308 Win 180 grain Norma Bondstrike

[SJB358]

Great field report. Thank you.

 

[FOTIS]

Are they being accurate for you, or finnicky?

 

[wvbuckbuster]

No argument there.

 

[DrMike]

Yes, I'd say the Bondstrike worked well for you. Congratulations on some fine dining.

 

[Slimfinn]

Are they being accurate for you, or finnicky?

the 143's in my 264WM shoot well, around .5moa with an easy development so could even be better
also shot in my a group in my 260 using my eldx load, if I recall they shot well there too.

 

[JMRhino]

I'll get some weights and measurements soon. But it looks like a tipped Oryx to me which ain't a bad thing..

What barrel length did you use to get that velocity? Were they factory loads or handloads with 49gn Hunter? Thx.

 

[SJB358]

22” Kimber Montana

And they were Norma factory loads.

 

[badaxeriverman]

What type of media did you shoot them into?

 

[TXbaldhunter]

I think the Norma Bondstrike may be the same as the discontinued Hornady Interbond,they certainly are constructed alike and the mushroomed bullets look the same too.I have used the Interbonds on deer,hogs,elk and nilgia.They are a very tough bullet and they have all exited.I think they are a little tougher than the AccuBond.

 

[badaxeriverman]

The Accubonds suck imo. I’ve had them blow through several deer like full metal jackets. It’s when they first came out they might’ve changed your design in their alloy is softer sounds but I shot over a dozen deer that all stood there like they weren’t even shot. That was 180 grain out of my 30-06. I had the exact same experience shooting the 260 grain version out of my 375 rum. Shot two deer and they both ran over 100 yards before they expired.

I’ll take a plain old ballistic tip all day long over it.

 

[TXbaldhunter]

The Accubonds suck imo. I’ve had them blow through several deer like full metal jackets. It’s when they first came out they might’ve changed your design in their alloy is softer sounds but I shot over a dozen deer that all stood there like they weren’t even shot. That was 180 grain out of my 30-06. I had the exact same experience shooting the 260 grain version out of my 375 rum. Shot two deer and they both ran over 100 yards before they expired.

I’ll take a plain old ballistic tip all day long over it.

I like the Ballistic Tips too.They will give you just a little larger wound channel than the AccuBond,tend to give you quick kills and exit as well.

 

[SJB358]

What type of media did you shoot them into?

Water

 

[SJB358]

I like the Ballistic Tips too.They will give you just a little larger wound channel than the AccuBond,tend to give you quick kills and exit as well.

I can’t see much, if any difference from a PT and AccuBond these days and kinda default to ABs more these days. They’re usually a little more accurate at distance and on game they have worked amazing.

 

[badaxeriverman]

Water

Yep that's way too hard of a test versus an animal. I used to do the same thing when testing cast bullets for different Alloys to see how the hollow points would expand. The ones that look like a beautiful mushroom wouldn't even open up an animals with heart and lung shots. They would act like a shot them with a full metal jacket and run over a hundred yards before expiring with no blood trails. The super soft Alloys I used that literally would flatten out to the size of a penny shooting in water and only got through three or four jugs at the max would drop deer in their tracks and I would get an exit every time. That held together in my opinion way too well going through water. It probably would be good for shooting through a cape buffalo but not a black bear or whitetail deer.

There's a monster difference between a Partition and an AccuBond. I've shot deer with both and black bear with both. Accubons act like full metal jackets at 30-06 velocity. At least with a Partition it's soft lead and it opens up and smears so you get a good expansion with the first half of the bullet and some kinetic energy dump. Most deer i have shot with accubons look like they were shot with a full metal jacket...
besides running a country mile before expiring. The partitions put a nice hole in and out where you can actually see it expanded.

 

[TackDriver284]

Both 180 Accubonds recovered from nilgai. Used in 300 Win Mag.
I like to try the 180 BondStrike sometime, and Partition is a great bullet as well. Partition does drive them deep after shedding the front half, used a 140 Partition on a bull nilgai head on straight in the chest from a 7 mm Mag about 20 years ago, drove that 140 Partition through the heart down to the rear ham. Bang flop dropped right there.

 

[Hunter26]

@badaxeriverman I know you've posted that about the Accubonds acting like FMJ's over and over but you're the only person I've ever heard claim that. I've been using the Accubonds since they came out in multiple different calibers on coyotes, tons of deer and hogs with MV's from 2400 to 3000+ and have NEVER had an issue. That includes double lung shots where no real bone was hit. They always expanded and killed with authority. I think they act almost exactly like Partitions with maybe the Partitions penetrating more deeply on average.

@TXbaldhunter the bond strike does look similar to the Interbonds, which are some of my favorite bullets. The Sciroccos are a similar design & construction, or I should say the Interbond is similar since the Swift bullet came out first. All excellent all-round hunting bullets.

