RE: Ballistic or
nchawkeye - I've shot 3 whitetails and 1 mule deer with the 180 federal accubonds (with my .300 WSM). Twodropped on the spot,and two ran about 50 yards. What was interesting was the two that dropped on the spot were further away (The mule deer was @ 225 yards and dropped like a rock). The two that ran 50 yards were shot at less than 100 yards.
My theory is:
Because the 180gr accubonds are rated for elk / moosed sized gameand its moving at 3000fps, it penetrates a deer without transferring all its engery to the animal if shot from less than 100 yards. When shot from 200+ yards the energy fully transfers resulting in deer dropping instantly. My thinking in switching to a smaller softer bullet is it would provide better energy transfer at shorter ranges on deer, not to mention a flatter trajectory.
In the end, the accubonds are working well, I'm just always striving for perfection.