Elk hunting 2015 problems with .338 225 accubond

[Pdvdh]

As I was gutting him it looks like ALL of the accubonds buzzed right through like a full metal jacket doing no damage.

That's unreal, and obviously a batch of defective bullets. No one is so unlucky as to experience 0 for 5 - no expansion. I consider non-expansion to be the most disgusting mode of bullet failure possible, in an expanding hunting bullet. I've experienced it with Nosler Ballistic tips, as well as Berger VLDs. You can prep everything properly, set up and execute properly, and still be instantly thrown into a three ring circus if a bullet pencils thru the ribs. I've not been lucky enough to have them tumble. Caliber hole entrance. Caliber hole exit. Just like shooting an arrow thru the animal with a field tip.

Never yet experienced failure to expand with an Accubond. In fact I've had good performance from every Accubond I've killed game with so far - in both .284 and .308 caliber bullets. Haven't used them for a number of years now, but not because they didn't perform/expand. How old were these 225gr Accubonds? I purchased a box of 50 maybe 8-10 years ago, and the stems on the white plastic tips deteriorated on some of them, to the point they fell out of the bullets. I found white plastic tips and small crumbles of white plastic in the box, solely from sitting on the shelf in my reloading room. Nosler said they had a problem with corrosion/deterioration of their plastic tips for a short period of time before correcting that problem. They sent me a new box of 250gr Accubonds at my request, to replace the faulty box of bullets in my possession.

Other than shooting thru an animal with no expansion, another concern is a bullet that expands so quickly that the vitals aren't reached on a large game animal. Particularly if the animal has large teeth, claws, and/or hooves and is charging at close range. Never had a complete blowup yet. Likely won't, as I shoot into the ribs - broadside profile when possible - so it doesn't take much bullet structure to reach the vitals.

Glad you recovered your elk.

 

[WildRose]

I completely agree with the above statement. My favorite effect is where the animal never leaves my sight after being shot. It has been my experience that this is most likely to happen when a rapid expanding bullet delivers maximum energy and a sizable wound channel.

Like many here I've shot enough game animals over the years to see some really weird stuff including that precise effect.

Last year I shot a really nice 10pt White tail at around 300yds if I remember right with the 300mag 180gr Swift SiroccoII. Perfect shot just about dead center of the chest right above the sternum. The SiroccoII does not break up, at least not that I've seen but they are a fairly soft bonded bullet that occasionally simply flattens out completely between the size of a modern Silver Dollar and the old 50 cent pieces or "Kennedy Halves" we grew up with.

The only effect I could see immediately was that his body kind of puffed up and his eyes seemed to be bulging out as he stood frozen for probably 10-15 seconds. I saw the impact so I knew he was absolutely dead but it seemed like it took forever for him to finally just collapse in place without ever taking a step.

The doe standing right next to him looked even funnier, she was like "Hey George are you ok?".

I've had that bullet perform similarly on other deer and hogs in the past sometimes with similar results and sometimes with instant death as the flattened bullet can turn as much as 90 degrees. I had a 140gr SiroccoII shot from the 260 a few years back at nearly exactly a hundred yards that I intentionally shot low right in the heart hoping for a complete pass through with zero meat damage and watched the bullet shoot out right between his shoulder blades straight up.

Unfortunately the 180gr Sirocco II I used on my blue wildebeest this year entered the crease between the shoulder and brisket exactly where it was aimed with him looking at me head on but slightly quartering and that bullet went about a foot straight into his chest but turned 90 degrees exiting high on his left shoulder.

He ran far enough to worry us since it was within minutes of too dark to shoot. Fortunately he was found about 300yds later.

I'm at the point that given a choice I'd want every bullet I fire to penetrate to the center of the body cavity no matter where I hit the animal and then just completely explode into fragments but so far no one has invented that "magic bullet".

 

[srhaggerty]

Huntingfool I used a 140 gr accubond several years ago on Mtn Goat in Idaho and had great results.

Where are you at in Wy, I just recently moved to Cheyenne and haven't really met anyone to shoot with yet.

 

[huntinfool18]

Being part of the best of the west crew and former gunwerks crew I have been a die hard Berger fan. In the thousands apon thousands of bergers I have shot I have experienced one failure. I don't Blame this on the bullet but more of me pushing the limits of the bullet. The only reason it didn't expand is because it dropped below the minimum speed in what is needed to expand. This was on a mule deer with 6.5 140 vld. Even in this case the bullet folded in half and still did more damage then these accubonds did at 3-400yds that being said I used the 6.5 129gr ablr out of a 264 win mag @3400fps and the 277 150gr ablr to take all my animals last year with great results

I live in Laraime. Just a hop skip and jump away from you

 

[snookntarpon]

Huntinfool18
I shot 2 does at 125 yards with 185 GR Berger Classic Hunter VLD's. From a 300 WSM. Confirmed boiler room hits and they ran off never to be seen again. It was raining hard so no blood, but they were in an open field standing next to each other and ran 100+ yards and jumped a fence, a road and another fence. One after the other.
I suspect they pinholed.

But I am not done with the Bergers and will shoot them in my 6.5 SAUM on this upcoming hunt and expect spectacular results. The first 2? Not sure, but i wrote them off as an anomaly.

