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178gr A-MAX True BC

Jud96

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2013
Messages
3,648
Location
Michigan
I am interesting in trying some 178s in my .300 WIN Mag. I originally planned on using the Hornady 178gr BTHPs with a .530 BC, but I really like the way A-MAXs perform. I have seen a couple of threads regarding the 178s true BC, and I was curious to what the real world G1 BC would be on a 178 A-MAX. Since these will be shot out of a .300WM, my velocity will be 3150+ fps if this makes a difference. Hopefully Bryan Litz has some solid info on these bullets. Thanks
 
Hopefully Bryan Litz has some solid info on these bullets.

He does. I would highly recommend you get his latest book. It has tested BC's for most popular bullets and he keeps adding to the list. I don't have the book in front of me right now, but IIRC the average G1 is in the .460-.480 range. I've shot a few out of my .308 and Bryan's number worked well for me when I tried them out to 600 yards.
 
I have a 178 amax load for my TC Venture 30-06 that put three in one hole. They are very accurate bullets. I have ran them to 1000, I don't have my data book but its somewhere between 35-40 moa at 2800 -\+ fps. I have since switched to 208's and will recording data on those hopefully this weekend. I will always have 100 or so 178's loaded up though.
 
Thanks for the input guys. Seems the BCs are pretty low. I'm looking for a cheap bullet in the 175-180gr weight that I can use for practice and deer hunting. Does anyone know if the 178gr Hornady BTHP bc is really .53 or is it lower than advertised as well? I looked at the Speer 180gr SPBT with a claimed BC of .534 but this seems a little optimistic. If anyone has any suggestions for a bullet in this weight class it would be much appreciated. I know Berger has some good options, but I don't want to spend $50 a box to just shoot them through paper and into steel most of the time. Thanks
 
If cost is your major consideration, look at the Nosler 175 Custom Competition. It's a copy of the 175 Sierra MatchKing. Not the highest BC design, but decent, and I'm told you can often find good deals on Nosler bullets in bulk.

Powder Valley is currently out of stock, but their price is $69/250 which is under $0.28 each.

-Bryan
 
If cost is your major consideration, look at the Nosler 175 Custom Competition. It's a copy of the 175 Sierra MatchKing. Not the highest BC design, but decent, and I'm told you can often find good deals on Nosler bullets in bulk.

Powder Valley is currently out of stock, but their price is $69/250 which is under $0.28 each.

-Bryan

Thanks Bryan, I will check them out. I have been seeing a good bit of Hornady 178 BTHPs around here and Hornadys have always shot well for me. Do you have any data on the true BC of this bullet? Thank you, all the help is much appreciated.
 
My test results for the Hornady .30 caliber 178 grain BTHP

G1 BC: 0.501 (average from 3000 to 1500 fps)
G7 BC: 0.257 (good for all speeds)

-Bryan
 
Wow thanks for this information! Much appreciated! Do you have any information on Speer bullets? I have a box of 180 SPBTs that my Dad bought and I was curious to know what the true BC was for them. If they are decent, I may just buy some more and use them for practice and mid range hunting. Thanks again!
 
If you really want a bullet that will work for everything switch to a Berger. With Berger you can hunt with your paper punching bullet and vise versa. They cost a bit more but they are worth every penny.
 
Wow thanks for this information! Much appreciated! Do you have any information on Speer bullets? I have a box of 180 SPBTs that my Dad bought and I was curious to know what the true BC was for them. If they are decent, I may just buy some more and use them for practice and mid range hunting. Thanks again!

I don't have any data on Speer bullets. They used to be one of the better options some decades ago, but since then there have been numerous bullet companies exceed them in both design and manufacturing quality. I don't know of any serious long range shooters today that use Speer; most Speer bullets can be found on someone's Dad's shelf :)

-Bryan
 
I don't have any data on Speer bullets. They used to be one of the better options some decades ago, but since then there have been numerous bullet companies exceed them in both design and manufacturing quality. I don't know of any serious long range shooters today that use Speer; most Speer bullets can be found on someone's Dad's shelf :)

-Bryan
Lol that one made me laugh pretty good. Seems like every old guy I know is always trying to give me boxes of Speer bullets. I just say thank you and add them to my museum collection.
 
Okay thank you for the help Bryan! I may just try some of the 178 BTHP. I can find them for around $34 a box and they have a decent BC. After doing some load development today, I should be able to get the 175 class bullets close to 3200fps in my .300WM so the Hornady 178s should do well in my rifle. Thanks for the help.gun)
 
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