Who Else Uses The Hornady A-Max for Deer?

[hillbillybear]

Definitely not a long range shot but my first on critter test with a Hornady A-Max.


I have heard everything from its the duck's nutz on deer to its way too fragile for deer. Here's what I observed (granted its an example of one):

First the load: Caliber : .30/06: 49.0 grains of VV-N140, RP case, Fed 215 MM primer, 155 grain Hornady A-Max, Velocity is about 2800-2,805 fps.The range was about 50 yards.

The Rifle:http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p170/hillbillybear_2006/TIKKA30063.jpg

Meat Buck Pictures:

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p170/hillbillybear_2006/7Pointer11-17-2007003.jpg


http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p170/hillbillybear_2006/7Pointer11-17-2007004.jpg


The bullet entered just behind the buck's shoulder (about 180 lbs live weight on the hoof) on the facing side and exited the off side shoulder nearly dead center.






The entrance wound was approximately caliber (.308) size and the exit wound was about .50 caliber to one inch in diameter. Everything in between was simply demolished and the blood trail was easy to follow. The buck made about 30 yards across the top of a ridge before sliding on his belly.


In short, very impressive performance on game for a "match" bullet.


HBB

 

[Varmint Hunter]

On a recent North Carolina whitetail hunt I took two mature does for the venison. I was shooting my ol' 7STW and the 162gr A-Max @ 3,100 ft/sec. Both deer were shot @ 300 yards.

The first deer was quartering towards me. I held directly on the shoulder. When the shot went off the dear did a verticle drop. DRT

The second deer was standing broadside. I held just behind the shoulder and let the A-Max fly. The deer was just outside of a thicket when I shot and I lost my sight picture when the gun went off. When I walked over to where the deer was standing, there was enough blood for Ray Charles to follow. The deer walked over a small knoll and was piled up about 25 yards away. Exit hole was about 1".

I also used the same rifle and ammo on a Wyoming antelope hunts. Took a shot @ 465 yds. Bullet hit low in the chest. Lope stood for a few seconds and then piled up.

I think the A-Max is a great bullet for most thin skinned game. If I was hunting Elk or Moose I'd probably use an Accubond for the extra insurance that it provides.

 

[hillbillybear]

Whereabouts in Nc are you deer hunting?

 

[RossN]

I have been using the 162g 7mm A-Max out of my 280 Rem over a hefty dose of N560 for 2 years, and can't say enough good things about it. The longest shot on deer has been 612 yards, and countless goats have been given the good news between 20 and 550 yards- any failures have been operator error.
I like to shoot deer through the ribs behind the shoulder, and save as much meat as possible so a soft bullet suits this shot perfectly. Add a good b.c. and I don't know what there isn't to like.
I have just had a 6/250 barrel put on my Tikka 595, and will be looking to shoot the 105g A-Max out of this as a light deer/long range varmint combo.

 

[hillbillybear]

Thanks for the input folks. I'm probably gonna go to the 162 A-Max in my .280AI in the Spring.

 

[Ernie]

I have used the 6.5 140 A-Max on deer out to 200-300 yards with good success.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

"Whereabouts in Nc are you deer hunting?"

I was hunting on an 8,000 acre farm which is leased by the Occeneecche Lodge. They have a considerable amount of soybean inter-dispersed throughout the farm. Lots of good cover for the deer with hardwoods, swamps and river bottom. It's in Jackson, NC.

 

[hillbillybear]

That's a nice part of the state. A lot warmer and flatter than the mountains

 

[mikenc]

I was hunting on an 8,000 acre farm which is leased by the Occeneecche Lodge. They have a considerable amount of soybean inter-dispersed throughout the farm. Lots of good cover for the deer with hardwoods, swamps and river bottom. It's in Jackson, NC.

That is a wonderful area to be hunting. Some of the largest whitetails in N.C. are from that county and area.

Mike

 

[mikenc]

On a recent North Carolina whitetail hunt I took two mature does for the venison. I was shooting my ol' 7STW and the 162gr A-Max @ 3,100 ft/sec. Both deer were shot @ 300 yards.]

I hope you had a good time here in Eastern N.C. If you enjoyed the hunting up at Occeneeche Lodge, you need to talk to them about coming back in April or May for the Rock/Striped Bass Run on the Roanoke River. If the hunting was fun the Rock fishing will be unbelievable.

Good Luck

MikeNC

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I'm not much of a fisherman but my buddy lives to fish & hunt. I'll pass your info along.

We had a good time and will be returning in 2 weeks. I'm a little skeptical about the trophy opportunities at this time (2nd rut) because the camp holds 25 men per day and I'm sure that the harvest in November was BIG.

I wil also be booking for Nov 2008 when I get back there. We may bring 6-8 men with us for next year.

Happy to support the economy of North Carolina - the local folks were all great!

 

[mikenc]

Good to hear you are coming back to N.C. and that the people treated you well. I live just about an hour south of Jackson. The hunting should still be great when you get back in the coming weeks. It's still really dry here and we are supposed to have some cold(not NY cold but cold for here) come down in the coming days so maybe those deer will be just right for you.

Amazing, I left N.C. to go to NY in July to shoot whitetails with nuissance/crop damage permits and a man from NY leaves NY to come to N.C. for whitetails. Whole lot of traveling going on.


Mike

 

[klallen]

Before Antelope season this October, I reworked a load using the 208 gr. .308 A-Max in my Warbird. Was looking for a shot in excess of 500 yds. so I thought this high BC bullet would be a good bet on that light of an animal. It worked fine. Expansion was explosive, wound channel devastating and weight retention not very good ; all things expected from a thin jacketed bullet. Even so, the bullet did penetrate quite well. I'm sure sheer mass of the bullet had lots to do with that. So I figured I'd give the combo a go on Mule Deer come general big game season.

I was able to take a large Mulie on the third day of the season with the bullet. Again, it did the job. The shot was right around 250 yds. at a steep uphill grade, with the buck quartering away slightly. The bullet entered a little low, just behind the front shoulder and exited high behind the off side shoulder. The only bone it came into contact with was rib. Shards from the rib did a number on the lungs as the bullet almost completely unattached the heart from arteries. I'd never seen that before. Exit hole was much smaller then I'd have expected seeing amount of destruction to rib and flesh. Meat of the off side shoulder was fairly blood shot, even though it wasn't hit.

All in all, I was pleased with the bullet. Kinda educated myself on what I already suspected might be true about the bullet. Using the combo again, I'd aim farther back competely staying away from the shoudlers. These bullets do cause lots of trama and any sort of impact close to meat you'd like to put in the freezer may be hammered. I'd never use a light for caliber A-Max on deer and I would never intentionally impact on-side shoulder, even with the heavy for caliber bullet. Either way you slice it, these bullets are frangible. I believe the 208's work fine because there's the mass (good) to back up or off-set the light construction (bad). Use a lighter A-Max (light weight with light construction) and you might open yourself up to seeing performane you probably wouldn't like.

More then likely, after testing things out on game, I'll probably go back to the original load I had worked up using the 180 or 200 gr. AccuBond. But the A-Max test was certainly worth taking and I enjoyed collection the on game results from it's use.

Good luck with the bullet if you choose to use it. >> korey

 

[Jim the Plumber17]

Shot this doe at 277 yards with my 264 Win mag. 140 A Max at 3100fps.
Hi neck shot, no meat loss , dead and down before the rifle finished recoil.