 

[badaxeriverman]

The ones I bought were the first year they came out bought them both in 308 diameter 180 grain and 260 grain in 375 and they both did the same on white tailed deer and bear. I’m guessing they probably either changed the design or the alloy sense. If you hit hard shoulder bone, of course it’s gonna drop them. I was shooting broad side shots a few inches behind the shoulders so it would zip in and out of the animal without any expansion. Even have the same problem when I shot up one of the shoulders, and it laid paralyzed, and I had to go to slit it’s neck.

I even called and talked to Nosler and they told me 180 Accubonds were too heavy for deer in 30-06. They told me they weren’t going to expand just like I experienced at the time. They also told me they weren’t meant for thin skinned game like whitail deer in blackbear. Even an 375 ultra velocity. They said they were made for really thick heavy animals to get ultimate penetration with marginal shots to go through and through at the time.

 

[TackDriver284]

The ones I bought were the first year they came out bought them both in 308 diameter 180 grain and 260 grain in 375 and they both did the same on white tailed deer and bear. I’m guessing they probably either changed the design or the alloy sense. If you hit hard shoulder bone, of course it’s gonna drop them. I was shooting broad side shots a few inches behind the shoulders so it would zip in and out of the animal without any expansion. Even have the same problem when I shot up one of the shoulders, and it laid paralyzed, and I had to go to slit it’s neck.

I even called and talked to Nosler and they told me 180 Accubonds were too heavy for deer in 30-06. They told me they weren’t going to expand just like I experienced at the time. They also told me they weren’t meant for thin skinned game like whitail deer in blackbear. Even an 375 ultra velocity. They said they were made for really thick heavy animals to get ultimate penetration with marginal shots to go through and through at the time.

165 Accubonds is best in the 308 and 30-06 in my opinion, its lighter and drives faster for better expansion. I use the 180 Accubonds in my 300 Win Mag. I have a box of 165 AB for my 308 to test soon.

 

[JMRhino]

The ones I bought were the first year they came out bought them both in 308 diameter 180 grain and 260 grain in 375 and they both did the same on white tailed deer and bear. I’m guessing they probably either changed the design or the alloy sense. If you hit hard shoulder bone, of course it’s gonna drop them. I was shooting broad side shots a few inches behind the shoulders so it would zip in and out of the animal without any expansion. Even have the same problem when I shot up one of the shoulders, and it laid paralyzed, and I had to go to slit it’s neck.

I even called and talked to Nosler and they told me 180 Accubonds were too heavy for deer in 30-06. They told me they weren’t going to expand just like I experienced at the time. They also told me they weren’t meant for thin skinned game like whitail deer in blackbear. Even an 375 ultra velocity. They said they were made for really thick heavy animals to get ultimate penetration with marginal shots to go through and through at the time.

I have had similar experiences using Accubonds on Whitetails from my Kimber Montana in 7-08 in both factory and handloads. I have always observed great consistency in terms of accuracy, but terminal performance has been somewhat schizophrenic. Some kills were quick with a bloodbath while others were seemingly a pencil whole going all the way through with less external blood loss. I don't recall ever failing to recover an animal shot with Accubonds but I know that I've had to test my tracking skills more than desired. I have since gone back to Nosler BTs and TTSXs in 120gn for my 7-08 and I trust them a little bit more from my experiences. My son still uses 140gn Accubonds in his Remington 700 in 7-08.

I think it should be noted too that the Nosler 110gn Accubonds in all of my .257 caliber rifles have been devastating on game with large holes and a lot of blood to follow. I can't really explain the difference other than the 140gn in 7mm might just be a little to stout for my little whitetails in my area... Just an opinion.

 

[Blkram]

And there lies the issue...
A 100 lb southern whitetail is going to show dramatically different results in bullet performance with a stouter bullet, than a 300 lb+ northern whitetail, just as a small 150 lb black bear will show dramatically different results in bullet performance than a larger 400 lb+ bruiser.
The lighter animal is not going to have the same thicker skin, heavier muscle mass, and larger bones, of the larger animals, which will have dramatic differences in the bullet's performance on the game. The lighter animals just doesn't have the same density and body mass of the larger animal that will result in more expansion of the bullet as it travels through the larger animal.

Use the right bullet for your conditions, and you will get the desired results!
As you have found, the BTs (or other regular cup and cores) will work better on the lighter game as they are designed to open quicker, and do not need to retain weight for added penetration on lighter, thinner animals. The AccuBonds will work better on the heavier, thicker animals that require more penetration for complete pass throughs.

Here in the far north, our whitetails and mulies can reach 400 lbs+, as can the bears, with age, good genetics and quality feed (agriculture crops), and the AccuBonds shine on these brutes. Although I have seen and read on how big the SC black bears can get!