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I wonder if the small, for caliber, size of this bullet helped it to stay together at long range.
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The 225 is not small for caliber. The 180 and 200 grain accubonds are small for caliber. The 225 is medium weight and there have already been unsubstantiated claims by former members of our board that it was too small to work. Well, I think this hunt puts that debate to rest!
It is not always about bullet weight when it comes to killing. You could shoot a 400 grain VLD FMJ with a bc of 1.00 from this rifle and it would not kill near as effectively as the 225 AB because of it's contruction. Some bullets are meant to fly through paper and some are meant to fly through bone. Now, the 300 MK has been used with good results by some (including myself) but I still think the AB's work better for game.
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Would a say 300gr accubond shed some weight due to the more mass of the bullet??
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It would all depend on the construction. Yes this bullet has more material to lose but if the jacket was tough, it might not lose any. And Sierra jackets are tougher than most.
Sierra doesn't give expected weight retention percentages on MK's because they don't recommend them for game. NOsler says that the AB's are supposed to hold from 60 to 70 percent of their original weight. From my own testing, I would say that the 250 grain .338 Mk's are unreliable in their weight retention. Some had 100% retention and could almost be reloaded and then some blew like a bomb and only had about 50% retention. I simply chose not to gamble when it game to this aspect of hunting. A big bull elk is a tough critter with huge bones and muscle tissues and the hide on this particular elk was at least 1.5" thick. I wish I had taken more pics of the body of the elk with the hunter sitting on it. It was nearly the size of a good quarter horse from brisket to backbone. It takes a bullet that works all the time to bring down an animal like that, not just half the time.
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Good showing of the accubond, very impressive
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I agree! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif