6.5 SHERMAN/140 A-MAX vs Whitetail

[elkaholic]

A friend of mine recently borrowed my 6.5 to do some deer hunting. He killed this nice little whitetail at 478 yards with a 140 A-Max and I wanted to show the results with the A-Max on game. He was above the deer and it was quartering hard toward him. The bullet entered at the shoulder/neck juntion (facing), took out the bottom of the vertebrae, top of the lungs and buried in the offside rib cage. Penetration was approx. 18" and the residual bullet weight was 50% (70 grains). The pics are not so clear as it was getting dark...Rich

 

[Scot E]

How far did he travel before he piled up? Not far I would guess. I love the A-max for deer! 50% weight retention is about ideal. With the high SD of 6.5 bullets, it is enough to get the to penetrate well but the shredding of the rest of the bullet is where the damage is really done. About perfect performance IMO!

Scot E.

 

[elkaholic]

He traveled from standing to prone!........Rich

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

He traveled from standing to prone!........Rich

LOL classic well said, I love that type of humor. Please tell your friend good shooting and nice deer.

 

[Derek M.]

How do the A-Max bullets perform on deer when close, like, less than 200 yards? I have killed many deer with a 150 Berger VLD from my 270 all less than 200 yards and the bullets worked well. I've considered trying the A-Max but I admit I'm worried about a close encounter outcome.

 

[elkaholic]

How do the A-Max bullets perform on deer when close, like, less than 200 yards? I have killed many deer with a 150 Berger VLD from my 270 all less than 200 yards and the bullets worked well. I've considered trying the A-Max but I admit I'm worried about a close encounter outcome.

I would just use some common sense with them and try to stay away from the shoulder at close range, but I would do that with a Berger as well. I think it would penetrate a deer shoulder, but would make a mess. This same guy killed a bear with a 162 A-Max in his .280 Sherman at about 300 yards and it performed well. The bullet was lodged under the hide on the offside ribcage....Rich

 

[Scot E]

How do the A-Max bullets perform on deer when close, like, less than 200 yards? I have killed many deer with a 150 Berger VLD from my 270 all less than 200 yards and the bullets worked well. I've considered trying the A-Max but I admit I'm worried about a close encounter outcome.

As long as you are still placing your shots where they should be you won't have any trouble. A shoulder shot that close would be messy. It would likely still break him down but the damage could be nasty. Of course I have seen the same with BT's, Bergers, and even SST's.

If you are at all worried about them being too frangible just move up to a higher grain A-max. The extra weight will allow for better penetration. I am not sure you have that option in .277 though.

Scot E.