.224 Swift ground hog bullets.

[Changeling]

A local farmer has asked me to give him some help in clearing out some GH's from his fields. I'll be using a .220 swift with Sierra 52gr HPBT . I've been using this bullet for years and it is very accurate, however it doesn't always give great kills. Its a match bullet and wasn't actually designed for blowing up GH's!

I did some research and found that Hornady has a "53gr V-Max bullet" with a high BC for .224 bullets. So, I was wondering if any of you guys had experience with it's accuracy and devastation ability’s in the 38 to 4000+ fps range?
Shots will be from 100 to 350yds mostly with the occasional ones out to 500yds or so.
I want to see if something else will help expand my horizons in .224 projectiles and lower the GH population for the farmer with an excellent varmint bullet.

 

[jghoghunter]

When I switched from the 52smk. I went to the 50gr nosler ballistic tip. I am running them at 4150 fps out of a 220 weatherby rocket. They shoot almost as good as the smk and NO ricochets. I also shoot the 60gr vmax in a 223 ar and they work great also. Both rifles have groundhog kills out to 600 here in pa. Both rifle have kills out to 900 on praire dogs in South Dakota.

 

[MBuechle]

Used the 53 Vmax last July on Prairie dogs in a .22-250 at about 3900. They explode! Inside of 300 there are no crawl-offs. My 9 twist doesn't group them particularly well but good enough to 400. Again, the dogs explode, red mist and multiple pieces. You won't be sorry you tried them.

 

[Yote Hunter]

53 gr Vmax. You will need at least a 12 twist to shoot this bullet accurately. My 9 twist 22-250 savage Shot this bullet accurately. It does have a .291 ballistic coefficient which will greatly enhance long range accuracy.

 

[MrMajestic]

The Sierra BlitzKing's due a super job also if we can't find a V-Max to suit your needs.

 

[ARW]

I really wanted to shoot the 53gr. V-Max bullet in my 12 twist 220 swift and tried several different powders and load variations. It shot ok but not great. My 12 twist 221FB on the other hand loves this bullet and shoots it extremely well at around 2950fps.
The bullet my swift shoots the best is the 55gr. Sierra BK. In my 28 in. barrel with 42 grains of A2700 powder, it is going around 3950fps and will group 1/2 in. or better. Sierra lists the BC of it at .271, not quite as high as the 53gr. V-Max but still pretty good for a 22 caliber bullet.
I shot my first two groundhogs with the 55gr. just yesterday. Both were shoulder shots under 200yds. and neither one exited the hogs. I'm hoping for the same results at longer ranges but time will tell for that. I did shoot one groundhog last year with my 221FB , in October I believe it was, with the 53gr. V-max at 65yds. It was a really big one, probably over 10lbs. It was also a shoulder shot and was a complete pass though on him, leaving about a golf ball size exit hole.

I'd like to know how it shoots and performs for you. Thanks, and good luck!

Alan

 

[Witchhunter]

I shoot the 53 VMax in my .220 AI. They are superb on the sage rats that we have here.

 

[Tommie]

Do you know the rifling twist rate? That'll make a big difference in your options.

 

[Changeling]

When I switched from the 52smk. I went to the 50gr nosler ballistic tip. I am running them at 4150 fps out of a 220 weatherby rocket. They shoot almost as good as the smk and NO ricochets. I also shoot the 60gr vmax in a 223 ar and they work great also. Both rifles have groundhog kills out to 600 here in pa. Both rifle have kills out to 900 on praire dogs in South Dakota.

Hi jg, can't believe I forgot to give the twist rate! It's 1 in 14, Before I wrote/posted the above question, I searched on the Internet, it was about 50/50 with people saying yes/no to the 1 in 14 twist working, however it is the Internet!
One person that sounded knowledgeable, said he used a Remington 1 in 14 twist and had no problems stabilizing the Hornady 53gr bullet, but I still think it's a valid question as to whether it is OK. That was the idea behind my post, then I forgot all about it, go figure!

My reason/interest in the 53gr Hornady is the claimed BC in the 290's, it's hard for me to disregard that high of a BC in a 53gr .224 bullet. However, if it doesn't want to shoot accurately all the speed in the world won't help, therefor my reason for all the questions.

If anyone provides more information please give the elevation in your shooting area. Usually your local weather web site has that information or should.

