Bonded vs. cup and core

[Nsghunter]

Please forgive the ignorance and understand that I am mostly a novice at all this. I have a basic understanding of the two but would really appreciate some more info.

What are the drawbacks to to one vs the other?

What are the benefits to one vs. the other?

I shot a small buck with a '06 150gr Core-lokt (cup and core I think) last season. It was about 50 yards, quartering away/coming towards with head down eating. The shot entered his shoulder, severed the foreleg at the shoulder (it was hanging by a thread of hide.) transected the heart then got lost in the guts, (no exit wound). The heart was full of bullet fragments, to the point where I threw the whole heart away. The meat on the shoulder exploded outward and he fell on his face DRT. I was very pleased with the ethics of the shot but I was concerned that the bullet stopped without exit and fragged' in the heart area. Would the bullet have performed differently in a bonded bullet?

I have accubonds to handload for the 2021 season but before I did, I just wondered what the drawbacks and benefits to each type of bullet are?

I am a very new hunter and this is my first harvest with the gun/bullet setup. Maybe this was rare maybe this was normal.

I am also thinking of switching my Hornady SXT (Cup and core?) to bonded bullets in my muzzleloader, I shoot loose pyrodex not smokeless.

 

[Bad habit]

Sounds like you had great performance. I have never noticed the difference wracking deer with any premium bullet. I drug every one of them out of the woods whether c up and core or premium. Let your gun decides what it wants and go from there. The most impressive performance came from my wide flat nose cast bullets at 1900 FPS out of my .450 marlin.

 

[Jcalder]

I wouldn't switch from those if they shot good. I also wouldn't shoot a bonded bullet in your muzzleloader. Those bullets are generally too hard to work as designed unless they hit bone or you can actually push them fast enough.

 

[mike243]

I have had more runners with bonded bullets as I shoot heart/lungs and no big bones, 2 holes don't always work as well as 1 imo

 

[Andy S.]

I have had more runners with bonded bullets as I shoot heart/lungs and no big bones, 2 holes don't always work as well as 1 imo

A LOT of truth in this statement when shooting vitals, but very few want to believe it.

 

[EastTNHunter]

Hmmm…. I shoot vitals with NABs in 30-06 and .270 Win. Most are DRT with great expansion AND full penetration. Quite a few misconceptions about bonded bullets, but not all are made the same… just like cup and core. At more moderate velocity I often use cup and core (although the Sierra Gamechangers gave me far less expansion and blood trail on the two does that I shot with them out of a 308 at moderate velocity last season, so I think that they need a little more petrol), but at full velocity I use NABs. They have done a phenomenal job for me for years.

I even used 125 NABs in a 308 youth load for my daughter last season, and she shot her first buck at 15 yards broadside and dropped him in his tracks. Found the perfectly mushroomed bullet under the hide in the offside after traveling through some moderate bone. High shoulder shot… maybe, but it did fine the next weekend on her second buck through the vitals at 50yd.

 

[MUP]

Sounds like the bullet had a LONG way to travel to exit to begin with. But seems it performed perfectly as designed regardless. I've killed most of my deer over the years with Corlokt 150 gr ammo from my 06, and have had most drop in their tracks, if I did my part with a well placed shot that is.

 

[DaveB]

The cup and core bullets are constructed differently from the bonded ones. Cup and core perform differently depending upon range, velocity at POI, and whether or not there is bone close to the surface.

A bonded bullet is much more solidly constructed and tends to perform the same at most distances.

I have done a LOT of testing with cup and core versus Partitons. Absolutely no wiggle room here, Partitions are far superior. I have intentionally shot pigs head on with Partitions and drilled a hole right out the hams.

When Accubonds came out by a conservative estimate I had 2,000 partitions. I developed a load for my 06 and carried some very hot A-bonds into the deer woods. from a stepped off 12 paces to 135 yards only two animals did more than drop like a rock. Both saw me and both were shot as they jumped for freedom. One ran 55 yards leaving massive blood trail. The heart-shot other one made it nearly 100 yards.

Todays cup and core will kill deer. But for my coin a bonded bullet or one like the Partition is going to prove superior over time.

 

[jlanecr500]

Bonded is cup n core. The difference is that the cup is bonded to the core in a bonded bullet. We must remember jacket thickness and lead hardness. Everyone has their own experience with bonded bullets. For instance, just going from 180gr 30 cal to 200 or 210gr 30 cal can make a world of difference, even though velocity is similar. For example, I loaded up some 200gr 30 cal accubonds for my 300wm
I shot a deer at 75 yards, again at 90 yards, and again at 50 yards. When I got to the deer, I used my 44mag pistol to seal the deal. Every one of the accubonds penciled thru.
In my 06 and 300wm. 165gr accubonds perform flawlessly. In my 338wm. 225gr accubonds are great. For some reason, the 200gr accubonds are just too tough, even at 3000fps.

On the light end, are ballistic tips. Most say they're too explosive to be used on deer. However, DA found some for 7-08 that are the cats meow.

Honestly, it's hard to beat a corelokt or a Hornady BTSP Interlock.

 

[GOODWIN]

Some good info here. Personally, I haven't found it necessary to use "premium" bonded bullets on the game I've hunted thus far. Toughest being Elk and some large hogs.

For the '06 on deer, pronghorn, and elk. I've had good luck with the 165gr GameKing PSP. Of the ones I've recovered they've stayed together, mushroomed perfectly, won't hurt the wallet, and my guns like them.

I'm currently working on a 7-08 load with the 120 nosler bt. Plan to take it on pronghorn this year.