Bonded vs Non Bonded - Accubond vs Berger or SST or Ballistic Tip

[LVJ76]

This past deer season I took a coues with a 168gr Berger with my 7mm Rem Mag, my first kill with a Berger and total destruction of vitals, dead on the spot.

I've taken several deer with the 139gr SST with my 7mm-08 with the same results, quick kill with vitals turned to smush. Some deer with 120gr Ballistic Tips and also the same results.

Now, my buddy took a coues with a 270 WSM and a 140gr Accubond, result was a slower death, bullet went through one rib and both lungs and rested under the skin the on the opposite side. The damage to the lungs was not as severe, a decent hole through them but still complete.

Last week I took a javelina with a 140gr Accubond with my 7mm-08, now usually I take these down with head and neck shots to preserve the little meat they have. In this case his head was behind some prickly pear cacti so lung shot it was, and to the ground he fell. About 15 minutes later as I approached him he pops up about 15 yards in front of me takes a few steps then slowly lays down and expires. Lungs were complete with a nice hole on them but still pretty complete. Now I have taken a couple of these desert pigs with lung shots in the past with SST and BT's and there were no lungs left.

I know bonded bulllets. Are designed to hold together, punch through bone and leave and exit wound, but I don't see them providing a fast kill. The deer I have killed with soft bullets I have pretty much always gotten exit holes and a quick kill.

Now on an elk I get it, its a tougher animal, but I would still want a fast kill, especially on this animal, and I dont see a bonded bullet doing this if they all (Accubond, Interbond, etc) behave the same.

Now I tried these Accubonds because I had some laying around and said why not, heard and read good things but now I'm convinced they don't do what I want. Animals don't bleed out as fast.

Just wanted to share my experience with them.

Stay safe all and enjoy your weekend

 

[nwmnbowhunter]

I had exact same result from accubond vs sst.

For deer sst are hard to beat, for elk I'd go accubond.

 

[LVJ76]

Thanks and I agree on the deer but for elk I'm thinking 180gr VLDH or 162gr SST for the 7mm Rem Mag and 168gr VLDH for the 7mm-08. The damage I saw just was not enough in my eyes to see an Elk die quickly, I can almost see them running for quite a while.

 

[can1010]

I have found to get the results your looking for the Accubonds ran at high velocity will give you what your looking for
I run 150 AB in a 300 wm and it gives the explosive results and complete pass through

 

[elkaholic]

I have found to get the results your looking for the Accubonds ran at high velocity will give you what your looking for
I run 150 AB in a 300 wm and it gives the explosive results and complete pass through

I would agree with that! The reverse is use a lot of mass with a Bergerj, i.e. go heavy

 

[can1010]

I would agree with that! The reverse is use a lot of mass with a Bergerj, i.e. go heavy

back when the AB was developed late 90s early 2000s velocity was king. everybody was bigger cartridges faster bullets

 

[LRNut]

back when the AB was developed late 90s early 2000s velocity was king. everybody was bigger cartridges faster bullets

I shot an antelope with a 300 Berger from my Edge this past August; went thru him with a 2" exit hole. Still ran 150 yards.

The one bullet I have lost confidence in a the Barnes. I shot a grizzly bear a few years ago right behind his front leg as he was quartering away. His right leg (opposite side) flew up in the air and smacked to the ground, only to get up and run into a massive alder patch (like kilometers wide and long). It was very near dark, so my guide said we would return the next morning to fetch him. That night it rained all night and the only blood we found was on an upside down leaf.

I thought maybe I hit him too high. Eight months later I took a shot at a kudu with the same load. Kudu didn't flinch. PH said, "You hit him good, just wait."

Kudu starts to feed a bit, then walks away. PH says shoot him again, so I did and he dropped. When we skinned him we saw the Barnes completely penciled through its lungs. Made me wonder if that is what happened to my grizz bear the fall before. Who knows? That same bullet, a 225 .338 Barnes, has killed an African lion and leopard in Tanzania (pretty soft) as well as all kinds of plains game in three other Tanz hunts, two in Namibia, one in Zim (although I did shoot my leopard on that hunt with a Hornady 225 cup and core), a pile of 6x6 elk, four moose in AK/BC and the Yukon, and god knows what else.

I guess if you hunt long enough, s*&t happens.

 

[LVJ76]

I would agree with that! The reverse is use a lot of mass with a Bergerj, i.e. go heavy

Thanks Rich, and I agree.

Growing up hunting in Mexico bullets weren't easily accessible, usually could get Sierras and sometimes Noslers. We used the 140gr Gamekings SPBT's on coues and 160gr for the big desert mulies, so yeah went with heavier bullets on larger animals. Thats the plan with the Bergers.

On the 7mm-08 I can also switch from the 139gr SST to the 162gr SST. I've seen what the 162gr SST does to an elk and it is impressive.

