does anyone use A-Max Bullets from Hornady ?

[Foxi]

what have you shot with ?
This bullet is a splinter granade.My shotplacement is mostly behind the shoulderblade.
When it hits a bigger bone,oh God
It performs very well, but hardly any other bullet flies as accurately as this one in my Blaser K95 in .308
What has been your experience with it, and at what ranges and on what game have you used it?

 

[Olvast09]

I’ve shot A-Max at paper, steel, and varmints (coyotes, rock chucks) out to 600 yards. I’ve also seen it used on deer, and seen those deer run a long way. It is absolutely a “splinter grenade,” as you said. You’re using it correctly: behind the shoulder, avoid heavy bone. But I personally stopped using it for big game after seeing what happens when you don’t place that shot perfectly.

 

[MacJenkins]

I like then, but on targets only. My K95 308 barrel likes TTSX and CEB raptors. I’ve chopped mine to 18”, 100 grain raptors at 3355fps are nasty on whitetails.

 

[375Fox]

Is there a difference between the Hornady A-max and ELDX? It looks like the same bullet rebranded?

 

[MacJenkins]

Is there a difference between the Hornady A-max and ELDX? It looks like the same bullet rebranded?

Amax has an aluminum tip. ELDX is polymer.

 

[Halligan1975]

what have you shot with ?
This bullet is a splinter granade.My shotplacement is mostly behind the shoulderblade.
When it hits a bigger bone,oh God
It performs very well, but hardly any other bullet flies as accurately as this one in my Blaser K95 in .308
What has been your experience with it, and at what ranges and on what game have you used it?

I have and do use Amax with some caveats. As you stated, I have found them to be critically accurate in two of my rifles, but only feel comfortable using them on our small-ish East Texas whitetail. That said, I have bang-flopped a number of feral pigs with them.

They certainly wouldn’t be my first choice on larger animals, or in more critical hunting situations requiring good terminal performance from less than ideal shot angles.

 

[Fordy]

Gday Mac Jenkins

Amax has an aluminum tip. ELDX is polymer.

No sorry your thinking the ATip the amax is the early version of the eldm
@375Fox
Different tip in eldm to the amax both polymer though
A couple of other subtle things but the eldx is designed differently & act differently which is one that on paper should be better but on the whole still pretty explosive @high impacts & have core separation on a higher rate than the eldm used many thousands of these

If one wants a tougher bullet ( imo a better option as per @Olvast09 post of placement ) you’re better going to a more robust pill like accubond , Aframe , woodleigh , spoor etc or if one is happy using the frangible & placement is spot on the amax/eldm is a contender that’s for sure

I’ve moved on from frangible pretty well on everything but rabbits , wallaby& turbos these days as great when they work but total trainwreck when they don’t

Hope that helps

Whopps @Foxi I got a little sidetracked sorry used the 168amax on a variety of critters ( many of them ) , close enough to count the hairs on the nose to over 1000 yards or as I like to relay from 3500 impacts to sub 1400
Stay in the crease till you get about 2000/1800 impacts or below then it’s better to move into the more denser shoulder meat
Bones especially big ones are not the ones I’d target with a amax or the scapula spine bone is another that can be a issue if hit square or slightly up hill but to be fair on that it’s hardly hit but it will eventually is my motto & better to be aware of than not imo
I favour harder constructed pills these days as the rates of recovery is better

Cheers

 

[MacJenkins]

Fordy your right. Have no idea what an Amax is.

 

[Bullthrower338]

I’ve used the 168 gr AMax from a 308 to kill deer at ranges I’d never mention here. I’d never use them on anything bigger than whitetail sized game. They are an amazing bullet as far as accuracy goes! That being said, I don’t believe they are any different from the first iteration of the Nosler ballistic tip in the way of explosive expansion. I do believe they perform better at longer ranges than they do at closer, higher velocity impacts, much like my experience with the ELD-X.

 

[Olivier]

Nathan Foster, a New Zealand long-range hunting expert who runs the website https://www.ballisticstudies.com/, has praised the 168-grain ELD-M (=A-Max) bullet, particularly for extending the effective range of the .308 Win. He even uses it also at close range and claims he has never been disappointed by the bullet’s effectiveness. He even considers it the best hunting bullet for this caliber...

For my part, I have always been very satisfied whenever I have used the 178-grain ELD-X bullet for medium-sized game weighing up to 100 kg (chamois, wild boar). It seems that this bullet adapts to the size of the target... Nevertheless, I now use the Norma Tipstrike 170 gr for driven hunts, as they do not fragment, which is reassuring, but I continue to use the ELD-X as my primary ammunition for stalking hunts.

 

[RedTag]

The A-Max has evolved into the ELD-M. Basically the same bullet with an improved tip. Not sure what (if anything) is actually improved, perhaps some higher speed plastic, but I think it was more or less a rebranding. The ELD-X is similar but has a somewhat thicker jacket and the inter-lock feature to aid weight retention.

 

[Olivier]

The A-Max has evolved into the ELD-M. Basically the same bullet with an improved tip. Not sure what (if anything) is actually improved, perhaps some higher speed plastic, but I think it was more or less a rebranding. The ELD-X is similar but has a somewhat thicker jacket and the inter-lock feature to aid weight retention.

Exactly!

 

[Altitude sickness]

I have a lot of AMax for my 50 BMG. I primarily shoot ball ammo out of it though.

