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

[remingtonman_25_06]

On something that can bite back, I"ll take 2 holes vs. 1 any day of the week...

What if he had hit the shoulder?? A bear can go a ways with only 1 broken shoulder and I doubt you'd have much of a blood trail to follow at that. I know I dont wanna be chasing ANY bear with one broken shoulder. Thats asking for trouble IMO.

Amax are good for coyotes/antelope/deer, anything bigger I"ll take a little stouter bullet please.

[yote bomber]

That's what I'm thinking too...

Plus, if you take a look at the terrain in the picture... you can tell that tracking a bear, even 50 yards, in that stuff is an absolute nightmare. That stuff isn't just thick... it's vertical too.

[OKIE2]

I have a friend in northern utah him and his group of friends that not only hunt but kill a lot of elk every year told me the only tried and true bullets to use is from 165 grain to 200 grain in the interbounds and grand slams gets them one shot kills and 7mm mags don't cut the mustard only 300's and 338's gets the job done right. He told me that one year a guy shot one with a 7mm mag it took 4 shots to put the elk down for good. and the average distance of shots is from 85 to 185 yards and running almost always. I ask him about the 208 amax he told me to forget it stay with what works. I did not ask him about the accubonds so I don't know how good they work.

[Michael Eichele]

Originally Posted by remingtonman_25_06

On something that can bite back, I"ll take 2 holes vs. 1 any day of the week...

What if he had hit the shoulder?? A bear can go a ways with only 1 broken shoulder and I doubt you'd have much of a blood trail to follow at that. I know I dont wanna be chasing ANY bear with one broken shoulder. Thats asking for trouble IMO.

Amax are good for coyotes/antelope/deer, anything bigger I"ll take a little stouter bullet please.

Very well put. I couldnt have said it any better.

The only thing I will add is that the AMAX's are much more predictable than the SMK's, typically have higher BC's per caliber/bullet weight are just as accurate or more and have reliable low velocity expansion. The draw back is at high velocity they are too frangible to be very reliable on bigger game than deer or sheep. Even then at super high velocity they are not the best choice. In short, they have their place and can even be the best bullet for a given set of circumstances. I have shot dall rams and sitka blacktail and mule deer at similar ranges with AB's and AMAX's. I would definately say that the AB is a much better hunting bullet terminaly within its recomended velocity ranges. Even though I believe the AB is a better terminal bullet than the AMAX, I can say for certain that on my up and coming coues whitetail hunt this December I will be using the AMAX over the AB because the AMAX is sufficient for this size of deer and due to the small nature of this critter, I want superb accuracy and as high a BC as possible to help ensure an impact inside the 6" or so vital area of this tiny deer. However, if it was mule deer I was after, I would be using the AB's.

[Chopaka81]

Originally Posted by 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

I was thinking the same thing. Why fuss over "all" of the energy being expended within the critter instead of being split between the critter and the hillside?
It is interesting that .338" 300gr SMK's are good enough in an EDGE, but .308" 200gr SMK's are not, same goes for the 208 AMAX. I wonder about the .308" 240gr SMK? Is it considered no good too?
I remember post mortum exams of .308" 180gr SBT (GK) launched at 3200 fps, after I got past the lungs hanging on the sage brush in a 6' radius, and walked up to the mulie laying there with a 8" exit hole, I figured the terminal performance was pretty terminal.
Based upon what I have seen in this single thread, the jury has not come in.

[Good]

Originally Posted by Michael Eichele

my up and coming coues whitetail hunt this December

Where is your hunt at Michael?

[Michael Eichele]

Originally Posted by Good

Where is your hunt at Michael?

Arizona. Unit 22