.223 varmint bullet?

[j_22250]

jst wondering what bullet has worked well for some in the past. i've been shooting sierra gamekings 55bthp and have had mixed results. they're great out of my 22-250, but shot at slower speeds w/ .223 i've had trouble w/ some varmints not dropping in their tracks; even with good solid hits. i'm definatly changing over to a ballistc tip, but would like to hear some other peoples experience.

 

[rich44]

I've had excellent results with the 55 & 60gr Vmax and Nosler BT out of my 223ai I've been shooting the 60 Vmax around 3200fps it just hammers the groundhogs, I haven't had a runner yet.

 

[Klong]

Try the 50 or 55 grain VMAX!

 

[fdshuster]

Ditto for the 50 and 55 gr. V-Max. Use them on Pennsylvania G'Hogs and have never lost one yet.

 

[cliffy]

So many great choices, provide a slurry of favorites. I like 55 grain Speer T-N-T hollow points with which I can attain 3500 fps for furious hits. 55 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips hit like hammers on coyote-sized varmints. Performance from a 1-in-12' twist, 22' barrel is immaculate regarding deadly result. .223 Remington chamberings will likely be around for a l-o-n-g time! cliffy

 

[j_22250]

well, after seeing a few racoons run off the other night i jst feel like i might as well of beeen shooting a soft point or fmj. i got a good head/neck shot on one of them; there was plenty of carnage, but hardly a blood trail and no racoon within 30yrds. if i would have taken my 22-250 he might have flown a few feet, but not ran off. a friend of mine uses 53bthp and swears by them. but everyting i've read says they don't give reliable expansion all the time, some don't at all and some blow up more than ballistic tips. i just wanted to hear if someone else had simular experience. i did a search, but came up short. like i said i'm definatly making the switch and plan on using them in both my .223 and 22-250; maybe i'll take my 250 out more often; an extra 600 or so fps may be jst the ticket.

 

[cliffy]

J, if you have a 1-in-12' twist or tighter barrel in a MODERN .223 Remington caliber rifle, try 50 grain Barnes Varmint Grenades with small rifle magnum primers and 24.2 grains of Alliant Reloder 10x powder set at a C.O.L. of 2.250'. Raccoons WILL not walk away, if you hit them somewhere in the middle to upper body at reasonable range,150 yards). cliffy

 

[1000yardstare]

Have you tried the 52 gr AMax? Has a thin jacket and polymer tip and is very accurate. Devestating on g`hogs.

 

[j_22250]

not sure what twist is. it's a ruger. when i first got it i had some cheap shells given to me. they were 55gr sp. remanufactured by master cartridge. those things drove nails at 100yrds and i wish i could find some more i tried to get more with nbt, but never could. when i ran out of those i bought a couple boxes of federal premium 55bthp. a few years back they $10 a box at academy; they were cheap so no need to reload; not like now. i have reloaded some before for a friend and they shot jst as good as the federals in my gun, but definatly not the accuracy this gun is capable of. 25grs varget and 55 v-max with remington br primers and rp brass. i perfer winchester brass and cci primers. since they were for a friend i jst kind of threw some stuff i had together. took me two hours to reload 50 shots and 20min. for him to go thru them. dang. i have always had tighter groups with standard primers tho.

 

[j_22250]

i'd like to keep things simple and jst use varget since that is what i use in several other rifles. i was considering on buying some ball powder,win. 748) if i could find some and thought it might shoot good and a little cheaper too. also heard h322 or h4198 would be good, but i'd perfer to use varget.

 

[cliffy]

I'm quite sure A-MAX target fare would work well on G-Hogs with sufficient VELOCITY, but that was not the orginal intent regarding that bullet. Highly explosive V-MAX bullets were specifically designed for such mayhem downrange. Still I prefer 50 grain Barnes Varmint Grenades @ mach III to vanquish such adversaries with total aplumb. Red Mist and a high flying corpse is difficult to argue with. These ain't your daddy's Oldsmobile. cliffy

 

[j_22250]

well the buzzards showed me jst how far they ran today. 1 went about 100 yards and the others about 50. i gotta tell you i'd much rather blow them in half then see 'em run off; especially that far. i couldn't tell where i hit them cuz the buzzards have been at them for a couple of days, but i know all shots were placed good.

