Any one have any experience with this bullet? I may spec out a 22-243 reamer and am interested in the correct freebore for this bullet. I know Hornady recommends a 1 in 8 twist barrel. Anyone have any different views on twist rate and stability? Other comments welcome.

Lotsa guyz here shoot that bullet, and like it. I'm guessing the 1 in 8 is right...I tried them in a 1 in 9 .223AI and I might as well have put them in a sling shot....

My 22-204 reamer has .060" freebore, about perfect for the 75's. I've run 'em in my 22-250 Ackley at 3500, but not impressed with them on coyotes. Switched to the Berger 75 VLD's, but no kills to compare......yet.....come on snow......

I'm interested in why you didn't like them for coyotes. I don't shoot the 55 gr. V-Maxes for coyotes, but my hunting partner uses them and I've never seen anything but hammered coyotes with them. The 40's and 50's not so much. After the original post I used an ogive comparitor to check the bearing surface lengths of several bullets. The looooong 75 A-Max's bearing surface is actually .080 SHORTER than a 55 gr. V-Max. It's also only .030 longer than the 52 gr. 7 ogive bullets I make on my own bullet dies. I don't know what the ogive on the 75 is but it must be near 15. Any other comments welcome.

A 1:8 twist is recommended at .223 velocities to stabilize the 75gr Amax. I have shot them successfully in a 1:9 in several rifles. If you re shooting them out of a 22-243 then you don't need nearly as tight a twist barrel to stabilize them. One way to calculate bullet RPM is with he following.

RPM = MV(fps)*(12/twist)*60

Bullets will stabilize between 200,000 and 250,000rpm and should be dept under 300,000 or you will see failures.

A standard 223 in a 1:8 twist

2700*(12/8)*60 = 243,000RPM

with my 223AI it looks something like this
RPM = 3050*(12/9)*60 = 244,000RPM

With your 22-243 I would guess your velocity would be in the 3400-3500fps range(maybe more but looking at a worst case)

with a 12 twist you would be marginal at best
3400*(12/12)*60 = 204,000RPM

With a 9 twist you would be golden
3400*(12/9)*60 = 272,000RPM

Take it for what it's worth and consult a competent gunsmith but I would think a 1:9 would be where you want to be. I can't help you on the freebore question.

Here is a clip from an article comparing the 223 and 220 swift

Quartering at attitude, about 210 yards or so......



Bastard still ran better than a 100 yards and, while not going anywhere any more, was still trying to suck wind 20 minutes later. Bullet never made it inside.......

I too wonder what you didn't like about their performance on coyotes. I shoot them out of a 1 in 8 22-250AI and I have nothing to complain about performancewise.

Just saw you posted while I was typing. FWIW I haven't had one explode like that yet, from 100-400+. Heck, even the one I put into an antelope behaved well enough I may use it if I draw a tag this year.

While it may fall in the fluke department, it doesn't instill a whole lotta confidence......

You should be more careful with your bullet placement and things like that wouldn't happen. I would be surprised if that wasn't the exception rather than the norm.

If I'd had one do that I'd probably be leery of them too. Guess if I shoot enough of them it'll probably happen eventually.

All my money's in the VLD basket for the start of this year.

Time'll tell.......

I'm down to the bottom of my box of amax's and was fixing to order some in the next week. I'll probably get some of the new tipped 62 grain x bullets to try, and if they shoot I'll probably poke a deer with one. It'd be interesting to see a side by side comparison between the amax and a vld to see how they stacked up.

I'm wanting to try the 75 Scirocco also.....

I tried them and was sorely disappointed, the only bullet I've tried out of my rifle that wouldn't shoot worth a darn. I had high hopes for an amax/scirocco combination. Buuuut, with a 250 yard zero with the amax, I'm only a click to the right and dead nuts for elevation @ 200 with the 53 tsx.

I built a 22-250 to shoot that one specific bullet. The 75 grain A-Max. I wanted a Krieger barrel. I called Krieger and asked them what they recommended for a twist rate. Krieger said the 1in8 is perfect for that bullet. I can not answer about the chambering, my gunsmith did that to what he thought was right. Tom.

Does it shoot to your satisfaction? Any accuracy numbers at the longer distances?

