I will take the Woodleigh as they performed VERY GREAT - drop on the spot with all game and very low meat damage - just one roe deer made a 50-60m before he dropped.

quote:

Originally posted by Glen:
Went through two boxes of 130 & 140gr AB for 270 win. Never got the accuracy I was looking for. Hornady SP, Sierra SP, and Berger VLD all seemed to produce great groups with different powders without much experimenting. But that's just my Sako.

Sometimes individual guns just refuse to perform with certain bullets. Both the rifle and the bullet may be excellent products, but they just somehow don't work well together. I own a Sako that refuses to shoot the usually excellent Sierra Matchkings well, but shoots anything branded "Nosler" into outstanding groups, even the Partitions.

By and large I've found the Accubonds to be very accurate on average, but now and then you'll find an otherwise accurate rifle that just doesn't "like" them for reasons that tend to remain a mystery.

BTW: That's one reason a shooter should never build a rifle with the intent of shooting one particular bullet. If you do so and that particular bullet isn't one your rifle "likes", then you're back to square one.

quote:

Originally posted by Karoo:
Karoo: Is that 240 pounds, or 240 kg? I would have thought that most mature kudu cows would top 240 pounds. Won't mature bulls go around 500-550 pounds? Just asking.
I should also have removed the word "max" and considered my math better, converting from dressed weight to live weight.

Aha! We seem to be talking two different "weights". I was thinking of "on the hoof" like you would weigh a live calf across the scales at a livestock auction, and you are speaking of the carcass after removal of some amount of entrails and perhaps hide/head (depending on whatever is customarily considered the "dressed weight" in your part of the world.) I've run into this same miscommunication with Europeans who tend to talk in terms of dressed weight as opposed to live weight. And "dressed" sometimes means only entrails removed, sometimes entrails and hide removed, sometimes entrails, hide, head, and lower limbs removed.

When I hunted Namibia I was astounded by the difference in what my knowledgable guide would estimate the weight of an animal as opposed to my own estimate. Once we realized that one of us was talking "pounds" and one talking "kg", and at the same time one was thinking "live weight" while the other was thinking "hanging weight", we were able to reconcile our estimates at similar guesses.

Thanks for the clarification. I think we generally agree on the size of a kudu. By the way, how much/which parts of the animal do you customarily remove when you have a 240 lb kudu?

I took an elk this year with a 130 gr accubond out of my 270. I had a cow tag so not an 800 lb bull, but complete pass through, DRT.

Lucky, how far was your shot? Did you hit any shoulder bone?

Thanks,

friar