# Nosler Accubond field results pix



## jmoser (Sep 11, 2002)

This is my handloaded 160 gr Nosler Accubond from my 7mm Remington Magnum A-bolt. Estimated muzzle velocity >2900 fps, this was a shot at 45 yards and penetrated ~36" from base of neck to hindquarter meat where I found it while slicing jerky meat Saturday. This is the upside down jacket base with mushroomed petals - this was all copper with no lead. I beleieve the exposed core must have spattered away along the long trip inside - I did find a clean hole in the liver when field dressing so it must have only come apart near the end of the way.

Sorry its a bit blurry but my macro camera focused on the background deck from 2" away.


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## Rustyaxecamp (Mar 1, 2005)

At that velocity/distance, I would say it did great.

I think you summed up performace with the words "while slicing jerky meat....":coolgleam 

Nice pic. As much as I like in and out holes, I like to check out recovered bullets too.


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## jmoser (Sep 11, 2002)

That buck made it about 18 inches from where he was.
No complaints here!  
Seriously - not sure a solid would have made it any further.


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## Huntsman27 (Sep 29, 2004)

while you got the penetration, it doesnt look like the bullet did anything over a standard cup and core. The bullet only need penetrate the vitals and a bit more, did you perhaps find the lead core? Those bullets costing what they do, that doesnt bode well for them touting a good weight percentage.
I used to use the Speer 145 BTSP and it did exactly what youve shown. However, it toppled deer on the spot from the 7MM Rem mag and 7X57 Mauser. Maybe for elk, but deer really dont require the fancy stuff.


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## Rustyaxecamp (Mar 1, 2005)

Not to hijack, but........It beats the heck out of this Scirrocco that failed to expand for me. I guess this is the other extreme. Swift claims it must have "tumbled" prior to hitting the deer. I find it hard to believe, as I was the one who took the shot and there was nothing between him and me. I got the deer but he required a finishing shot after I bloodtrailed him 150 yards. This was the first year Scirroccos came out(2000?). It just so happens they changed the metallurgy since then and now make the Scirrocco II.....:16suspect 

I was compensated with several boxes of bullets for my trouble and would not hesitate to load them again for hunting.


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## M1Garand (Apr 12, 2006)

Great photos of bullet performance (or in the case of the Scirroco, lack thereof). I always like to see how different bullets perform. I like the idea of the bonded plastic tips as they seem to me to offer a good medium for an all around bullet: not too tough for deer and tough enough for larger stuff. 

The Sciroccos are probably the toughest of the plastic tip bonded bullets, followed probably by the Hornady Interbond then the Nosler/CT Accubonds. I haven't been able to get as good accuracy out of the Sciroccos or Interbonds as I have with the Accubonds. Here's a cross section of them for comparison: 

Scirroco - you can see how much thicker the jacket is near the tip









Hornady IB









Nosler AB's


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## Huntsman27 (Sep 29, 2004)

like the photo JM posted. Reading Noslers page, it says 60-70% weight retention....I think the partition for the money will gaurantee their weight retention claims whereas the AB ....Im kind of not seeing why to pay the expense for that bullet vs an SST at 1/2 the cost? 
Then again, deer are not that hard to kill. The new Barnes MRX looks like a real winner, and the new Nosler E-tip.
Rusty- that bullet almost looks like the "Kennedy" bullet!!! it does appear ever so slightly to have a bend to it. Shooting around corners perhaps?? :lol: As long as you got the deer thats all that matters.


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## M1Garand (Apr 12, 2006)

HM, I believe it, I've no doubt the Hornady IB is tougher. I've already heard and seen a few experiences with the AB's not holding together as well as many thought with it being a bonded bullet. I've worked some loads with it but yet to shoot anything other than targets so I like seeing these field results. I forgot I had found a 30 cal IB at the range all in one piece. I'm guessing this one glanced off a rock or something. Pretty good considering it hit this kind of medium.


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## beartooth (Feb 14, 2007)

Great shooting, you must have made a good shot on him and he is dead. I killed a 150 seven piont this year with a 180gr. Accubond and it preformed well. I like the TSX better in my 300WBY though. I can move it at faster velocities and it shoots more accurate in my rifle.


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## jmoser (Sep 11, 2002)

Thanks for the input from everyone - I always say 1 data point beats 1000 opinions but you really need 20 or 30 field tests for any bullet before you can see conclusive results. I certainly agree that the AB and the 7 mag are both overkill for deer at short range, I used this as a backup rifle last Nov and the AB was my only good handload at the time. I now have a Sierra Game King at lower velocity that would be the 'go-to' deer bullet for modest ranges in that rifle.

