Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ballistic Tip or A-Max in my 260?

Gentlemen,

I had my rifle rebarreled in 260 with then intent of shooting 120gr bullets most of the time and Ballistic Tips being my first choice, here is the link to the rifle.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/6621898/1

I have tried 123gr Scenars and 120gr Ballistic Tips and recently received a box of 123gr A-Max to load. 65BR posted data that appeared to be kill logs for some cull hunters and suggested I steer clear of the 123 Scenar for hunting due to the jacket thickness.

I checked the price again and the The A-Max is cheaper,

36.98/100 @ .458 BC - 120gr Ballistic Tips
27.49/100 @ .510 BC - 123gr A-Max

and on paper, with a higher BC may perform better in the wind. I have read as many of the 260 threads a possible with emphasis on the bullet related threads but I have not found a lot on the 123gr A-Max for hunting.

Your thoughts?

My opinion...not sure why target bullets are suddenly all the rage for big game hunting.

I'd be all over the NBT's, but then again I have a bunch to sell ya...grin

Dober

(side note, they're 2nds and PM me if you're interested)

There's a guy on YouTube named Thomas Haugland that kills a TON of deer in Europe with the 6.5x284 and AMAX combo, and I think he runs them slower than what your 260 will as he uses a snub barrel. He may use the 140gr version though...

Neither am I....(?)

I chatted w/a guy in Europe that killed a ton of deer but what he was shooting I think were Roe deer, much smaller.

Personally, I prefer a 130 AB as a do all 6.5, not a deer I would not punch one from 0 - 600 yds if I had the dope to hit vitals.

That said, the 120 BT has a great reputation, and the Berger hunting VLDs also have a good track record if you're looking for high BCs.

Price? $37 is cheap for 100 deer

Practice? 129 Hornady SP (original) is
a great 6.5 bullet, works fine at these speeds, bullet tests by one member, done on a myriad of bullets, showed the 129 comparable in penetration/expansion/wt. retention to the 125 Partition. Accurate and Deadly IME.

I do like the 123 Amax, At REDUCED Speeds in the Grendel round as it's been proven there, I think you will find they blow up inside 200 yds from a 260 but that's my take.

Below is a reply to a question I posted on Snipershide: From a 6.5/47 shooter, so running 260 speeds basically.

123 Scenar- this bullet shoots great on paper with my rifle. consistant .3" groups. Even at 500 and 1000 it would print an occasional half min group. That is with three shots mind you. On game I was less than impressed. They have a bit thicker jacket and didnt expand too well. I actually never dropped a deer once with a shoulder shot. Head shots didnt show to do too much damage either. IMO this is not a great projectile for hunting.

123 SMK- This bullet shot absolutely lights out in my rifle. I had to shoot this round for the first thousand rounds or so because 130 bergers were rare as hens teeth. This round shot in the .1's-.2s all day long for 5 shots. At 600 yards this round printed a 3.4" 10 shot group shot prone. I had some interesting results with its terminal effects. The very first deer I shot was a cull 6 pt and he was 606 yards. I put a high shoulder shot on him and he folded up. The next few doe I shot I put shoulder shots just to see bullet performance. One was DRT and 4 ran off a good 100 yards before dying. Not what I like for the amount of deer I shoot. On the head shots again I didnt see consistant enough trama to use this as my go to bullet.

130 JLK- This is the best long range target bullet I have ever used. I have shot some groups that yall would flat out call BS on so I wont even say what it can do on paper. On critters...TERRIBLE! I never once dropped a deer with this bullet. Last month I was wanting to test it on a coyote. While waiting 800 yards from a gut pile, a BIG boar walked into the field at 660 yards. Dead calm wind. I fire up the video camera and zoom in on him. dial up and send the shot. I hear the bullet smack him and actually see it through my scope. Well he just absorbs the bullet and runs off without a limp. I maybe thought I missed..rewind the camera and you can see trace go down range and his upper shoulder ripple. He just absorbed it and trotted off. I even shot a crap load of prarie dogs this summer with the JLK and it just penciled through all of them. Only popped em if they were within 200 yards and thats off kinetic energy alone.

130 Berger- this is THE bullet for hunting for what I have found. I literally have not had a deer take a step yet from the hunting VLD. This bullet shoots very well on paper and shoots very well on critters. Wound cavities are unreal. It looks like a grenade goes off inside the deer. I almost took a does head off this last weekend! A few months back I shot a yote at 1230 yards and he folded up.

