Hornady Amax

[wboggs]

Am interested in hearing from target shooter re: 208gr. Amax vs. Berger 210 gr and Sierra 210 gr.

 

[Laurie]

My Broughton 30" 1-10" twist on a Barnard .308W prefers the 208 A-Max to the two Bergers. I get the impression from some feedback on this forum and elsewhere that the 208 is sometimes easier to tune than the other two. Despite the secant ogive front-end the A-Max seems to be quite happy with a bit of jump too.

This trio all end up with a similar amount of shank / boat-tail section inside the case while the 210 SMK apparently needs a much longer throat. In my barrel's throat (ideal for the 175/185gn Berger BTLRs, on the short side for 210s), the 208 and both Bergers have the base around the shoulder to body junction while the Sierra is well below that into the body area proper by at least a quarter-inch. So, if you're running with a compromise / shortish chamber forget this bullet and try the other three. Many British and Commonwealth Match Rifle shooters use the Sierra with good results and have their barrels throated really long to suit - but others I Know of use the Hornady and Bergers equally happily. As always, freebore aside, it's down to what the barrel likes. I get very similar MVs from A-Max and both Berger models, so there's nothing much between them there.

 

[wboggs]

Thanks for the info. What velocity are you getting from the 208-210 grs. in .308? Think they would stabilize in a 1:12 twist?

 

[moparman]

I just got a box of 208 amaxs to try and had decent results with a 10 shot group at 300yds. Not as tight as the 210 vld bergers or 210 jlks I just got but haven't really worked with them much. I bought a box of 100ct and found them to vary a lot while weight sorting. Not sure if this is the normal with them or just this lot#?

 

[Laurie]

Thanks for the info. What velocity are you getting from the 208-210 grs. in .308? Think they would stabilize in a 1:12 twist?

Around 2,600 fps in my chamber. (Lapua small primer brass / Re17.) In an optimally throated rifle 2,650 fps + is available with the right powders. The small primer brass is important - you'll run at lower MVs with standard cases before you get primer leaks and worse. Note too that these are MVs available in the UK and temperature is not an issue over here, so we can stoke our loads up compared to US shooters in summer weather.

1-12" is on the slow side. You'd likely just get away with the Bergers, the 208 A-Max is a longer bullet and is really marginal in this twist rate. Give the 185gn Berger BTLR a go, or the new 155gn Hybrid model - the 185 BT Long-Range (not the VLD) is ideally suited to 1-12", is high BC and is a great long-range performer in the wind. In many respects it's the best match bullet for .308 Win IMHO.

 

[wboggs]

Interesting observation. Did you measure the base to ogive length for variation? They are cheaper tha either Berger or Sierra. I would think Hornady would have the resources for superb quality control, especially in their target bullets. I think I will e-mail them next week to inquie about their specs. for these bullets.

 

[wboggs]

LAURIE
Thanks for the info. Your posts are among the best I have ever read. I will try the 185s. I do get exceptional accuracy with Lapua 155s using Varget at about 2950fps but 1000yds. leaves somethig to be desired.
Thanks again.