OK... I'm going to start using Accubonds (I think) for my whitetail hunting so that I can say I've tried them and to put a little spice in my life and give me something to argue about here.

I've used Nosler Partitions exclusively for hunting for many a year but think I'd like to try something different. The Partitions have performed flawlessly every single time I've used them... I just want to tinker.

I also have a new rifle. It's a Remmy Model 7 Custom Shop KS (5.75 pounds) with a 20" barrel chambered in 7mm-08. I've outfitted it with a Leupy Ultralight (8oz) 3-9 scope and Talley Lightweight rings. It ought to weigh in at around 6.5 pounds loaded. I am a big time walker and like to just wander the woods until I spot one and put the stalk on him. We also run them with hounds down here and I often go with the dogs so needed this lightweight rig. Anyway...

I'm not recoil shy a bit so don't recommend light bullets to save my shoulder... I'd use 175gr bullets if I thought it was the best bullet for my situation. I'm sure they'd be tough on the shoulder but I doubt I'd fire more than 2-3 per year in the field and at the bench I can use my Past Recoil Pad anyway so size doesn't matter (Not in this scenario anyway)

I thought I'd use some Accubonds to harvest some Florida Whitetail. Shots will average 40-125yds and will usually be at odd angles and often will be on running deer so I need penetration.

Size of these bucks usually runs from 100 pounds for a small spike (meat deer) to 160 pounds for a "trophy buck" (Florida Public Land WMA so no peanut gallery comments).

What size Accubond should I use? I'm leaning toward the 140gr selection because the 150gr Nosler Partition has performed so incredibly well for me in my 308's for over 20 years now.

I'm just on unfamiliar footing here. The 7mm-08 is a totally new cartridge for me and I've never used AccuBonds. Do I need a heavier bullet? Do I need to have my head checked? Am I lost without hope? Should I stick with Partitions and quit looking for a solution where there is no problem?

Comments? Suggestions? Wisecracks?

$bob$

LDHunter, I use a 7-08 mountain rifle to hunt whitetails with in north Georgia. I have not tried the Accubonds yet, but I think that the 140 grainers will work just fine for your application. I just took an 80lb doe & a 150lb buck, give or take, with the 139gr Hornady SST this past weekend. Neither of them took a step. I beleive that you will like your new rifle & caliber alot.

Ldhunter,
Try the 120gr TSX. Deep penetration and no recoil. You dont need 140gr or 175gr for the range and quarry you are going for. I use them in my 7x57 for 200lb deer here in South Tx and its the cat's pajamas. I use H4895 and run them about 2900 fps with sub 1/2 moa, one little ragged hole at 100 yards. The AB in 140 are a good choice, I have used then but the 120 TSX is a more lethal bullet with lesss recoil.

Perry

LDHunter,

Congrats on your new rifle, it sounds like a great walking rifle. Under the conditions you describe, either bullet should be lethal with a well-placed shot. With that said; the choice of bullet could determine the level of accuracy your rifle will produce. The 140grain Accubond is 1.29†long, and the 160grain is 1.49†long, so the twist of your barrel will decide which bullet is best for your rifle. The Greenhill formula list the follo0wing:

140 grain AB w/MV < 2800fps = 1-9†twist as min.
140 grain AB w/MV > 2800fps = 1-11†twist as min.

160 grain AB w/MV < 2800fps = 1-8†twist as min.
160 grain AB w/MV > 2800fps = 1-10†twist as min.

The 150grain Partition is 1.22†in length and requires the same twist as the 140 AB.

Any of these bullets should perform well, but for possible close range shots you might consider keeping the velocity under the 2800fps level. I hope this info is helpful with your decision.
Good shooting,
Dave

Bob-I'd say the 140 grain Accubond is just the ticket. I've used it in 3 differents 7mms as of late and ran it from a muzzle velocity of just 2480 fps to 3150 fps, and it has done a splendid job on some of our local wild hogs. In fact, the AB has allowed me to pull off a couple of successful doubles.

Like the Ballistic Tip, finding an accurate load is a piece of cake, a trait which makes for much quicker load development. I think the 140 grain AB would serve you well...

Also, if you want to save a buck or two, the Nosler Pro Shop recently had their 7mm, 140 grain AB seconds on sale -- something like 10.95 per 50 if memory serves. It's worth checking out.

Don't overlook the TBBC 140's. I get great groups with them in a 700 Titanium, and I have yet to have a whitetail take a single step after the shot.

AccuBonds create large wound cavities and penetrate almost as deep as similar Partitions. The 140 would work very well in your 7mm-08.

Bob,

If you are wondering about thier performance on game, I've been loading a good bit of the 140s and 160s in 7RM the last couple of years and we've taken several head of game including whitetails, wild hogs, mulies, and elk.

