150gr or 180gr

[hunt24/7]

I drew an antelope tag this year in Oregon after 10 years of applying. I'm gonna loads some Accubonds for my .300 Rem Ultra Mag. What do you guys (or gals) think, 150s or 180s? Oh, shot distance could be from here to Texas.

 

[JD338]

I would use the 180 gr AB because it has a higher BC and will deliver more energy downrange. It will buck the wind better than the 150 gr bullets and meat damage would be less due to the slightly lower velocity of the 180 gr bullet.

Regards,

JD338

 

[LoneStar]

An alternate opinion: the 180-grain bullet may not open up enough on a small animal like an antelope. On a long range shot you may not even know the animal was hit until after it runs out of sight. Either has ample energy for a 100-pound animal. And the recoil with the 180 will be greater, for no discernable advantage:

Both loads shoot within 2 inches of each other out to 500 yards, so their trajectory difference is immaterial. Differences in wind drift are nothing at 500 yards - just 1.2 inches less drift with the 180s. My recommendation is to shoot the 150s; antelope aren't moose, use the appropriate bullet. And good luck! :grin:

 

[fjlee]

I drew an antelope tag this year in Oregon after 10 years of applying. I'm gonna loads some Accubonds for my .300 Rem Ultra Mag. What do you guys (or gals) think, 150s or 180s? Oh, shot distance could be from here to Texas.

External ballistics tween the 2 bullets are so similar that I wouldn't use ballistics as criteria. I'd choose whichever bullet grouped the best, when loaded to "my hunting ammo" specs.

Lee Carkenord fjlee

 

[147 Grain]

150-gr. AccuBond or 180-gr. Ballistic Tip.

 

[7mmfan]

I've harvested over 25 antelope so far and they don't take a lot of killing power to put down, so either bullet choice would be fine. The answer to your question is : use whichever load prints the smallest groups at 300, 400, and 500 yards. That means get out there and pattern the loads from field conditions (bipods if you're using them) and see which load shoots best. I always check my loads at long range because you can never count on loading manuals or programs to be 100% correct. Your rifle has all the velocity needed to open up both bullets at long range.....good luck.

Brad

 

[Charlie-NY]

I'll be using a 160gr AccuBond in my 7STW for pronghorn hunting this September. The 160gr AccuBond is a bit of overkill on smallish antelope but it shoots into 1" groups at 200yds reliably.

I was originally set up to use the 162gr A-Max ,which would have been a better suited bullet for antelope hunting, but when loaded to the rifling, they did not fit into the magazine. The AccuBond fits fine when loaded .005" off the rifling and that is where it likes to shoot. They are unbelievably accurate!