168gr horn. A-Max Vs. Serria 165gr HPBT GameKing

FrancF

GHD & JustC

Sorry if I am asking silly questions, but I have to get in to the mind set of loading for a bolt .308 and not a .308 semiauto. (As JustC told me)

For hunting out of my Rem 40x .308, I have never used A-Max's for hunting any of you?

Any pet loads using Varget powder? I have never used Varget before. After some looking around, 45 to 46gr seems to be the target area for that bullet weight. I like the idea the powder is not temp. sensitive. Also, Can I use BR-2 primers with Varget?


Most of my .308 Win. loads have been with BL-C2 or IMR-4064 for my M1A.

And if you are going to ask- No not yet My glass that is on back order still!, I found out it is a new line of scope or so they tell me. Thats why Its taking so long.

Thanks!

nononsense

FrancF,

I'm surprised that those two haven't responded to your question yet.

Here's a little bit to hold you over until they do.

My experience with the AMAX bullets has been very good for hunting. The jacket area around the nose is a little thinner than some of the other more 'traditional' hunting bullets but when placed correctly, they work great. These are not bullets that are used for plowing through both shoulder bones and then exitting. They aren't designed for that. If that is your style of hunting then I suggest the Barnes TSX-BT (Triple Shocks) for you. I'm testing these in several cartridges and I'm getting some really good results.

You know that loads don't always interchange between rifles and that they are considered to be for reference only. The range that you list appears to be just a pinch too high for the AMAX bullets and Varget so you need to start low and work up slowly while watching for signs of pressure. I'm working with a bench rifle that uses 44 grains of a couple of powders and performs nicely with them. I think that there is some fine tuning to do and a bit more powder for a couple of the loads might be just right. Anyway, Varget is not the only powder for you to try, there are several with similar burning rates and competition tested as well. Powders to try:
V V N-140
A A-2520
Ramshot Big Game
Re-15
IMR-4895
H-4895

Remember that your OAL will contribute to the pressure of the cartridge as well as the amount of powder. Learn to check the cartridge length with an ogive measuring devise and to get reliable seating depths with your dies.

You can use the CCI primers but I usually prefer other brands. I think that it's a matter of personal opinion and what works with your rifle cartridge combination. Testing will reveal which one that your rifle likes. Try more than one brand. I use Federal.

Hopefully that will give you something to work with until your buddies respond.

Best.

JustC

We put 2 out of 4 deer down friday night with the 178gr a-max from a 300win. The exit hole at ~285yds was the sixe of a half dollar,..so as far as terminal performance goes,..they are plenty. I liked what I saw in both the 300win and the 7mm rem mag with the a-max on game.

As far as powder,..nononsense listed the ones I would try,..especially RL15, N140, and varget.

I would rather shoot the a-max than a gameking any day. The match kings are great bullets as well,..but I have had failures with them in hunting situations when they were traveling at too great a velocity. The match king needs to either be shot into a shoulder or at a distance where is slows down below 3000fps. The 200gr match king leaves my 30" 300RUM barrel at 3200+,..so the game has to be at least 300yds before I feel comfortable taking the shot with a match king. #3 of the 4 deer fell friday night to a 168gr match king from my 21" barreled 308win. The exit hole at ~250yds was the same half dollar size. That bullet was probably travleing at 2500-2600fps and performed flawlessly on a vital (no bone) hit.

why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?

FrancF

Thank you very much guys for the insite! [:D] [:D] [:D]