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6.5 mm Creedmoor 120 amax
- Thread starter Bkknupp
- Start date
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MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
AMax is a very fragile and frangible bullet...I've been reading ALOT of folks having bad results when shooting medium to large game with them...Especially at high velocities.
I wouldn't use them or the Hornady SST's on deer...I had a bad personal experience with the 139 SST's on whitetails traveling pretty fast out of a 7mm RM, and never used them on deer again. I swapped to Barnes TSX's after that and never had anymore problems.
When pushing the 139 SST's at a slower velocity (shooting my 7mm-08) they worked just fine, which is why I tried them in my 7mm RM....But that extra velocity made them almost disintegrate on impact.
I wouldn't use them or the Hornady SST's on deer...I had a bad personal experience with the 139 SST's on whitetails traveling pretty fast out of a 7mm RM, and never used them on deer again. I swapped to Barnes TSX's after that and never had anymore problems.
When pushing the 139 SST's at a slower velocity (shooting my 7mm-08) they worked just fine, which is why I tried them in my 7mm RM....But that extra velocity made them almost disintegrate on impact.
Creedmoor shooter
Well-Known Member
I have shot deer with the 140 a-max out of a 6.5 Creedmoor and it the bullet is just what mudrunner said. They are to fragile. I have shot a couple deer and a 312 lb Black Bear with them but i dont recommend it. Im running 125 Nosler partitions right now and seem to shoot ok.... haven't had a chance to shoot a deer with them yet. Hoping to do that on Wednesday 
. But in short find a different bullet. The data for the load im using out of a t/c icon prescion hunter is 48.5 grains of Hogden Superformance with the 125 partition
. But in short find a different bullet. The data for the load im using out of a t/c icon prescion hunter is 48.5 grains of Hogden Superformance with the 125 partitionBUSTINDOGS
Well-Known Member
i havnt shot a deer with one yet, but i have some hand loads with the 120 A max loaded just under 3000 fps, Our deer season opens on saturday and thats what will be in the chamber, if all goes well and i get a shot at a deer ill try and take some good pictures.
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
Maybe I just got a bad batch of factory Hornady loads...But I'm not the only one who's had 7mm SST issues. Another guy in the STW section had some 162 SST's blow up like that on him, too. Must be something about the 7mm SST Hornady bullets...
Good luck either way, and I hope you don't have the same experiences with the AMax as I have read others having.
My buddy (and shooting partner) will be hunting with 178 AMaxs in his .300 WM this year, but I won't let him hunt on my property with them, I don't want wounded or maimed deer on my land. I only shoot Nosler, Barnes, or Berger bullets at animals. In the past, I have shot deer with Hornady TAP LE (red box) .308 Win 168 BTHP's and they were devastating on whitetails, even though they're designed for snipers and for match shooting, I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.
the amax is a killer have shot multiple deer with the 168 out of the 308 and the 140 out of the creedmoor. A little reading for the non amax crowd Hornady AMAX for hunting?
I would gun the 120 for thin skinned deer with not a second thought. Buddy shoots the 162's out of his 7 mag with boring results band dead
I would gun the 120 for thin skinned deer with not a second thought. Buddy shoots the 162's out of his 7 mag with boring results band dead
WildRose
Well-Known Member
You are correct. Niether the SST nor AMAX in calibers smaller than .338 should be used on game inside of 600 yards.
Remember the pictures I posted last year of the doe shot with the 300WM and the SST?
She was deader than dirt but when the pieces of that bullet left a softball sized hole on the backside at least 10lbs of meat followed it through.
If you're going to shoot Hornady's at game at normal ranges stick to the Interlock and Interbond. The interbond is a fantastic bullet on everything I've shot with them in the last twenty or thirty years. If you need an even tougher bullet the interlock performs similar to the nosler partition but with much better BC.
If you're shooting slower rounds like the .308 and shooting at sub 600yds ranges it's not going to make that much of a difference but the SST and AMAX are not game bullets and really should not be used on game unless you're shooting the big boys in which case you have enough mass to change the whole equation.
Now if you like to watch things explode like prairie dogs then they are a very good choice, just not for game animals.
I killed 3 Deer in about 40 minutes, 1 DRT, 1 under 20 yards, the other about 25 yards. The bullet was 140 Amax out of a .260. Last year I killed a big 6 point with a 105 Amax out of a .243, DRT. This year I've killed 2 Deer with 120 Nosler BT out of my 7-08, both DRT. I've hunted with my brother alot over the last 6-7 years. He's killed 3-5 Deer every year with his .243 and 105 Amax's that I've built. All but 1 did not hit the ground where they were shot, the 1 went 10 yards. I believe they do fragment alittle more then I like but I've seen alot of dead deer in person and in pictures.
Creedmoor shooter
Well-Known Member
The sst out of the creed would be ok because the velocity is down on it. I shot moon dogs with my 30-06 with the 150 sst and at 3000 fps. the bullet already started to blow apart on impact, and a coyote isnt a very hard animal.
I don't what could have happened . I've shot Deer from 50-300 yds and never had an issue. The only one that did not get a complete pass was the one at 50 yards . We found the sst round just under the skin in the off side shoulder classic mushroom in tact. All shots have been in the shoulders in the Superformance round starts out at 2950 ( verified ) . What range were the coyotes at?
