Thank you again for this valuable information! My impact velocities will definitely be within the limits of the A-MAXs and should work exceptionally well. To me these things are pretty much the magic bullet, high BC, available in great weights, match grade accuracy and tolerances, and wicked performance on game. I can't wait to try the 208s in my .308 Norma and the 168s in my cousin's .308 Winchester!
Hornady 208gr AMAX For Hunting
- Thread starter Jud96
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
Thank you again for this valuable information! My impact velocities will definitely be within the limits of the A-MAXs and should work exceptionally well. To me these things are pretty much the magic bullet, high BC, available in great weights, match grade accuracy and tolerances, and wicked performance on game. I can't wait to try the 208s in my .308 Norma and the 168s in my cousin's .308 Winchester!
Do you believe a 155gr A-MAX will stabilize in a 10 twist?
Michael Eichele
Well-Known Member
I'm not Rich but they stabilize fine. It's not the most optimum combo but its a decent combo.
I've played around with the 155 amax and 10x barrels out to 600 yards and the 155 in 11.25x barrels to 1K.
From a hunting standpoint, I won't use the 155 amax anymore. I've had so so results with the 155 but stellar results with the 168, and 178 amaxs.
Ok thanks Mike! We'll just stick with 168s.
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
Yes! We have used them very successfully in the 6.5 Sherman. They are deadly on deer and used with some common sense, I think they would also be a good elk bullet, especially at longer ranges. One example was a deer taken at 400 yards nearly facing. The bullet entered the junction of the shoulder/neck, took out the heart and lungs causing a lot of damage, and ended up in the off rib cage. If I remember correctly, it shed about 2/3 of its weight but still had the base section intact.......Rich
Wow that's impressive! I'm really looking forward to these! Seems like the best long range bullet around. Would really like to try the 105 grainers in my .243 Winchester. Wish they had the A-MAXs in the .277 cal for my .270 WIN and cousins .270 WSM.
question for both Micheals .....
I intend to use the Amax bullet for Dall Sheep and Mt Goat in my 300 Norma based wildcat (sim to 300 Rum velocity)
My goal is to anchor the animal DRT with a full on shoulder shot to prevent leaping off a cliff,
around 18 years ago or so , I shot a nice Billy with 13" horns but he ran and jumped off a steep cliff 300+ feet straight down landed on his head and pulverized the skull and split open one of the horns, could not score the billy and no chance of putting the skull together for a mount, it was bone fragment mush
I used a 300 Win Mag loaded with the original "Black Talon" 180 gr Fail Safe bullets pulled from factory loaded .30-06 ammo, my moose hunting load at the time , that worked great on large bull moose but was a terrible choice for a 400 yard shot on a Mt Goat
my question is what would you use ... the 178 gr or 208 gr AMax ?
specifically for shooting those two animals dead square on the shoulder at ranges from 100 yards out to 600 yards
also what are your thoughts on the use of the Hornady 208 gr and 225 gr BTHP Match bullets for this application ?
Swamplord
I intend to use the Amax bullet for Dall Sheep and Mt Goat in my 300 Norma based wildcat (sim to 300 Rum velocity)
My goal is to anchor the animal DRT with a full on shoulder shot to prevent leaping off a cliff,
around 18 years ago or so , I shot a nice Billy with 13" horns but he ran and jumped off a steep cliff 300+ feet straight down landed on his head and pulverized the skull and split open one of the horns, could not score the billy and no chance of putting the skull together for a mount, it was bone fragment mush
I used a 300 Win Mag loaded with the original "Black Talon" 180 gr Fail Safe bullets pulled from factory loaded .30-06 ammo, my moose hunting load at the time , that worked great on large bull moose but was a terrible choice for a 400 yard shot on a Mt Goat
my question is what would you use ... the 178 gr or 208 gr AMax ?
specifically for shooting those two animals dead square on the shoulder at ranges from 100 yards out to 600 yards
also what are your thoughts on the use of the Hornady 208 gr and 225 gr BTHP Match bullets for this application ?
