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Apex outdoors afterburners performance
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<blockquote data-quote="yorke-1" data-source="post: 2633759" data-attributes="member: 11960"><p>So far, I've shot all three available weights of the .308" Apex Afterburners (135gr, 144gr, and 153gr), their 166gr target bullet, and the 161gr Haymaker. I've tried them in a 1:10" twist 300 RUM and 300 PRC, as well as a 1:7" twist 300 Savage and 1:7" twist 300 Blackout. A lot of these bullets were shot into 10% ballistic gel at different ranges, with different muzzle velocities, from different barrels, and with different crimps. I've shot significantly more of the 153gr bullets than the 135gr or 144gr, but they've all performed in a very similar way in the gel when the impact velocities are similar.</p><p></p><p>I've fired the majority of the 153gr Afterburners in the 300 RUM, which is an old Savage that's probably 20+ years old. That particular rifle has been one of the pickiest guns that's held a spot in my safe, and only shot the 200gr Swift A-frame sub MOA. The Afterburners have consistently shot well (sub MOA) with a variety of powders in that rifle. The 153gr Afterburner in the 300 PRC was happiest at about 3350 fps with H4350. I got up over 3400 fps with Superformance, but the accuracy wasn't as good as H4350.</p><p></p><p>The load I've settled on in the 300 RUM uses RL 26 with the 153gr Afterburner for a velocity of 3520 fps with 3 shot groups hanging just over .75 MOA. I've shot that same load as far as 900 yards and it held 1 MOA to that range. I used that load on a black bear here in WA at 523 yards. The bear was walking up a log on the other side of the valley, so the bullet entered between the shoulders just to the right of the spine and exited on the left side of the throat. The bullet destroyed the spine and the bear didn't even twitch. The shot placement was great for anchoring the bear, but not so much for testing a bullet. LOL Here's the thread with more details on the bear:</p><p>[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/black-bear-with-the-153gr-afterburner-523-yards.311703/[/URL]</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/3qbeWyT.jpg?1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Entrance</p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ORhEdoV.jpg?1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Exit</p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/DcyIyo3.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>A friend of mine has a cattle ranch near by and I loaded some of the 153gr Afterburners for his 30-06 to try out on coyotes in his field. He's taken two so far. I belive the ranges were around 100-150 yards on both coyotes.</p><p></p><p>Entrance</p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/4rqPad1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Exit</p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/HaruVpQ.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Entrance</p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/K1a2IUn.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Exit</p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ZCI8bOh.jpg?1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/qkWKU87.jpg?1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>I haven't shot any animals with the 135gr or 144gr Afterburners yet but I would expect them to perform very similarly to the 153gr version. I have seen the 153gr penetrate slightly farther in gel than the lighter versions, which makes sense since the additional weight is all in the shank. I did shoot the 135gr Afterburner out of the 300 Blackout with good accuracy and the 144gr version in the 300 Savage. I was just testing them though and haven't spent any real time working on loads. I have a load with the 135gr Afterburner in the 300 RUM at more than 3800 fps that I need to shoot out to 500 yards or so, but I may try that during deer season.</p><p></p><p>I'm really anxious to get something with the 161gr Haymaker. This one is a pretty specialized bullet and was optimized for the 300 Blackout. I've tested this one out of a 16.25" 300 Blackout with a 1:7" twist and I saw full expansion and petal separation at less than 1000 fps impact velocities. I haven't seen that with any other bullet that I've personally tested. My standard load in the 300 Blackout with the 161gr Haymaker uses Ramshot Enforcer and I get 1925 fps. That's not a max load, but it is very accurate (under .75 MOA) and it's compressed about as much as I'd like.</p><p></p><p>The 161gr Haymaker was designed for the 300 Blackout, but I've shot it a 300 PRC, at just under 3000 fps as well as a 300 Savage at about 2450 fps. The Haymaker was just over .5 MOA in the 300 PRC, but I personally wouldn't use it on a deer at that velocity. The Haymakers are designed for lower velocity impacts and they behave almost like a ballistic tip when they impact over about 2400 fps in the testing I've done. It would make for some spectacular coyote kills though! I do however have the Haymakers loaded for a 20" 300 Savage that I've been using as my truck gun this year. I almost tagged a bear about a week ago (we get two bear tags a year in WA) with the 161gr Haymaker out of the 300 Savage, but I spotted some cubs with the bear when I got about 150 yards away from her. I've had a few close opportunities on coyotes, but I just haven't been fast enough. Porcupines are my go-to bullet traps around here, so I just need to find one to test the Haymakers out on game.</p><p></p><p>This thread has some of the bullet testing I've done over the years. There's an older thread as well around here somewhere. The results from the first prototypes of the 153 Apex are around page 4.</p><p>[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/bullet-testing-again.271585/[/URL]</p><p></p><p>This thread has some good info on some of testing I did with the 161gr Haymaker.</p><p>[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/apex-outdoors-new-bullet-launch-308-161gr-haymaker.304891/[/URL]</p><p></p><p>This thread is a good rundown from Apex about their company, what they offer, and probably a good starting point if you're looking into their bullets.