I don't think a standard cup-n-core bullet would have made it near as far as the Accubond; I recovered a 165 gr .308 Sierra from a buck shot at 18 yards and it quartered through ~16" and stuck inside the skin. I think maybe the best conclusion here is to see the effects of high sectional density in any bullet - the 160 7mm AB is very long and has a very high SD, among the highest I have seen in any 7mm bullet. SD will get you more penetration than velocity will in many cases.

Even though I recovered no lead core on the AB I believe that the base core had to be there until near the very end otherwise that light mushroomed jacket would have never made it. Who knows how much deflection / tumbling / deformation went on between entry and final resting spot. I had the same thoughts about the Kennedy 'miracle bullet' when I found this because except for the hole in the liver I saw no major internal damage at all - how it got to the rump roast without chewing the paunch and intestines all to heck is beyond me - I dressed it and boned out all the meat myself; even stirred thru the gut pile looking for the bullet and can tell you that all the innards looked untouched and pristine. I cannot tell you to this day how that bullet went all the way stem to stern and left almost no visible channel behind nor any clear bone breakage. In any case the deer was dead on the spot and the venison steaks and jerky have been some of the best ever.

I have shot 2 deer with my 45/70 in 400 gr flat point but good luck recovering one of those - I think they are still going! Its like getting run over by a Buick - best argument ever that velocity is not always the answer!


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## Huntsman27 (Sep 29, 2004)

Its great to see "real" tests of the bullets we all use. I would agree the bullet mustve stayed intact for quite some distance, as a copper jacket alone wouldnt give that type of penetration. Glad you got your deer!.


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## M1Garand (Apr 12, 2006)

jmoser said:


> I now have a Sierra Game King at lower velocity that would be the 'go-to' deer bullet for modest ranges in that rifle.


Since you mention Sierras, I figured you'd find this an interesting pic of a Sierra Pro Hunter from a member of another site I'm on: 













jmoser said:


> I think maybe the best conclusion here is to see the effects of high sectional density in any bullet - the 160 7mm AB is very long and has a very high SD, among the highest I have seen in any 7mm bullet. SD will get you more penetration than velocity will in many cases.


Yep...there's a link to some experiments performed by an engineer titled terminal ballistics and he was finding optimal penetration was in the mid to high 2k fps range. Randy Barrett found his 45-70 loads were out penetrating 458 and 460 mags I think mainly due to the reduced velocities of them.


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## jmoser (Sep 11, 2002)

I just rememebered that Nosler does not recommend their Ballistic tip bullets .30 cal and under for 'tough' large game like elk. The .338s and up are a different jacket construction thickness which makes them much tougher.

I wonder if the same is not true for the Nosler ABs - the 7mm is a skinny bullet and the jacket must be thinner than a 7.62 or .338 etc.

Looking at the factory picture of the expanded AB above it is clear that my jacket remnant is almost identical; only difference is the small core at the base finally separated or more likelydisintegrated. I am willing to bet $$ that on a broadside or quartering shot my bullet would have looked just like that before it exited.

I have to believe that even on an elk, etc mine would have penetrated at least 18-20+ inches which makes it a perfectly fine load.


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## Slug Gunner (Dec 7, 2006)

The picture clearly shows that the Accubond did not stay together like the Nosler says it will. It's supposed to be a bonded bullet, which is why you pay more. Any cup & core bullet can separate going through that much tissue too. A friend of mine and his dad were Caribou hunting in Canada last year. My friend used handloaded Accubonds in his 7mm-08 and his dad used Siearra GameKings in his 30-06. Take a guess who had a much higher weight retention on their recovered bullets??! Yup, the cheaper and "standard" Sierra GameKing. I forget the percentages but the Gameking was just like the the picture that M1 posted. Around 90%. I think my buddies Accubond was something like 40%. 
As someone else stated, you don't need super tough bullets for deer and pushing bullets super fast and hitting game at close range causes all kinds bullet fragmentation. The old standard bullets that don't get much praise anymore like the Winchester Power Point, Sierra Gameking and Prohunter, Speer Hot Core, etc. have killed countless numbers of deer over the years. A lot of these new bullets are ways for the bullet manufacturers to make money. Granted, some species require tough premium bullets. But not deer or caribou. 
Just goes to show that the newest and greatest technology isn't necessarily better when it comes to certain things.


