Bonded Core Bullets - Performance in the Field

[South Pender]

There are a number of bonded-core bullets available to handloaders these days:

Nosler Accubond
Hornady Interbond
Norma Oryx
Swift Scirocco and A-Frame
Federal Trophy Bonded Bearclaw, Bonded Tip, and Fusion
Woodleigh Weldcore
Remington Core-Lokt Ultra

and possibly others I've missed here.

Many years ago, I hunted with what was probably the first bonded-core bullet, the Bitterroot Bonded bullet. I used 250-gr. Bitterroots in my .358 Norma Magnum. Bill Steigers actually soldered the jacket to the core with his Bitterroots. Today's bonded bullets are made by several less hands-on procedures involving molecular bonding, electro-chemical methods, and other proprietary processes that are pretty much kept under wraps.

It's been opined that bonded bullets tend to be slightly less accurate than regular jacketed lead bullets because of the additional steps necessary to carry out the bonding. I don't know whether this is generally true, but it might be a small price to pay for their improved performance on game. The Bitterroots I loaded were certainly accurate enough for my purposes.

So what has everyone's experience been with bonded bullets? Have you found them to be less accurate than non-bonded bullets? How have they performed on game? One question would be: Are they too stout for smaller big-game species like deer?

 

[Longwalker]

I have been very happy with how bonded bullets have performed IN game. Good expansion, high shock effect, little lead fragmentation, quick kills and deep penetration. About the only "negative" I can think of is fewer exits than some designs like the Nosler Partitions or the All copper bullets. And they are still made with lead, some people don't like that. I find they shoot accurately enough for me, but I am not an extreme accuracy junkie with my hunting rifles. If they shoot 1/4" wider groups at 100 yds than the most accurate but inferior bullet from my rifles, they are still a far better choice. I have used Norma Oryx mostly, but also successfully used Nosler Accubond, RWS Evo, Bitterroot Bonded, Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, Swift Frame, Hornady Dangerous Game Expanding Bonded, Woodleigh Weldcore and perhaps a couple others. Every bonded bullet I have used seemed a better choice for hunting game larger than coyotes than any standard cup and core bullet.

 

[prairie lover]

I've used hornady interbonds, nosler accubonds, and speer deep curls. They work as intended. The wound channel is smaller in diameter than a typical cup and core but generally deeper. I found the accubonds and deep curls very accurate. Interbonds were a challenge. I have recovered 3, all from whitetails.

140 gr 7mm mag, accubond on a almost straight on but slight angle shot at 170 yards. Entered front shoulder, broke leg bone, went across top of heart, came to rest right where the hind quarter starts on the off side. Very good preformance. 70+% weight retention.

130 gr accubond from a 270. 130 yards. Clearest shot i had through brush was right where the neck meets the body on a whitetail buck. Dropped on the spot. Blew through the spine. Bullet under the hide far side. Couldn't believe that 12 inches of meat with spine in the middle stopped it. Weight retention was 65%

243 with 90 gr speer deep curls. 320 yards slight quartering away. Entrance at last rib. Bullet found in offside shoulder. Ran 100 yards. Stood. Fell over. Tried to raise head for way too long. Shot it again. 243 just lacking at that range and shot angle in my opinion. Broadside double lung wound have had faster results. It could be argued that a cup and core would have had a faster kill also. Beautiful mushroom. High weight retention. Percentage escapes me currently but it was pretty high.

Also shot a nice buck with rem accutips 12 ga 3 inch. Its also a bonded bullet. Same shot angle as the 7mm example. Bullet did the same thing except the 12 ga actually penetrated about 6 to 8 inches less. Dropped on the spot. Bullet only lost a few grains and made a 7/8 of an inch diameter mushroom.

Shot alot more game with the accubonds and deep curls where they exited. No complaints generally. The wound channels will be smaller but deeper as mentioned. Pick your poison.

 

[skidderman]

Have used Accubonds a lot. They penetrate deep. They cause minimal meat damage and they rarely come apart. Maybe there are more accurate bullets but these have been and will continue to be my go to bullet for elk and moose.

 

[WhelanLad]

RE Being too stout for Deer sized game, or Smaller deer in General....... Thats where Bonded comes into play.
i find with the Woodleigh, I can be down in weight for Calibre but expect performance with A- holding together B- shank penetrating C- expanding in the front

My example for now is the 7mm08 and "Bigger Deer" and also "smaller deer" species...

typically for Elk and stuff , ya use a heavier weight CC like 150-160gr, I use very confidently a 140gr PPSN Woodleigh to cover -400m / typical ranges.
i get penetration with knowing the back half of bullet is together and driving with sufficient fps needed. and i have confidence bullet will hold together on the shoulder bones and go on further- albeit a bit flatter/expanded in some instances but not excessively.

