Apex Outdoors New Bullet Launch - .308 161gr Haymaker

[mcdil]

Hello, everyone!

We're thrilled to launch our new Haymaker bullet line with the debut of our .308 161gr designed to maximize the performance of the 300 AAC Blackout in both rifle and pistol platforms.

With a performance range spanning 1000 - 2400 fps, we have you covered in any and all hunting scenarios with the Blackout or any other low velocity, non-tube fed, 30 cal cartridge. The performance of these at this lower velocity threshold is spectacular.

This is the ultimate bullet for close-in to moderate range, making it ideal for Texas-style stand hunting for deer and pigs or deep woods hunting in black timber, even with game up to the size of elk out of these smaller 30 cals.

We currently have a small initial production batch with more to follow in the coming weeks.

Please check it out here:

Haymaker .308" - 161 gr | APEX OUTDOORS

.308" Caliber, 1:10" Min Twist Rate, 161 Grain, Haymaker, 50 Count

www.apex-outdoors.com

You can check out the separate review @yorke-1 was kind enough to do on it here:

1100 fps impact with full expansion?

I feel obligated to put this disclaimer out before anything else: None of the tests I do are scientific, or representative of any sort of real-world, on game results. I do these tests for my own enjoyment and to satisfy my own curiosity. I have hundreds of pictures and notes that I never post...

www.longrangehunting.com

Sidebar:
For those waiting on our flagship Afterburner line, we hit a couple snags earlier this year that delayed their anticipated release. We worked beyond those issues and look to get those out to you shortly as well.

 

[FEENIX]

WHOA! Perfect timing; I was about to follow up on my previous e-mails to you.

Ed

 

[Swamplord]

I just ordered 3 boxes of the Haymaker bullets, they better be in stock, lol !

got me TC Contender with a 7 tw barrel in 30-30 AI that I'll be shooting until I get my .30-DRTI reamer to clean out the AI

I thinking moose in the fall

 

[asd9055]

Glad to hear another poduct on line, especially in pretty much my back yard. Just to clarify, these are not for subsonic loads.
Again, excited to see the new product on line, and cant wait for the rest

 

[mcdil]

I just ordered 3 boxes of the Haymaker bullets, they better be in stock, lol !

got me TC Contender with a 7 tw barrel in 30-30 AI that I'll be shooting until I get my .30-DRTI reamer to clean out the AI

I thinking moose in the fall

Headed your way in the morning! Can't wait to hear how they perform on moose! Thank you!

Glad to hear another poduct on line, especially in pretty much my back yard. Just to clarify, these are not for subsonic loads.
Again, excited to see the new product on line, and cant wait for the rest

Correct, but they perform terminally ~ 1000 fps and maybe lower. I suspect a max mv in the 300 Blackout of ~ 2000 fps in a 16" barrel, so even with a 10" barrel, terminal performance will never be in question at any reasonable 300 Blackout range.

 

[yorke-1]

Here's a small update on the Haymakers in a 300 Blackout.

I finally had a chance to fire off my "moderate velocity" test loads in the Blackout. I tried 3 different powders, with one clear winner. Here's the load info:

300 Blackout
16.25" barrel 1-7" twist
Lake City brass, trimmed and formed
161 Haymaker
CCI 41 primer
15.8gr H110
2.230" COAL

Muzzle velocity averaged 1792 fps for 5 shots with an SD of 36 fps. The SD was pretty poor and so was the accuracy. the 5 shot group at 103 yards was 2.4"

300 Blackout
16.25" barrel 1-7" twist
Lake City brass, trimmed and formed
161 Haymaker
CCI 41 primer
15.2gr Ramshot Enforcer
2.230" COAL

Muzzle velocity averaged 1828 fps for 5 shots with an SD of 9.3 fps. The SD was very good and the group was 1" edge to edge, but only .5" of vertical. There was one flyer I pulled to the left which really opened up the group.

300 Blackout
16.25" barrel 1-7" twist
Lake City brass, trimmed and formed
161 Haymaker
CCI 41 primer
20.2gr CFE blk
2.230" COAL

Muzzle velocity averaged 1805 fps for 5 shots with an SD of 41 fps. The SD was very poor and so was accuracy. This was a heavily compressed load and I won't work with this powder anymore. The 5 shot group was nearly 3".

The clear winner today was Ramshot Enforcer. I'll try another round with this powder and work up until I see pressure signs. I think 1900-1950 fps is a realistic velocity with this combo.

