7mm Rem. Mag Accubonds vs. Ballistic Tips

[mzurovec]

Barnes 127 LRX through an Elk. Was hoping for much, much more...!!

[Mike D]

Barnes 127 LRX through an Elk. Was hoping for much, much more...!!

Wow you don’t typically see them lose petals like that.

What cartridge and distance?


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[mzurovec]

Wow you don’t typically see them lose petals like that.

What cartridge and distance?


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6.5 PRC, 486 yards, estimated impact velocity around 2350FPS. Straight through the lungs in Unit 10, New Mexico.

[WyoBull]

I shoot Barnes exclusively in my big game calibers. they are not made to expand as has been mentioned above, beyond the 4 petals curling back. Barnes bullets are designed to drive hard through an animal. I also shoot high shoulder shots, or drive the bullet right through the front shoulders. It is a lot different shooting an elk standing at the edge of a deep nasty canyon where you want to drop him in his tracks versus shooting a whitetail standing next to a feeder down a sendero.

If you want expansion (as in the bullet coming apart and disintegrating in small pieces), shoot a Berger, or something else that explodes on impact. Either one will kill the animal, I just have had such good luck with Barnes that I don't look elsewhere.

But, to the OP's question, between the Accubond and BT, I will take the Accubond over the BT. And, the 7mm Mag shoots a 140 gr bullet really well.

[WyoBull]

6.5 PRC, 486 yards, estimated impact velocity around 2350FPS. Straight through the lungs in Unit 10, New Mexico.

You typically don't recover a Barnes bullet inside an animal, especially shooting them through the lungs but after seeing the distance you shot him at with the 6.5 PRC, I can understand why you recovered it.

[Etxbuckman]

https://www.sierrabullets.com/produc...n-tgk-b-c-545/


But I hand load.

Great. Thank you.

But, to the OP's question, between the Accubond and BT, I will take the Accubond over the BT. And, the 7mm Mag shoots a 140 gr bullet really well.

And thank you for the information too. My line of thinking in going with a 160 bullet would be to slow it down some so it has a chance to expand some and not just punch right through. Would an Accubond be acceptable for this as well?

[trophy8]

Great. Thank you.



And thank you for the information too. My line of thinking in going with a 160 bullet would be to slow it down some so it has a chance to expand some and not just punch right through. Would an Accubond be acceptable for this as well?

You’re thinking wrong. Speed INCREASES expansion. As mentioned before, that’s the reason for the minimum FPS threshold on bullets. Needs X FPS to expand. Increase that and increase expansion.

Bullets not expanding happen with a well constructed Bullet designed for penetration and only hitting soft tissue. I’d wager that most all “through and through” shots that didn’t expand where guys shooting lungs and likely didn’t hit a rib or hit a small part of one. Put that Bullet in the shoulder and it changes things.

Bonded bullets needs impact to open. Heavier bullets penetrate further depending on speed.

[trophy8]

I wish somebody would have told me that a 7mm mag don't kill worth a crap sooner. Over 40 years shooting one and it has worked just fine for me. And with cup and core bullets at that. But I don't gut shoot. I don't know what the best bullet for doing that happens to be. Hit them in the right place and down they go. Hit them in the shoulder and that bullets works great. Hit them in the gut and blame that sorry azz bullet for not working right.

Preach it. PREACH IT!

[Yelladog]

6.5 PRC, 486 yards, estimated impact velocity around 2350FPS. Straight through the lungs in Unit 10, New Mexico.

Thanks for posting. I picked up a 6.5 RPM so far the 127 LRX is all I have for it but haven’t hunted with it yet.


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[Shane]

I don’t buy into this theory AT ALL. Velocity is what makes a traditional Bullet expand, that’s why they have a minimum velocity expansion threshold. The upper velocity threshold represents the maximum velocity that the bullet would hold together.


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Agreed. The slower you go, the less expansion you'll get. That's why they make the AccuBond Long Range. It's thinner walled than the regular AB, so it will expand at longer range - after the bullet slows down.