As to the Accubond. I shoot them in my 7 mag and love them. I shoot them in my 7-08 and i love them. Never retrieved one and longest run was under 50 yards. I wish they opened a little easier, but they fulfilled their expectations. from 25 yards (pass though front to back and 5 hops before flop) to 350 yards with great results.

SnT

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

I'm not sure what to think right now. I experienced excellent performance from a 30cal 200gr accubond impacting at 3100fps but that's my first and only animal taken with an accubond.

 

[unclefish]

I have shot 2 elk with 180 gr accubonds 1 made it 50 yards in boiler room. Other I hit in lower shoulder it hit a scrub oak limb first then went left and low. Had to put 1 in neck 100yrds away. And dropped.. I tried the 200 gr barnes LRX had a quarter shot it went in just after shoulder. Never hit the guts never came out the other side it had pencil size hole in one rib. On side of hit. Went through lung pencil size.Ran 300yards down hill. Had a hell of time tracking her through thick woodland.

 

[Wyodog]

Like many here I've shot enough game animals over the years to see some really weird stuff including that precise effect.

Last year I shot a really nice 10pt White tail at around 300yds if I remember right with the 300mag 180gr Swift SiroccoII. Perfect shot just about dead center of the chest right above the sternum. The SiroccoII does not break up, at least not that I've seen but they are a fairly soft bonded bullet that occasionally simply flattens out completely between the size of a modern Silver Dollar and the old 50 cent pieces or "Kennedy Halves" we grew up with.

The only effect I could see immediately was that his body kind of puffed up and his eyes seemed to be bulging out as he stood frozen for probably 10-15 seconds. I saw the impact so I knew he was absolutely dead but it seemed like it took forever for him to finally just collapse in place without ever taking a step.

The doe standing right next to him looked even funnier, she was like "Hey George are you ok?".

I've had that bullet perform similarly on other deer and hogs in the past sometimes with similar results and sometimes with instant death as the flattened bullet can turn as much as 90 degrees. I had a 140gr SiroccoII shot from the 260 a few years back at nearly exactly a hundred yards that I intentionally shot low right in the heart hoping for a complete pass through with zero meat damage and watched the bullet shoot out right between his shoulder blades straight up.

Unfortunately the 180gr Sirocco II I used on my blue wildebeest this year entered the crease between the shoulder and brisket exactly where it was aimed with him looking at me head on but slightly quartering and that bullet went about a foot straight into his chest but turned 90 degrees exiting high on his left shoulder.

He ran far enough to worry us since it was within minutes of too dark to shoot. Fortunately he was found about 300yds later.

I'm at the point that given a choice I'd want every bullet I fire to penetrate to the center of the body cavity no matter where I hit the animal and then just completely explode into fragments but so far no one has invented that "magic bullet".

I have also seen sirocco II bullets flatten out. Especially at higher velocity. I have used them in 3006 and 300 RUM. I believe they work better in the 06. That being said I have only had to have a follow up shot 1 time and fortunately I always had a quick recovery.

 

[srhaggerty]

huntingfool definitely have to catch up with you and go shooting. I always like learning from guys.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

Can't say I've seen any flattening out with Sirocco's out of my 7rem even on shots as close as 40 yards.

 

[Wyodog]

Can't say I've seen any flattening out with Sirocco's out of my 7rem even on shots as close as 40 yards.

I have seen it quite a bit. Mostly in the the early days of the Sirocco. But I have to say that the Sirocco is one of my favorite bullets for big game. I have personally killed 8 elk and 10 -12 mule deer with that bullet and I have always had quick kills and good wound channels. I have also had a very high bullet recovery percentage nearly 100%. Somewhere I have a bag full of recovered Sirocco bullets I'll see if I can find it.

 

[sambo3006]

I would also wonder if you got a bad box of bullets. I shot one bull elk twice with the 225 gr AB out of my 338 RUM at 3050 fps at 320 yds and two small whitetails under 100 yds. I didn't get exits on either of the hits on the bull but hit shoulder and neck bone. Got exits on both deer with shots through the chest with obvious expansion. My hunting partner shot a cow at 300 yds with a 200 gr AB out of a 300 Win. He hit her back in the spine but the bullet didn't exit. Neither did the follow up shot to the chest. I'm just not that impressed with Accubonds. Some of the Ballistic Tips are fairly stoutly constructed like the 120 and 150 gr 7mm and they are cheaper.

 

[huntinfool18]

I bought the box of bullets from sportsmans wearhouse in September. They shot great but the performance on game was not good at all. Maybe they need to hit heavy bone to expand?
It dropped the cow on the spot. Looked like the bullet blew up going in with no exit. But that was a high shoulder/spine hit. Acted more like an amax on the cow. Went from one extream to another. I have 2 antelope tags left, maybe I'll go try them out again to see if possibly I got a bad box of bullets.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

Again the one kill I made with a 200gr accubond I punched center of the shoulder. The bullet broke it in half. It appeared to have been fully mushroomed judging by the exit. Bullet path was about 12-16 inches. Animal was quartering away impacted center shoulder and exited out the chest in front of far side shoulder.