Experience with Nosler Accubonds

[Standard Velocity]

As of late....I've witnessed the Nosler Accubonds and Nosler Balistic Tips are having similar performance on game from our group of hunters. On recovered bullets of each type we are getting 66% weight retention from both.
In this photo example you can see the jackets of these are not all created equal but the Accubond in the middle is very similar to the two .308 bullets on the rightView attachment 337842

Not familiar with the color scheme of the various ballistic tips. What are the red and green ones?

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I think the color is for caliber 30 is green 25 is blue I think and 22 is orange.

 

[bruce moulds]

well that is not much use if you are red/green colour blind!
that situation also confuses orange with red, green and brown, and sometimes even yellow.
and blue with purple and pink.
and red with purple.
bruce.

 

[Standard Velocity]

well that is not much use if you are red/green colour blind!
that situation also confuses orange with red, green and brown, and sometimes even yellow.
and blue with purple and pink.
and red with purple.
bruce.

Check out my new red car Bruce.

 

[bruce moulds]

looks like british racing green to me.
bruce.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

My wife and I shared a rifle back in 2014 in South Africa.
.308 dia 150 grn Nosler Accubonds at just under 2900 fps
We killed everything that we pointed the muzzel at....most didnt hold a bullet unless it was a frontal shot

tedthorn
In retrospect I didn't need to take my Whelen to Namibia, the 308 would have been ample. What's the use of having a 35 Whelen built tor Namibia then leaving at home.
Cheers mate Bob

 

[bruce moulds]

bob,
it is just that the 35 is more ample.
bruce.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

bob,
it is just that the 35 is more ample.
bruce.

bruce moulds
Can't have to much of a good thing.
Ruark said use enough gun, there's nothing wrong with to much gun.
Cheers mate Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

In short, I've had bad experiences with the accubonds in Africa, from calibers (7mm/.30/.338) shooting @ ~2,750-2,850 fps muzzle velocity. Once made perfect shots on a Kudu and Blue Wildebeest (4-5x the size of American deer; the 1st recovered @ 500 yds and the other ran into the next country.) With higher velocity calibers (>3,000 fps .257, .264-.35 particularly w/ the higher SD) they worked fine. But, after the aforementioned experience, in Africa I've ditched the "plastic tips" in favor of the tried-and-true Nosler Partitions, Woodleigh SP and Weldcore, Barnes TSX and Banded Solids, and Swift A-frames. Their terminal performance cannot be beat. There is NO advantage for a plastic tipped bullet used in hunting game at yardages of ~400 or less (and in Africa it will nearly always be considerably less than that unless you requested some long-range culling). There will be something in the way, you can always get closer, and your PH will not approve of it. Facts. I prefer hunting bullets over target bullets anyday (no matter what the sales & marketing department tells you.) African game is a whole 'nother ballgame as compared to thin-skinned American game. The only exception I'd make in Africa to the above is use of the Barnes TTSX. Nothing wrong w/ a plastic tip on a monolithic copper bullet behind it-they generally group 1/2 the size of the TSX (i.e. 1/2" vs. 1" or less) and perform just as well in the end. The latest, greatest thing they have to sell (and I know the accubond has been around since at least '07-as that's the last time I used them. Expensive experiment) is not typically what's best.

@C.W Richter
I had no problems with accubonds in Namibia. My black wildebeest was quatrtering away at 180 yards. One shot ran 20 yards and piled up thru and thru. Rifle was a 35 Whelen and loaded to 2,850fps. My son used 150 grain accubonds in his 308 to good effect an no recovered projectiles.
Bob

 

[C.W. Richter]

Check out my new red car Bruce.

View attachment 337885

427 i hope (not the .17 rimfire 289.) lol

 

[Ray B]

That looks like one of those 351 cu in Excaliber Cobras that Costco had about 15 years ago. I wanted to get one but by the time I assembled funds they were no longer available. They are quite the automobile- If I could find one now, I'd buy it. Even if your car isn't one, you've done well.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Check out my new red car Bruce.

View attachment 337885

@Standard Velocity
That car should only ever be painted white and blue.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

bob,
it is just that the 35 is more ample.
bruce.

@ bruce moulds
Not more ample Bruce.
More goodera is the correct ingleesh.
SMEE.
BOB

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

That looks like one of those 351 cu in Excaliber Cobras that Costco had about 15 years ago. I wanted to get one but by the time I assembled funds they were no longer available. They are quite the automobile- If I could find one now, I'd buy it. Even if your car isn't one, you've done well.

@Ray B
There was one for sale in OZ a couple of years ago for 120,000 dollars Australian.
Bob

 

[Doug Hamilton]

@C.W Richter
I had no problems with accubonds in Namibia. My black wildebeest was quatrtering away at 180 yards. One shot ran 20 yards and piled up thru and thru. Rifle was a 35 Whelen and loaded to 2,850fps. My son used 150 grain accubonds in his 308 to good effect an no recovered projectiles.
Bob

That lines up with my experience. I'm going to use them in Zim next year. Cheers mate.
Doug

 

[postoak]

Always got perfect mushrooms from them but they don't penetrate as well as I like on bone. In fact, I made a finishing shot into the neck of a gemsbok and the bullet was stopped without penetrating the bone at all. I've had much better results with the Barnes TSX and TTSX.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

That lines up with my experience. I'm going to use them in Zim next year. Cheers mate.
Doug

@Doug Hamilton
What caliber are you going to use them in mate.
Bob

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Interlock is physically locked by the ring you speak of, Interbond is bonded.
The Accubond is bonded with a ballistic tip.

The effect of bonding is relative to the hardness of both the lead and jacket as well as the thickness and taper of the jacket. Regardless of the method of bonding the lead is more likely to stay attached to the jacket. Even on soft lead cores this usually has high weight retention. The physical “lock” of the Interlock is not bonded though.

@Doug Hamilton
What caliber are you going to use them in mate.
Bob

I'm planning on 200 grainners out of my .300 Win. Mag. I'd like to take an nyala on this trip, but I'm also open to eland, waterbuck, or something else Africa offers up. You never know. The main object though is a big buffalo bull, but obviously I won't be swatting one of those with the .300. My .458 WM is complaining that it needs to be taken out for another buff. It's really sad when you have a rifle that thinks that it has been locked in the safe for too long. So I just have to cave in and take back to Africa. ;-).

 

[CBH Australia]

@C.W Richter
I had no problems with accubonds in Namibia. My black wildebeest was quatrtering away at 180 yards. One shot ran 20 yards and piled up thru and thru. Rifle was a 35 Whelen and loaded to 2,850fps. My son used 150 grain accubonds in his 308 to good effect an no recovered projectiles.
Bob

Yeah but that was the Whelen

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Yeah but that was the Whelen

@CBH
Chris
My son didn't have any problems with the 150 accubonds in his 308 either. Didn't recover a single projectile even from an Oryx.
Bob