Stay safe

 

[LVJ76]

I have found to get the results your looking for the Accubonds ran at high velocity will give you what your looking for
I run 150 AB in a 300 wm and it gives the explosive results and complete pass through

Thanks can1010.

I could run the 140gr Accubond or 139gr Interbond on the 7mm Rem Mag.

Will they turn the lungs to jello though?

 

[LVJ76]

I shot an antelope with a 300 Berger from my Edge this past August; went thru him with a 2" exit hole. Still ran 150 yards.

The one bullet I have lost confidence in a the Barnes. I shot a grizzly bear a few years ago right behind his front leg as he was quartering away. His right leg (opposite side) flew up in the air and smacked to the ground, only to get up and run into a massive alder patch (like kilometers wide and long). It was very near dark, so my guide said we would return the next morning to fetch him. That night it rained all night and the only blood we found was on an upside down leaf.

I thought maybe I hit him too high. Eight months later I took a shot at a kudu with the same load. Kudu didn't flinch. PH said, "You hit him good, just wait."

Kudu starts to feed a bit, then walks away. PH says shoot him again, so I did and he dropped. When we skinned him we saw the Barnes completely penciled through its lungs. Made me wonder if that is what happened to my grizz bear the fall before. Who knows? That same bullet, a 225 .338 Barnes, has killed an African lion and leopard in Tanzania (pretty soft) as well as all kinds of plains game in three other Tanz hunts, two in Namibia, one in Zim (although I did shoot my leopard on that hunt with a Hornady 225 cup and core), a pile of 6x6 elk, four moose in AK/BC and the Yukon, and god knows what else.

I guess if you hunt long enough, s*&t happens.

S#&t does happen, sometimes things dont go as planned.

 

[sierracharlie338]

The interbond and Accubond don't perform the same in my experience. The interbond performed more like an interlock for me out to 300ish yards. I shot two whitetail this year with an Accubond for the first time. Both died but not the performance I wanted. Will be looking for a load around the 3100fps range for a 25cal Accubond

 

[LVJ76]

The interbond and Accubond don't perform the same in my experience. The interbond performed more like an interlock for me out to 300ish yards. I shot two whitetail this year with an Accubond for the first time. Both died but not the performance I wanted. Will be looking for a load around the 3100fps range for a 25cal Accubond

Thanks Sierracharlie.

The 139gr Interlock has worked great on the 7mm-08. My godson took his first deer and my buddy's kid as well with one of my rifles both with the 139gr and vitals were badly damaged and almost nothing left, kills were fast, nothing like what I saw with the Accubond. Me personally I'd rather use an Interlock than an Accubond, but that's just me.

Thanks again

 

[Plinker147]

I alway prefer the fragmenting bullet over the high retention type. Berger EH are my bullet of choice in most of my rifles. Shot BT's a lot and they shed 50% and usually stop under off side hide. Used my fair share of Accubnds too. Only one I shot stayed in the animal, the rest passed through with small to average wound channels but all dead. I shot a bull this year with 200 gr AB, bull just stood for 20 seconds then tip over dead.

I would use any of those bullets mentioned with confidence. But through my experience at harvesting game, the fragmenting kill better and quicker so that's what I choose. I don't knock the high retention, they do just as they are designed to but not my first choice.

 

[Saskquatch6]

We use mid-weight for caliber AB's and Interbonds in our hunting loads for deer and moose - all with MV's of about 3000-3100 FPS. 300WSM = 165 gr AB or IB, 270Win = 140 AB, 6.5X55AI = 130 or 140 AB. We have sometimes used these same (300WSM) loads on elk and they always did the job, but when we step up a little to 168 TTSX or 180 AB's they tend to hit harder and always with more authority. Performance of these bonded bullets on our northern deer has been outstanding out to about 600 yards and I have not yet experienced the "penciling" others have. Shots on Moose and elk have all been within 400 yards and velocity at that range is high enough for these bullets to perform well on the bigger animals. I personally began to run the tougher bonded bullets in our faster hunting cartridges after having 2 different situations a year apart where - inside 100 yards on big Whitetail bucks - a 165 gr cup/core SST and a 165 BT essentially blew up after hitting bone on shoulder and (front) leg. They were good shots and the animals died (after 2nd shots), but both deer looked like a grenade went off on the close side, shrapnel was everywhere, and neither bullet exited. However, we do use regular c/c bullets when hunting antelope with same cartridges and go with same weight c/c Nosler BT's, Sierra SPBT or Gamechangers or SST's with great results. In our 6.5x55SE's we have settled on the 130 Sierra GC (2750 fps) and performance on antelope and deer has been devastating.
PS - haven't yet used the Bergers but hear so much positive about them here on LRH that I'm planning to give them a try this spring (provided I can find some on the shelves). JME