.308 178gr Amax

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.308 178gr Amax

Post by JimTom » 08 Feb 2020, 8:41 am

G’day Gents

I have a few boxes of these and my understanding is the Amax were designed as a match bullet.
I have however been reading on another site that they are good for longer range hunting projectile.
Anyone here have any experience using Amax projectiles for hunting?
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Re: .308 178gr Amax

Post by Tank » 08 Feb 2020, 10:30 am

JimJom,
What cartridge are you sending them with?
Whilst I haven’t used the 178’s I have given 155’s and 168’s a run in 308 Win.
Inconsistent would be my summary.
Somewhere between explosive expansion and neat pass throughs with next to zero expansion. (Similarities to SMK’s).....imagine a match bullet not working consistently as a hunting projectile.....Shouldn’t really have been surprised.
Tank.
Keep calm......and hold centre of mass.
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Re: .308 178gr Amax

Post by JimTom » 08 Feb 2020, 10:50 am

G’day mate.

Would be using them in a .308 circa 2500fps.
Incidentally just discovered an old edition Hornady book which still has the Amax listed and whilst, and I quote, “Amax bullets are generally for match shooting, it is also excellent for hunting thin-skinned game”.
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Re: .308 178gr Amax

Post by Tank » 08 Feb 2020, 11:03 am

Well it was a Hornady book.....what else would they say?
178’s may be the best thing since sliced bread..... I don’t know......my experience was with Amax 155 and 168’s.....I use neither today because Hornady keep changing bullet designs....and I favour Sierra.
Keep calm......and hold centre of mass.
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Re: .308 178gr Amax

Post by JimTom » 08 Feb 2020, 12:10 pm

This is true mate, Hornady have done a bit of name changing as of late. The current ELD X seem to be going alright for me at this stage.
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Re: .308 178gr Amax

Post by SCJ429 » 08 Feb 2020, 2:31 pm

My experience with the Amax in 30 cal is with a 168 and I found them to be an excellent hunting bullet but a difficult to tune target bullet.
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Re: .308 178gr Amax

Post by JimTom » 08 Feb 2020, 2:58 pm

SCJ429 wrote:My experience with the Amax in 30 cal is with a 168 and I found them to be an excellent hunting bullet but a difficult to tune target bullet.


Thank you mate. Appreciate the input. I think I will give them a crack.
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Re: .308 178gr Amax

Post by marksman » 08 Feb 2020, 9:50 pm

SCJ429 wrote:My experience with the Amax in 30 cal is with a 168 and I found them to be an excellent hunting bullet but a difficult to tune target bullet.


+1
l have had the same experiences :drinks:
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Re: .308 178gr Amax

Post by SCJ429 » 09 Feb 2020, 9:15 am

I checked my loading book and I have got some notes on 178 Amax, used 44.4 grains of 2208 and it was shooting just under 1/2 inch. Ogives were all over the place so I was batching the bullets. I was limited by mag size so I used 2.800 COAL. This is for a 308 Win.
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Re: .308 178gr Amax

Post by JimTom » 09 Feb 2020, 9:48 am

SCJ429 wrote:I checked my loading book and I have got some notes on 178 Amax, used 44.4 grains of 2208 and it was shooting just under 1/2 inch. Ogives were all over the place so I was batching the bullets. I was limited by mag size so I used 2.800 COAL. This is for a 308 Win.


Thank you again mate. I shall note that down and give it a try when I start trial loading them. Be interesting to see how they shoot out of my CZ. :drinks:
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Re: .308 178gr Amax

Post by JimTom » 09 Feb 2020, 10:03 am

Funnily enough, 2.80” COAL is the length I load my 178gr ELD X and the absolute max I can load in my CZ due magazine length.
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