Double Shovel
Beginner
- Oct 28, 2008
- 12
- 0
Greetings,
I haven't posted in a while, but thought it might be time to share a quick AccuBond story...
I live in Alaska and hunt as much at time allows - a couple good trips a year. Anyhow, my good friend and hunting partner drew a Spring Kodiak bear tag and asked me to tag along. We scheduled time off from work and began planning last winter. During the planning, we discussed rifles and cartridges a bit. He's a lefty shooter which narrowed the discussion some. He settled on a Ruger stainless/laminate 375 Ruger. I have a Sako Kodiak 375 H&H.
So, with rifles selected, we talked bullets. I really enjoy reloading and, of course, wanted to test everything! Well, we found a great deal on Nosler 2nds in 375, 260 Grain Accubonds and bought a couple hundred. They shot great - 3/4" in the Ruger and 1" in the Sako at 100 yards - both at around 2700 FPS.
Satisfied with results at the range, we discussed bullet construction and penetration. We considered partitions, A-Frames, TSX, and these Accubonds. It was hard to ignore the small groups, tolerable recoil, "flat" trajectory, and price of the Accubonds... But, most of what we had read and heard about was how it would require extreme penetration to put a big bear on the ground. We decided on the Accubonds (didn't even test any of the others) - off to Kodiak we go!
Day 1) Fly in and forget pump for inflatable Zodiak - pump up boat using garbage bag
Set up camp, hike ridge, spot until dark and only see a few deer.
Day 2) Hike ridge and spot for 12 hours straight - nothing. With about an hour of daylight remaining, we consider going back to camp. One more look up a nearby valley reveals a nice sized bear. Spotting scope says mature boar, somewhere between 8 and 9 feet. We hustle up the valley, the wind is good and the bear is near a waterfall which covers our sound (hard to be super quiet in wader pants). Daylight is fading and the bear is bedded in heavy cover. Partner tries for better look from higher up as I sit and watch for bear. Bear stands up at 98 yards, knows something's up. I can see the bear but I can't see my partner - I "call" to my partner six or eight times. Bear gets nervous and starts to head for cover. One more "call" to my partner stops the bear broadside. I'm relieved when partner shoots and hits twice - both solid. Bear disappears in small ravine. We regroup, sit, and watch for bear. Bear takes off, slowly climbing, opposite mountain at about 200 yards. Four shots later, bear rolls down hill and hangs up in alders, expires. We find the bear and darkness at about the same time!
After skinning the bear, we notice that the first shot broke the front right shoulder and nearly exited just in front of the left shoulder (found just under the hide). Other shots to the ribs and farther back did not exit (as far as we could tell).
In summary, the AccuBond performed beautifully (see photos)!! I do not know what a different bullet would have done with similar shot placement. Yes, this bear proved to be a resiliant creature as expected. We are satisfied with bullet performance but noted that shot placement remains king. This bear was aged at 14 years old, 26 13/16" skull, squared 8'5", and had exceptional hair for a spring bear.
Good hunting to all!
I haven't posted in a while, but thought it might be time to share a quick AccuBond story...
I live in Alaska and hunt as much at time allows - a couple good trips a year. Anyhow, my good friend and hunting partner drew a Spring Kodiak bear tag and asked me to tag along. We scheduled time off from work and began planning last winter. During the planning, we discussed rifles and cartridges a bit. He's a lefty shooter which narrowed the discussion some. He settled on a Ruger stainless/laminate 375 Ruger. I have a Sako Kodiak 375 H&H.
So, with rifles selected, we talked bullets. I really enjoy reloading and, of course, wanted to test everything! Well, we found a great deal on Nosler 2nds in 375, 260 Grain Accubonds and bought a couple hundred. They shot great - 3/4" in the Ruger and 1" in the Sako at 100 yards - both at around 2700 FPS.
Satisfied with results at the range, we discussed bullet construction and penetration. We considered partitions, A-Frames, TSX, and these Accubonds. It was hard to ignore the small groups, tolerable recoil, "flat" trajectory, and price of the Accubonds... But, most of what we had read and heard about was how it would require extreme penetration to put a big bear on the ground. We decided on the Accubonds (didn't even test any of the others) - off to Kodiak we go!
Day 1) Fly in and forget pump for inflatable Zodiak - pump up boat using garbage bag
Set up camp, hike ridge, spot until dark and only see a few deer.Day 2) Hike ridge and spot for 12 hours straight - nothing. With about an hour of daylight remaining, we consider going back to camp. One more look up a nearby valley reveals a nice sized bear. Spotting scope says mature boar, somewhere between 8 and 9 feet. We hustle up the valley, the wind is good and the bear is near a waterfall which covers our sound (hard to be super quiet in wader pants). Daylight is fading and the bear is bedded in heavy cover. Partner tries for better look from higher up as I sit and watch for bear. Bear stands up at 98 yards, knows something's up. I can see the bear but I can't see my partner - I "call" to my partner six or eight times. Bear gets nervous and starts to head for cover. One more "call" to my partner stops the bear broadside. I'm relieved when partner shoots and hits twice - both solid. Bear disappears in small ravine. We regroup, sit, and watch for bear. Bear takes off, slowly climbing, opposite mountain at about 200 yards. Four shots later, bear rolls down hill and hangs up in alders, expires. We find the bear and darkness at about the same time!
After skinning the bear, we notice that the first shot broke the front right shoulder and nearly exited just in front of the left shoulder (found just under the hide). Other shots to the ribs and farther back did not exit (as far as we could tell).
In summary, the AccuBond performed beautifully (see photos)!! I do not know what a different bullet would have done with similar shot placement. Yes, this bear proved to be a resiliant creature as expected. We are satisfied with bullet performance but noted that shot placement remains king. This bear was aged at 14 years old, 26 13/16" skull, squared 8'5", and had exceptional hair for a spring bear.
Good hunting to all!
