i am shooting a 300 weatherby mag with 180 accubonds i **** a deer at 125 yards quartering away in the crease behind the shoulder and it didn't pass thru. The deer dropped in his tracks never moved but it must have blown up Are these any good and anyone else have problems with them.
180 NOSLER ACCUBONDS ANY GOOD!!
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ATH
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You shot the deer at close range with one of the highest velocity for caliber cartridges. There are no perfect bullets. In other words, if you want a bullet to be able to open at long range it will tend to come apart to some degree at closer ranges.
In your particular case, without more detail, it is hard to say what happened. Did you clean the deer and figure what happened? You say it "must have blown up" but what did you find when you processed the deer? I can see if it hit the full structure of the far side shoulder how it might not exit.
In this case, it is hard to say the bullet failed when the deer dropped. Exits are always nice but I'd say with your range and cartridge I wouldn't necessarily expect it. Such rounds tend to be carnage at short ranges.
One of my most reliable deer killers is a 44Mag carbine with 240gr XTPs. Almost invariably, shooting into the shoulders, the jacket catches in the offside hide and the lead alone exits. But the deer are very very dead so I am very very happy with it.
In your particular case, without more detail, it is hard to say what happened. Did you clean the deer and figure what happened? You say it "must have blown up" but what did you find when you processed the deer? I can see if it hit the full structure of the far side shoulder how it might not exit.
In this case, it is hard to say the bullet failed when the deer dropped. Exits are always nice but I'd say with your range and cartridge I wouldn't necessarily expect it. Such rounds tend to be carnage at short ranges.
One of my most reliable deer killers is a 44Mag carbine with 240gr XTPs. Almost invariably, shooting into the shoulders, the jacket catches in the offside hide and the lead alone exits. But the deer are very very dead so I am very very happy with it.
Thank you for the reply. Honestly I can't give you the details. I was in Saskatchewan on a deer hunt last week and shot a giant 178" 280lbs deer. The outfitter brings the deer to a guy that guys and skins them and he asked what bullet and then said it didn't exit I looked in the chest cavity and there was the entrance which did huge damage since it was quartering away it went rite in the crease of the shoulder and destroyed it I could not find an exit but he split the carcass rite thru the brisket where it should have exited. I would love to keep using this bullet since it is very accurate what do you think keep shooting it?
Riflehunter1776
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interesting. For about 15 years I used to hunt exclusively with nosler ballistic tips and often experienced that same result (the bullet exploding into shrapnel); in fact they would sometimes start to come apart when going through light brush. So as the area I hunted began to get thicker due to logging, I eventually stopped using the BT's and tried the accubond. But only once - my only experience with that was a 200 yard shot, a 300 win mag/150gr accubond that went through the ribcage, seemingly without opening at all. There was a minimal blood trail and I was lucky to find the deer 100 yards downhill thanks to the snow. So I figured the BT was too frangible and the AB was too tough, and I switched brands all together.
After that I tried and stuck with the Barnes bullets for any kind of hunting in thick areas. I've killed quite a few buck now with that bullet in various calibers, and have not experienced any failures. Most open up nicely and leave a decent exit wound, but the last one I shot hit the off shoulder and I recovered it, nicely mushroomed.
For doe I still use the BT's though, as I usually hunt them over open fields.
After that I tried and stuck with the Barnes bullets for any kind of hunting in thick areas. I've killed quite a few buck now with that bullet in various calibers, and have not experienced any failures. Most open up nicely and leave a decent exit wound, but the last one I shot hit the off shoulder and I recovered it, nicely mushroomed.
For doe I still use the BT's though, as I usually hunt them over open fields.
You killed the deer so the bullet did it's job. This was a BIG deer and you shot it at only 125 yards with a SMOKING round. Impact velocity was still VERY HIGH. You did not find the bullet so you can't say one way or the other what happened. From my experience with Accubonds and HIGH velocity. I shoot the 130 gr Accubond out of my 27 3/4" barrel 264 Win mag at average muzzle velocity of 3350 fps. I have shot over a dozen white tail deer in the 130 to 200 lb. range from north east NC from about 25 yards out to a touch over 500 yards. The bullet seems to react about the same. I usually shoot through the shoulders and the bullet goes in destroys the vitals and exits with about a nickel size hole in the hide and the deer drop in their tracks. I have only recovered one bullet. It was shot into a 200 ish lb buck at 111 yards that was facing me with just a slight left front shoulder angled at me. I placed the bullet on the edge of the shoulder. The buck fell back on his butt and then on his side dead as a hammer. When I cleaned him I found that the bullet had smashed the front shoulder then traveled length wise of the deer taking out the lungs and liver and guts and was found against the smashed ball socket of the right ham. The bullet was a text book mushroom and weight was 87 grs. This bullet still had to be doing over 3100 fps at impact. This is the only Accubond that I have ever not had exit. If your 180 Accubond is accurate in your rifle and it killed that huge deer I would keep using it. Just my 2 cents worth.
