when these bullets came out, they were extremely attractive to me as i loved the standard Accubond and the boost in BC could be a game changer. So starter testing them in my 7mm Allen Mag. Starting loads were in the 3250-3300 fps range and top end velocities were pushing 3500 fps. Sadly in that test rifle they shot terribly. Had a couple customer let me test them in their newly finished rifles.
same results. At starting load levels we were seeing 2 moa class accuracy at 800 yards. At top level velocities it would range from 3-4 moa and it was obvious that BC was dropping off dramatically as velocity increased as bullet drop and drift significantly increased. This was very odd as most projos will at least maintain BC or generally slightly increase BC as velocity increases……. Something was odd.
seeing that the consistency was better at starting loads i tested even lower velocity loads and consistency did seem to improve even more but i was experiencing hang fires which in a 7mm Allen Magnum is not a favorable thing…..
was starting to think these issues were velocity related. Looking through my arsenal the only other 7mm i had at the time was a custom XP-100 i had built for myself in 7mm-08.
in testing velocity was very low In the 15" barrel length. Can not remember the exact number that i was seeing with the 175 gr ABLR bullet but i believe it was in the 2000-2100 fps range. At 100 yards they cut cloverleaf groups, easily under 1/2 moa and holding this well past 400 yards in the single shot handgun.
i then asked a friend if i could borrow a 7mm wsm i had built for him and this testing showed that this bullet shot extremely well to the limits of the WSM which was around 3000 fps.
i had a customer that i had built a 7mm STW many years before and asked if he would test these for me and gave him the starting loads i wanted and asked him to increase 1 grain at a time, record velocity and accuracy results with each load increase.
this test showed the most important results. Up to 3050-3100 fps accuracy maintained 1/2-2/3 moa class consistency. Above that, consistency dropped off noticably.
did more testing with different rifles ranging from factory to full custom builds that would produce velocities in these 3000-3200 fps range and in every case, the results were the same. Fine consistency up to 3050-3100 fps then noticeable drop off from there.
repeated these tests with the 142 gr 6.5mm and 210 gr 308. The 6.5mm bullets seemed to have a velocity ceiling in the 3100-3150 fps range. The 308 was lower, seeing consistency drop offs around 2900-2950 fps.
again, not only was there a consistency drop off but also a measureable BC drop off. Curious as to why i decided to take some samples and section them off as well as doing the same with some standard Accubonds and see what the difference was as the standard Accubonds could be driven as fast as i wanted with no issues of any kind.
what i found supported my theory that the polymer tip was setting back into the bullet as velocity increased, actually causing the bullet to slightly expand in flight.
sectioning these bullets and the accubond showed clear differences.
1. the jacket thickness where it met the tip was extremely thin on the LR version. Makes since as they want easier expansion at long range where velocity drops off.
2. on the standard Accubond, there was a more squared off shoulder on the tip where the thicker jacket material contacted and offered dramatically more support to the tip To resist tip set back.
3. There was a significant hollow cavity behind the tip of the LR Accubond compared to the standard, as such, the standard supported the tip much better.
my theory which seems to be proven true was that up to 2900-3100 fps, there was enough jacket integrity to support the mass of the tip under the extreme g force load of accelerating down the bore.
above this, the mass of the tip pushed back against the jacket mouth, forcing it to open up in flight to varying degrees. This explained the poor consistency AS WELL AS explain the drop in BC.
since that time, i have contacted Nosler directly with my findings and their exact comments were, we tested out bullets for accuracy and have found no velocity ceilings concerning accuracy or consistency or terminal performance……. Still, i have NEVER seen a LR Accubond shoot well over 2900-3100 fps depending on caliber. Told then that redesigning their tip to have a very slight support shoulder for the jacket mouth and to fill the lead right to the base of the tip would likely add several 100 fps to their consistency ceiling. They replied, there is no velocity ceiling with their bullets….
your results fall right in line with my results, at 2900 fps, accuracy was great.
have talked with literally hundreds of guys over the years and for the most part results are extremely similar. There are always those that make claims that they are getting 1/2 moa and 3300 fps with these bullets but generally they are not actually testing for consistency and just use factory ammo and have killed some big game with them at ranges where 1.5-2 moa is meaningless as far as easily taking game.
Nosler seems to be focusing on the small chambering crowd even though they offer these in their 26 and 28 nosler factory ammo. Which i have tested and not found to be overly consistent either at long range. But to be fair, not uncommon with most factory ammo.
so, thanks for your report, adds to what i have tested and seen supporting the theory that if you use these bullets below 2900-3100 fps depending on caliber, you will get good consistency on average. Over this and on average, or most of the time, consistency will be poor at best, to flat out terrible.
