ELD-M, ELD-X, TMK, Berger: Which reliably exits?

[JGRaider]

SST is a much better option than a partition or accubond? Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but in what planet would that be true?

 

[SloppyJ]

I'm in between right now. The millennials call it projectile non-bianary. I'm currently in the middle of testing a few different options this year.

Other than my muzzleloader, my son shot a doe with a 110gr vmax around 35yds with a 300blk and my last outing I took one with a 168gr Berger Classic Hunter out of my .308 under 100yd shot. I still have 150gr TTSX out of my 308, 160gr partition from my 280ai, and a 165 accubond to try out of my 30-06.

The vmax wasn't too impressive, roughly doubled on the exit. Wasn't expecting too much out of the 9" 300blk but the next and last test is a Barnes Tac TX. Only using this for my 6yo son because it's pretty quiet suppressed and has no recoil off of a tripod.

The Berger, oh man, the Berger. One of the nastiest wounds I've seen. The blood trail was the type you can stare 10yds ahead and follow walking at full speed even with my bad eyes. Not sure how but she made it about 30yds. It was a bit misleading because the exit wound wasn't that large but upon moving her, the mush started dropping out of her chest cavity. The offside shoulder was toast due to the angle she was at. I noticed a handful of smaller wound channels that radiated the chest cavity which I haven't seen before in other bullets.

I will echo what I've read from a few regarding blood trails. In my neck of the woods, the lack of a blood trail immediately can and will greatly increase your odds of losing that animal.

I like the bergers and have picked up some 215s to load for my new 300prc build. I have high hopes for the partition as well. My ultimate bullet would be something about 25% less frangible than the 168s I tried. Form mentioned that the tactical line of Bergers might fill that void and I'll be giving those a go too.

 

[gerry35]

I've taken my Tikka 695 7Mag to Africa 5 times and taken 60'ish head of plains game with the 160 gr Accubond. As you probably know, African animals vitals are a little more forward than NA game animals. I intentionally shot through shoulders for heart shots. No surprise at all it has been a reliable and deadly performer. These are a small sample of the 10 or so bullets that did not exit, from springbok through wildebeest (tougher than heck) sized animals. You cannot go wrong, ever.

View attachment 634271

Never used the 7mm 160 but it always seemed like one of the very best to use in a big 7mm. I have used the AB in 6.5, 308, 358 and 375 on game and love them.

 

[DJL2]

SST is a much better option than a partition or accubond? Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but in what planet would that be true?

My opinion is that the Accubond simply isn't that good, period (and the LRAB isn't much better). It sheds weight at high velocity and clings to it starting at moderate velocities... the worst of both worlds, in a sense. If I want weight retention at close range/high velocity, I'm not shooting an Accubond. If I want a bullet that reliably sheds weight, I'm not shooting an Accubond.

I've used the Accubond in 6.5 mm and 7 mm. It certainly wasn't better than the 154/162 SST in my 7mm Rem Mag... in fact, at typical woods distances, you'd be hard pressed to distinguish between them. However, shooting 6.5x55 and 6.5 CM, it's clear (to me) that the SST is a much better bullet at moderate velocities if wounding is the priority (as opposed to weight retention).

Incidentally, the Partition is also a much better bullet, in my opinion, than the Accubond. It's just expensive as sin - hard to justify spending twice as much on a Partition (or an AB) when the animal can't tell the difference.

Within the spirit of the thread, all of the above will exit. I've used the SST in 6.8 SPC, 6.5x55, 6.5 CM, 7mm RM, .30-06 - no issues at all with the bullet doing what it's supposed to do: wounding violently and, in this case, exiting.

 

[JGRaider]

LOL......

Here's your 139gr SST, 7mag, 110 y impact that clipped the bottom of spine. That may be your idea of good bullet performance, but it sure isn't mine.



7Mag140 AB, 125 yd impact, passed through both shoulders. One of the most reliable killers on the planet no matter the caliber.

 

[DJL2]

I would suppose we like different performance. While I like the SST, I now use ELD-M (or the old AMax) and TMK almost exclusively. I do, in fact, want the bullet to fragment violently. I accept that if I make a bad shot, it may destroy more meat than desirable because it may also ensure that I anchor an animal humanely on a marginal shot.

The 168 ELD-M and 168 TMK both exit reliably on deer and hogs (.308 Win). They're not distinguishably better than the 150 SST, maybe a little better than the 165 SST. If you hunt larger stuff, the 178 ELD-M or 195 TMK (or 180 SST) would also be good option. The 180/200/220 Partitions are classics for a reason.

 

[JGRaider]

I"ve killed a few hundred big game animals, at least a couple hundred of those with partitions and accubonds. There's not a nickle's worth of difference between the two with regards to expansion, penetration, or killing ability. Yes, the partitions have been kicking asss for 65+ years.

 

[Shot]

I'm not much of a rifle hunter. But got the itch to rifle hunt again after about 20 years. While bow hunting, I always wanted an exit. But for rifle, I didn't know that I didn't care after what I saw.

I shoot a 28 nosler with 180g Berger VLDs. To date, I have taken sheep, mtn goats, moose, caribou, black years, wolves, deer, elk and plently of hogs.

I did'nt get a single exit on anyone of those kills. All died within sight. The damage inside the chest cavity was suprising with shrapnel spread widely.

Got to admit. I was hesitant to use bergers because of the bad rap that they get on hunting forums. But nothing bets personal experience.