I've had them drive tacks in 222 Mag and 220 Roy and the bullet wasn't too "soft" for close range crows.

A friend had his 220 Rocket throated for such; I'd have to mike it to get the throating. .080 sound right?

,080 sounds a little on the long side. As I said above, the bearing surface is actually shorter than the 55 VMax and only .030 (I think it was) longer than my 52 gr. hollow points.

I built a 22-250 AI around the 75 gr Amax. I went with a 9 twist and settled on a load using H414 at 3400. I don't remember the exact freebore and I borrowed the reamer. My load data says I kiss the lands at 2.610" OAL. My kids absolutely love shooting that rifle at long range (500-900). So much so I just finished an 8 twist 223 so I could get "my" gun back.

No fluke. Shot at 100-150 yards. Surface splash and still breathing when I walked up to. Similarities to yours likely being the 3500 launch speed.


I like them on crows and woodchucks though.


I've no qualms launching them at speed at coyotes but as a deer bullet in the faster offerings it's not on my list.

Much to my delight my 223 1-9 R700 xcr shoots the Amax surprisingly well. I'm going to give a shot on a Ga whitetail this fall.

If you take shoulder shots, then the v-maxes, when pushed at high velocity are apt to explode on the surface. I haven't seen any explode on the surface when taking them in the vitals through the rib cage or front on chest/throat shots.

Maybe Seafire will chime in here, but in some of his work on reduced loads using Bluedot, he mentioned that penetration was much greater with v-maxes when kept under 3,000 fps. He can explain it better than I can.

Others on this thread have a different opinion from me, but I will give you mine and you can sort it out.
I love the 75gr A Max but the bigger the case capacity the less I like it. In a 223, 22 BR etc it is hard to beat. in my 22-250AI's I have found the 80gr VLD Berger a far better bullet.
In a 22-243 you will have bullet blow-up issues if you choose a 3 groove barrel, I would recommend a 5 groove R or C for this chambering and be open to the possibility you will find a better bullet for this high capacity round than the 75gr A-Max (Berger or Sierra).

Bullets blowing up is a relatively easy thing to understand..
they are designed to have X amount of resistance in overcoming the media that they are going to hit...

more fragile bullets like varmint bullets, are designed to open up more dramatically, but still have a core that is more solid than the tip...

the faster the bullet, the more likely it is to come apart when hitting something, and that increases when what it is hitting is harder...

by slowing the bullet down, the tip does not open as dramatically...and the heavier core allows it to penetrate much deeper and act much more like a regular hunting bullet...

seems to me that the 'standard' that is used is the MV of about 2700 fps... I think it is coincidence that 2700 fps just happens to be the MV of a 180 grain bullet out of an 06....

that is why in Blue Dot testing along with other lower MV loads, I have found that fragile bullets will end up penetrating thru media that we usually don't expect them too...

I run a fast twist 22.250, and can run 75 grain A Maxes at about 3400 fps MV...for smaller animals such as ground hogs or a coyote, you can expect to see damage like they were hit by an RPG....

on the other end, throttle the 75 grain AMax down and it will penetrate better... if missing shoulder, that will also help out..remember the 22 TTH was designed with the 75 gr A Max in mind...

for a 22.250, I have found that the 75 grain HP Match from Hornady will not cause as much damage as the A Max... same as the 80 grain A Max is a better choice..

I believe the 75 grain A Max was designed to operate at 223 speeds, instead of higher 22.250 speeds...2800 fps vs 3300 fps MV...

of course that will defeat the purpose of going with the 22.250..

with that in mind, I personally think for my own use, that I am better served with the 75 grain HP or the 80 grain A Max...

If busting shoulders, I think a regular match bullet is a better choice... if hitting soft tissue, then the plastic tip bullets are the better choice...

I really wonder why the market doesn't have varmint bullets in these heavier grains in 22 caliber.. the market certainly exists for it..

I've shot the 80 gr. A-max quite a bit and it performs same as the 75. It is not like the jacket is thicker or anything.

It's only saving grace is it's extra 5 grains which slow it down a bit and perhaps take it back from edge of blowing up in flight in the bigger offering- particularly as they get up in round count.

That is about the only reason I can see for it's being made. The 80 only has a moderate BC jump hardly making up for it's extra weight. Fine bullet non the less.