Is anyone using the 180gr .338 Nosler accubond for elk hunting in the 338-06, or any other .338 for that matter. If so I am curious about how that worked for you...

Z

It's not a bullet that I would want for elk or deer, for deer it would waste too much meat and bloodshot sides don't appeal to me.. For elk I don't like the penetration of lighter, shorter, bullets...I want a bullet that will exit on broadside shots and almost on lengthwise shots, whatever I am hunting..

My choice for elk with that caliber was the 210 gr. Nosler, and locally the boys like the 250 gr. Sierra and it apparantly works great, but I would also doubt its penetrating charteristics as they show me too many pretty mushroomed bullets, and mostly all broadside shots, recovered bullets are a lesson in the lack of penetration IMO, some like that as they claim the bullet dumps all its energy in the animal, and I don't buy in on that at all...

I used the .338-06 early on and use the .338 Win a great deal these days with .210s or 250 Noslers depending on what area of Idaho I hunt. I tried the 200 grs. bullets and did not like them at all, but not the Accubond.

In Idaho there are just too many instances of bulls getting up close and going South, I want to stick one all the way through them going away like that, the Noslers stick there nose in the pine needles. In todays elk hunting and unlike on TV where you wait until all is perfect and broadside and take ions to shoot, if you see a bull in Idaho, that may well be your only chance of the season, so you better make it count, the wolves do!

quote:

My choice for elk with that caliber was the 210 Nosler

For years I used the 210part for larger game and the 180 for small in my 338PDK (think 338Gibbs+). As long as you kept it in the ribs on deer not so much damage.

I have since switched to the 200 Accubond and never looked back. It would be my one go to bullet for a 338-06. If I was shooting a larger case I would probably try the 225.

Thanks Ray and Paul...I have been using the 180AB in my 338-06ai for just about everything from whitetail to black bear and cow elk...but am not sure that it is the right bullet when you get to the heavier boned stuff like bull elk and bear.

I get 2960fps with the 180AB in my rifle and 2775fps with the 210 Partition. I can shoot effectively to a max of about 350yds... I think I can make the partition work at that distance.. Maybe I can change powder and get a bit more velocity with the 210gr as well...

With an elk hunt coming up in the fall, I wanted to get settled on the right bullet. During a bear hunt this past fall, the 180Ab did some strange things. Still killed the bear, but the performance was not what I had hoped for. The 180's will be relegated to deer hunting from now on...

Z

There are no flies on the Part. While the part is heavier the accubond is longer so your velocity potential is about the same at the same OAL. The accubond will be a touch flatter but at your ranges not by much. Assuming the same velocity on a elk size animal MAX PBR is 330 for the accubond and 329 for the part. I call that close enough to be the same.

Like I said I used both the 180 and 210s and settled on the 200 simply to reduce the number of loads I used.

If you are getting 2775 (assuming a normal 22-24" barrel) you are getting just about all the 338-06 can give you with the 210.

Paul..Yeah, I have a 24" barrel, but my load is under the book max for 338-06 in the nosler manual, and my chamber is AI'ed so I could probably bump it up a hair, but I don't think I will mess with it, the load is accurate, so no sense in trying to fix it if it ain't broke.

I have a pile of 180ABs loaded up, and I also have a mess of 180BT's too...I will just use them for deer and stick with the 210 partition for the heavy stuff..

I may have to try the 200gr bullets as well, just to see how they shoot and if the velocity is any different than the 210's.

Thanks for the input!

Z

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For an Accubond bullet I might go with the 300 grain in .338 and its 0.720 BC.

However, that 300 grain bullet leaves something to be desired in velocity (2400-2430fps), so my all-around bullet in 338WM is the 225gn. TTSX at 2838fps. It has a .514 BC and with monometal construction it provides more than adequate penetration. The 225 gn. TTSX hasn't been out that long, but we haven't recovered one yet, either, from three large non-dangerous animals and 3/4 presentations, both 3/4 facing and 3/4 away.

For 338-06 either drop down one weightclass (for example, to 210gn. TTSX) or drop down in velocity expectations (2650-2675fps). Both should work for elk-sized game at reasonable distances.

I have used the 180ac in my 338/06 on a couple elk and have not recovered one yet. Good penetration and not alot of meat damage, just dead. I probsbly wouldn't use them in the 338 mag.

Zee, have you considered the Swift Scirocco in 210gr? It's bc is very high and terminal performance nothing short of great. The powder I use with that particular bullet is RL 17. This is with a 338-06AI. Groupings are under an inch and velocity 2850.

lagerboy...Nope..I have never messed any of the Swift Scirocco bullets...but if I could get up to 2850 with a higher BC that would be great and flatten my trajectory a bit... My 210 nosler load is a little below the max load for the standard 338-06. I know I can get a bit more velocity, but with the partitions, 2775 was the sweet spot.

Haven't been able to get my hands on any Reloder powders around here.. I have a bit RL 15 and a part of a jug of RL-22. Maybe some RL-17 will show up some day...

Certainly will look into the Swift bullets..thanks for that.

Z

Zee here's the recipe that gives me those results. 62.0gr RL17. CCi mag rifle primer. COL is 3.33 in. Fireformed Winchester brass. I used to use h4350 but RL17 beats it. I have taken a bull elk and Moose with this gun. Both were extremely large animals. Bullets retained 95% of their weight. No pass throughs. Found all 3 bullets. You might not want that. The partition is more likely to give you a pass through if that is what you desire.
I started testing alot lower. It was 57gr. Good luck.

Lagerboy..thanks for that recipe. Have stashed it in my file. I will be going to a gun show next week, maybe I can round up some RL17...the Scirrocos seem to be fairly available online..

While I like exit holes...if the bullet did the job and is accurate in my rifle I will probably try it out..

BTW..what distances did you shoot that elk and moose at?

Z

Moose was at 150yds and the Elk was 75. If you want, pm me your email and I'll send you a couple pics of the retrieved bullets.

PM sent...
Z

z,

For elk hunting in my plain 338-06 I have used 210gr Nos Part and 210gr TSX.

I am sold on the TSX's, and would highly recommend them.

I would even use them on the south end of north bound elk if I had to. I prefer better shot presentations though.

I have used the 180 gn Nosler Accubond on pigs, in my 338 Win Mag and it was very effective. However my choice for game the size of elk would be a good 225gn bullet like the Nosler Accubond or the Barnes TTSX, or the Woodleigh PPSN, or the Swift A Fame, or the Speer Grand Slam, or the Hornady Interbond. Any of those would do the job. I would not go higher in weight than 225 gn with the 338/06, as you would lose too much powder capacity and velocity would suffer.

I used the Accubond in my sako... It was accurate as hell.

Mine shot the TSX well too... IMO the TSX is a better bullet, so that's what I used while I had the gun.