bonded bullets comparison

[turner1978]

I have been hunting with the barnes tsx for the past few years and they have worked well but they don't seem to open up at long range (450 yards and beyond) as well as I would like. Has anyone used any of the new accubond, interbond, or even the scirocco? They all seem to work good according to the magazines but we all know that they can be financially biased sometimes. Any body have any experience with any of these bullets? I think that the hornady IB looks like it is the better all around performer than the others. Opens up at short and long ranges.

[plentywood]

After trying to work up loads in two 338 Win Mags and a 416 Rigby with the Barnes TSX with marginal success (bullets seem too long, stick in the case too far and building alot of pressure) we tried the Hornady 225 grain .338 Interbond. My son shot a cow elk. Hit her in the shoulder, broke that and kept on going. That shot didn't kill her, it was a little high and missed vitals, but did knock her down where she stood, and she did not get up. One more to finish her off. It was about 250 yds.

So far I'm happy. The kids will get another chance after Christmas for more elk. Will write back again with more results.

If you have any secrets with the TSX, I'd be interested to hear them! Maybe the new MRX will work better if they truly are shorter.

[turner1978]

The way I choose my tsx bullets is if I usually use a 180 gr conventional bullet I will try the next size lighter (168) in tsx. The faster they are going on impact the better they seem to work. If a 140 gr tsx from a 270wsm will work so well on elk for me then a 210 gr tsx would work pretty good on elk from a 338 I would think.

Have you heard about winchesters new xp3 bullet? It looks alot like the failsafe but it has some kind of honeycomb web design in the center of the bullet to cause the midsection to expand. It has a polymer tip to initiate expantion with a lead rear core. Looks like an awesome bullet to me. You can check it out on winchesters web sight. I can't remember the sight adress but you can just do a search for winchester and look up new products. I don't know if they are gonna sell them for handloaders but they are gonna have them available in factory ammo in early 2006.

[PA Bullets]

Theres always the jacket wall thickness to think about ..

This young lady makes her own to use on eland there .338 diameter with a 0.040 in a tappered
CNCed jacket wall
http://www.bulletsmiths.info/gallery/albums/userpics/Finished%20Bullet.JPG
Heres a better look at the bullet

http://www.bulletsmiths.info/gallery/albums/userpics/Swaged%20Bullet.JPG

Its important to know how thick your jacket wall is when shooting at longer ranges
the farth out you get the thinner your jacket wall should be unless your hunting DG then
stay with heavy jacket walls or soilds.


This .458 design is the same as my .416 bullet design and depending on the game and distance
works very well 0.030 jacket wall for Elk 0.040 Kudo same for eland thinner for Deer both white and black tail .

http://www.bulletsmiths.info/gallery/albums/userpics/John%20s%20458%20diam%20500%20grain%20bullet%20s%2 0from%20PA%20s.jpg


There are a lot of good folks out there that make bullet ..and quite a few would/will make customized
bullets .. what that means to the normal guy is you dont have to settle for whats on the shelf anymore

So to try and help out here .. it does really come down to jacket wall thickness and type.
That is unless you want to hunt all your game with these ( below)

http://www.bulletsmiths.info/gallery/albums/userpics/Ed%20Hubel%20and%20PA%20Bullets%201000%20grain.jpg
The above picture is of ( on the far left ) a short vertion 700 hubel express as well as the next one
the shell at the end is the full length vertion 3.85 case length next to a small bunch of 1000 grain PA Bullet's in a 0.050 jacket wall .


Martin

[turner1978]

MAN I wish my woman would make my bullets! That would be cool!

[Madawaska]

Turner, 450 yards is an awfully long shot, even for some of the newer hotshot calibres. I suspect the reason the bullets aren't expanding is that they are starting to run out of gas at that range. As someone who is accustomed to hunting in areas where I can't see 150 yards through the bush, just what are you belting at 450 plus yards? I can only dream of shots like that!