Swamplord
Michael Eichele
Well-Known Member
I can't vouch for the 208 HPBT or 225 HPBT. It's hard to say how they'd react.
I've shot some dall sheep with 168 amaxs. Some in the shoulders and neck. They did pretty good but they were at 308 velocities. I've shot Sitka blacktail bucks at RUM velocities with the 178. They did pretty good there too. I've only shot one mt goat and that wasn't with an amax. Was a 300 grain SMK 338 cal.
Based on what I've seen from goats I'd favor the 208s hands down. High shoulder to prevent them from leaping into the abyss for which they are widely known for.
As far as sheep, you won't have any trouble with the 178 amax. Goats though as you know are A: much more sturdy than dalls and B: much more determined than dalls.
Don't leave it to chance when goats are concerned. Go heavy with high sectional density and retained energy. Even then, you still need to break them down structurally as they can absorb a lot of energy and still head for the edge. The 208 will offer much more retained energy as well as mass to break the bones needed. Much more so than the 178.
I've shot some dall sheep with 168 amaxs. Some in the shoulders and neck. They did pretty good but they were at 308 velocities. I've shot Sitka blacktail bucks at RUM velocities with the 178. They did pretty good there too. I've only shot one mt goat and that wasn't with an amax. Was a 300 grain SMK 338 cal.
Based on what I've seen from goats I'd favor the 208s hands down. High shoulder to prevent them from leaping into the abyss for which they are widely known for.
As far as sheep, you won't have any trouble with the 178 amax. Goats though as you know are A: much more sturdy than dalls and B: much more determined than dalls.
Don't leave it to chance when goats are concerned. Go heavy with high sectional density and retained energy. Even then, you still need to break them down structurally as they can absorb a lot of energy and still head for the edge. The 208 will offer much more retained energy as well as mass to break the bones needed. Much more so than the 178.
+1 on that 225 grainer, its BCs would be in the .700s! Also like to see a .30cal 190gr A-MAX. Would really be nice if Hornady introduced a .277cal A-MAX though, that way I could shoot them in everything I have. Imagine the BCs on a 160ish grain .277 A-MAX! Those would be awesome for the .270 WSM ,my cousin has, and any other .270 Magnums. A standard weight .277 A-MAX would work great in my .270 WIN for long range hunting and shooting, most likely its BCs would be higher than the 140gr SST I'm shooting now. Everything from .224 to .338cal has an A-MAX besides the .277cal, hopefully there'll be one eventually.
Michael Courtney
Silver Member
I think the 208 AMAX is the best bet, but I've never shot a Dall sheep or a Mt Goat.
My reasoning is this:
1. You really want to keep the impact velocity under 2900 ft/s. In the thin mountain air, the 178 AMAX may retain higher velocity for a long distance.
2. Hitting shoulders at 600 yards can be iffy. The 208 AMAX has the best chance to both expand and hit either the near or the far shoulder if you can't line up both shoulders.
3. The Hornady 208 and 225 gr BTHP bullets have unknown performance in game. Many open tipped match bullets are iffy on game, and I'd presume these may be also unless there are definite reports over a wide range of impact velocities.
Nothing is definite with shooting at 300-600 yards. Wind, angles, and elevation can play havoc with shot placement. I think the 208 gr AMAX minimizes the probability of another bad experience, but there are no guarantees.
We've shot a lot of deer (hundreds) with ballistic tips and the 110 VMAX at 30-06 and 308 velocities. Rapidly expanding bullets can drop a good percentage of animals immediately without hitting the shoulder, but the best chance of an immediate drop is always to hit a shoulder. In addition to great terminal performance, the 208 AMAX also gives you a great chance to hit a shoulder at long range with its high BC and accuracy.
Another thing we like about the 208 gr AMAX is that if you take a longer than expected shot at long range and impact below the expansion threshold of the bullet, the bullet tumbles and still has very good wounding effect due to such a long bullet moving sideways.
Thank you for this detailed information. Really gets me interested in the A-MAX line of bullets. Its amazing on how well its terminal performance is on game. Never would have thought this bullet would be so versatile.