 

[Austin]

Another vote for the 50-55 v-max.never had a chuck move any other direction other than up with my 223.the 55 has never let a coyote get up after being shot,even a gut shot dog is toast. out of the 50-55 class noslers and vmax,they both work good),the vmax is just more devistaing.

 

[Rem06]

i am using 27gr varget with 50v-max and 50NBT and they are both excellent for the 250yd and under shots.I ran out of varget and the sierra 5th listed h335 as the accuracy load for 40-45-50-52 and 55gr bullets with @200fps increase in velocity.I loaded a box of 50/50v-max last night at 27.3gr and had some 52gr nosler match and used 26.9gr,accuracy list).
i hope the H335 was a good choice?

 

[Coleridge]

Wow, those are some tough racoons. I've never had one run more than 10 yards with a decent hit from 22lr. ??? However, if you are wanting an explosive bullet just re-read the comments. The hornaday v-max is the best,most fragile). Also, blitzking, nosler bt, TNT, varmint grenade, and regular blitz will deem similar result,I preffer 55gr). I have ALWAYS been a big fan of the 55gr sierra gameking & gamking BTHP you are replacing. The HP has a HUGE opening,only bad thing about it is bad BC) & has always been a good preformer, just not quite as explosive as the poly tips.

Don't forget there were still animals killed before the invintion of plastic! Not a thing wrong with a regular spitzer, their just not as sexy. Have you checked you POI since?

My favorite varmint load in my 223 bolt is 27.5 gr varget,FULL CASE) with a 55gr v-max. However, I culled 5 deer & a pile of varmints with the 55grBTHP sierra at the end of last year, with excellent results.
Good luck!

 

[benlow]

I do not reload but have killed a few coyotes. I shoot a .223. I buy the bulk remington ammo. I have tried 500 rds of 55gr soft points and am working on 500 rds of 55gr V-Max. It has been my experience that the soft points kills them faster. I have had a few more spinners and a few that ran just a few yards = all less than 30 yds with the V-Max and what I beleive are the same shot placement. I am going back to the old soft points when these V-Max bullits are used up. The v-max shoots a lot higher at 200yds when I sight in or I would buy both and use soft points for coyotes and use v-max for squirrels and small critters. A few of the coyotes I have shot lately with the V-Max bullets have also bit at their side where bullet went in. Good lung shots. I think that the V-Max blows up too quick.

 

[j_22250]

i got some 55nbt on the way. my gun is dead and so am i. on one of those that ran 50yrds all that was exposed was his head/neck and i put the crosshairs right on his nose. i'm jst as suprised as some of you that they went that far. the one that went 100yrds i gut shot cuz he was running towards some trees so i didn't want him to get away. maybe the gamekings are better suited for deer. i dropped a coyote dead in his tracks with this gun at like 20yrds. i was sitting on the ground and he almost ran me over!! the crosshairs landed on his eyeball and thats were the bullet hit. that was w/ a 55gr. softpoint. it didn't come out either.

 

[benlow]

Here is a picture of one I shot with a V-Max bullet. It blew up on contact with jaw bone and never enterd the dog. It took this coyote a long time to die. I beleive a soft point would have killed him dead. That is the entry hole you are looking at in the picture.

 

[j_22250]

your right about that. even the soft point spitzers in .224cal have thinner jackets for varmint hunting. here's a pic of a coyote that i shot with my 22-250. i was shooting winchester usa varmint packs at the time w/ 45gr jhp's. he was at a dead run when i drilled him the first time,thru back legs). bullet went in a blew all hide off his underside. popped him again when he was spinning. some of the bullets fragments actually went thru his nut sack and ripped out his testicles thru a pin size holes. when i lifted his leg up his scrotum had been flattend out. i found one of his boys hanging out on some grass about 5 feet away. i'm not going to post those they're pretty grusome. i kinda feel bad about the whole thing and all. i wish i could of dropped him with one shot, but atleast i know he wont be eating any baby calves or kid goats no more.

 

[benlow]

Dead is dead when you are on a cattle ranch. Good job. I am also hunting a cattle ranch with first year heifers. With that said I also like to kill them instantly. When I shot above coyote I was trying to get two more in to range. So I had to listen to him drown in his own blood. I was not happy about it or the performance of the bullet. But it was my fault for makeing a poor choice on bullets. That coyote was only about 80 yds. and standing broadside looking at me. I know a bullet with a thicker jacket would have contiued on in too his neck for an instant kill.