[turner1978]

I have a range that I practice at quite often. I have targets that I set up at ranges from 100-500 yards. Here in south east Idaho there is a lot of open country hunting with big mountains so long shots are pretty common. I don't usually take that long of a shot but I have practiced alot at these ranges and I know my guns and my owne ability to shoot out to 500 yards at deer size game. I would never shoot past 400 yards at an elk or bigger sized animal. I have a draw that I hunt every year for elk. It has been very productive for me and I have gotten a bull every year for 6 straight years from the same draw but the shots are long(between 300-400 yards) and I have learned to get good at long shots. I only shoot long shots in perfect conditions with my harriss bipods as a dead rest and ONLY when I am sure of a good shot. Logest shot I have made on an animal is 522 yards (laser range finder) on a 4x5 mule deer buck. I used the 140 tsx bullet. It hit high through both lungs and the deer ran down hill about 100 yards before it dropped. It was the only animal that I have shot with these bullets that didn't drop right on the spot. I know thats not that unusual but what worried me was that the entrance hole was the same size as the exit hole. The bullet did the job but I saw that these barnes tsx only open up properly out to about 375 yards and then they don't open up very reliably. Those new MRX bullets look more promising for longer shots. So do those new winchester XP3 bullets. Don't get me wrong I do love getting in close for a good close range shot. I killed a cow elk at 12 yards 7 years ago with my dads 6mm rem. I was recovering from a broken collar bone and couldn't shoot my 30-06 so I borrowed his 6mm and took a neck shot that dropped her in her tracks. Being accurate with your weapon means more than nockdown power in any situation. I am curently using a 270wsm for both deer and elk and Ihave it topped off with a leupold vx3 scope with the boone and crocket long range reticles. It works good for long shots. I just barely bought a new rifle in 300rum that I might end up using for elk for now on. I've got to go practice with it but we have been geting alot of snow for the past week. Maybe when the storm ends.

[Jay Gorski]

I always suggest using Interbonds for guys that want to hunt big game, been loading them since '04 in a friends 7600 '06. 57.5grs. H4350 under the 165IB. It has accounted for 6 elk in as many shots. 2 bullets were actually recovered, 87 and 90.6% weight retention.
Also loaded some 225s in a buddies 338. Although he has'nt hunted with them yet, 73grs. RE19 proved to be a very accurate load, plans to try them out next year, I know he won't be disappointed. I love these bullets. Almost forgot, loaded some 180s in a friends 300WSM, since he said he was going back to Africa, thought he might want a good solid performing bullet, did use them on a monster Antelope out west at 300yds. Not really needed for antelope, but it got the job done. Jay

[jimranger4]

I would look twice before using the new XP3 ammo. I tried it this year. Big disappointment!!! I shot an elk at 225 yards in the shoulder. I tracked it for 8 hours only to find it at dark shot by someone else 1000 yards ahead of me, still walking. I found multiple bone fragments, plenty of blood and the jacket of the bullet. In my opinion the bullet failed. I have written to Winchester and have not received a reply. Go with the Barnes TSX. A member of our party made almost the identical shot on a 300+ class bull and it took two steps and dropped. The bullet was recovered and weighed out at 83% of its' original weight. It went through the shoulder and broke the spine. I will never use anything but the Barnes TSX bullets again. I am sold.

[Float Pilot]

Check out the Kodiak Bonded bullets. They work for me..

http://www.hunting-rifles.com/kodiak.htm


xx

[jcat]

Turner

Here is a article you may find interesting on a guy who did some experimenting with the accubonds with a 270wsm.

http://www.gunsandammomag.com/ammunition/multi_092104/index.html

[wellchecker]

Accubonds get my vote!

I shoot the 200grainers out of a 300wm love them. dropped a 55" bull moose at 60yds this year perfect expansion. Buddy droped a whitey at 420yds last year using the 140gr bullet in his 270. I haven't experienced a single bad thing with them yet but i don't take risky shots either. Accurate, cheap to reload and they do kill. Though only thing I don't like about them is that the poly tip sometimes chips which i'm not fond of. Not that i'm worried about accuracy but rather where does that little piece go???

