6.5 CM 140 nosler accubonds. 4 deer no exit wound

[260madman]

Bullets fall out in the gut pile? Any recovered? What was the internal damage like?

50 yards isn’t very far and depending how high up the bullet enters with no exit that means the chest has to fill up before it starts leaking or they cough up blood while running.

Being a 6.5anything slut it pains me to say this, but a
3-0-sucks with a 165 Hot-Cor or 168 NBT has left the best blood trails out of all my different cartridges I’ve shot deer with.

 

[WCB]

Shot my mule deer this year at 400 yards then again at 300 with 6.5 crd 140gr Accubonds.

400 yards shot right threw the shoulder bullet found inside skin on far side. Deer ran towards me stopped at 300 yds almost facing me. hit him in the chest...found the bullet in his right hind quarter after it shattered his leg just below the ball join (basically full length penetration).

It is a 65% weight retention bullet don't expect pass thrus. Even beyond that it is a bullet don't expect pass thrus.

I have also shot many animals with 7rem 160 gr trophy bonded tips (90% weight retention). Most are pass thrus but have a handful that didn't. A couple from around 200 yards no concern from me.

 

[EmperorMA]

Five animals with 6.5 Creedmoor, none of those with the 140 AB, though. Three deer with Winchester Deer Season XP 125 gr all pass-throughs at 125, 150 and 220 yards, one with Browning BXR 129gr complete pass-through at 265 yards on a big muley buck and one big elk at 208 yards with Nosler 142 ABLR complete pass-through.

The 6.5 Creedmoor is getting it done for me with softer bullets, all DRTs with exits, light, medium and heavy bullets, so I doubt I'll start shooting ABs.

 

[rootacres]

The AccuBonds are awesome bullets. I used them as a preference on a muley in 2019. They are designed to have above average weight retention, expand very well and dump most/all their energy into your target. With a 6.5 CM I am not that surprised that you didn't have exit holes. If you're not ok with only having 1 hole, or the lack of a blood trail is unsettling you can always switch bullets. The gold standard on here for getting exit holes are the TTSX. Any all copper bullet (that I am aware of) should get you better penetration than the equivalent AccuBond.

 

[Dhbwa]

OP and others- remember that close range = faster and rapid expansion which = less chance of an exit.

I am not a fan of the AB and less so of the LRAB.
In a CM just about an decent cup and core should exit a deer on shots over 150yds....
Hint - I like Partitions unless you are shooting past 500 yds (where a higher BC helps)

 

[Kimber7man]

Heck, just shoot them in the shoulders and break them down right there.

 

[hodgeman]

Your results are pretty unusual. I've shot more than 80 animals up to moose with 300WSM/180 Accubonds and only had 3 fail to exit. I recovered two from under the offside hide in a big old mushroom of lead.

Did you recover any of the bullets?

 

[Sled]

Don't know why they didn't exit but my experience on elk is the AB in the lungs doesn't make impressive entry/exit wounds but they do exit. They tend to hold fluids in the chest cavity until they fill up, tip over and pour out.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I've pulled a lot of the 260g accubonds out of moose over the past few years, like somebody else said, they sort of turn into a big ball inside the animal, I find them on the hide on the far side of the animal.

 

[roosiebull]

i had a young lady use my 6.5creed with 140gr accubonds on a youth cow hunt, first shot was good, she just stood there and quartered to... next shot was a little rushed, hit behind the shoulder, through the body and exploded the femur... 3rd shot was on the money and dumped her, that one went through on side scapula and exited the elk.... i was beyond impressed with actual bullet performance and damage from those 140gr accubonds on a big roosie cow.

every shot is different on every animal we shoot.... dead within 30yds no matter what is what i consider a win... blood, no blood, i don't really care, i'll find it. if they die quick i don't question the bullet's effectiveness... same with my arrows.... i don't need a gallon of blood on the ground, if they don't go far i'm happy.

if you aren't confident in accubonds, try a new bullet.... find something you're happy with and roll with it. they have been excellent out of my creed

 

[visage]

My wife shot a mule deer at 125 yards and I shot my bull at 280 this year, both with the Hornady eldx in the shoulder. Found both bullets inside the hide on the far side, no exit. Both animals died within 40 yards. I questioned the lack of pass thru as well, and consulted a friend who has had the same experience with his 6.5 on a cow elk and mule deer at similar ranges. We agreed that it's doing what it should, transferring all the energy to the animal and resulting in a quick kill. Seems I've had animals go further with shots from my 30 06 that were full pass thrus. I'm happy with the results until proven otherwise.

