Originally Posted By: CatShooter
Definitely not a deer bullet - they are very fragile and will not reach the vitals. You will spend the rest of your life tracking wounded deer...
While I nearly always agree with Cat (not just cause most are scared too publicly disagree, but, because he's usually right
). However, I'm going to have to offer a different opinion/experience this time.
As stated the a-max is a pretty fragile bullet. It does react very similar to the V-max (you won't have to worry about FMJ type performance) but they are not designed exactly the same (voids/tip are different). While I have not personally killed deer with the 52gr A-max, I have killed several with the 105 & 123 Amax's and they work wonderfully. I realize the weight difference could be helping with a lot of that, but I have also killed a good number of deer with the 55gr Vmax (more "explosive") and have yet to spend over 5 minutes looking for one, much less a lifetime (have yet to have one go farther than 60 yards). If that's not enough EXPERIENCE I'll add the small number of deer (under 10) I have killed with the 50gr & even the 40gr vmax. Even further, I have killed even many more with the 65gr, 75gr & 87gr vmax in 6mm (even shooting shoulders with the 87gr at times); never a problem. I wouldn't want to try to break heavy bone (ribs are not heavy bone) & would stay away from the shoulder, but with "Bowstyle" broadside shots the little "SUPER EXPLOSIVE" bullets will do just fine.
Yes there are much better options for all-around deer hunting. However, if you MAKE & TAKE good shots on broadside deer (this means passing on non-perfect opportunities), you'll not be left wanting more.