Ballistic Tips are not hunting bullets. They're more for target shooting (not bonded, so they fragment more). Stick with ABs for hunting bullets. I've shot both 140s and 160s out of my 7mags. Killed whitetail, mule deer, pigs, aoudad, axis, and desert bighorn (140gr) with them, and nothing but great performance from either weight.

[Etxbuckman]

You’re thinking wrong. Speed INCREASES expansion. As mentioned before, that’s the reason for the minimum FPS threshold on bullets. Needs X FPS to expand. Increase that and increase expansion.

Bullets not expanding happen with a well constructed Bullet designed for penetration and only hitting soft tissue. I’d wager that most all “through and through” shots that didn’t expand where guys shooting lungs and likely didn’t hit a rib or hit a small part of one. Put that Bullet in the shoulder and it changes things.

Bonded bullets needs impact to open. Heavier bullets penetrate further depending on speed.

Ah. Thank you for setting me straight about the whole expansion needs speed thing.

Do those Barnes TTSX fall under the bonded bullet label? What about these Sierra Game Kings? Are they bonded?

[Etxbuckman]

Agreed. The slower you go, the less expansion you'll get. That's why they make the AccuBond Long Range. It's thinner walled than the regular AB, so it will expand at longer range - after the bullet slows down.

Ballistic Tips are not hunting bullets. They're more for target shooting (not bonded, so they fragment more). Stick with ABs for hunting bullets. I've shot both 140s and 160s out of my 7mags. Killed whitetail, mule deer, pigs, aoudad, axis, and desert bighorn (140gr) with them, and nothing but great performance from either weight.

So no discernable difference between the 140 and 160 grain?


On a related note, I must say BT's have served me very well out of my 7mm-08. Nasty blood trails for anything that isn't DRT. I just can't find what I'm looking for in these right now.

[Shane]

The BT would probably hold together better on a slower load like that. But in a magnum caliber, they'll blow apart too much for my liking.

On deer sized game out to 400 yards, everything has been DRT for me. I can't tell any difference. Shot placement, of course, is a big part of that. I don't just shoot ribs and lungs. I shoot the front shoulder in the middle of the crease where the necks ties in. You hit spine and usually top of the heart, and sometimes offside shoulder too if they're quartering to you some. Puts em in the dirt in their tracks. ABs expand, retain weight, and kill as effectively as Partitions. I like the boat tail design of the AB a little better.

On elk sized game, the 160s would be best, I'm sure. But I have no doubt a 140 would kill an elk too.

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[muzzlebrake]

Ah. Thank you for setting me straight about the whole expansion needs speed thing.

Do those Barnes TTSX fall under the bonded bullet label? What about these Sierra Game Kings? Are they bonded?

TTSX is a solid copper bullet with a hole, if you will, drilled part way down the into the center and a polymer tip inserted into the hole. The inside of said hole has lines scored into it so that on impact the tip drive back into the cavity to split the bullet nose into 4 petals which peel back and increases the diameter by 2x and helping create a large wound cavity which creates a huge amount of hydraulic shock in the liquid parts of the animals body. The TTSX by design expands much easier than the TSX hollow point. TTSX and TSX both work much better when hitting where there is some resistance like shoulder bones etc. For a body shot that hit between the ribs and encounters no resistance that animal will not go down until it runs out of air and or blood. I really like both for shooting hogs especially thru the shoulders. Hogs are DRT when hit with these bullets. The exception might be the tiny little ice pick calibers that may only pizz them off.

[M16]

Ballistic Tips are not hunting bullets.

Wait? What? That is factually incorrect. They are great hunting bullets. I’ve killed several hundred deer with the Nosler 7mm 120 grain ballistic tips. In both 7 mag and 7mm08. I like it because it has a thicker jacket than the 140 grain. I use it because it’s the best bullet ever made for deer hunting.