6mm 105 gr A-Max

Guy Miner

Master Loader
Apr 6, 2006
17,453
4,514
Wow - this bullet test was particularly enjoyable for me. I got to spend some time with an old favorite, a 6mm Remington 700 BDL.

Dad gave me this rifle 38 years ago when I was just a high school kid. It was really something back then! Little bullet, moving fast! Accurate. Virtually no recoil. Blew the livin' snot out of pretty much everything I shot with it. Did a lot of varmint shooting back then. Reactive targets have always been fun.

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Very quickly I started handloading for it, as I'd been loading virtually all my life. Thought you guys might enjoy some of the old stuff, leftover from the 1970's and 1980's when I was shooting this rifle pretty much exclusively. Check out the old bullet boxes! Yes, that box of 85 grain Nosler Partitions dates back to the 1970's, I never finished shooting them. Even then I was concerned that real high velocity, coupled with a smallish bullet might not be a good idea for taking game - so probably before I was 20, I was loading and shooting Nosler Partitions - pretty much the only "premium" bullet on the market in those days.

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Heck, even my loading dies date back to 1974...
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Not long ago I got to thinking... I'd shot an awful lot of different bullets through that old rifle over the 38 years I've been loading and shooting it... 55 grains all the way up to 105 grains. From left to right: 85 gr Barnes TSX, 85 gr Nosler Partition (old style), 100 gr Remington CL, 100 gr Nosler Solid Base, 105 gr Speer, and the 105 gr Hornady A-Max.

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Now several years ago I'd tried the 105 gr Hornady A-Max. I've always been interested in precision shooting - that varmint shooting young kid back in the 1970's never really faded away, and eventually I was competing in rifle matches, particularly enjoying the longer range stuff. I'd heard that the 105 Hornady A-Max was even used to set a new 1,000 yard range record out near Missoula, Montana. Good country by the way. I gave them a try, learned that they were indeed a very accurate 6mm bullet, and went on about my business. Over the years I had several "favorite" bullets for this rifle. Any of the 75 grain hollow point varmint bullets pushed to 3300 - 3400 fps were wickedly effective in the varmint fields. For deer, I grew real fond of the 100 grain Nosler Solid Base (a predecessor to the Ballistic Tip) and eventually the 95 grain Ballistic Tip. It's still the single most accurate bullet I've ever shot through this rifle.

Thought that the 105 grain Hornady A-Max deserved another look, so I loaded up some over a middling charge of H4350 and took them to the range. The first shot was absolutely dead center in the target - which was very gratifying. These are of course very accurate bullets and it was nice to see that my well-worn old 6mm could still fling them well. I ran a few over the chronograph and they clocked the expected 2965 fps from the 22" barrel.

At 20 yards I sent one into the water jugs. Wow! First jug disintegrated! Second jug split. The bullet was recovered from the third jug.

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It weighs 33.3 grains and at the widest point I measured it at .486" diameter.

I'd look at it as a very accurate, rapid expanding bullet. I've killed mule deer with bullets that don't retain any more weight. A 115 gr Berger bullet only weighed 33 grains recovered from a big ol' mountain mulie and it had no trouble penetrating into the chest cavity and wrecking the heart & lungs.

If a guy wants a frangible bullet that will go through the ribs and kill quickly, I think bullets like the A-Max and the VLD work, and work well. If a hunter wants a bullet that can penetrate further, I think it's best to look elsewhere - like to some of the Nosler bullets recently tested by David/6mmRemington.

Regards, Guy
 
Great report Guy, well photographed as usual. Love your BDL 6mm Rem :)
 
Yeah, me too. About eight years ago I gave it to my youngest son, as he is a skinny sort of fellow and really appreciated the light recoil on his bony shoulder. He's done a lot of pushups since then, but still won't give the 6mm back.

That's why I bought the .25-06, to have another mild-kicking Remington 700 deer rifle!

This old rifle actually has seven coats of Tru-Oil rubbed into it, after I sanded off the original finish back about 25 years ago. Someday it will get a new barrel. There's a fair bit of throat erosion going on, but it still holds sub MOA with 95 & 100 gr Noslers at 300 yards, so I'm in no hurry.

Thanks, Guy
 
Wonderful post Guy. That is just a wonderful rifle back when Remingtons made something to be proud of! The A-max did a great job for you. Pretty darn good fps out of the 22" she came with! I love the old bullets and dies. Good stuff! The 100 gr. Solid Base Boattail is all I used to shoot in my 6mm too, and my 280, and my 30-06 before they stopped making it.
David
 
I just had to add this to Guy's post as it just seemed fitting. Here is some more history. I looked at the top of my 6mm dies and man, it doesn't seem that long ago when I was just a pup loading for my Model 600. Darn you Mr. Miner! :p :grin: Yes that is Nosler Manual number 2!
David

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Doggone it! I thought I'd have the oldest 6mm Rem dies! :grin:

The past few years as the .243, .243 AI and the various 6mm cartridges became real popular again, I felt like my old favorite had been re-discovered by a whole new batch of shooters.

The 6's really are neat as a group. They tend to be accurate, light recoiling, mild report, outstanding on varmints & predators, and more than adequate on deer.

I remember thinking some years back that it was interesting - when it came to deer, my 6mm was dropping them just as effectively as bigger stuff like the .30-06 and the various 7mm & .300 magnums...