BTW, he had his number on the post - perhaps he can give you some help if you called.

JBJ Custom Guns (936)436-9380

Probably bullet makers cashing in on additional sales. With all the great hunting bullets we have today, I can't think of a good reason to use paper bullets on big game.

Because they clobber furry stuff.... they're more accurate.... and buck wind much better. Additionally..... when Hornady introduced the Amax they called it "a target bullet which is also excellent for thin skinned game". I believe they changed that due to LE/Military contracts.......

You ever shot a critter with an Amax?

I am thinking outside the box, akin to the 85gr SMK in my 243 and 6mm.

If the A-Max jacket is too thin I can pay the additional 10.00/100 for the BT's or catch the seconds on SPS.

Dogshooter, I shot game:

105 Amax, 6BR, 2850mv, 8 twist

400 yd double lung deer, exit, dead w/in 20 yds
200 yd spine shot - bullet BLEW all w/in 2", DRT due to shot placement - which is why I chose that POI.

Coyote headshot 175 yds, deer headshot 45 yd both DRT, heads blown up. Fox n Yote 100 yds/60 yds both broadside, both DRT, fox about cut in half, yote - no exit that I found, Bobcat - angling exit shoulder - 170 yds.

BUT, I want to say, on varmints - no issue, on deer, close range you will see blow ups when hitting bone.

Amax is not designed for hunting but the HEAVY for Calibers do well as distance grows. The 123 is a 'mid weight' IN my mind for caliber, so SD is not as high.

Better bullets for deer IMHO in a 6.5. Put a 140 and things change IMO for the better but you may need an 8 or 8.5 twist, 9's may or may not shoot great w/140 amax, would have to shoot to see.

in my years of shooting a 260, I have shot Ballistic Tips and partitions and the occasional Hornady SPS in 100 grain and 129 grain...

A Maxes may also do a decent job... but from my experience... I'd never consider the A Max, when the ballistic tips are available..

myself, I shoot a lot of 100 grain Ballistic Tips...higher velocity... but for others I'd recommend the 120 grain B/Tips..

After shooting a few dozen whitetails with the 260, using bullets ranging from the 95 grain VMax to the 140 grain Partition, I've settled on the 100 grain Partition for most of my applicatons, as it provides a nice balance of speed, penetration, and accuracy.

For longer ranges, like over 300 yards, I like the 130 grain AB.

I have shot at least a dozen, maybe as many as 2 dozen, whitetais with the 120 grain BT and all died promptly, but I don't recall a single through/through penetration and most of the bullets were recovered embedded in the off-site rib cage or under the hide on the off-side.

Jeff

PS - For an "all around" bullet in the 260, I think that it would be hard to beat the 129 grain Hornady SpirePoint.

Jeff, the 100 PT and even BT has been a 'sleeper' in the 6.5s..

Field reports indicate good success like yours.

Agree, for performance on game, accuracy, downrange retention, and cost, the 129 sets a high bar... I like the tad better accuracy I get w/the 130AB, they shoot TIGHT.

The 130 grain AB is the bullet that Charles Newton intended for the 256 Newton when he designed the cartridge, he just didn't know that it would take 90 years to show up.

Jeff

Listen to Dober.... the 120 is a great hunting bullet in a 6.5 because they work. I have used them for several years in several 6.5's and have yet to be disappointed.

My son and I both took Kimber 260's to Africa a couple of years ago. Me as my primary culling rifle and him as a second rifle.

We killed everything from Springbuck to Kudu and did not loose one animal and didn't have to shoot any twice. All killed with a 120 BT. Not counting cull blesbuck and impala, probably 10 trophy aminals.

I like them a lot. We have killed lots of USA game with them also, in fact my son took at 127 B&C Coues deer last year in Az.

I haven't any experience with the AMAX but have a box to try in my 6.5-284

140 a-max Every time

mmgravy,

I've shot hundreds of 120 grain BTs from a variety of 260s and 6.5-284s at paper, varmints, antelope, and whitetails, so I have enough of my own experience to base my decisions on. I respect Mark's experience, but the 120 grain BTs and 125 grain Partitions aren't among the top 5 .264" component bullets that I use. Those would be, based on the inventory that is on the shelf: 95 grain VMax, 100 grain Partition, 129 grain SpirePoint & SST, and 140 grain Partition.

Like Yamaha used to say, "Different folks, different strokes".

Jeff

Another vote for the 129gr. Hornady Spire Point. They shoot quite well and are very deadly on deer.