.284 Shehane 162 Amax Varmint Gun????
- Thread starter Phil
- Start date
Keith Glasscock
Gold $$ Contributor
I have no experience with 162's.
How well do they expand at low velocity?
How well do they expand at low velocity?
i have a 28" .284W barrel fitted to my Tikka action. the 162's shoot really well out of it. there was a scare a few years back when hornady suspended production of them, not sure if they are being made again so it might be worth checking on stock levels.
Expansion wouldn't be an issue on thin skinned varmints i'd expect so i wouldn't discount high BC target bullets.
There's also a good range of Berger 7mm bullets with their 168 gr Match Grade VLD Hunting bullet having a BC of 0.617. Launching the Amax at .284 speeds , lets say 3100fps from a long tube and using a 200y zero you'd only have 21.5MOA drop at 1000y and still carry over 1000ft-lbs of energy and the bullet will still be doinf 1700fps approx.
I'm loading Berger 180gr Hybrids at 2740fps in my gun and i'm very happy with the results on steel and paper
Delivery_boy
Expansion wouldn't be an issue on thin skinned varmints i'd expect so i wouldn't discount high BC target bullets.
There's also a good range of Berger 7mm bullets with their 168 gr Match Grade VLD Hunting bullet having a BC of 0.617. Launching the Amax at .284 speeds , lets say 3100fps from a long tube and using a 200y zero you'd only have 21.5MOA drop at 1000y and still carry over 1000ft-lbs of energy and the bullet will still be doinf 1700fps approx.
I'm loading Berger 180gr Hybrids at 2740fps in my gun and i'm very happy with the results on steel and paper
Delivery_boy
Very good choice for varminting IMO. The 162gr Amax still expands waaay out there on small game - Berger VLD's even though spectacularly accurate just pencil through at extended ranges.
A word of advice on the Shehane - Use just enough twist rate to stabilise the bullet in your hunting conditions. I made the mistake of building a shehane with a 8" twist & had pressure issue's show at barely regular 284 speeds. It is however a very accurate cartridge & pretty easy to tune.
Avoid RL17 - it's way to temp sensitive for long range varminting. H4350, H4831 or even IMR7828SSC work well as stable long range powders.
A word of advice on the Shehane - Use just enough twist rate to stabilise the bullet in your hunting conditions. I made the mistake of building a shehane with a 8" twist & had pressure issue's show at barely regular 284 speeds. It is however a very accurate cartridge & pretty easy to tune.
Avoid RL17 - it's way to temp sensitive for long range varminting. H4350, H4831 or even IMR7828SSC work well as stable long range powders.
I built a VZ24 actioned sporter with a surplus Mauser 7mm barrel for general hunting. I read up on bullets and chose 162 gr A-MAX and 140 gr TTSX.
Last year I bagged the first game with it. A small black tail buck and a small pig. The 162 A-MAX expanded explosively! I am using TTSX Barnes now to reduce meat damage. But, the A-MAX is accurate, my 284 WIN Bench Rest/ F Class gun likes them too!
Last year I bagged the first game with it. A small black tail buck and a small pig. The 162 A-MAX expanded explosively! I am using TTSX Barnes now to reduce meat damage. But, the A-MAX is accurate, my 284 WIN Bench Rest/ F Class gun likes them too!
Been using the 162gr Amax on critters for many years with great success. The range from 162yds to 800 yards. Critters include P Dogs, Coyotes, Jack Rabbits, White tail deer, Mule Deer, Badger's, a Pheasant, and an Antalope. Over a ten year time span. Rifle is a 7mm Rem Mag Velocity is 2970fps. Even shot it with success out to 1774 yards on a plate of Steel in that configuration. The 162gr AMAX will get it done for me.
Been Pretty happy with it from everything from Paper, Steel and Critters.
Russ T
Been Pretty happy with it from everything from Paper, Steel and Critters.
Russ T
phil said:
I think its hard to go wrong with that combo as long as its accurate. As the distance gets longer I pay more attention to the accuracy of the load rather than bullet performance. If you can get decent performance along with great accuracy its a ++. I have always felt the 162 A-Max fell into this category for a variety of varmints and game.
If using Amax's it would also pay to check bullet length's in the quest for consistent accuracy. I've had some in the same box vary as much as 5 thou... however the ones of late have been pretty good. I don't have this problem with Berger's.....however they do not expand on small varmint sized game at extended ranges - you might as well be shooting knitting needles!
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