Recovered 208 A-Max... from LR Black Bear kill

[Jon A]

Originally Posted by yote bomber

Not sure the extra .060 points in BC is worth the trade off in terminal performance vs. the 200 grain Accubond.

My tests have shown the BC of the 208 is a bit underrated while the 200 AB is a bit overrated, so the real difference between the two is .1+. That's enough to make a real difference at extreme ranges. And at those ranges, the terminal performance of the 208 will be more desirable to many anyway.

I guess between them it comes down to the range and size of animals--the closer the range, the bigger the animals I'd lean toward the AB; the farther the range and especially for smaller game (or more careful shot selection), the 208 starts to get favor.

That's assuming a rifle likes them both pretty equally. If not, the one the rifle likes the best is the obvious choice.

My 300 has made more tiny groups at 100 yds with the 200 AB but at distance the 208 clearly rocks. Since I'm only going after deer this year, I'll be using the 208.

BTW, congrats on the bear! Thanks for sharing the results.

[300WSMMAD]

Congrats on the bear!

Just to come at the bullet performance from another point of view, er it took three steps and died, just because the bullet didnt form a perfect mushroom, performance is marginal!! come on fellas, the bear died, souped the insides IMHO GREAT!
No intention to ruffle feathers or piss people off, just if that was my bear I would be more than happy with the bullet performance, it killed it, quickly!
What more do we want.

Just my 2c.

Regards 300WSMMAD

[Varmint Hunter]

Last week my buddy anchored a 356lb black bear. He used a 30-06 with an old fashioned 180gr RN corelock bullet. Total penetration and a blood trail that Ray Charles could follow. Bear got about 50 yds.

The A-Max is a great bullet for many applications but not for total penetration on bears. However, it's obviously quite lethal with good shot placement. Dead is Dead.

[Eaglet]

The core is lead, is it not? Why is it so dark? I have never used that bullet before.

[geargrinder]

Originally Posted by Eaglet

The core is lead, is it not? Why is it so dark? I have never used that bullet before.

Looks like normal lead to me. Other than, it would have been better if it stayed in the core.

Eaglet, I've got some 208 A-max's you can have. Let me know if you want to try some.

[Eaglet]

Cool! I'll let you know. I still have those 300 Fed Gold Match 250 Large Mag. Primers for you. When will you pick them up? Please e-mail me.

[yote bomber]

For what it's worth... this is exactly the kind of performance my buddy was looking for. We've killed a bunch of bears in the last couple of years... and by far the most decisive kill was a 165 NBT out of the .300 WM... bullet performance was identical. Bullet mashes a few ribs, vaporizes the lungs, and then stops in the hide on the far side.

I, on the other hand... want an exit wound... or at least I'd prefer one. I wasn't trying to start a bullet performance debate... some guys like the kind of performance provided here... others want two holes.