Nosler AccuBond 260 gr..

[DOC-404]

Anyone used 260 gr AccuBond's in their .375's on plains game? Performance? Accuracy?

 

[buckcurtin]

I used 260 AccuBond's on Eland, Waterbuck, Bontebok, Red Lechwe and a Nyala with great success. Shots were up to 200 yards. On the Eland which was 190 yards downhill I shot and he took a step and I shot again without my Ph telling me to. He looked at me and said why did you shoot a second time he was going down. Just didn't want to take a chance. Both shots were less than an inch apart and went right through the animal. Other than on Buff and Elephant I will continue to use AccuBonds. Very accurate in my Model 70. Good Hunting!

 

[Calle]

I havent used them on plains game.
Last year I used them in my 375 for birdhunting.
Ranges between 120 and 160 meters.
Very flat trajectory and accurate.
I wish there were a similar FMJ.

 

[Swedhunter]

Have we got such monster-birds here in Sweden?? :scared:

 

[Calle]

Have we got such monster-birds here in Sweden?? :scared:

Do you mean the bloodthirsty Orrus Vasterbottnis ?
No, not anymore. I got everyone of them during the winter 2009.
It was a tough job but someone had to do it.

 

[Swedhunter]

Do you mean the bloodthirsty Orrus Vasterbottnis ?
No, not anymore. I got everyone of them during the winter 2009.
It was a tough job but someone had to do it.

No need to worry then...?

 

[DOC-404]

And now, thanks to you, just like the extinct Swedish hipostrichasauresrectum, my kids will only be able to see them in pictures..!

 

[Calle]

And now, thanks to you, just like the extinct Swedish hipostrichasauresrectum, my kids will only be able to see them in pictures..!

Ooops, didn't think about that.
Actually I have a few deep frozen in my fridge. Saved for scientific reasons.
I can send you one if you want to see one "live".

 

[DOC-404]

Thanks,Bud. I'll keep an eye on the mail..!

 

[JamieD]

With a bc of .473 the 260 accubond is a very flat shooter. In my 375 RUM it would shoot under 1/2 in. consistently. I'm not sure what kind of people we are, shooting these dangerous birds with 375s, but I shot a lot of pigeons in prep for Africa last summer. I used the accubond as a replacement for the tsx as it is much cheaper to shoot and ricocheted less. The tsx would leave a hole the size of my finger as long as no bones were hit, the accubond would poof the poor bird, one time getting 4 with 1 shot. This isn't very scientific for bullet testing. I think it would be a great bullet for plains game at H&H velocities. A person might want to be careful of a bullet coming out in front of the shoulder on a small animal (like an impala) at close range, it could be hard on the cape.

 

[Calle]

Good comment.
I also use the 300gr TSX for hunting and Accubond for training and birdhunting.
I think the TSX outperform the Accubond hunting bigger animals at reasonable distances.

 

[BigBore]

The 260gr Accubond is one of the best bullets you can use on most plains game

This is a great bullet for most plains game most of the time. I use Accubonds when accuracy is an important factor and I use Barnes TSX when I'm more concerned about bigger and tougher animals. With a typical broadside shot they can easily handle any non dangerous game and lions and leopards. I would not use them on buffalo because of the possibility of having to shoot at a quartering shot (Which I did last july). If I'm hunting Eland or Giraffe, I used Barnes TSX for those and had great results. Not that the Accubond could not do the job. But on that larger game I like to have the option to take the shot at any angle. That being said. Every animal I have shot with the Accubonds, the bullet expanded rapidly and got thru penetration. I have shot over 30 big game animals in Africa alone from Dikas to Elephants and I have hunted 4 countries outside of Africa. I have used lesser quality bullets in my younger years and learned the hard way of the importants of good quality bullets. It may not make much different what expanding bullet you use on deer in the US, any will do the job. But in Africa, you need high quality tough bullets. I consider the Nosler Accubond the minimum quality that I will use. These bullets are not cheap, one good thing about them is Nosler also makes Ballistic tip bullets in most calibers as the Accubond and the same weights. They are identical except they are not bonded and the hit to same point of aim. So you can load the Ballistic Tip bullets for practice and deer hunting then switch to the Accubond with out have to adjust you scope. Another note about Nosler, I started using thier partion bullets 40 years ago, great bullet, killed a lot of game with no bullet failures, but if you need to step up to that class the Barnes TSX is a better choice. The Accubond is a more accurate bullet then the partion bullet or the Barnes. I find the best deals on all of these and the largest selection at LG Outdoors Sporting Goods online shopping

 

[Mannlicher]

5 bullets 260 gr NAB recovered from eland, bwb, waterbuck, oryx and wharthog. Between 60% and 80% Retention weight. Angle shots , only the eland was broadside.

Mannlicher

 

[Shortride]

Hope I'm not getting to far off from your main question, but I thought I'd throw in my reloading results for something to have for reference. Just bought a new Browning .375 H&H a month or so ago. Have tried Nosler 260 AB, 300 AB, Grand Slams and Barnes TSX's and three different powders. Rl15, H4831 and H380. So far the 260AB and RL15 has given me the best results. Around .910 inch five shot groups at 100 yds. Don't think I'm rich to go out buy all these supplies at once. My gunsmith has been a fan of the .375 H&H for forty years and had partial boxes of the bullets he was willing to share. Plus I already had the powders. Sorry I have not taken the chronograph out yet. Wanted to get some better groups first. Won't take it out until spring or we get some 70 degree days. I'll keep trying different powder volumes and primer combos to try and get better groups. More to follow later.