</p><p>[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/apex-outdoors-bullets-a-brief-summary.311148/[/URL]</p><p></p><p>Hopefully [USER=112571]@mcdil[/USER] will chime in when he has time. I know there are additional animals taken with the Afterburners, but I'll leave that information for them to share.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="yorke-1, post: 2633759, member: 11960"] So far, I've shot all three available weights of the .308" Apex Afterburners (135gr, 144gr, and 153gr), their 166gr target bullet, and the 161gr Haymaker. I've tried them in a 1:10" twist 300 RUM and 300 PRC, as well as a 1:7" twist 300 Savage and 1:7" twist 300 Blackout. A lot of these bullets were shot into 10% ballistic gel at different ranges, with different muzzle velocities, from different barrels, and with different crimps. I've shot significantly more of the 153gr bullets than the 135gr or 144gr, but they've all performed in a very similar way in the gel when the impact velocities are similar. I've fired the majority of the 153gr Afterburners in the 300 RUM, which is an old Savage that's probably 20+ years old. That particular rifle has been one of the pickiest guns that's held a spot in my safe, and only shot the 200gr Swift A-frame sub MOA. The Afterburners have consistently shot well (sub MOA) with a variety of powders in that rifle. The 153gr Afterburner in the 300 PRC was happiest at about 3350 fps with H4350. I got up over 3400 fps with Superformance, but the accuracy wasn't as good as H4350. The load I've settled on in the 300 RUM uses RL 26 with the 153gr Afterburner for a velocity of 3520 fps with 3 shot groups hanging just over .75 MOA. I've shot that same load as far as 900 yards and it held 1 MOA to that range. I used that load on a black bear here in WA at 523 yards. The bear was walking up a log on the other side of the valley, so the bullet entered between the shoulders just to the right of the spine and exited on the left side of the throat. The bullet destroyed the spine and the bear didn't even twitch. The shot placement was great for anchoring the bear, but not so much for testing a bullet. LOL Here's the thread with more details on the bear: [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/black-bear-with-the-153gr-afterburner-523-yards.311703/[/URL] [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/3qbeWyT.jpg?1[/IMG] Entrance [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/ORhEdoV.jpg?1[/IMG] Exit [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/DcyIyo3.jpg[/IMG] A friend of mine has a cattle ranch near by and I loaded some of the 153gr Afterburners for his 30-06 to try out on coyotes in his field. He's taken two so far. I belive the ranges were around 100-150 yards on both coyotes. Entrance [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/4rqPad1.jpg[/IMG] Exit [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/HaruVpQ.jpg[/IMG] Entrance [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/K1a2IUn.jpg[/IMG] Exit [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/ZCI8bOh.jpg?1[/IMG] [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/qkWKU87.jpg?1[/IMG] I haven't shot any animals with the 135gr or 144gr Afterburners yet but I would expect them to perform very similarly to the 153gr version. I have seen the 153gr penetrate slightly farther in gel than the lighter versions, which makes sense since the additional weight is all in the shank. I did shoot the 135gr Afterburner out of the 300 Blackout with good accuracy and the 144gr version in the 300 Savage. I was just testing them though and haven't spent any real time working on loads. I have a load with the 135gr Afterburner in the 300 RUM at more than 3800 fps that I need to shoot out to 500 yards or so, but I may try that during deer season. I'm really anxious to get something with the 161gr Haymaker. This one is a pretty specialized bullet and was optimized for the 300 Blackout. I've tested this one out of a 16.25" 300 Blackout with a 1:7" twist and I saw full expansion and petal separation at less than 1000 fps impact velocities. I haven't seen that with any other bullet that I've personally tested. My standard load in the 300 Blackout with the 161gr Haymaker uses Ramshot Enforcer and I get 1925 fps. That's not a max load, but it is very accurate (under .75 MOA) and it's compressed about as much as I'd like. The 161gr Haymaker was designed for the 300 Blackout, but I've shot it a 300 PRC, at just under 3000 fps as well as a 300 Savage at about 2450 fps. The Haymaker was just over .5 MOA in the 300 PRC, but I personally wouldn't use it on a deer at that velocity. The Haymakers are designed for lower velocity impacts and they behave almost like a ballistic tip when they impact over about 2400 fps in the testing I've done. It would make for some spectacular coyote kills though! I do however have the Haymakers loaded for a 20" 300 Savage that I've been using as my truck gun this year. I almost tagged a bear about a week ago (we get two bear tags a year in WA) with the 161gr Haymaker out of the 300 Savage, but I spotted some cubs with the bear when I got about 150 yards away from her. I've had a few close opportunities on coyotes, but I just haven't been fast enough. Porcupines are my go-to bullet traps around here, so I just need to find one to test the Haymakers out on game. This thread has some of the bullet testing I've done over the years. There's an older thread as well around here somewhere. The results from the first prototypes of the 153 Apex are around page 4. [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/bullet-testing-again.271585/[/URL] This thread has some good info on some of testing I did with the 161gr Haymaker. [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/apex-outdoors-new-bullet-launch-308-161gr-haymaker.304891/[/URL] This thread is a good rundown from Apex about their company, what they offer, and probably a good starting point if you're looking into their bullets. [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/apex-outdoors-bullets-a-brief-summary.311148/[/URL] Hopefully [USER=112571]@mcdil[/USER] will chime in when he has time. I know there are additional animals taken with the Afterburners, but I'll leave that information for them to share. [/QUOTE]
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