Typically for Whitetail, a 139gr SP is the go, I use the 140gr PPSN confidently here as i know even on a Rib shot, the PSN nose expands and my offside is very generally 1/2 - 3/4 inch and inside is a mess.


I ended up at Woodleigh after our import prices are silly, So Accubonds were great but getting pricey....... from my tests in dirt an eventually over years on game, i find the PPSN behaves alot like the Accubond / Swift scirroco for Sub 400m stuff...... theres proberly no doubt the Woodleighs arnt fantasticly shaped for paper ballistics and longest ranges........
but they'll kill the biggest critters... an we'll pretend you didnt ask about the small ones

In 30-06 ive played with 130gr PPSN and 150 and 180........
i found 130gr awesome for Smaller deers. capable for big cows but not preferred on big stags- eg shoulders-angling shots. they just opened up in the nose quite a bit an slowed penetration... but zip thru most smaller deer expanding very well.
130 PPSN

150 PPSN from a Big doe in close range with mid/high velocity 2800 or so. 30m

150 ppsn out of a BIG stag close range. broadside

dirt test woodleigh / eldx etc

 

[South Pender]

Nosler has said that their Accubond and Partition bullets should be about equally effective on game. They indicate that you can expect about 65-70% weight retention with both.

It seems, from a design perspective, that the Swift A-Frame bullet should be about the best of the bonded bullets for weight retention and expansion. The front core is bonded, and the partition maintains the weight of the rear core. So you won't get the common result that you get with Nosler Partitions where the front core is lost (although the rest of the bullet still plows through). I've used tons of Partitions, and I think Nosler's estimate of retained weight is about right. I wonder whether the Swift A-Frames are too stout for smaller species--perhaps failing to expand at reduced velocities at long range.

 

[Joel]

Nosler has said that their Accubond and Partition bullets should be about equally effective on game. They indicate that you can expect about 65-70% weight retention with both.

It seems, from a design perspective, that the Swift A-Frame bullet should be about the best of the bonded bullets for weight retention and expansion. The front core is bonded, and the partition maintains the weight of the rear core. So you won't get the common result that you get with Nosler Partitions where the front core is lost (although the rest of the bullet still plows through). I've used tons of Partitions, and I think Nosler's estimate of retained weight is about right. I wonder whether the Swift A-Frames are too stout for smaller species--perhaps failing to expand at reduced velocities at long range.

The accubond really has been a bonded Partition for me and given me the results you say. Similar wound profile, fast expansion, losing a lot of its weight. But not penetrating so much because of the wide mushroom a Partition lacks.

They do expand pretty violently and shed a lot of weight, so its not like they are too stout for smaller game (as others may think of bonded bullets). Its kind of like a Ballistic Tip that's got the lead glued to the copper lol. Like Skidderman, I never had problems getting them to shoot well enough.

I've liked the Trophy Bonded Tip bullet too, although I haven't actually killed with it as much yet. Its got a little lead up front and the rest, including the shank, are solid copper. They expand easily and retain a lot of weight.

Fusion bullets (Gold Dots) are quite accurate and really open wide, again giving a bit less penetration than some others but they hold together very well.


Overall, not a lot of times a bonded bullet was really that important to have, but when you do hit big bone, etc its a good thing. And I'm all for less lead fragments in meat and gutpiles. Bullets the cheapest part of my hunt anyway. Only use a couple hunting cartridges a year.

 

[saskcop]

I have shot quite a few elk and moose at varying ranges with the .338 RUM and 225 grain Accubonds and a few animals with the 275 grain Swift A-Frames as well. In EVERY case, the performance has been absolutely stellar. I prefer bonded to monolithics any day. The only bummer is that they aren't always easy to load for. I have had to really work at it to get loads that would shoot.

 

[Joel]

With the accubonds have they been tougher to tune in than say, Ballistic Tips? If you shoot both.

I used to find the 180 Ballistic Tips and 180 Accubonds to be essentially twins in my 30-06s but every rifle is its own animal and all....

 

[Eagleye]

I have yet to own a rifle that I could not make Accubonds shoot in.
I have had a couple over the years that would not shoot Partitions.
Swift Scirocco II's are some deadly bonded bullets.
My 8mm Rem Mag shoots the 220 A-Frame into less than ¾ moa at
close to 3100 fps...this is real Elk medicine, and I have yet to recover
one.
I have some Hornady Interbonds here [7mm], but so far, they have
not proved to be as accurate as Accubonds in 3 rifles.
I do prefer quality bullets. They just give me more confidence if I have
to take a shot that is not quite ideal. Recovered Partitions and bonded
bullets in pic.


