Just got back from elk hunting..We shot two elk with the .338 Win. and 225 gr. Nosler Accubonds...I have never seen prettier mushrooms, enough penetration at about 2.5 to 3 feet, but no pass thrus, but they were both frontal angle shots that busted the shoulders and they would have resulted in pass throughs on broadside lung/heart shots..My only real concern is too much blood shot meat, very destructive bullets in both instances. I still prefer the Nosler partition I think, but two elk may or may not tell the whole story..just passing it on for what its worth...one elk was at 329 yards, the other was at 402 yards. both bullets show text book expansion and were bumps in the off side skin and I cut the out with my pocket knife.

I think I'll go back to the 250 gr. bullets, Ive had great luck with the Sierra 250 gr. boat tail and it shoots as flat as the 210s and 225s. The 250 Accubonds are very long and you must seat them too deep, and that takes up the needed powder space in a std. rifle..I have a long throated and long magazine .338 that handle them easily..

Congratulations Ray. Your field results posts are always helpful. Thanks.

Interesting. Do you use the 250 gn Sierras for shoulder shots as well, and if so how do they perform?

Where did you hunt? Panhandle isn't open yet for rifle. Haven't decided what I am taking.

Wstrnhunter,
I used the 250 gr. Sierras in Africa on Kudu, Eland and Zebra..I have also used it on elk..It will break a shoulder or both shoulders and stays together in nice muchrooms for the most part, on one occasion I busted both shoulders of a bull elk and it stopped under the skin on the off side perfectly mushroomed but the lead would fal out into my hand as it was almost out..that was the worst, but hey that's good in that it didn't come apart until I took it out..

Boddington highly recommended the 250 gr. Sierra in the .375 so I tried it out in the 338..Its a good bullet in both caliber..I know some Sierras are too soft, but depends on the caliber, same with most brands of cup and core bullets, just depends on the caliber. I have found the 250 Hornadys a tad too soft in my 338 but the 250s in my .375 are tough..The only way to determine any bullet is to shoot a big animal or two with it, the more the better to get the real story...

But todays bullet makers have done done themselves proud, its been a long time since I have had any kind of bullet failure..not so 40 years ago when it was much more common.

Smallfry,
Walsenburg, Co. special cow hunt..Usually shoot them in the Alfalfa, this year was harder, they stayed in the Ceders during the day and came out at nite or late evening, they were beginning to rut when I left..Its a fun hunt when you have to get out and find them..I don't hunt bulls anymore, shot my share, so want only the meat and don't put much emphasis on the hunt these days..Keeping my cardiologist happy is the goal! Lots of elk there, I think he charges $5400 for bulls and $2500 for cow hunt..I have booked a few hunts for them on 88,000 acres of private land..I saw lots of elk, bulls were average, nothing special showed up..I saw about 6 of the largest antelope Ive ever seen, some real monsters and one Mule deer that would score 200 or more and a whitetail that would make an east 160 B&C..Lots of game and a fun hunt. The lodge is in town, and old building with 13 rooms, not fancy by a long shot but clean and comfortable. breakfast served other than that your on your own..success rate on cows is close to 100% if you can shoot, on bulls go early..I saw half a dozen bulls in two days..

Glad to hear these reports. This is the bullet I have ready for my .338. Haven't been able to test it out on a hog yet. Guess I need to quit slacking

Ray; the blood shocked meat is why I hunt with Barnes X, TSX, and TTSX bullets. They kill great but don't blood shock as much meat. But, I'm glad you got your elks. I am surprised that at that distance there was a lot of blood shock. I would think that at that range the bullets wouldn't be so volatile. What diameter was the mushroomed bullets ?
Good hunt report.

Friends that have used the Accubond have had similar experiences. Evidently they open a little too quick and result in a lot of bloodshot meat unless the bullet goes through the ribs and misses the shoulder meat. But the animals are dead quick.

Ray A,

Do you think a partition would have been less destructive on an identical shot?