The whitetails, hogs, and some of the mulies were taken w/ the 140 version being pushed at a MV of 3100 fps @ 12'. I've loaded 150 of the 140s for a friend w/ a BOSS equiped stainless M70 7RM w/ a Swarovski 3.5-10x56, the rifle groups well w/ the 140s and as a matter of fact the rifle is on a Mulie hunt in the Panhandle right now. He's been very pleased w/ their performance.

I've only taken a Bull elk and a Mulie Buck w/ the 160s this season and performance was great on both animals.

One thing I will say about the 160s is they are rather long and I would imagine they are going to rob quite a bit of your powder capacity in the 08.

I don't think you'd be displeased w/ either bullet in the 08 but, the 140 IMO would give you a better overall performance at 08 velocities.

Good Luck,

Reloader

I've never used AccuBonds but have quite a bit of time behind a couple 7-08's. Recoil is not much of an issue no matter what bullet you choose but if I were going to put one on a steady diet of anything for all around hunting it would be a 140 grain projectile.

The 7-08 and 140's just work well together.

OK!!! Great Input!!! Thanks!!!

140 AccuBonds it is! I'll be comparing them with the results I've had with at least 20 years of Nosler Partition use and will report my findings here. I'm hoping for complete penetration (includes exit wound) from any angle on any and on all whitetails shot. I don't intend to weigh any bullets if I find any...

What I'm used to with Partitions is a caliber or very slightly larger entrance hole, wrecked internals but very little bloodied meat and a quarter to silver dollar sized exit hole. IMO that is perfect. 95% of all the game I've shot shows this type of wound channel and that same 95% is found less than 10 feet from where copper and lead meet fur...

Even gut shot running deer (yes... there've been a couple in the last 20 years) have expired in less than 50 feet...

The few times I've hunted with Nosler Ballistic Tips I've been sorely disappointed. They've killed seemingly as well as the Partitions in my somewhat limited experience but edible tissue damage was massive and I didn't like picking lead and copper out of the meat. Seems that they essentially fragmented on impact shredding everything in their path. I never experienced "splash effect" where they blow up on the surface but then I tend to place my shots pretty carefully...

This had nearly ruined me for plastic tipped bullets for anything but varmints and coyotes and even coyotes end up getting more Partitions flung at them than Ballistic Tips. Yes... They perform flawlessly on coyotes too...

Anyway... I've always wanted a "plastic tipped Partition with the accuracy of a Ballistic Tip" and have carefully followed reported field data for years and have decided that the Accubonds deserved a try.

Honestly I expect to go running back to Partitions but will do my best to be objective and sincere about true comparisons.

IMO there are only two things that keep Partitions from being perfect. One is that the tips are lead and the lead deforms easily from feeding ramps and the impact from the front of the magazine well on recoil. You end up with flat tipped bullets... <sigh> Two is that they're not quite as accurate as the plastic tipped bullets beyond 250-300yds and that can make a difference if you end up with a long shot when you're expecting a short one and might have your "brush gun" with with Partitions in it at that moment.

In summary... I'm hoping that the AccuBond flies like a Ballistic Tip and kills like a Partition. If that's too much to ask then... Well... It's probably back to Partitions for me...

$bob$

L D,
The whitetails aren't tough at all you know. The 120's or 140's will work great in 7mm08. I got hooked on that caliber a long time ago and just can't find anything that would change my mind after nearly 25 yrs with it.

OK... Just got off the phone with Mike, a technician at Nosler, and he told me that the AccuBond would open a little bit faster than a Partition but that I shouldnt have any problems with full penetration.

He also said that I could expect them to have accuracy similar to the Ballistic Tip and that the 140gr weight would likely be optimal for the whitetail I'm shooting.

Dwight... Yep... I'm a dyed in the wool 308 fan but am the first to tell you that there isn't much difference between the 7mm-08 and the 308. It'll be interesting to discover the subtleties as they unfold.

$bob$

I would never knock the parent 308 which is a wonderful round. I got my first 7mm08 in 1982 to replace a less than desirable 30-06 adl and got seriously hooked. I will pump the 7mm08 as long as I can hunt deer but never knock the 308. I am tempted to buy an LTR 308 just to put in the safe. I love 20" varmint barrels.
My original 7mm08 is now sitting in a H-S precision stock like the one on the VSSF-II and really feels good my hands. I believe it is the same as the police model also.

140

LD,
I just built a spare 7mm08 and here is something that I like about both rifles. This weekend I shot the new one with a load developed for the other rifle and shot 9 160 gr sierras in a .6 group. The next group was with 9 100 gr sierras in a .5 group which was a load for the other rifle. They like Varget, IMR 4895, H4895 and h4350. H4350 gave me .260 group with my original rifle with 160 gr sierra HPBT.

