My buddy and I made sausage for someone this morning and I had been working up some loads for his Tikka 6.5 CM. Looks like it really likes Staball 6.5 and 140gr Accubonds. 3 shot group at 100yrds. measured with calipers at .33”.

Go with what’s available! I’d say 4350 because it’s almost 10 grains less!

I think it depends on what you’re looking for. If I had this dilemma, I’d evaluate whether I wanted speed, or economy and lighter recoil.. If your hunting shots are all under 200 yards I’d absolutely go with what I’d get more bang for my buck with! You would get approximately 20 more bullets with the 4350 plus a milder recoil. If recoil and cost/availability are not factors, go with speed. I agree that speed does kill fast! IMO , you must evaluate these variables and see what best satisfies your needs.

Accubond update!!!
Very disappointed. I’ve been loading a 270 win 140 grain accubond with 58 grains of H4831SC at close to 3000 fps. Yesterday I shot a doe broad side at 70 yards, right behind the shoulder. NO BLOOD! Me and a buddy spread out and walked the way we thought the deer had ran. We found her about 70 yards from the shot place. The deer was hit perfect but with NO exit hole. We were very fortunate to find the deer. I’m personally done with polymer tip bullets. Im going back to Coreloks. I have plenty of the old style bullet. I’m sick and tired of no pass thru’s.

Your story is very curious and your conclusion confusing. What did the bullet look like after you recovered it?

The biggest myth about polymer tip bullets is that the plastic tip initiates expansion upon impact.

HINT. It doesn't....

I've used Accubonds in 257, 284, 308 and 338 caliber guns to kill deer from 15 to over 300 yards.

Every deer died, and quickly.

The deer was gutted at the processor. We never found the bullet but found evidence that it had gone into the gut area. The processor was in a hurry and didn’t look very good. We did look for an exit hole and none was found. I’m going back to Sierra Game kings.

I understand. I’m just telling you what happened. I have no reason to make up the story or lie.

A broad side shot that went into the guts. Sounds like that bullet did some turning or it was at more of an angle than you thought. My experience has been right the opposite than yours with Accubonds and GameKings. I haven’t had much luck with the GameKings, but love the Accubond performance and blood trails.

Good luck to you. V

Honestly I don’t know what to do. She could have been quartered more than I thought. No matter, I still should have had an exit hole. I got 4 boxes of the old style coreloks. That should be enough to finish my hunting career. I know how they preform.

Depending on what deer have been eating, the materials in the guts can be pretty dense and moist. If it was a quartering shot and was hit in the shoulder or right behind the shoulder and got in the guts, that a lot of stuff to go through and the guts take a lot of energy away from bullets. Also if the shot angle was a little high behind the shoulder she may have expired before the blood started pouring out. Especially if it was rear lungs and liver. Been there done it more times then I’d like. Sounds to me like the bullet dumped all its energy inside the deer which is what most bullets are designed to do. I saw what a 140gr Accubond from a 6.5 Creedmoor did to a doe this season. It was pretty dang impressive. Sometimes bullets do strange things. I wouldn’t let this one incident deter me from using such a quality bullet.

I promise she may have been slightly quartered but not much. The deer ran a solid 70 yards and not one drop of blood. I couldn’t believe it!

I believe you. I’ve seen it many times with many different bullets. It’s always a head scratcher.

Was the deer hit high? If so, they tend to not bleed much until the cavity fills with blood. Combine that with no exit and it explains the lack of a blood trail.

I've recovered several Accubonds from DEAD deer, mostly 140 gr .284 bullets. Did recovered a 110 gr, .257 cal bullet from a buck I shot in Kansas last year on a hard quartered shot at 275 yards. Processor found it in back leg.

One of the 140 gr bullets was mangled pretty bad because it was almost a full frontal shot that crossed the bottom of the backbone before stopping under the hide in the back leg. Dropped instantly.

All the other accubond bullets I've recovered looked like perfect mushrooms.

No. I hit her 4 or 5 inches behind the knuckle of her front leg. Crazy doesn’t sound possible I know. I wish I had thought to take a picture. I was just thankful we found her.

Oh it’s very possible. May never happen again but it did this time. Just like the big hog I shot a while back. First shot with the 7-08 120gr ttsxs hit his shoulder went all the way through and exited at the back of the ribs. He was hard quartered to me at 200yds. When I found him he was still alive and I put 2 more rounds him at about 20-25yds. But shots were in the liver area because that’s all I could see. Neither of those 2 bullets exited. They were lodged against the hide on the off side. Crazy things happen sometimes.

Recovering a bullet after shooting an animal on the ground is not unusual. I shot a buck i had spine shot at about 2 yards with my 7 mm RM and recovered the bullet. It was almost as flat as a quarter.

I shot the 160's out of my 7 mag this year on top of rotumbo. Pass thru Everytime and most layed right there...