Hi Guys:

I was just reading an article on the new Nosler Accubond bullets and ammo being produced by Federal.

Has anyone tried this new ammo or bullet yet. I ordered a box from Cabelas to see how they perform. I ordered the factory fodder to give it a go.

Fedreral has a mind boggleing amount of different bullets to choose from.

This new Nosler Accubond is supposed to expand like crazy and still retain about 70% of its original bullet weight. I was thinking about the 260 grn. 375 H&H caliber might make a pretty good Leopard load @ around 2800 FPS. I am heading to Zim in June for Mr. Spots and plan on using a 300 RUM with 180 grn Nosler Partitions, but I am taking my 375 for backup.

Let me know if anyone tried this new ammo yet...

Regards... Jim P.

I haven't tried the Fed ammo yet, but did use the AccuBonds in handloads. I took a few animals in Namibia last year and 2 deer in Pa this past season(370 and 240 yards). .300Win Mag, 1 a Rem 700LSS and 2 a custom heavy barreled Win M70.

The Rem I used in Namibia was a piece of inaccurate garbage(another story in itself), I got the best accuracy 1.5 to 2 MOA)with my handloads with the Accubonds. I tried 6 different brands of ammo and weights of bullets, nothing shot well (2 to 3 MOA). I also tried several other bullets in handloaded ammo, no joy.

The custom gun shot the AccuBonds as accurate as any match bullet I have used(factory made or handmade by a small bullet maker). Sub-MOA out to 400 yards.

I only recovered 1 bullet, the first shot on my Blesbok. A little over 300 yards, it would have been perfect if I had doped the wind better. It entered the rear leg, went through the guts and liver and stopped under the hide behind the far side front shoulder.

Here is a pic of the recovered bullet, the paper says hartebeest, but it is from the blesbok:

Thanks for the information, I would have hoped for more retained weight than that. I can't really see in the picture, did the jacket stay together and the lead scrubbed off?

That is pretty good penetration, though.

Well that is 69%, not bad since it did break the rear leg bone and on the way through punched a rib. I didn't mention that, did I?

Yes the core is gone from the front of the bullet, but there is lead left on the peeled back jacket. I am pleased with the performance of these bullets and will use them in the future. In fact I will probably use them in Namibia this July.

I have a new custom lightweight rifle on the way(hopefully, you know how gunsmiths are) and am ready to try these Noslers in this rifle. I also want to try the new 180gr version as this new rifle will have a 1 in 11" twist barrel. The two other rifles were 1 in 10".

If all goes well, I will use these bullets on Kudu, Gemsbok, springbok, and warthogs. I also might want to shoot a giraffe, but I might use something bigger. (I have a .600 Overkill being built right now )

Hi George:

Thanks for the info. That 200 grain bullet was like 68% after recovery... the ratings say between 70 & 80 percent weight retention. Like you said it did mucho damage in its course of travel.

My favorite big game bullets are Swift Aframes & Nosler Partitions. I usually have no problems getting the Swifts to shoot with my handloads. I think, just in case that I have to use my 375 H&H for Mr. Spots that they wouldn't expand enough.

I am a big fan of the 270 WSM 130 grain ballistic tips on deer. I was sort of looking for something like that for big game in the 375 H&H. I hope the Accubond is it.

Regards.... Jim P.

Hi Jim,
One of these days I have to try the AccuBonds in my .375. I really never shoot it anymore.

Now, if they would just produce an AccuBond in .416, maybe 350grs or so...

That would be great!