Accubond or TTSX?

[Spyder]

I'm going to figure out a new elk/deer load for my new 300WM Sendero SF II. I've got Nosler Custom brass, and several different powders to choose from and experiment with.

I was leaning heavily towards 165 TTSX until I spent some time reading about Accubonds last night.

I like everything I've read about the TTSX, and the Barnes long range version of it as well, but I'll go broke shooting them.

I spent a bunch of time reading up on the Accubond last night, and several people stated that the green labeled Ballistic Tip has the same POI as their Accubond loads...and they're significantly cheaper for practice ammo.

I've got a 425 yard range in my back yard, and I intend to shoot a lot between now and my November elk hunt (North Eastern Oregon, high desert) and am fully confident in my ability to kill an elk or deer at that range.

Has anyone worked with both of those bullets and heavily recommends one over the other? Has anyone had the same experience with Accubonds and the Nosler Ballistic Tips, with having the same POI with the same load info, just a bullet swap?

Any other recommendations I can look at?

[Spyder]

Through more and more reading, I guess my biggest question is, has anyone else had the same POI with Accubonds, as they dow with Nosler Ballistic Tips.

Plenty of reading on it out there, but only a few people have mentioned this.

ETA: Further reading, finding more and more people (although still a statistically small amount) who say they shoot surprisingly similar with the same load/weight.

[Gasman]

AB's and BT's may shoot to the same POI in your rifle, but they also might not. There's no guarantee that this will happen.

But, do they absolutely have to shoot to the same POI? Find loads for the AB's and BT's that shoot well and at similar MV's. Practice with the BT's and then rezero right before your hunt with the AB's.

BTW, the two 165 bullets have different lengths, IIRC, so you'll have to adjust OAL to keep them the same distance off the lands.

[Gasman]

ETA: I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. When my 280AI build is finished, I'll be working up a load around the 145 LRX for out-of-state deer and elk. I plan on using the Speer 145 BTHP for practice, though, as it has a similar BC as the LRX.

[Spyder]

Yea, I'm definitely leaning towards working up a load for each. Using BT's for deer and coyotes and practice, and ABs for the more serious stuff. Hopefully I'll have shot out the barrel and need to replace it, before CA goes and screws us into having to use TTSXs.

[Gasman]

YMMV, but I haven't had an issue with TTSX's (which is why I'm going with the LRX in my 280AI, even for out-of-state hunts). I took a nice hog last year with a little 80 gr TTSX out of a 243. The hog died just as fast as it would have with any other bullet.



Especially out of 300WM, a TTSX will readily kill anything that you'd want to shoot given proper shot placement.