I know a partition is less destructive as to blood shot meat, it has better penetration and you can usually depend on a exit hole, and I like that. The partition has historically been my favorite bullet, but lots of great bullet out there today....The best part of the Accubond is they seem to kill quickly and elk don't travel more than about 20 yards,at least so far.

I don't like blood shot meat, but sometimes all that non blood shot meat runs too far!! ..Particularly on elk, a deer has so little good meat on his shoulders it bothers me much less to ruin a deer shoulder, and elk, on the other hand, has a lot of good grind on the shoulders and I like elk hamburger and grind as well as steak, deer hamburger isn't so good IMO, but makes good breakfast sauage, I cut all deer into boned out steak..elk? lots of grind, hamburger, and boned out steak..I bone out all game meat..The dog gets the blood shot part.

Ray, thanks for reply.

I like the partition too. I've never really given the a accubond a fair trial.

I especially appreciate your discourse on game processing. . Elks my favorite too!

Like cold trigger finger said . The TSX & TTSX are hard to beat. The Partition is still a good bullet but I like the TTSX even better.

Ray I also use 250 Sierras now and then, but in The 35 Whelen, at about 2600FPS. I can give a good report on an elk shot with that particular load. Range 133yds, cow elk standing broadside, no clue I was there. I used a small lodge pole pine for a rest. Got on the elk, counted 3 ribs back from the shoulder and let it go. Elk went maybe 5 yds and dropped. It was dead at the shot, but just didn't know it yet. The bullet missed all bone, and blew up in the heart. Recovered bullet weighed 56 grains. Now some of the bullet purist's may scoff at this, but I didn't have any meat loss and it was a dead elk right there! I have used Accubonds also, and recovered one, a 225yd shot quartering went in 225, recovered 206. Because both of the shot placement of the 2 examples there was no meat loss. One Partition story to add, at 200 yds or less, I have never recovered a bullet all pass thrus. I might consider the newer whiz bang bullets, but I can't get any of them to group well, and since I am also somewhat of a dinosaur I like what has worked all these years.

Jerry

Cold Trigger Finger,
I have recovered 3 Accubond from elk with my 338 Win, and one with a 110 gr. Accubond from my 250-3000 the mic .650 and .601 best I can measure with calibers..Two from deer with my .308 and about the same cross section on both at .550 to .600 (my guess). Same with the 30-06..Seems to me they are very close in every case as to expansion and perfect picture book mushrooms..About the same as the partition but rounder and its a hell of a lot harder to recover a partition unless your shooting Cape Buffalo. the just keep on ticking and destroy lots of sage and terrain..

Thanks for the report Ray. It mirrors what we've done in the family with the 225 AB's from a 338 and 340..

Nowadays we're blessed with a great bullet selection so it becomes a matter of large frontal area (more destruction) v penetration, provided the weight retention is adequate. This might be an over-simplification but that about what is boils down to.

I've shot so many animals with the partitions that it would be difficult to come up with a number but I find myself gravitating toward the Accubond's because terminal performance and BC/flight characteristics are excellent. Under 400 yards I'll happily take either one and merrily go about my business.
Zeke

I am leaning towards the accubonds more and more. If I were hunting in my favorite thick swamp jungle full of elk wallows and black timber just North of Sun Valley Idaho, I would opt for the 250 gr. Nosler partition as its a shoot'em at 20 yards in there South end. otherwise the Accubond has performed to perfection albeit with a a little more blood shot meat, but I can live with that, my dog has to eat to!!

For years I used the 210 Nosler partition in the .338 Win and never had a complaint..The worst if you can call it that was year before last I shot a huge cow with the .210 Nosler at 3008 FPS muzzle velocity in the shoulder at 352 yards as I recall and it busted both shoulders and I got a nickel size exit hole..all I recovered was a skinny thin wedding ring of a piece of copper jacket, almost thread like of a bullet recovery, strange, but she went about 25 yards and was dead in a pool of water and high grass..getting her out was a love of labor for an old geyser like myself, with the help of some good frinds. Was that a bullet problem, apparently not IMO, but it was different.