 

[Hooked Now]

I've shot loads of A-Max out of my .308, but only at dead targets or live prairie dogs. My understanding is that the bullet had a very thin jacket and wouldn't hold up for hunting use. Very accurate in my rifle. Earlier posts have clearly proven my supposition about hunting use wrong. I used SSTs for antelope and those would leave the interior organs in a sad state but never passed through.

 

[dchum]

The A-Max has evolved into the ELD-M. Basically the same bullet with an improved tip. Not sure what (if anything) is actually improved, perhaps some higher speed plastic, but I think it was more or less a rebranding. The ELD-X is similar but has a somewhat thicker jacket and the inter-lock feature to aid weight retention.

This is the correct explanation

 

[NDWoods]

Only ever shot it at targets in the days before ELD-M came out.

 

[Muskox]

I have researched all the "target" bullets pretty excessively.

Hornady themselves say the same thing everyone else says;

1. Impact velocity is the most important thing when deciding between their bullets.
2. The varmint and match bullets are not tested beyond one time in ballistic gelatin. They do not recommend using their match bullets on game.

Here is my take away from researching end users on the A-Max and ELD-M bullets on big game:

1. Impact velocity matters.
a. 0-200 meters I would not use an A-Max or ELD-M on game bigger than a gams or reh.
b. 200-600 meters fine on medium game to the size of 300-400 pounds.
c. 600-1200 meters (if this is your thing, they are effective killers with exceptional shot placement on all game sizes). This is the standard **NOT**PERMITTED** forum answer on elk with a 6mm-6.5 PRC wildcat. A 105 grain ELD-M at 3000 FPS.

My personal experience,
300 Winchester ELD-M and Sierra Match King 190 SMK (Crane Navy Load)
a. 0-200 meters a lot of blood damage to meat, but kills very well.
b. 200-500 meters dead right there

Versus:

Bleifrei My personal experience (driven hunts and stalking in Europe)
1. I hate copper bleifrei bullets.
2. I hate them at 0-300 meters on all game.
3. I would not shoot them at more than 300 meters at an anything, as I don't think they are going fast enough to provide a decent wound channel. Especially the RWS HIT, which I personally hate.

Hornady SST, Nosler Ballistic Tip, similar lead bullets
1. 100-300 meters no problem on all game encountered.
2. 300-500 no problem on all game encountered.
3. 500-1000 meters never killed


So my personal theory and experience, based on impact velocity

1. 0-150 meters Lead Bonded bullet (deformation bullet in German) (substitute lead free bullet if you have to)
2. 150-300 meters cup and core bullet is best
3. 300-600 meters cup and core and match bullet are similar, never use a lead free bullet at this range
4. 600-1200 meters match bullet is best

 

[Tex .416]

Back when I used to cull lots of deer, I tried the .308 168 Amax. They mostly did not exit even on small does, so quit using them very quickly. For match bullets, the .308 175 Sierra Match King killed truck loads. Something about the design of 175 specifically caused it to tumble through causing some dramatic wound channels, but sometimes it did not.

For the last fifteen years, the Barnes TTSX .308 130 has been my go to bullet. It provides the most consistent and effective terminal performance of any bullet I have tried.

 

[PanhandlinPat]

168 grain a max is in my opinion the best bullet in a 308. I stuff it over a near max load of varget and it performs in every situation. 20” barrel, velocity varies from 2680 to 2750 depending on weather. My longest and shortest kills have been with this load. Big plains whitetail at 505 yards and a hell of a palo duro aoudad at maybe 7 yards.

Here’s a picture of the aoudad. Frontal shot from literally point blank range. Look at the blood coming from the hip where I’ve caped it back. That was where my 168 amax penetrated to, weighed 65 grains and expanded to the size of a nickel. From front of shoulder to his hip. Bullet fell to the ground when I made my first cut to cape.

 

[C.W. Richter]

A-Max are Target (NOT hunting) bullets. Suitable for paper, steel or varmints. You'll find most Target bullets (i.e. Berger Non-Hunting models) will behave the very same way on typical game animals. Prior to Berger offering a (thicker-skinned) Hunting model (and BTW they are the most accurate long range bullets!!!) I hit a deer in the lungs at 225 yds and it was spraying blood like a watering can out the windward side for 500 yds. SMH. Had to ask the neighbor for permission to collect my birdshot-deer. Target bullets are no bueno for hunting med & larger game. Nos BTs gen. 1 were the worst in this regard before they too thickened the jackets. I'll stick with Nos PTs under 400-450 yds, thank you. Berger VLD Hunter or Elite Hunter (or older Barnes MRXs-EXCELLENT!!!) beyond that. The MRXs were a hybrid-NOT all copper-Almost like Barnes innovated PT or A-Frame (I believe it was too costly to produce and most didn't understand or require its longer range benefits.) They came in boxes of 20 and were expensive. I still have about 2 boxes of .338s. 'Seeing a LOT of posts lately to this effect...Do you use _pick a diff one_____ bullet? I have boxes of the newer Barnes LRX. I know they'll be super accurate, high SD/heavy so they'll likely work well downrange but have not as of yet tried 'em (.338s/265 gr.) I can make that go >3,000 fps in the A-Sq. Some PHs are ok with similar (recommend 300 gr) in hot .338s on Buff. A better penetrating, longer range .375! It's fun going down this bullet memory lane of late...