.308 Winchester 125 grain Accubond - Nice!

1Shot · Apr 21, 2014

The only 125 ballistic tips that I have ever recovered from deer have been those fired from my 308 win with a muzzle velocity average 3000 fps and deer were shot inside 115 yards. Most deer were at 111 yards from my stand were there is a trail crossing the old logging road between two cut overs. All bullets recovered were from shots through both shoulders and bullet was found just under the hide on the off side. The only part of the bullet recovered was just about half of the fully expanded jacket with no lead in the base. On average when the 125 ballistic tip impacts below 2800 fps it will exit through both shoulders. I shoot the 125 Ballistic tip in my 30-30AI Contender pistol with 14" barrel at 2670 fps muzzle velocity and have shot a dozen plus, lost count, deer from 30 to 120 yards with all shots either entering of exiting a shoulder with most through both shoulders and all bullets have exited with a quarter size hole. Only two deer have moved out of their tracks. Both were bucks all fired up in the rut that were chasing doe. One took three jumps and pulled up dead. This past season I shot a BIG body 8 pt that live weight would have been around 190 lbs. He was shot at 118 yards as he quartered toward me with his right shoulder. Bullet impact was center of shoulder and exit was in the back 1/4 of the off side rib cage with quarter size hole. This buck leaped strait up in the air head strait up with its back legs at least 6 ft off the ground shaking his dead back and forth from side to side. Then it nosed over looking like someone doing a dive off a diving board into a pool. When its front legs touched down it crumpled on the right side due to the shoulder being smashed and leg broken and then nose plowed powered by its back legs down the logging path toward me for about 30 yards before crashing dead. Weirdest thing I have ever seen a shot deer do.

DrMike · Apr 21, 2014

That is great performance, Andrew. You couldn't ask for much more of a bullet. It is difficult to argue that such wouldn't work just fine on deer.

andrewctillman · Apr 21, 2014

On closer examination of the bullet I see why it lost 35% weight.

What appears to be lead adhered to mushroom is either a very thin coating of lead or just solder. The lump you see in the center of the bullet is lead. Everything else you see in the surface area of the bullet is not. I dont know if another 25 - 30 grains of retained weight would have increased penetration or not. That is greatly determined by FA. I think the lead alloy is quite brittle and flakes off though. I am used to Bitterroot, North Fork, original TBBC, Kodiak, and to a lesser extent Swift, and they all appear to be pure lead core which is very ductile. Woodleigh, TBBC by Speer and this Acubond appear to have more tin in the lead. But it will be dandy for small game it is intended for.