My Initial Results on Game with the Apex Afterburner

[Petey308]

Apex Afterburner — First Field Test (135 gr .308)

TL;DR: Two successful deer with the 135 gr Apex Afterburner. A 70-yd shot (~2838 fps impact) produced massive lung/heart destruction and quick incapacitation; a second angled/low-light neck/shoulder shot dropped another doe on the spot. Bullets expanded, shed petals, and exited as a compact shank — terminal performance was excellent and matched expectations from the construction review.

The Hunts (summary)

• Shot 1: ~70 yards from my blind. Estimated impact velocity ≈ 2838 fps. Doe ran ~10 yards and piled up.
• Shot 2: While walking back to my truck I encountered a doe across the field. At a crest I went prone and took a shot through corn stalks in low light. She dropped immediately. On recovery the wound was a neck/shoulder hit; heavy blood loss observed.

Video / Documentation
I forgot to turn on my Tactacam for the actual shot footage (rookie mistake), but I filmed the field dressing and recovery — that clip (and follow-up terminal footage) will be posted on my YouTube channel and linked here.

Terminal Behavior & Wound Observations

• On the first doe the initial shoulder impact appears to have initiated rapid expansion. The petals were still peeling as it went through the ribcage, producing a large wound into the chest cavity. By the time the projectile exited it had mostly shed the petals and left as a narrow shank — the small hole I first called the entry was actually the exit. (Easy to misidentify in the moment.)
• Internal damage: destroyed the near lung, the top of the heart, and much of the offside lung — the chest cavity was essentially shredded and filling with blood. Instant incapacitation.
• The second doe’s neck/shoulder hit produced immediate collapse and heavy hemorrhage — again showing strong terminal performance even in a less-than-ideal shot geometry and low light.

Performance Takeaways

• The Afterburner performed exactly as its construction suggests: rapid expansion/petal formation followed by shedding and compact shank penetration.
• Compared to TMKs, ELDMs, AMAXs, etc., these initial results are at least equal in terminal effectiveness for the scenarios I encountered.
• Two good results are promising, but they don’t replace a larger, controlled data set. Next: more samples and lower-velocity testing.

Next Steps

• Increase sample size at typical hunting impact velocities.
• Test lower impact velocity shots (controlled/safe conditions) to confirm shedding reliability near advertised minimums.