7mm 162g A-MAX for elk??? please help

[boyce]

I have an AZ cow elk hunt this year and will be using a 7mm rum. I have available locally hornady 162g amax bullets. Personal ability will limit my shooting this year to 500yds. Everything I have read so far looks down on the amax for hunting because of its construction but, results that I have read about say it preforms just like the berger vld that everyone on this site loves. I would like to stay in the 160 to 180g range on bullets and my load book recommends nothing lighter than the 140's. You guys have not steered me wrong in 2 years so, whats your opinion on the amax for elk?

 

[FEENIX]

Boyce,

Excellent caliber and bullet. There are lots of field experiences and success on A-max on deer size game and smaller but not on the majestic and tough elk that I know of. I'm not saying that it will not do the job. Personally, the largest game I have taken is a mule deer with 178gr in my .300WM under 500 yards.

Most will say that there are better choices out there for elk. However, it's always nice to have someone prove us wrong.

I have not seen it compared to the Bergers but have seen plenty comparison with the SSTs. Our AUS and NZ friends have lots of success on sambar (Sambar (deer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), if you want to use that for elk comparison.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Ed

 

[winmagman]

Personally I'd go with a tougher bullet than the Amax. At RUM velocities I think you're asking for trouble, especially if a shot inside 100 yds presents itself or you have a quartering in shot where you need to punch through a shoulder. I just wouldn't count on the Amax to reliably get the kind of penetration needed in those situations.

I myself would shoot an Accubond, Scirocco, or Interbond just for the added insurance. Even more so if you're putting out a significant chunk of change to go on this hunt.

Chris

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Here is how much personal experience I have with the AMAX for hunting ZERO but I do remeber a post on here about a rifle Shawn Carlock built in 260rem shooting 140g AMAX that his costomer used to kill and ELK at 600+ I tryed to find it for you but I cant.

 

[jeffro]

I have used the 162 Amax out of a 7mmRM with great results on elk. My speeds are 2935fps. Our shots are also long. I wouldnt use them out of a 7mmRUM though because of the speeds the RUM will produce will cause the bullet to explode.

 

[fireroad]

As hard as those AZ cow tags are to get I would not chance my hunt to an A-max. In a perfect world with a perfect shoot they would do okay, but that's rarely the case elk hunting. Nothing against the a-max, t's a great bullet for what it's designed for...match shooting. Hornady even suggests on their website that the A-max is "not recommend on medium and large game".

You would be much better off with their Interbond or SST. I recommend the Interbond, but they can be pretty tough to find. That being said, I'll sell you a whole box out of my stash at a discount if you will use them over the a-max on elk (I feel that strongly about it).

 

[Guy M]

I know it's boring, but consider the good old 160 or 175 grain Nosler Partition, or the 160 Nosler Accubond. They're long-proven performers on elk and will treat you right. I took my big 6x6 bull with one shot through the boiler room with a 175 NP from a 7mm Rem mag. He took a few faltering steps and collapsed.

The A-Max is a fine bullet but I think there are better options for hunting elk.

FWIW, Guy

 

[JD338]

I would use the Nosler 160 gr AB. It is tough enough to go through shoulders and it has a decent BC of .531.

JD338

 

[boyce]

everyone, thanks for the insight on the amax. This is my first time loading for a magnum and im having a pretty tough time getting the amaxes to shoot. I want to figure this out but that will have to wait until after the hunt. I am not sure what to go with but am leaning towards the interbond or sst. I will keep yall posted and my have to seek advice on the reloading forum

 

[ZSteinle]

+1 for the accubond, proven shoulder breaker, decent BC (which isnt that huge of a deal if your gunna shoot within 500 yards) and easy to get to shoot. I have had some interesting results with 140 amaxs out of my 264 win mag. Shot an antelope around 2 years ago near the 600 yard and aimed for high shoulder which i have read is suppose to just drop game in their tracks. Got set up and pulled the trigger, lost the antelope in my scope for a split second and got back on him right at impact. The antelope dropped faster than anything i have ever shot before, i couldnt beleive it! So after rejoicing my excellent shot for around 30-45 seconds I look up on the hill where the antelope dropped and sure enough there he is stumbiling down the draw, wounded bad but still walking around, he got down to the bottom of the draw and layed down so i figured i had better put another one in him and decided to aim for the boiler room this time but due to the change in wind direction from my original shot hit him in nearly the exact same spot but the second one finished him. Same year shot a dear at around 75 yrds impact velocity was about 3150fps entered right behind the shoulder and hit a rib bone, entrance hole was around golf ball sized and the bullet made it to the first side lung and vaporized the one lung and never made it any further.

 

[FEENIX]

Now that you've put the A-max on hold, IIWY I'd go with 180gr Berger VLDs (.659 BC) or 160gr NAB (.531 BC).

Good luck!

Ed

 

[boyce]

Just back from the range today having shot the 160g nos accubonds. While they shot better than the A-max, I still need to get a lot of stuff figured out to be able to use this gun to its potential. Thanks to all for the help, Im off to the reloading forum next.