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Hunting & Fishing Hornady .224 80 grain A Max on game

R

RTH1800

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Minuteman
    • Sep 16, 2009
    10,226
    6,691
    Midwest
    Does anyone have experience with the 80 grain A Max on game? I had LRI build a .223 AI on a Fuzion Ti action with a 22" Proof CF barrel recently.
    Loaded up some ammo after fireforming. Ends up at 3200 FPS which is stunning. Accuracy is stunning as well. I had a youth hunter last week and he shot a large buck at 125M. Bullet made a large entrance hole. Did not exit and buck went 125 M or so. I do not think the bullet even made to the off side lung. No blood trail of course.
    Was this a fluke or should I expect it? I have a few thousand of these bullets and am hoping they are not useless.

    Thanks.
     
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    Reactions: deersniper
    I believe the amaxes are lightly constructed, ie thin jackets for thin skinned game, and the bullet probably blew up on the surface, & did not penetrate but perhaps fragged the vitals. I have shot coyotes with 75 amaxes in my .223 Ackley, and they make a mess of the internals, but my muzzle velocity is in the 2850 range as I recall. Pretty good on groundhogs too. Maybe need a little thicker jacketed bullet for reliable results? No experience, however, on larger game.
     
    DIBBS,
    I am certain you are correct on the one kill I have had. I just wondered if that was the norm. I am going to try a 90 grain SMK. The 77's are great deer bullets at 2800.
     
    I think I would try some more before writing them off.

    If a 50 grain vmax from a 223 will smoke them I would think a 80 grainer with +200 fps should do the job.
     
    Possibly ribs.
    Two more kills now and still no deep penetration.
     
    I have shot the 80 amax on Coyotes through my 22-243 at 3500fps and they are devistating on them. I never did shoot them at deer, but id imagine it would do a very good job providing a good shot.
    Xdeano
     
    I just tried the 90 Sierra and it exploded on two as well. At 2750.
     
    I’ve shot antelope with 75 amax. Jelled Heart and lungs with complete pass through. Bang flop.16” 223 Ackley. 44385F40-BCB6-4A54-9343-60A843B56D9D.jpeg
    Oldest boys goat yesterday morning. 2826 FPS.
     
    Last edited:
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    Reactions: lawofsavage
    I forgot to add. 65gr Sierra game king would be amazing in your rig for hunting, penetration, and speed.
    There are plenty of guys to buy your 80 amax stash if you don’t want it ?
     
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    Reactions: lawofsavage
    It's a Proof barrel. They shoot fast so that is part of it. I also need to back the load off a little. It is VV N540 in a Lapua case. CCI 400 primer.
     
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    Reactions: sinister
    I w
    rth1800 said:
    It's a Proof barrel. They shoot fast so that is part of it. I also need to back the load off a little. It is VV N540 in a Lapua case. CCI 400 primer.
    Click to expand...
    ould be interested to see how fast you can get the 65 game king running accurately in your rig and tested on game ?
     
    Really looking for a heavier LR bullet buy I may end up their. Thanks for the suggestion.
     
    I zapped a doe’s head at 75ish yards with an 80gr Amax from a 223AI @ 2950fps a few years ago; from what I saw I wouldn’t hesitate to make a heart/lung shot if CNS didn’t present itself.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: deersniper
    rth1800 said:
    Really looking for a heavier LR bullet buy I may end up their. Thanks for the suggestion.
    Click to expand...

    At your speeds you should have no problem killing deer out to 600 yards the BC on those is like 303 I think the match King 69 grain is 330 not too much difference .
     
    Your impact velocity around 2900fps is too high for complete penetration with an Amax/ELD; even a SMK is gonna frag at that velocity.
     
    rth1800 said:
    I'm getting kills. Looking for complete penetration.
    Click to expand...
    I understand that. The game king will penetrate, kill, and work at distance.
    I run them at 3006 FPS. They work good to 500 yards out of my 16” Ackley suppressed.
     
    as soon as I find the time I will complete load dev for my 22cm with these:

    www.midwayusa.com

    Barnes Triple-Shock X (TSX) Bullets 22 Cal (224 Diameter) 78 Grain

    These revolutionary bullets from Barnes are made of 100% copper and contain no lead. When the bullet expands, four razor-sharp cutting petals are...
    www.midwayusa.com www.midwayusa.com

    Going to run them as fast as
    I can and will certainly not worry about impact velocity...
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Desert Raven, NFAJohn and RTH1800
    Rstrick0352 said:
    as soon as I find the time I will complete load dev for my 22cm with these:

    www.midwayusa.com

    Barnes Triple-Shock X (TSX) Bullets 22 Cal (224 Diameter) 78 Grain

    These revolutionary bullets from Barnes are made of 100% copper and contain no lead. When the bullet expands, four razor-sharp cutting petals are...
    www.midwayusa.com www.midwayusa.com

    Going to run them as fast as
    I can and will certainly not worry about impact velocity...
    Click to expand...

    EXCELLENT Thank you. I did not find the heavy ones. I will get some and try them. No doubt they will fully penetrate.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: deersniper and Rstrick0352
    BoilerUP said:
    I zapped a doe’s head at 75ish yards with an 80gr Amax from a 223AI @ 2950fps a few years ago; from what I saw I wouldn’t hesitate to make a heart/lung shot if CNS didn’t present itself.
    Click to expand...

    All that and no pics?
     
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