About Accubond bullets

snake284

How do they compare as to frangibility to a game king, a ballistics tip or a Partition?

I want to try another bullet in my .257 AI. I like 110g - 117 g. Accubonds come in 110 grain .257 bullets.

Just from what I'm reading I'm guessing they're somewhere between a Ballisitic Tip and a Partition. What is your opinion?

For deer size game I like them stout enough to penetrate but frangible once inside. So where do Accubonds stand?

Six-Gun

Seeing as though that they are bonded, they are not at all frangible. I used them on African plains game and saw ~75% retained weight - not bad at all.

That said, I have since stopped using them. I have tried their 7mm offering in several different guns/chamberings and had the same experience: unpredictable, uncalled flyers that strike well outside of the primary group. Same bullet, same results in 7mm-08, 7mm WSM and .284 Winchester. I believe other members on here have had the same gripe. That simply won't do for a bullet that I'm hanging on a hunt involving a 1,000+ mile trip.

MileHighShooter

they put a real hurtin' on the bull that JB shot, don't know if I'd load them up for the greyhounds you got down there though. Meant for deeper penetration with controlled expansion. I'd say its a lot closer to the partition then to the b-tips.

jbohio

MileHighShooter wrote: »

they put a real hurtin' on the bull that JB shot, don't know if I'd load them up for the greyhounds you got down there though. Meant for deeper penetration with controlled expansion. I'd say its a lot closer to the partition then to the b-tips.

Yep. Probably too tough for small deer.

Mine left the muzzle at 3100+fps, hit the bull at ~220 yards, went through a bushel of wet grass in its belly, most organs, and out the point of his shoulder.

Zee

jbohio wrote: »

Yep. Probably too tough for small deer.

Yep.

snake284

Zee wrote: »

Yep.

OK this is exactly what I wanted to hear from you guys. I wish someone would make a 110 grain .257 that is a bit more frangible. This is strictly for deer and hogs. I guess I'll try the 117 grain Game Kings. I have the Ballistics Tips 115s, just have had some not so great peformance with deer going 60+ yards after a heart lung shot. I want something to put em down before they make it into the thick brush.

I know this doesn't make sense because Ballistics Tips are very frangible, but I have had lackluster performance with them and they cost twice as much.

Zee

cpj wrote: »

One deer isn't science data. Not all deer drop on the spot, regardless of the hit or rifle cartridge chosen.

This.

Focus more on shot placement/post shot observation/tracking and less on finding a magic bullet. They don't exist.

Varmintmist

All deer are different, but you could go to Pro Hunters. They are supposedly a bit softer. The ones I loaded in the daughters 30-30 didnt make the other side and left a lot of destruction behind.

The other option is a Horandy cup and core Interlock. The son has had a lot of luck with the 25-06

Jermanator

Snake-- I don't think I would want anything more frangible than the NBT's because in reality you are getting into varmint grade bullets. About the only real way to not get them to go far is to bust them in the shoulder, and even then it isn't a sure thing. I understand your concern that once they go off into the thick stuff, that you are going to have a much more difficult time locating the animal, but that is a risk you have to take while hunting. From what I have seen since we have been doing postmortems is that pretty much every bullet performs well within reason. That, and deer and hogs aren't all that hard to kill. If you use any decent non premium bullet (6mm and up) and put it where it needs to go, you will do just fine.

jbohio

Snake, the only way to achieve what you're talking about, take same bullet, drive it faster. The faster it goes, the more dramatic the result.
Run a 130 in your 300WBY.

snake284

cpj wrote: »

One deer isn't science data. Not all deer drop on the spot, regardless of the hit or rifle cartridge chosen.

I'm not talking one deer. I know that. I'm talking about several failures to put down fast. I had some NBT in my .280 a number of years back. The deer I hit well, but it laid down in tall grass where a park ranger found his body imprint in blood on the grass. Then it got up and jumped the fence. The ranger figures it ran down and crossed the local river and died wherewe couldn't find it. Then I shot a deer with my .257 AI a few years back that we didn't find for awhile. It was hit well but didn't go down immediately. It could have very well been lost. Then this last deer I shot last week. He didn't even look like he'd been hit and yet he walked off 60 yards and died. Game Kings have not done that, at least not consistently. I think I've had one deer run a ways with Game Kings. And I've shot at lots of deer with them. Maybe it's just me, but the bottom line is the NBT don't give me the "Warm and Fuzzy." So I'm trying something else in the .257.

JerryBobCo

If you've had such good success with Game Kings, why try other bullets?

Jermanator

And I think if you would want anything, it would be less frangible and not more. If I was losing animals due to poor bullet performance, I would want to switch to something less frangible than a NBT-- they have a reputation for making superficial wounds at close range/high velocity impacts. If Game Kings work, keep using them!

jbohio

Seriously, a well hit deer, who dies inside of 100 yards, is great. Superb bullet performance.
If you want them to drop on the spot, you need to shoot them in the head/CNS.

snake284

JerryBobCo wrote: »

If you've had such good success with Game Kings, why try other bullets?

That's what I'll probably end up doing in the .257. I just ordered some Game Kings. The thing I don't like is they're 117 grain. Sierra doesn't make a 115 grain. If they did I would already be shooting them. But since I HAVE had better luck with Sierras, I'm going to try the 117 grains.

snake284

jbohio wrote: »

Snake, the only way to achieve what you're talking about, take same bullet, drive it faster. The faster it goes, the more dramatic the result.
Run a 130 in your 300WBY.

I have a great load for the Weatherby, not that I've killed anything with it. But it pushes 180 grain Game Kings at right at 3200 FPS. I have faith that will kill anything I point it at. But I agree with you, speed kills.

snake284

jbohio wrote: »

Seriously, a well hit deer, who dies inside of 100 yards, is great. Superb bullet performance.
If you want them to drop on the spot, you need to shoot them in the head/CNS.

You're probably right. And seriously, not to push the .270 in this thread, but it has killed very well with 130 grain Game Kings pushed to right at 3100 FPS. The kind of performance I've had with it will spoil you. I have as much faith in my .280, just not the bullet I'm using. So I'm going to get me some 7mm Game Kings and I believe it will match the .270s record if not surpass it. Here again, the 150 grain NBTs pushed at just a shade under 3000 FPS are very accurate in that rifle. But here again, as with the .257 AI, I have experienced failures. So I guess I'll try some 150 grain Game Kings, IF I can find some. I'll try the 117 GKs in the .257 and the 150 grain GKs in the .280 and see how they work. Again, like you said, maybe I'm expecting too much. Maybe I've just had good luck with the Game Kings, and bad with the Ballistic Tips. I suppose stranger things have happened. I will see.

Varmintmist

for the 25 cal, http://www.midwayusa.com/product/381022/sierra-gameking-bullets-25-caliber-257-diameter-100-grain-spitzer-boat-tail-box-of-100
or