Still, the bigger animals give me a good excuse to use the bigger cartridges - so don't go showing that big dead elk your son got with the 6mm! :grin:
 
Guy Miner":3tlx1fx3 said:
Doggone it! I thought I'd have the oldest 6mm Rem dies! :grin:
Old but good! :p

Still, the bigger animals give me a good excuse to use the bigger cartridges - so don't go showing that big dead elk your son got with the 6mm! :grin:
Now why would I do that Guy!! :shock:

Good stuff sir!
 
I got to thinking that when you go on your speed goat hunt to Wyoming next fall that it just makes sense to take two rifles as you are going to be so far from home that if something horrible should happen to one, you would have one to fall back on. I think you need to polish up the old girl and take that 6mm Remington with you as your back-up! :grin: I know, great idea! 8) :shock:

Who knows, maybe they will have some over the counter doe/fawn tags you can get if populations are up, and you could use your 25-06 for your buck, and maybe your 6mm for a nice good eating doe antelope!! I'm just saying, I think the wheels are turning in your head Guy! Glad I could help, that is what I and other's here on Nosler are for. :mrgreen:
David
 
Guy,

Thanks for the great report and pictorial. We both predicted 3 jugs which is great for deer size game through the slats.
Looking forward to the 95 gr BT jug test for comparison. I am thinking 3 jugs for that one too. :wink:

JD338
 
Yup... I think the 95 gr B-Tip is good for four jugs... :grin: I'll see that three and raise you one JD!

And about the Wyoming trip - I've already asked my son if he'd mind if I took the 6mm along. I haven't hunted with it in 8+ years now and would really enjoy doing so. Even when I was a kid I dreamed of taking it for pronghorn, but never did get to hunt them.

Now might be time to remedy that...
 
Great write up Guy. Brian did the same with the AMax at around 3150 and had about the same results out of his 243AI. It is a very accurate bullet though.

Looking forward to the 95 BT test as well. That bullet is a darned good hunting bullet..
 
Guy Miner":15gcootb said:
Yup... I think the 95 gr B-Tip is good for four jugs... :grin: I'll see that three and raise you one JD!

And about the Wyoming trip - I've already asked my son if he'd mind if I took the 6mm along. I haven't hunted with it in 8+ years now and would really enjoy doing so. Even when I was a kid I dreamed of taking it for pronghorn, but never did get to hunt them.

Now might be time to remedy that...

Guy I'm with you on the B-tip in four jugs at 25 yards. It might even exit number four and cut the skin on number 5 ! :grin:
 
I have seen the 95 BT do amazing things out of a 243 for such a small pill. It is one of my favorites..
 
Guy Miner":1fzlufyr said:
Yup... I think the 95 gr B-Tip is good for four jugs... :grin: I'll see that three and raise you one JD!

And about the Wyoming trip - I've already asked my son if he'd mind if I took the 6mm along. I haven't hunted with it in 8+ years now and would really enjoy doing so. Even when I was a kid I dreamed of taking it for pronghorn, but never did get to hunt them.

Now might be time to remedy that...

Guy,

I'll take the bet. :mrgreen:

Actually I was thinking 3-4 jugs. The solid base just might do it.
That M700 6mm Rem sure looks great and it would certainly be fun to use on your hunt this fall.

FWIW, I took a look at my first set of RCBS dies in 30-06, they are stamped 74 too. 8)

JD338
 
Guy- Thanks for doing this test. That is one fine looking 6mm you have there.

I have shot a few yotes with the 105 A-max out of my .243 win doing 3030 fps. Both of them have had exits about the size of quarters, but both were well over 400 yard shots. Your test bullets looks about like what I would have expected to have happened on the yotes.

I refrained from talking about these on the great 105 A-Max debate because I had not used them on big game. I'm not sure if deer ribs are as thick as a yote shoulder, but @ 465 yards it poked right through both front shoulders of the yote. I have a good friend of mine that has killed several elk with a 162 A-max. All the shots have been LR shots. At 1100 yards three of them exited a bull elk broadside!

I will be very interested in your results for the 95gr BT. The 105 A-max is a great bullet for sure. If your tests show similiar results, I might have to try to expand my expectations a bit.
 
Great test and I have the clone to that rifle, mine still has orgional finish & a Weaver 3x9 40mm Wideview steel tube scope. I have used Hornadys 75 gr HP on varmints & Sierra 85 BTHP for both big game & varmints & recently Hornadys 100 BTSP which shoots like the 85 Sierra groups at 300 yds under 2.25 inches at 300 yds. I have always thought I could do better with more magnification & finer crosshairs with a different scope. I wish I could go back to the 1970's & buy several more 700 BDL's. I will have to try Nosler's 95gr BT someday even though I'm waiting for a LRAB from Nosler in 6mm. If they build it I will rescope my 6mm with a Leupold VX-3 CDS 3.5x10 40mm.
 
Guy -
What twist is this barrel? 10 or 12? Hard to believe a factory barrel will stabilize a 105 grain, I thought you needed an 8 twist. I haven't even tried anything heavier than 100 grains in my .243 with the standard 10 twist.
 
Palouser":1qbdfh0g said:
Guy -
What twist is this barrel? 10 or 12? Hard to believe a factory barrel will stabilize a 105 grain, I thought you needed an 8 twist. I haven't even tried anything heavier than 100 grains in my .243 with the standard 10 twist.

My son's 243 is a M700. I believe it's a 1-9.25 twist and handles the 105 AMax's really nicely. I think in order for a 10 to handle the AMax you would really have to put some speed behind them. I was hoping Fotis would run a few thru his 240 Bee. I am pretty sure the Wby's are 1-10.
 
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