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## Rustyaxecamp (Mar 1, 2005)

Many factors play into a bullets performance. Any bullet can "fail" if used "improperly". Bottom line, if we have pictures of the "failed" bullet, it means we recovered the critter, which brings the defenition of "failed" into question.......

For fun, here are a couple I pulled from whitetails I shot. The bottom one made me a beleiver in the Hornady Interbond. I had that one revved up pretty good and it held together (after demolishing several ribs and a shoulder). The Speer did just what I wanted also, however it only hit 2 ribs, so not a real "tough" test, as the speed was very reasonable.

FYI - This view is of the "base" of the bullets. Weights near the bullets is weight after retreival (likely minimal amounts of meat still present..)


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## M1Garand (Apr 12, 2006)

Rustyaxecamp said:


> Many factors play into a bullets performance. Any bullet can "fail" if used "improperly". Bottom line, if we have pictures of the "failed" bullet, it means we recovered the critter, which brings the defenition of "failed" into question.......


You're right there and I've seen it debated on shooting forums before. With bullet co's and marketers pushing that if a bullet doesn't retain 80+% of it's weight it's failed. But if you tag your deer and find your bullet in 4 pieces...did it fail? What if it ran 200 yards and your neighbor shoot it and as he's gutting it finds your bullet with a perfect mushroom, retaining 95% of it's weight. Did it fail?


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## Huntsman27 (Sep 29, 2004)

Technically, yes it failed as it didnt work as advertised. No2---make sure you shoot it a second time if it isnt down! I dont want to collect bullets, its the venison I want to collect!


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## Slug Gunner (Dec 7, 2006)

There's always been a couple different theories on which is best when it comes to bullets holding together. Some guys want the bullet to completely stay together and punch through the animal leaving both an entrance and exit hole. Obviously, easier for tracking and creating better blood loss. Leaving out varmint hunters using varmint bullets which are made to explode on impact, other guys figure it's okay for a bullet to come apart into 3 or 4 pieces while it is traveling through the animal leaving more than one wound channel. This scenario would only leave 1 hole going in but this theory stands on the premis that all the bullets energy was left in the animal. 
This argument will probably never be solved as to which is better but as long as the animal is dead, dinner is served! However, Nosler advertises that the Accubond is supposed to stay together because it is chemically bonded so I'll throw in my opinion that in this case, the bullet failed.


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## Magnumwideglide (Jun 28, 2007)

I dug a 170 gr beautifully mushroomed power point out of a deer once. Blew the heart in two, seared it like it had been in a frying pan. The bullet did it's job. The deer just forgot it needed a heart to run 200 yards before it died.
I believe that you need a fair amount of weight retention to maintain energy to create a long wound channel. Mass x Velocity = Energy. The more the bullet splits or fragments, the lighter each piece is and the less and less energy it has. We all know what we would like our bullet to look like before we ever pull the trigger. Not many folks can convince me that they would look fondly on a pile of pieces. I like M1's bullet.
And just because the deer died, doesn't mean the bullet did a great job. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. If I slipped and fell on a 10 penny nail and killed myself, I don't think the 10 penny nail would be labelled a man-killer from then on. 
When my Dad's '06 bullet was taken from that caribou it measured .68" in diameter, and 75% weight retention. My Accubonds kept blowing up at a modest 2,850 FPS MV, with hits starting at 150 yards until he turned and ran towards me and the last shot finally dropped him at 75 yards. I had 5-6 hits, with a reload, all on his starboard side. I ended up with a destroyed shoulder on the caribou, no exit holes, the only signs of any bullet was a 55 grain piece from a 140 grain bullet, and not a mark on the inside of the far rib cage side, and I skinned and processed the animal myself. Dead caribou, yes. Good bullets?...


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## fasthunter (Sep 15, 2006)

I shot a doe last year down south with a 30-06 Winchester Super X silvertip 180 grain at 60 yards. I had to shoot the deer through a pine branch about 4 inches in diameter to get her though. The only reason I took the shot is because it was perfectly broadside. She winded me and was sniffing and the branch was only about a foot from her. Needless to say she only went about 10 or 15 yards. When I was dragging her to the truck I noticed something hanging out of her side..........IT WAS HER LUNG!!!.:yikes: :yikes: :yikes: I think that bullet worked in that situation. :evil: :evil:


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