Nosler Accubond - 200gr or 180gr for 300WM?

[lifesupport4u]

Working up a load for my 300 win mag. It’s a 26” 1:10 twist barrel. Anyone have experience with 180 or 200 grain Accubonds?

Leaning towards 200 grains. Really want something that carries energy and has minimal wind drift. I would like to use this rifle for large game (elk, moose, maybe bear)

 

[Deleted member 38069]

I used to shoot 180s (ABs) and they grouped well at 200 yds, outside with wind. Switched to E-tip 180s. They have ethically killed every animal I have shot at. Rarely had to follow up with a 2nd shot!

Good luck

 

[RevJim]

I loaded the 200 NAB over a wad of Retumbo for a 300 RUM, gift for my SIL. He killed a big cow a tad over 440yds with it, blew chunks out the other side, he said. Its a good looking bullet. I have more experience with the older Barnes 180 XBT from a 300 Win Mag. I think the newer TTSX has more advantages. I recently worked up a load in 300WM with the 200 Partition. 2950fps with R23 shot like a varmint rifle, the 200 NAB would be swell too. Have a ball Pard!

 

[buffybr]

My response to many of these posts is that I usually go back to whichever bullet shoots best in your rifle. 20 grains of bullet weight will usually not determine if a shot is lethal or not.

Just from my experience of 40+ years of elk hunting, 180 grain Sierra spire point bullets worked fine from my .30-06, 180 grain Nosler Partitions worked fine from my .30 Gibbs, and 168 grain Barnes TSX and TTSX bullets have worked fine in my .300 Weatherby. The 180 grain Partitions also made one shot kills on my two bull moose. I have only shot one elk with an Accubond bullet and it was a one shot kill with a 160 grain bullet from my 7 mm RM. I carried that rifle and bullet on a Newfoundland moose hunt last fall, but did not see a bull that I wanted to shoot.

My current "go to" bullet for my .300 Weatherby is the 180 grain TTSX. It is very accurate in my rifle, and I have complete confidence in it.

 

[JCW]

I shoot a 200 AB in my .300 Win with H4831sc. Happy with it so far on a handful of animals I have taken. The only downside I have seen so far is their availability can be spotty during certain times of the year.

 

[bigjohn]

In 2007, my son, son in law and I had 3, 300 win mags built. They were Remington 700 actions with 26" Lilja 1:10 barrels and McMillian stocks. Together we broke the barrels in and then developed a load. I felt from the beginning that we would end up with the 180 grain AB as our final choice. However, as we worked through a variety of bullets and powders, the 200 grain AB ahead of RL22 shot the best.
My main hangup with the 200 grain AB was that 2975 fps was the fastest that we could get it to go without excessive pressure signs. I really wanted something that was 3000 fps or faster, a hangup from the pre-range finder days. I got over this hangup after we killed a number of bulls with the load. We have killed elk from 30 yards to 720 yards as well as black bear, NM oryx, mule deer and even a few coues deer. OK it may be a little bit of an overkill for a coues buck! If you can develop a load that shoots well with the 200 grain AB, which I bet that you can, the bullet will do well for you.

 

[Arch Stanton]

180 AB with 75.0g RL-22 has worked wonders in 2 separate 300WM for me. A gunsmith friend of mine who reloaded a bunch said for some reason, that load worked in a lot of guns. I know every barrel is different but with dumb luck, it worked in mine

 

[Conrad8899]

Try either H4831 or H1000 for either bullet pick the one that shoots best and run with it... U really cant go wrong with either...….

 

[klampson]

I've had good luck with H4831 and 200 gr Accubonds, but I would try 180 gr bullets as well, and go with whichever is more accurate. That is what I did.

 

[Don Fischer]

I have no experience with a 300 mag but have a thought on bullet's for cartridges anyway. I think the mid range to heavy weight bullet's in each cartridge work best. And then I cannot see using less than heavy bullet's in any magnum If for some reason I were to buy a magnum again and it were a 300 mag there is no doubt in my mind the bullet's I'd be leaning toward would be 200grs. A 30-06 will handle a 180gr bullet very well, in my 30-06 it's my bullet of choice. It will also handle 200gr bullet's but I don't think as ell as the 300 magnums. I had read years ago and believe to this day that the beauty of a magnum is it handles heavy for cartridge bullet's better than standard bullet's. The problem come's in that with those heavy bullet's rcoil also goes up but that's the price yu pay.

2700 fps is fairly easy to get to with a 180gr bullet and I believe it falls in an ideal range f fps to allow the bullet to work best. The 300 mag with it will give velocity of around 3000+ fps. On closer shots that might make the bullet react not as well as you'd like. Wth the 200gr bullet the 30-06 will get you something like 2500fps, probably be great on closer shots at heavy game but the 300 mag will get about 2900fps with the same bullet, should not be as hard on the bullet on larger game at closer ranges. Or you could step up to a 220gr in the 300 mag and still run the bullet about 2700fps. Should work well on all large animals near of farther! Not caring for any magnum cartridge anymore, were I to go after say a grizzly with my 30-06 or 308, either would be loaded with 200gr bullet'. On the other hand the same bullet in a 300 mag should be about ideal in my opinion. Bear in mind I do not take many shot's much over 250 yds ever. And lots of shots at far less. To much velocity can play h*ll with my bullet's of choice.

 

[noharleyyet]

180 AB with 75.0g RL-22 has worked wonders in 2 separate 300WM for me. A gunsmith friend of mine who reloaded a bunch said for some reason, that load worked in a lot of guns. I know every barrel is different but with dumb luck, it worked in mine

IIRC, this is the flour and sugar for a Kimber Classic safe resident.