I have also hearnd nothing but good things with the barnes tsx and that you do need to use a lighter bullet as someone else has already mentioned. Hopefully will find the time to reload some of those in 168gr ..

Wellchecker

[C. Schutte]

Turner,

I hunted this year with a friend and was privileged to be standing beside him when he shot a bull elk with his 300 Weatherby(180 gr. Hornady Interlock). He shot and we saw hooves fly into the air. Hows that for preformance? This was a high broadside shot within 6" of the back and that is why the elk flipped. (298 yds) Still impressive. I have also seen that same round knock a bull down at aprox. 375 yds. At the long ranges the Interlocks have not exited but they hit like a freight train and the sound of the hit equals the sound of the muzzle blast.

I have personally had good luck with the Barns X tripple's. They might not expand at long ranges as well but I made a shot broadside at a bull at 436 yds. and the bullet went through both shoulders exiting the animal dropping him where he stood. The exit wound was not large so that bullet did not fully expand but, it is a penatrating round.

I am a fan of shot placement over energy or size of the cartridge. Both of these bullets will work if they strike where intended and will fail if not. The theory behind the Barns X is to cut as it passes through rather than fully expand. Don't know if it is better but if you are noticing the size of the exit wounds then you are recovering your game. You must be doing something right..................chs

[buckrod73]

I too am a fan of the TS. Have had good luck with it in my 270 using 140grs. My son and I killed two large caribou and a huge bull moose with 180grs. from our 300WM's.

I think we now have a smorgasboard of great bullets. Nosler Partition, all the bonded bullets, man it is a party. I just like the idea of a bullet made with one metal as is the Barnes.

Curious though, if a bullet has the velocity to exit a game animal, it seems to me to have enough velocity to expand completely.

[Erik.300ULTRA]

I have used the Scirocco's in my .300 Ultra and .30-06. Factory Remington loads. Two deer, one shot each. Dead in their tracks. Both shots went clean through, so I don't have any toadstools to show the results. But the 180s hit like a sledgehammer.

[el matador]

i've decided to try some bonded bullets this year, and have done a fair amount of reading on the subject. It seems all the bonded bullets are great performers. The only comparative info I've really found out is that the Hornady interbond is a bit softer than the Nosler Accubond. So, the Hornady would be better for longer shots or lower velocity rifles, and the Accubond would favor short range or higher velocity. I'm thinking I'll try the Interbond first, since I can get the regular SST in the same bullet weight (225 gr .338). I'm hoping the SST and the SST Interbond shoot to the same place - that way I can practice with the cheaper bullets.

[dubyam]

Funny thing about the Interbond-Accubond issue. I've heard just the opposite, that the Accubond is softer, and the Interbond is stronger/harder. I don't know which is the truth. I do know a fellow who has used the Interbond on deer, caribou, and other stuff, and swears by them. He uses Barnes X's too, but advised me I would not be disappointed (nor undergunned, bulletwise) in considering the Interbond for Elk.

[shiredude]

Accubonds get my vote. Shoot 140 grainers out of a 7STW. Absolutely love them!! Killed a doe at 519 yds about a 3 weeks ago, bullet stuck in opposite shoulder, weighed in at 122 grains after cleaning it up. Not bad is what i thought. Ive been loading them for about 3 years now and that is the only one i have not had a complete pass through on. shot several whitetails at anywhere from 100 to 450 yds = I love them!!

[huntinny]

I have been using both the accubonds and interbonds and have not seem a difference in performance. 4caribou and 4whitetails this year and 200phonebooks. I do not see a difference- both are great bullets.

[tom_minnesota]

The accubonds are fantastic (in my opinion). I had a 175 yd shot on an elk - nice big exit hole - quick clean kill.

I haven't had anything pattern better at the range for larger calibers.