.308 Amax.. need quick help!!

ultimate_monkey

ultimate_monkey

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hey guys need an aswer quick!!!

last minute hunting outting has been decided on! went to reload and realized i only have 178gn amax for SMK bullets for my 308..

we are goin after nothing special just mule deer, has any one used the amax and what are the results? does it work? bad idea?


i know the amax is a target bullet but im just reluctant (ok trying to avoid) running to canadian tire, to buy factory ammo, to have to resite in my rifle, and try and figure out all my hold overs beforr goin out tomorrow first thing. tomorrow AM

so yay or nay? on a 178gn Amax for deer?
 
I asked the same question a couple of years ago and the general thought was about 50/50 on peoples opinions. There were some that replied that said that they had used an A-Max with great results so at the time I was happy to take them along on my hunting trip I was about to take. Never did end up shooting anything that round so can't speak to there effectiveness but I believe they would be fine.
 
Not the ideal hunting bullet but they'll work just fine. I was a long time proponent of only using controlled expansion hunting bullets on game but have since relaxed my stance on the matter after my experience with 190 gr Bergers and a rather large Bull Moose.
 
They'll work just fine on deer even better on Island deer come to think of it maybe not with what little meat they provide you can't afford to damage any meat. I would imagine they'd perform alot like SMK's and just fragment.
 
We use Amax here pretty much exclusively. They work, and kill stuff real dead.
I would have used them in yoiur scenario with no issues.

R.
 
A-max expand reliably (the ones with the red tip, not the ones with the hollow point) and are rated for use on medium game by Hornady.

SMK may not expand reliably and lots of people have had problems with them. They are NOT rated for game by Sierra.
 
Hornady stopped recommending the A-Max for game a few years ago. Not sure why or what happened to make them change the rating. Military contract?
But yes, I have found them to be more reliable, and perform better then the SMK.
A-Max, Scenar, Berger, and SMK, in order of perfomance, has been my experience.

R.
 
Hornady may have stopped recommending the Amax because they changed (at least the 208g 30 cal) to a hollow point. It may also have a thicker jacket.

As a general rule, any bullet with a tiny hollow point and a thick jacket does ####ty on game.
 
Here is a link to Hornady's current .308 diameter A-max line up. No hollow point. You may be thinking about the .338 285 grain bullet? Not sure what it's called, but I do not believe it to be an A-max.

R.
 
I just checked my bullets because I was curious

The box of A-max 208g 30cal I have are labeled as BTHP and they are indeed hollow points. The nice picture on the box still shows the red tip even though they don't have it. The Part number on the box is #30733.

The old 208g A-max in your link have a part number of #30732.


I hope they are still making the old ones.



Something else new on the 155 and 178 and 208g 30cal bullets is the addition of a new label stating "Features AMP Jackets" I don't know what AMP jackets are but I am sure someone on here does. Perhaps the AMP jackets are thicker or harder than the originals, or maybe it is just new label and nothing has changed. The bullets them selves look the same.



I ####ing hate it when bullet companies change #### around.
 
Hornady still makes both the 208gr amax as well as the 208gr bthp with their new AMP jackets. You can still get both and the amax still has the better BC.
 
thanls for the replies guys, i never planed to use the SMK for any kind of game so no worries there..

didnt matter what i took , 6 hours and didnt see a damn thing!


the AMP jacket from what i understand is a new manufacturing process dealy to keep the jacket thickness uniform all the way around.. otehr then that i see nothing special about it
 
ultimate_monkey said:
thanls for the replies guys, i never planed to use the SMK for any kind of game so no worries there..

didnt matter what i took , 6 hours and didnt see a damn thing!


the AMP jacket from what i understand is a new manufacturing process dealy to keep the jacket thickness uniform all the way around.. otehr then that i see nothing special about it
Click to expand...

Hornady needs to worry less about jacket thickness and fix their crooked f'ing ballistic tips...:bangHead:
 
There's nothing a match bullet can do that a game bullet can't do better. If you have no choice but to use a match bullet, be prepared to fire a fast follow up shot, which you should be prepared to do anyway. You can count on the bullet to come apart on a heavy bone, so keep out of the shoulder if you can, and avoid any head on shots. If the bullet doesn't expand violently, it might not expand at all, which may result in one of two possibilities, A) the bullet might pencil through resulting in a wounded animal which can travel quite some distance and eventually evade you, or B) the bullet swaps ends when it encounters a denser than air target due to its base heavy balance and might well produce an acceptable humane kill. Should this be your observation, it would be a mistake to assume it will happen that way every time.
 
Boomer said:
There's nothing a match bullet can do that a game bullet can't do better. If you have no choice but to use a match bullet, be prepared to fire a fast follow up shot, which you should be prepared to do anyway. You can count on the bullet to come apart on a heavy bone, so keep out of the shoulder if you can, and avoid any head on shots. If the bullet doesn't expand violently, it might not expand at all, which may result in one of two possibilities, A) the bullet might pencil through resulting in a wounded animal which can travel quite some distance and eventually evade you, or B) the bullet swaps ends when it encounters a denser than air target due to its base heavy balance and might well produce an acceptable humane kill. Should this be your observation, it would be a mistake to assume it will happen that way every time.
Click to expand...

This has not been my experience with so called match bullets, particulariliy the A-max.

Can you tell us how many animals you have shot with an A-max to get these kind of results?

R.
 
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