300 winmag AP & API Vs TA Targets

• April 4, 2025
• By Jared Daub

300 winmag AP & API Vs TA Targets

Welcome to our 300 winmag AP & API Vs TA Targets article. This one will be a spicy one.  Here’s the deal: 300 winchester magnum with standard ammunition was NOT enough to punch through our 1/2″ AR550 steel target plates. We proved this in a recent video. Even with 150 Grain Federal Power Shock Ammo (About 3300 FPS from our rifle) wasn’t enough to damage the 1/2″ AR550 Steel.  It did, however, punch a hole ammo through our 3/8″ AR550 GENESIS C Zone, which further showcases the DIFFERENCE between even OUR AR500 and Premium AR550 Steel. We needed to know: What happens when we load Armor Piercing and / or Armor Piercing Incendiary into the 300 WM cases? Buckle up and brace for impact.

Disclosures:

In this blog you will find information about my load tests and data. DO NOT REPLICATE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! The information contained in this blog is simply for your educational purposes. It is purely to showcase the design strength and limitations of the steel target systems we produce. Under NO circumstances are we advocating that you replicate these loads, purchase any of these components, or attempt to recreate ANY component of this blog. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Do not do what we did here…EVER. Please. On top of that, Armor Piercing Ammo is NOT LEGAL IN ALL STATES, CITIES, OR JURISDICTIONS. Please once again DO NOT REPLICATE!!! Now that we have that out of the way: Onward.

The Load Data for the 300 WinMag Armor Piercing VS Armor Test

I’m sharing this information for educational purposes ONLY. Please, do not replicate. There is NO published data. I did EXTENSIVE testing to figure out safe pressures and stable velocities. The M2 Armor Piercing Bullets are around 165 grains, But they are much longer than typical 165 +/- grain bullets. The API 30 caliber projectile is even longer! These only weigh in around 152 grains each. I tested very light loads first, and worked up. All final loads ended up being compressed loads due to the length of these bullets. The powder of choice was H1000, my favorite powder right now for 300 winchester magnum and 300 PRC. The Primer is federal 215 large rifle magnum primers. Cases are Federal.

I will not discuss the OAL of the loaded rounds here or the final weight of the powder for safety reasons. Long story short, I worked up a load that crested 3,000 FPS from each projectile. My objective was to break 3,000 FPS, and I was able to get that with the API a few times. The M2 Armor Piercing was around 2965 FPS each round. Spicy, I know.

The Rifle Rundown:

The Rifle I am running in this test is my Bergara B-14 HMR Wilderness chambered in 300 winchester magnum. I decided 300 winchester magnum was the move, because I’ve already extensively tested 308 winchester and M2 Armor Piercing ammo. 308 did nothing, what will 300 winchester magnum do? We HAD to figure that out. The scope I am running is the Vortex Venom 5-25 FFP MRAD scope. It’s mounted in Talley rings on a Talley base with a level. My bipod is from Atlas, and it is the V8 Bipod. The muzzle device and suppressor on the end are from Primary Weapon Systems. The suppressor is the BDE 762 can. It is rated for 300 Winchester magnum, but it is NOT full auto rated.

Setting up the Experiment

The experiment is simple: Take the Warranty Claim Target Plate, set it back at 110 yards, and engage with armor piercing ammunition from 300 winchester magnum. Why? Because supposedly a 165 grain federal fusion round created the hole in our target plate. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read that previous writeup HERE. The objective at this point is to figure out what can readily punch a hole through our AR550 steel. Frankly, I don’t know what exists on the commercial market that can do that round after round, but if it exists, we will find it. The test otherwise was very simple: Chronograph each round, state the velocity. I will be putting two rounds of each flavor on target, then inspecting the damage. I say “damage” VERY loosely. You’ll see why soon.

The Target system is our 1/2″ AR550 Mini A-DAP Target System. This system is an 8X16″ target plate. You can choose from our wood post mount for 2X4 boards, Our T-Post Mount, or choose our adjustable armored post. We have 3 bases you can choose from: Our Genesis Base (Available Separately), Our Breakdown Base, or our Gen 3 20″ Round Base. All bases are stable, safe, and keep your target planted properly. The Mini A-DAP is THE target you should consider first if you desire accountability, acoustic feedback, and reliability / durability.

The Silver Tip “Plate Test” Armor Piercing Incendiary

I have quite a bit of experience with incendiary armor piercing ammunition against our steel. We’ve shot thousands of rounds of 50 BMG Silver Tip API ammo at our 1/2″ Plates, and in all situations they performed WORSE than standard armor piercing ammo. This is simply due to the fact that there will be less tungsten or hardened steel present as the incendiary component does take up space. We witnessed the exact same result on our 1/2″ Plate. They produced quite the spark and flash, but did not penetrate through the target plate. Not even close. Additionally, a small chip/crater and a black soot are the only indication that we shot the plate with API ammo.

The silver tip was also the fastest load due to the lighter projectile. Many rounds will crest 3,000 FPS, which is impressive. What other target plate can stand up to this type of ammo round after round? We’ll wait. We don’t know of any but ours.

Where would the silver tip API ammo shine?

The API ammunition, from my understanding, was called “Plate Test” armor piercing ammo. This is very old ammo, likely from the WWII era. It was used (Again, from my reading, and I could be wrong) to test certain steel plates, and likely was not actually issued for combat. Where a round like this, in my opinion, would truly shine is shooting through fuel tanks. The reason? The round will explode upon impact, thus igniting whatever fuel source is stored inside. Additionally, this round could wreak havoc against enemy vehicles in the theater of combat. But it doesn’t really shine in the raw ability to pierce amor. It does have a velocity advantage, but when it comes to penetrating steel, the velocity is just one component of the capabilities. This is where M2 Armor Piercing ammunition truly differentiates itself.

The M2 Black Tip Armor Piercing

I also have a lot of experience shooting our steel with M2 armor piercing ammunition. Further, this bullet does not possess an incendiary component. It is purely a core of hardened steel or tungsten. Interestingly enough, these bullets are also pulled from 30-06 from WWII era. These bullets used to be plentiful, but nowadays it is VERY hard to find them. And they are very expensive. The Black TIP armor piercing ammunition, in my experience, was always more devastating than the API ammo.

The test concluded the same results. The M2 Armor Piercing ammunition from a 300 winchester magnum certainly caused more damage than the API bullets. But, they STILL did not even come close to going through our plate! Not only that, there was NO back face deformation on the steel. Even standing against a 3,000 FPS armor piercing projectile, our targets held strong. This further paints the picture: The hole in our infamous “warranty claim” plate was NOT created by a 30 caliber projectile like many of the internet warriors claimed. This hole was certainly created by something FAR more devastating and far faster.

What did the results show?

The 300 winmag AP & API Vs TA Targets shows us a few things. First, we are not selling snake oil. Our target plates are (in our opinion) THE GOAT of steel targets. We believe there isn’t a single target on the market that can stand up to abuse like ours. Because we are THAT confident, we back our 1/2″ AR550 strike plates with a lifetime warranty. That means if you use them properly and they fail, we have your back. Note: What we showed in THIS blog and video is NOT proper. Under no circumstances should you ever engage our targets with ammo like this.

Further, it gives our customers and prospective customers confidence in knowing that our steel is built to take their training to the next level. Additionally, no longer do you need to worry about targets shooting back at you. No longer will you waste your hard earned money on garbage products made in china. Support local US manufacturing and buy a TA target and never look back.

The only question left is: Which caliber should we be testing next? Leave us a comment, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and consider supporting us AND investing in your training today. Email us at info@tatargets.com if you EVER have questions. See you next time.