 

[TREE ‘EM]

To the OP;
Look at your box to see if it says Accubond or Accubond Long Range.
I’ve seen results like what you describe with the 140 ABLR on a dozen and a half deer.

Shot a few with standard 140 AB and got pass throughs on all.

Shot a few with 120 GMX and got pass throughs with minimal wound channels. Deer took to long to go down for my likening.

Shot a couple with 143 ELDX which worked well.

Shot a couple with partitions and got the desired results as with any other caliber in partitions.

 

[Prairiekid]

I can’t speak to why no pass through. But the lack of blood trail is mostly due to the deer not making it very far. Between my wife and I, we shot 3 deer inside of 40 yards this season. With 100gr TTSX and 180gr Accubond. The later didn’t exit but only because it travelled diagonally through the body. All dropped within 30-40 yards of where they were shot. Probably a total of 100 yards between the 3. I hardly had any blood trail, maybe 30 yards total, probably less. It was in pretty thick bush and by the time I spotted any blood I could see each deer. They don’t leave much of a trail when you don’t give them a chance to. Conversely I have two buddies that both had liver shots this year, blood trails were left.

 

[WCB]

Am I the only one that doesn't care about blood trailing rifle shot deer? As stated earlier I like to use tough constructed bullets for good penetration...however I have never been disappointed by not getting a pass thru...it actually isn't even something in my mind.

Plus if they are going 50yards why do you need a blood trail? Heck I've had solid double lung pass thrus with arrows and not have a blood trail really start for 20-30 yards.

 

[Brendan]

Am I the only one that doesn't care about blood trailing rifle shot deer? As stated earlier I like to use tough constructed bullets for good penetration...however I have never been disappointed by not getting a pass thru...it actually isn't even something in my mind.

Plus if they are going 50yards why do you need a blood trail? Heck I've had solid double lung pass thrus with arrows and not have a blood trail really start for 20-30 yards.

Very different terrain in different areas of the country. We have thick stuff around here where it took me two weeks to find a deer that I'd walked within 20' of countless times, and by that point it was a skeleton torn up by yotes (That was a bow shot deer). Plenty of times I can have an animal within 20-30 yards and have no shot because of how thick it is.

I'll say it again, I don't think this is a 6.5 issue, I had the exact same experience with my .308 165 AB (not ABLR). Small sample size, but both dead in 50 yards with no exit and almost no blood. The whitetail was a tiny ass spike too. He took me almost 45 minutes to find and I spent 15-20 minutes within the last 10 yards (Slid down off the trail almost backwards from direction of travel)

 

[Prairiekid]

Am I the only one that doesn't care about blood trailing rifle shot deer? As stated earlier I like to use tough constructed bullets for good penetration...however I have never been disappointed by not getting a pass thru...it actually isn't even something in my mind.

Plus if they are going 50yards why do you need a blood trail? Heck I've had solid double lung pass thrus with arrows and not have a blood trail really start for 20-30 yards. But as Brendan said, sometimes it’s so thick they are tough to see even when you’re close.

I think most people are agreeing with your pov. I know I was.

 

[mtnbiker208]

I have recovered alot of accubonds from deer and elk. alot of them. they kill, but don't really pass thru.

 

[theleo91386]

Got any pictures of the bullets? My experiences with Accubonds don't add up to the results you've had with them.

 

[ADR]

^^^my thoughts exactly.

 

[roosiebull]

Am I the only one that doesn't care about blood trailing rifle shot deer? As stated earlier I like to use tough constructed bullets for good penetration...however I have never been disappointed by not getting a pass thru...it actually isn't even something in my mind.

Plus if they are going 50yards why do you need a blood trail? Heck I've had solid double lung pass thrus with arrows and not have a blood trail really start for 20-30 yards.

you are not the only one, i also don't even consider it. even on the coast where i hunt, where it's as thick as anywhere, i have never had an issue with a rifle shot critter besides one lion that ran out in 7' tall cut grass in a swamp.... worst case scenario, deer make tracks, but it's generally not a thing.

i don't even know i have looked for a blood trail on a rifle shot deer.... archery hunting is a different deal, but again, i don't need to cut them in half to find them. i also know that blood doesn't start hitting the ground for 30-50yds often, if they die before they start draining, that's perfect.