75 grain A-max in AR

[762cavalier]

Can you handload 75 grain Hornady A-max to magazine length for an AR or are the too long.

If not has anybody tried this magazine mod for longer bullets and will it work on a ten round magazine?

http://www272.pair.com/stevewag/armags/armags.html

[rksimple]

The concensus is no, you can't. I shot a match next to a guy that was running 75 grain A Maxes in an AR out of the mag. The bullets were seated so far into the case that there was a huge gap between the inside of the neck and the bullet. Looked like he was flirting with disaster.

[Technical Ted]

Can you handload 75 grain Hornady A-max to magazine length for an AR or are the too long.

If not has anybody tried this magazine mod for longer bullets and will it work on a ten round magazine?

http://www272.pair.com/stevewag/armags/armags.html

The 75 gr A-Max is too long to load to standard mag length.

[762cavalier]

I had heard they were too long as well thought I'd ask since i have 200 of them. Can a 69 grain SMK fit in a magazine? Thanks for the replies so far.

Also interested if anybody has tried that Mod I linked to?

[Technical Ted]

I had heard they were too long as well thought I'd ask since i have 200 of them. Can a 69 grain SMK fit in a magazine? Thanks for the replies so far.

No problems with 69 and 77 gr SMK BTHP or Nosler 77 gr J4/Custom Competition BTHP.

[ocabj]

Also interested if anybody has tried that Mod I linked to?

I read of this type of modification in "The Competitive AR-15" and at first I thought it was a good idea. But then I thought about it more and it didn't seem like it was worthwhile. In High Power Service Rifle, you figure it may allow you to shoot 80gr in 200 and 300 rapids, but do you really need it? .362 vs .420 BC for the 77SMK and 80SMK respectively. That BC may be worth .5 to 1MOA at best in rapids. If you're shooting 500-600 yards, it's not an issue since it's slow fire.

But if you're talking about combat where you may have to make that 600 yard shot, I guess it may give a slight advantage. But in my opinion, a Squad Designated Marksman that has to make that 600 yard shot with a modified AR DMR will be able to make a follow up shot very quickly, assuming the first shot misses. So the 77gr MK262 ammo is good enough.

What application are you using an AR in where you need .400+ BC ammo at mag length?

[762cavalier]

What application are you using an AR in where you need .400+ BC ammo at mag length?

None at this time. I have 2 boxes of hornady 75 gr. A-maxes and 1 box of 69 gr. SMK and was wondering what to do with them and what the capabilities were. I've only been reloading for about 2 yrs and and the only semi-auto loading I have done so far is for a M1 Garand and a Mini-30 both using standard weight bullets (150 for M1 123 for mini)
I have a CMMG 16" Medcon 1-7 and I want to explore loading possibilities for ranges further than 100 yds(which is the furthest I have shot at so far) and this is the first time I have run into the problem where I can load bullets that are too long for the mag.

[Gunsrruss]

69 and 75

I was under the impression that the 75 amax was compatible with the magazine.
As for the 69 sierra I use to shoot them all the time until the round reached over 14.00 dollars a box. It was Ok as long as I could get them from Midway for 10.50 a box. Now I shoot the Hornady 75 HPBT match round instead of the 69. Good load for 69 is 24.5gr of H335 AOL 2.255

[berg]

I was under the impression that the 75 amax was compatible with the magazine.
As for the 69 sierra I use to shoot them all the time until the round reached over 14.00 dollars a box. It was Ok as long as I could get them from Midway for 10.50 a box. Now I shoot the Hornady 75 HPBT match round instead of the 69. Good load for 69 is 24.5gr of H335 AOL 2.255

I wish I had seen this thread much earlier (before I loaded up a bunch of 75 Amax). I have to seat the bullet so far down it's almost compressing the powder. These Amax bullets are no good with the magazine. If I were to snip off the red plastic tip it might work but that doesn't seem like a good idea.

The 69 grain Nosler I use are perfect for the standard AR magazine and quite accurate in my 1:8 upper.

[proraptor]

I also have a 16 inch medcon 1/7.....Let me know what yours likes....

[ocabj]

Hornady is going to have to put a warning label on the 75gr BTHP like Sierra does with it's 80gr Match Kings.

[Gunsrruss]

75 Amax

Take the Amax and pull them down and load them as you would a 80gr Nosler or Sierra. Use them for slow fire or just for 600yds.