Here is a 180 Scirocco II from a moose shot with my 308 Norma Magnum [80 yards, 3120 MV]

 

[WhelanLad]

the only difference between sciroco an a woodleigh i rekon would be the textbook 4-5 petals cutting edge in the shroom top!

pitty the sciroccos are so expensive here! but bonus for woodleigh.

 

[South Pender]

Swift Scirocco II's are some deadly bonded bullets.

Have you found the Sciroccos to be accurate in your rifles? I have a box--.277, 130-gr.--but they are just labelled Scirocco, not Scirocco II.

 

[South Pender]

the only difference between sciroco an a woodleigh i rekon would be the textbook 4-5 petals cutting edge in the shroom top!

pitty the sciroccos are so expensive here! but bonus for woodleigh.

Which of the two give the "4-5 petals cutting edge in the shroom top"?

Have you found the Woodleighs to be accurate in your rifles? And what about retained weight in game? They're called "weldcore" so I guess that means bonded.

 

[WhelanLad]

Which of the two give the "4-5 petals cutting edge in the shroom top"?

Have you found the Woodleighs to be accurate in your rifles? And what about retained weight in game? They're called "weldcore" so I guess that means bonded.

Retained weight is always in the 90% + in our experiences! i dont weigh that small but some mates have an always been only a few grains off most of the time!

Accuracy, yeah there is no reason they are not accurate! i am a pretty average to poor shooter on a targets X - recoil- flinch-loud- pussy- trigger slapper sometimes
some blokes are reporting great accuracy an i havnt hear anyone say they couldnt get them to shoot any better than 1.5 at 100- they seem to be fairly pretty and seem like one even object- the nose has faint lines in to help those petals shoot out, an them spinning would work like a cutter rather than it being a typical blob shroom."

9.3

 

[WhelanLad]

im just not an accurate guy i spose, i find a load that is 1gr interval between low an hi an i am done, i seldom shoot past 300-400m on game an when i do get a shot on game theres so much more going on, heart beat, breathing, angle of the hill, the deer moving or ambling thru bush, wind, etc so the 1.5 3 shot group at 100m doesnt do much for me out there

 

[South Pender]

Great pictures and detail, WhelanLad. I have some 130- and 150-grain .277 Woodleighs ordered.

 

[bearhunter]

im just not an accurate guy i spose, i find a load that is 1gr interval between low an hi an i am done, i seldom shoot past 300-400m on game an when i do get a shot on game theres so much more going on, heart beat, breathing, angle of the hill, the deer moving or ambling thru bush, wind, etc so the 1.5 3 shot group at 100m doesnt do much for me out there

If most shooters could get proficient enough to be able to shoot 1.5 moa out to 400m there would be a lot fewer animals wandering off to die in agony.

Nice looking dog.

 

[WhelanLad]

Great pictures and detail, WhelanLad. I have some 130- and 150-grain .277 Woodleighs ordered.

Yeah awesome! i do not work or have anything to do with Woodleigh, i just use em........ You WILL have to give a report on them!
the 130s should fly fast and if pushed Hard, will perform like those 130 i used in 30-06, quite flat tops and alot of base, but those 150s Look really good on the Eye.
Typically the corelokts are dull but that 277 Weldcore im lookin at in the Woodleigh manual says .463 BC.......... now correct me if im wrong but that has no flys on it down range!

the 150 308s i use are .310BC....

let us know!

If most shooters could get proficient enough to be able to shoot 1.5 moa out to 400m there would be a lot fewer animals wandering off to die in agony.

Nice looking dog.

ha ha, i didnt say that though, but it indeed would be nicer for those who do poke out there.! or try to.

 

[downwindtracker2]

On our first visit to Aus, I bought four boxes of 215? 303 Weldcore as souvenirs . I haven't used them yet. On the next trip I bought a beer can insulator " I Drove the Gibb River Road "

 

[Eagleye]

Have you found the Sciroccos to be accurate in your rifles? I have a box--.277, 130-gr.--but they are just labelled Scirocco, not Scirocco II.

There IS a difference!! What you have there is a first generation Scirocco. They have thinner jackets than the newer Scirocco II.

I only shot one animal with the original design. A bull moose at about 150 yards. I was using a 30-06, and driving the 180 grain
Scirocco at 2820 MV. This moose was quartering towards and above me, so I held on the lower front shoulder and let fly. Result?

Moose dropped right there. I recovered the badly distorted bullet from his liver, and while the jacket/core had not separated, the
bullet lost a lot of it's weight/mass. It had smashed the leg bone going in, plus a rib, before angling through lungs and into the liver.

I wrote Swift about the weight loss, which I felt was a bit more than it should have been. It was not too long till the Scirocco II
became available. It is a tougher bullet, and I have shot 5 or 6 animals with it so far, and only recovered one. I'll see if I can find that
original Scirocco and post a picture of it, compared to the Scirocco II above in post # 10 Dave.