Hornady Black 168gr A-MAX – Test Results

Manufacturer: Hornady
Ammo Test: 308 168gr Match

Date Fired: 13 April 2018
Time Test Began: 1058
Range: Deer Creek Shooting Complex
Wind: 4-7 MPH
Temperature: 39° F
Elevation: 3200′ ASL
Lot Number: 3170099

Factory Velocity: 2700 fps
Product Number: 80971
Purchase Price: $23.09
Bullet Used: Hornady A-MAX 168gr
Ballistic Coefficient: .475 (G1)

Our Notes: This was an interesting load. Our initial thoughts was that this was a match style load since we have always associated the A-MAX bullets with match shooting. In reality, Hornady makes no such claim and it was a bad assumption on our part. The Black line of ammo is intended for use in “America’s favorite rifle”, meaning the Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR), aka the AR-15/10 platform. Of course they say it is for all types of firearms and our results indicate that it is probably more of just a typical shooting load than it is a match load. That would be our fault for not verifying this before adding it to the test. With all of that being said, it did not perform horribly and it is probably better than just your typical hunting ammunition. The velocities are fairly high which will translate into good long range ballistics with the nice A-MAX bullets that shoot well. The cost is also a plus for the Black line of ammo. If your rifle shoots it well, it might be a good alternative for a slightly more affordable long range ammo.

NOTE: “Accuracy with flyers” includes the raw averages including groups where the shooter called a bad shot before rechecking the placement of that shot. The “average without flyers” is the average group size with those “flyer” groups not added in.