LDHunter,

If it was Mike Lake you got good info. Mike knows more about how hunting bullets work and kill than about anyone I know.

I used 160 gr Accubonds on my bull elk and had full penetration (exit) on lung shots. The 140 should be the ticket

Dwight,

Cool... That's good news because I'm hooked on Varget. It shoots the same on a 100 degree day at the range as it does in subzero snowstorms in the Rockies.

It's also fantastically accurate and get's great velocity in almost all my rifles. Versatile and not finicky.

Long live Varget powder, Nosler bullets, and Winchester primers and brass!

Where you at in Florida? I'm in Tallahassee and hunt Apalachicola NF.

$bob$

Port Orange on the South side of Daytona Beach. Hunt in Lumpkin Ga. I haven't found a good spot in Fl yet. I know I don't care to hunt down here in the palmetto bushes.

Dwight,

Yep.. Palmettos all over the state and I have to put up with 'em too... Most Florida hunters that can afford it hunt in Georgia, Alabama, or South Carolina.

I'm just crazy enough to like it the way it is although I must admit I kill WAAAAAAY less deer and they're substantially smaller than if I hunted a lease. I like it for the challenge but one day will probably buy some land and manage it strictly for whitetails.

I currently feed about 10 deer nightly in my back yard. I can tell you that I really enjoy it and can see myself with 10-100 acres and herds of deer. I'd like it to be adjoining a large tract of public land and have the deer be free to roam in and out as they pleased.

I imagine that poachers would provide me with a lot of headaches but that's life...

Yes... I think that's the Mike that I've talked to at Nosler many a time before. He talks in a very matter of fact voice and seems to REALLY know his stuff. I hunt almost exclusively with Nosler bullets. The only exception is I use V-Maxs for prairie dogs and my handgun bullets are XTP's.

$bob$

Hello LD!

Not to be a wet blanket, but...

I shot two Whitetail bucks this fall (3 actually; the 3rd isn't relevant though) with the 140 gr. .277 Accubond at 2970 fps.

The first was a big Nebraska deer--practically a hog--close to 300 lbs. The shot was about 70 yards on a slight down-hill angle, quartering away. The bullet hit high in the right shoulder at the juncture of the neck, passed through the upper portions of the lungs, and exited the opposite side of the neck. The deer dropped in its tracks and was dead inside of 20 or 30 seconds.

The second buck I shot in Wisconsin. This deer was probably in the neighborhood of 175 lbs. Same load, but shot at a range of about 90 yards. The deer was, again, quartering away. The shot broke its left shoulder, completely demolished the heart, jellied the front of the lungs, and passed through the right shoulder. This deer also dropped in its tracks and died inside of half a minute. I found the bullet under the hide in the right shoulder.

The surprising thing about the second deer was that there was absolutely no blood anywhere--none at all! The entry would was caliber sized. After I rolled the deer around a bit to dress it, some blood did come out the nose & mouth.

I wonder how much it would have bled if it had run off?!

Penetration on the second deer (where I recovered the bullet) was something like...maybe 14 inches. The bullet weighed about 89 grains, or 60-ish percent. The mushroom was text-book Accubond. If someone can help me post a pic, I'd be happy to display it.

The bullet for the first deer--the big one--probably traveled through, I'm going to guess 18 inches of animal before exiting. But regardless of exactly how far it actually was, I very much consider this bigger deer to have been a more strenuous test of the bullet. Why the bullet exited on the bigger deer, and not on the smaller, is anyone's guess.

I suppose it just goes to show that anything can happen with hunting & shooting; there are no guarantees!

Good luck with the Accubonds,

friar

friarmeier,

You're not being a wet blanket at all... That's what data is all about... The good, the bad, and the ugly...

I appreciate the input. I'm the first to admit that I'm on very unfamiliar ground with the Accubond, having been totally reliant on Partitions for quite a few years now.

Sounds like the deer died quite timely deaths but I share the concern with you that they didn't exit and if the deer hadn't died so quickly you wouldn't have had a blood trail to follow up on.

I expect a good hunting bullet to exit and my love affair with Accubonds may very well be an overnight fling and I may go running back to my old familiar "main squeeze"... The Partition... They ain't purty but they certainly get the job done... No excuses...

Time will tell...

$bob$

I've been using 140 gr Nosler partitions for years in an old Husqvarna 7x57. They have always did the job. I see no reason to change, but just don't like the exposed lead tip. Wouldn't it be great if Nosler could hybridize the good ol' Partition by doing away with the exposed lead and putting on a polycarbonate tip as on the Ballistic tip and Accubonds?
On the other hand. If I were to change. Think I'd be looking into a "lead free" bullet as is the Barnes X line. It will be sooner than we think, but we will be soon required to use only "lead free" bullets. It will happen in 2008 in my other hunting ground, Sweden I am told.