 

[BigBore]

Hi Mannlicher, Good pictures. Surprised you recovered so many. No jacket separation. But weight loss. Still great bullets and I use them often. Just loaded a batch today. But Angle shots are subjective. Meaning a slight angle with the bullet entering more from the front is a lot different then a angle shot going away from you. That's when the Barnes has the edge on the larger game. If you ever made one of those shot and had a bullet failure like I had you would now what I mean. Also there is always the possibility of not making a perfect shot and having to fire follow ups. If you to shoot up the rump of a fleeing wounded animal then a bullet likes Barnes is a better choice or use solid for follow up like I often do when using 375 and larger. Also most people are not aware of the fact that Barnes TSX do not expand if they hit a small limb on the way in, they need hydraulic material like blood and flesh in the cavity to expand so they can stay on track better then soft nose bullets. This is not to say any thing bad about Accubonds. I think they are great bullets and have fired hundreds of them. But if you are seeking plains game on the larger end of the scale at normal safari ranges less then 200 yards and you want to be able to take more risky shots, then Barnes is a better choice. I only say this because I have used them both along with many other bullets. I've run to many bullets thru many different ana mails and seen the results first hand to be confident in what a bullet can do. I have shot Gemsboks with 375s, 300 mags and 460 wby mag. I've shot them with a variety of bullets and have had better results with tougher bullets and solids then lighter constructed bullets. A 300 win mag with a 165gr Barnes does more damage to a Kudo then a 375 with a standard soft point. I've seen them both on the same trip. In you pictures please notice the blunt rounded shapes of the bullets and the loss weight. I'll try and upload some pics of Barnes TSX after going thru buffalos and Giraffes, They retained 100% of their weight, mushroomed wider and keep sharp edges. They keep cutting thru the game much deeper then any lead expanding bullet can. I put a 270gr Barnes TSX thru the heart of a buffalo quartering toward me, going thru the front of the shoulder, the heart and then landed just under the skin on the opposite side midway down the rib cage, then a second follow up quartering away, bullet crossing the path of the first entering toward the back of the rib cage, thru the hart , thru the opposite shoulder and landing just under the skin in the front of the shoulder. There is not any lead bullets that can do that. That's not to say I always use barnes. I like the Accubond because they do work well, are very accurate and hold up well. On most plains game in most situation they are just fine. But there are those times when a Barnes would have done a better job. If you hunt long enough and take risky shots you see for your self.

 

[BigBore]

Hope I'm not getting to far off from your main question, but I thought I'd throw in my reloading results for something to have for reference. Just bought a new Browning .375 H&H a month or so ago. Have tried Nosler 260 AB, 300 AB, Grand Slams and Barnes TSX's and three different powders. Rl15, H4831 and H380. So far the 260AB and RL15 has given me the best results. Around .910 inch five shot groups at 100 yds. Don't think I'm rich to go out buy all these supplies at once. My gunsmith has been a fan of the .375 H&H for forty years and had partial boxes of the bullets he was willing to share. Plus I already had the powders. Sorry I have not taken the chronograph out yet. Wanted to get some better groups first. Won't take it out until spring or we get some 70 degree days. I'll keep trying different powder volumes and primer combos to try and get better groups. More to follow later.

Hi Shortride,
I'm loading 75grain of RL 15 behind the 260 gr Accunbond out of a CZ 550 with a 26" barrel getting 2780 FPS from it with sub MOA groups. It's a great load and round. Very effective. I've been reloading for over 44 years, have a range at my home. I've collect a lot of diffrent poweders so I have a lot of diffrent combinations I can try. This was the best that I have come up with for the 375.

 

[Shortride]

Hi BigBore,
Thanks for the info it sounds like I have more room to play than I thought as I am only up to 72 grains of RL15 at this time. Oh by the way what kind of primers are you using? I'm using Remington mag rifle and CCI mag rifle. I started reloading back in the late sixty's and still love doing it even if it didn't save money. Have always known you could load better more accurate loads custom for your gun than you could buy..

 

[BigBore]

Hi BigBore,
Thanks for the info it sounds like I have more room to play than I thought as I am only up to 72 grains of RL15 at this time. Oh by the way what kind of primers are you using? I'm using Remington mag rifle and CCI mag rifle. I started reloading back in the late sixty's and still love doing it even if it didn't save money. Have always known you could load better more accurate loads custom for your gun than you could buy..

Hi Shortride
I have been using CCI Large rifle mag primers in my 375. But I use Federal 215 in my 416 Rigby, 460 wby and 500 Jeffery. Supposedly the Federal were designed for those bigger cases but I can't really tell any difference in performance.

 

[Mannlicher]

168 gr TTSX from a 300 WM(Blaser R 93 ) and IMR 4831 . Recovered from a bwb - not what I expected ......

Mannlicher

 

[Mannlicher]

300 gr TSX from .375 HH, recovered from a bwb ...

Mannlicher