 

[RevJim]

I like the Mid to Heavy "conventional" bullets also, because they work pretty well. However, the lighter weight monos just change the whole paradigm, IMHO. Not too light, but a 180 mono in a 300 Mag is flat shooting, hits hard, and likely to completely penetrate the marjority of shots! Are they needed?, No, but if I had a choice of a 180 cup and core and a Mono for a 300, its going to be the Mono. If it is a Premium, its sixes for me. I think any High Velocity round needs these kinds of bullets. Even the older 220 cup n core "can" come apart from a 300 Mag up close. I liked the Nosler 115 PT minimum for a 257 Wby and later the 100 TSX best. Same with a 240 Wby, either a Partition(premium) or mono.

 

[Don Fischer]

I like the Mid to Heavy "conventional" bullets also, because they work pretty well. However, the lighter weight monos just change the whole paradigm, IMHO. Not too light, but a 180 mono in a 300 Mag is flat shooting, hits hard, and likely to completely penetrate the marjority of shots! Are they needed?, No, but if I had a choice of a 180 cup and core and a Mono for a 300, its going to be the Mono. If it is a Premium, its sixes for me. I think any High Velocity round needs these kinds of bullets. Even the older 220 cup n core "can" come apart from a 300 Mag up close. I liked the Nosler 115 PT minimum for a 257 Wby and later the 100 TSX best. Same with a 240 Wby, either a Partition(premium) or mono.

I did a little inexact figuring of mono to cup and core. Think it was something like a 180gr 30cal cup and core and a 150gr 30cal mono, both from I think it was a 30-06. I got 84% retained weight in some Hornady's years ago so I figured 84% retained in this instance against 100% retained with the mono. If I remember right the cup and core shed to just under 150gr and I figured with both shooting through, there was a slight advantage to the mono bullet in retained weight. That impressed me quite a bit but not enough to shell out mono bullet prices when cup and core has never let me down. I suspect that for longer range, say to 300yds there might be some advantage to the mono bullet's. On the other hand I've read several times the mono has to be seated deeper to stay off the lands because the bullet is longer. Apparently that bullet length is one reason most guy's go with the lighter bullet's. I think a lot are impressed with the higher velocity of the lighter bullet though too.

 

[RevJim]

Yep. the Monos are long, but many heavier c&c bullets are too, and they "do" recoil more. But I doubt the folks who use the lighter bullets are being recoil conscious, ha. I know I have used some very light (but stout) bullets for big game and I always zeroed them about 1" high at 100. I liked the "point and shoot", thread the needle ( through a hole in the puckerbrush if you would) type shooting that I did. Some do like the very fast speeds, but really, anything over 3000fps....doubtful any of us could tell any difference, ha. I like to work up a good load with the mono I like ( and weight I want) say 150 TTSX/175LRX for a 300WM and then I work up a good load with the 200 Noslers or similar. In the 30-06, I always liked (for deer) the 125-150 c&c and the 168TSX for a Mono, but then, I just "have" to try and get good loads with 200gr C&C, PT, even the Woodleigh 30-06 rated 240gr. Ha I had a friend who used the factory 220gr Corlokts on Tx deer/hogs in his 30-06. No meat damage. I have to reiterate though that I don't shoot past 375 or so. I wouldn't know where to even start for a 800yd shot, ha.

 

[1_pointer]

My response to many of these posts is that I usually go back to whichever bullet shoots best in your rifle. 20 grains of bullet weight will usually not determine if a shot is lethal or not.

This!!!

 

[Brian in Montana]

I've killed everything from elk to turkeys with a 180grn Interlock flying out of a 300WM. There's plenty enough energy in that 180grn AB for whatever you want to shoot. If you're gun just seems to like the 200s better, there's that, but don't worry energy between the two. They're both moose medicine.

 

[Western Traveler1]

IIRC, this is the flour and sugar for a Kimber Classic safe resident.

180 AB with 75.0g RL-22 has worked wonders in 2 separate 300WM for me. A gunsmith friend of mine who reloaded a bunch said for some reason, that load worked in a lot of guns. I know every barrel is different but with dumb luck, it worked in mine

This right out of my book for my Rem 700. Moose, elk, deer and antelope ethical kills with little meat damage to the smaller animals.

 

[Hertervillian]

My profile picture shows an AB I recovered this past fall. Ribs to under hide near flank 225 yards. He traveled about 20 yards, pleased me as do Partition in 180g

 

[RevJim]

I did use the 180 NAB, but in a 338 RUM, started out right at 3500fps. I shot a heavy Aoudad sheep at 250 or so, and he made one hop and was done. That .338 cal 180 made a wound channel that looked like every Partition result I had ever seen. Even at 250yds, thats still humming and it did swell! My SIL used the same bullet in my 338 Federal for a close up shot on a mule deer. It gave the same result. So, "if" your rifle likes it, it will hold up just fine in your 300 WM. Of the cup and core, the Sierra Pro Hunter 180 and Speer Hot Cor 180 do very well, but even better ( based on my use in 30-06 and 30-06 Improved) are the Sierra 200 GK SBT and the Speer 200 Hot Cor. Worth playing with! Very few folks realize that out around 350-400 it starts overtaking the 180. I like the 'Old School" 200gr CnC bullets to 'thump" something hard, ha. If you have a chance to hunt hogs, they are a great "bullet tester", ha, much cheaper/ more prolific to hunt/shoot than elk/moose/bear. However, if they hold up well on a big hog, from near and far, they will work fine on anything bigger critter! Have a ball though, Life is Short!

 

[bailey68]

I second the opinion in finding which one the gun likes and how much room you have in the magazine to handle the longer heavier bullets. We have 3 300 w m in the house each required a different bullet to get sub moa 165 acc b a 190 Berger and a 210 Berger