Hornady .224 73 gr A-Max

[Mordamer]

I got my hands on some 73 grain A-Max bullets and decided I'd post what I have learned about them. I could find very very little about them online. Apparently they were a special run done by Hornady and sold only at Midsouth Shooter's Supply.

75 A-Max's will not load mag length in most factory rifles, but these 73 grain bullets will. They are about 0.070" shorter than the 75 A-Max and look like they have a tangent ogive rather than a secant ogive. In my Remington 700 5R Milspec, which has a fairly long throat, they still fit mag length even when jammed 0.010" into the rifling. They seem to shoot just as good as the Hornady 75 grain HPBT do in that same gun.

Here are a few pictures to show what they look like compared to a 75 A-Max and a 75 HPBT. The 73 grain A-Max is in the middle.

 

[DernHumpus]

Re: Hornady .224 73 gr A-Max

Interesting. Whats the BC? Any word on them going full production with them?

 

[beretta989]

Re: Hornady .224 73 gr A-Max

Hmm never did hear about these. How long ago did you get these?

 

[Mordamer]

Re: Hornady .224 73 gr A-Max

I have no idea what the B.C. is yet. I'm going to shoot them at 300 yards sometime this week and that will give me a little better idea. I contacted Midsouth shooter's supply and they said that they will probably get more from Hornady sometime, but didn't give me any date. They sold the last batch at under $13 a hundred earlier this year.

 

[Pusher591]

Re: Hornady .224 73 gr A-Max

VERY intrested in this, especially if their BC is a good bit better then the 77 Sierra's or the 75bthp's.

Tag for more info.

 

[Temp9]

Re: Hornady .224 73 gr A-Max

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Mordamer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have no idea what the B.C. is yet. I'm going to shoot them at 300 yards sometime this week and that will give me a little better idea. I contacted Midsouth shooter's supply and they said that they will probably get more from Hornady sometime, but didn't give me any date. They sold the last batch at under $13 a hundred earlier this year. </div></div>

Really? Because I emailed Hornady a couple weeks ago. Here's what they had to say:

"We did make a 73 gr. A-Max for a short time and we recently had some of these bullets in storage and they released them for sale and the bullet will most likely not be produced in the future. Thanks"

I asked about the BC, as well, but they didn't say anything to that regard.

 

[Mordamer]

Re: Hornady .224 73 gr A-Max

I'm thinking that the customer service person at Midsouth may have just been giving me a default answer and didn't really know what they were talking about. I sure wish Hornady would produce more. Now if the ones I have shoot well I'll have to switch bullets when I run out.

 

[Temp9]

Re: Hornady .224 73 gr A-Max

Maybe if everyone interested sent an email to Hornady, they'd consider producing these again. As far as they're concerned, there isn't a market for the 73gr Amaxes. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Too bad Hornady doesn't have a representative on the Hide.

 

[Ballistic308]

Re: Hornady .224 73 gr A-Max

It looks like maybe a 75g BTHP with a ballistic tip???

 

[Mordamer]

Re: Hornady .224 73 gr A-Max

It really isn't a 75 BTHP with a ballistic tip. The pictures don't show is well enough. It has completely different dimensions than in every aspect than the 75 BTHP or the 75 amax. The ogive profile is different, the boat tail length is different...

I got another email back from Midsouth confirming that they are discontinued by Hornady and they don't plan on getting anymore. Kinda sad.

 

[gunman_7]

Re: Hornady .224 73 gr A-Max

Also with the 73grn, a factory 1:9 twist barrel should just barely stabilize it.