Rt2506 I'm glad you said that I just wanted some reinsurance from someone that knows more about it then me and your round is screaming also so I'm going to keep shooting it. It's very accurate out of my rifle and like I said I didn't gut or skin the deer maybe the guy had no clue on what he was talking about thanks for replying craig
My wife shot her buck this year at 307 yards with a 264wm also. The 130 AB are running 3100+FPS...I didn't think it exited but when skinning her buck I found an exit hole about as big around as my finger. He was DRT so no tracking was needed...I was expecting a huge exit the way he went down...bullet hit the point of the near shoulder...inside he was mush...heart, lungs, wind pipe and esophagus were severed...exit was just behind the shoulder bones of off shoulder.
Like your deer...why worry if they are DRT...I'm seeing a lot of this in different threads around here.
Like your deer...why worry if they are DRT...I'm seeing a lot of this in different threads around here.
HARPERC
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Step up to the 200 grain, and I think you'll be happier.
I've recovered the 225, 338's from small deer, launched at RUM, Edge velocities.
They didn't "blow up". Rather they expanded very well-and pushing a large frontal area generally requires more weight behind it. Never recover 250's.
No guarantee's with any of them, but probabilities favor the heavier per caliber bullets. There are also bullet types that more likely give you an exit hole.
Congratulations on the nice deer-Definitely would like to hear the rest of the story outfitter etc. If you'd care to share it.
I've recovered the 225, 338's from small deer, launched at RUM, Edge velocities.
They didn't "blow up". Rather they expanded very well-and pushing a large frontal area generally requires more weight behind it. Never recover 250's.
No guarantee's with any of them, but probabilities favor the heavier per caliber bullets. There are also bullet types that more likely give you an exit hole.
Congratulations on the nice deer-Definitely would like to hear the rest of the story outfitter etc. If you'd care to share it.
shooter1975
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Just so you know how a 180 grain Partition bullet will do, the bottom photo is the 180 grain partion shot out of a 300 rum at a 200lb hog at 110 yards. The hog was facing me and the bullet entered the front chest and got lodged under the skin in the rear ham. It traveled the whole length of his body and went through his rear leg bone!!! It netted 130 grain after recovery.
shooter1975
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That was a Partion. Never had to track the hog!!!! Lol!! DRT!
Riflehunter1776
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I've never had a partition shoot as accurately as an accubond or BT. That's not to say they are inaccurate IMO, just not as accurate in my experience. For example, trying several load combos with a 6.5-06 at the 100yd range just now, the best 100 gr BT's grouped .386; 130 AB's grouped .429 and the 100gr partitions went into about a 2+ inch group.
For hunting accuracy they are perfectly adequate, and their terminal performance is certainly proven, but I guess it just depends on what you expect from the rifle. Where I hunt, I sometimes have to thread bullets between small spaces in branches and brush over 200 yard distances and I feel better with the best possible accuracy, so long as the bullet performs suitably well.
(this is a rifle I'd hunt doe with over longer distances in open fields, so I'm considering the BT here.....usually I use Barnes bullets in a different rifle if I'm hoping to see a nice buck in heavy cover)
For hunting accuracy they are perfectly adequate, and their terminal performance is certainly proven, but I guess it just depends on what you expect from the rifle. Where I hunt, I sometimes have to thread bullets between small spaces in branches and brush over 200 yard distances and I feel better with the best possible accuracy, so long as the bullet performs suitably well.
(this is a rifle I'd hunt doe with over longer distances in open fields, so I'm considering the BT here.....usually I use Barnes bullets in a different rifle if I'm hoping to see a nice buck in heavy cover)
If you are trying to shoot long range all of the partition bullets I could use have very poor BC, so they've been left out of consideration. I do plan to load them for a 6.5 X 55 that I built on a mauser action. I will hump them up to speed, but doubt I will ever use it as a long range hunter. Built it for my 6yo grandson when he gets old enough to shoot it.