I have some of the Haymakers loaded up in a 300 PRC to try some high-velocity impacts as well. I ran out of daylight before setting up the gel blocks today, so those tests will have to wait. I did shoot that load over a chronograph and it's pretty mild shooting the 161gr bullet at 2908 fps using 75.4gr of Superformance powder. I didn't intend for it to be a high performance load, just a moderate load to test bullet performance at around 2700-2800 fps impacts. I'll get that load shot into the gel on the next trip.

 

[Bob Wright]

WHOA! Perfect timing; I was about to follow up on my previous e-mails to you.

Ed

Let us know how you like them Feenix!

 

[FEENIX]

Let us know how you like them Feenix!

Sorry, Brother; I did not mean to imply that I have the Haymaker bullets but simply made a statement about my previous e-mail correspondence with the OP. I await the AB line of bullets and will gladly share any findings when I get them. Cheers!

Ed

 

[coop2564]

Looking forward to see how these afterburners do. Hope to see a little heavier offering in 6.5 I have a 7 twist in PRC.

 

[mcdil]

Looking forward to see how these afterburners do. Hope to see a little heavier offering in 6.5 I have a 7 twist in PRC.

coop2564,
We've had that one designed for quite some time. It will definitely be part of the line eventually.

 

[Swamplord]

I got some and currently doing load workup in a 7twist 30-30 AI Contender

got some new brass fireformed for the project and waiting on a new Burris scope then it's bang time

 

[Bob Wright]

That AI cartridge looks like a big improvement. Keep us up to date.

 

[FEENIX]

@mcdil, BTW, congrats for being a site Sponsor.

Ed

 

[yorke-1]

It's time for an update on the 161 Haymaker in a 300 Blackout. My work schedule has been a bit erratic lately, so it took me a lot longer than I expected to complete another round of testing.

The groups in the pictures don't have any real significance since they're shot with a Magneto Speed strapped to the gun. The rifle is an unmodified Ruger American Scout with the factory stock making contact with the barrel on one side, and a spare scope that I found in the parts drawer. I use the groups to give a relative comparison between loads and to make it easier for me to catalog the data I record. I focused on Ramshot Enforcer this trip since it showed the most promise last time. All groups were shot at 170 yards.

300 Blackout
16.25" barrel 1-7" twist
Lake City brass, trimmed and formed
161 Haymaker
CCI 41 primer
15.2gr Ramshot Enforcer
2.230" COAL

The muzzle velocity for this load was 1820fps with an SD of 10.1 fps. That's very close to the 1828fps I saw with the initial load. The group is 2.8" on centers.


300 Blackout
16.25" barrel 1-7" twist
Lake City brass, trimmed and formed
161 Haymaker
CCI 41 primer
15.5gr Ramshot Enforcer
2.230" COAL

The muzzle velocity for this load was 1849fps with an SD of 13.0 fps. The group is 3.1" on centers.


300 Blackout
16.25" barrel 1-7" twist
Lake City brass, trimmed and formed
161 Haymaker
CCI 41 primer
15.8gr Ramshot Enforcer
2.230" COAL

The muzzle velocity for this load was 1876fps with an SD of 8.7 fps. The group measures 2.1" on centers. This was the best group of the loads tested. I'll probably try this load again without the chronograph on the barrel.


300 Blackout
16.25" barrel 1-7" twist
Lake City brass, trimmed and formed
161 Haymaker
CCI 41 primer
16.2gr Ramshot Enforcer
2.230" COAL

The muzzle velocity for this load was 1909fps with an SD of 1.0 fps. This group was larger than the others, measuring 3.3". It's the most symmetrical though, so that's a good sign. Again, I don't worry too much about group size when I have the chronograph on the gun. This is the highest powder charge I loaded up, but I don't think this load is at max pressure based on extraction and the condition of the primer in the picture. However, it is a heavily compressed load. I've found that Ramshot Enforcer performs well when compressed in magnum pistol cartridges, similar to H110, so I'm not overly concerned about the compression here. I don't know how much higher I can push the powder charges before starting to see issues with the compressed charge though.

I plan to shoot the 15.8gr and 16.2gr loads again to check group sizes without the chronograph on the gun. I haven't shot this particular rifle very much though, so I don't have a good baseline for what level of accuracy to expect. I do know that it shot my load with a 150gr Speer Hotcor into 6" groups while zeroing the scope, so that set my accuracy expectations pretty low! LOL

I'll post more updates as I have time to get more shooting done.