 

[jghoghunter]

Hi jg, can't believe I forgot to give the twist rate! It's 1 in 14, Before I wrote/posted the above question, I searched on the Internet, it was about 50/50 with people saying yes/no to the 1 in 14 twist working, however it is the Internet!
One person that sounded knowledgeable, said he used a Remington 1 in 14 twist and had no problems stabilizing the Hornady 53gr bullet, but I still think it's a valid question as to whether it is OK. That was the idea behind my post, then I forgot all about it, go figure!

My reason/interest in the 53gr Hornady is the claimed BC in the 290's, it's hard for me to disregard that high of a BC in a 53gr .224 bullet. However, if it doesn't want to shoot accurately all the speed in the world won't help, therefor my reason for all the questions.

If anyone provides more information please give the elevation in your shooting area. Usually your local weather web site has that information or should.

I have no experience with the 53 gr. hornady. I just gave the experience I have. I will say my rocket has a 1/14 twist and my AR has a 1/9. Hopefully someone else will be able to help.

 

[40X Guy]

My current 13 twist Swift will not stabilize the 53 V-Max. Average elevation locally is 1100-1200 feet. My son's 22-250 LRPV in 12 twist loves them! That's why I tried some in my 13 twist Swift because of the high BC but they did not work out. Your 14 twist Swift and a Nosler 50 or 55 BT driven hard would be a great match.

As to the accuracy and devastation on chucks with the 53 V-Max.. They give 100 percent blow up and instant kills out of son's LRPV @ 3,788 fps. MV. Incredible bullet!

Frank

 

[snert]

My 220 with a 14 twist will not shoot the 53 for a hoot. However, it shoots the 55 grain Vmax with no issues and it hammers G-hogs. There is little comparison between a hog and PD. It takes a bit of killing to anchor a chuck. I find the vmax, in 50 or 55 to work great. I have anchored chucks to just over 700 with the 220.

Like you, I used the 52 to find out the gun ability. However it does not work well on chucks.

 

[snert]

My 220 with a 14 twist will not shoot the 53 for a hoot. However, it shoots the 55 grain Vmax with no issues and it hammers G-hogs. There is little comparison between a hog and PD. It takes a bit of killing to anchor a chuck. I find the vmax, in 50 or 55 to work great. I have anchored chucks to just over 700 with the 220.

Like you, I used the 52 to find out the gun ability. However it does not work well on chucks.

Oh, 1200 feet elevation, higher humidity

 

[stosh]

I shoot a 22-250 and have great luck with the 50 gr Vmax. Shoots in .1-.2 range and at 3800fps is death on anything you hit! Will launch PD's 5 ft in the air and make 500yd shots! Shot some big Ghogs and they stop like turning off a light switch!

 

[WyleWD]

The 50gr NBT or the 50- 55gr Vmax is what will make you happy with that swift. And you'll probably have to change or adjust your powder charge a bit too. WD

 

[scope eye]

I could not shoot the 53 either out of my 14t swift, after I Ackley'd it it solved that problem. I also have a 16t AI that will shoot anything from 40s though 55gr 53gr included. I guess that extra 5g of powder really puts things into overdrive, Don't ask about speeds you wouldn't believe me anyways.LOL



Dean

 

[357Mag]

Changeling -

Howdy !

What twist and barrel length is your .220 Swift ?

I used .224" calibre centerfires on " Soybeanus Digestus " for 30yr.
NE Indiana groundhogs required a decent amount of energy, to assure clean kills @ distance.
The guideline I have always used is: use a bullet/cartridge/rifle combo that can put 450ft lb on the animal @ the desired range. And fer sher, it needs to be a good varmintcapable bullet design.

For a notional large capacity .224" cartridge shot in a 24" + 1-14 barrel, our favorite anti-groundhog bullet of all time was/is Hornady's 55gr SX SP. No crawlers; no drama; no excuses.
I know these used to come w/ a little warning label in the box, to not exceed 3,200fps with them.
Well, forget that ! Run the 55SX up to 3,600+, and great things happen ! Old school is cool !

The 55 "V"-max does pretty good, also.


With regards,
357Mag

 

[scope eye]

Yes those SX's are just that Super Explosive, Barnes Varmint Grenade also hold true to there name.

Dean

 

[Swift4Yotes]

My Savage 12fv 22-250 12 twist shoots the 53 vmax under .7" without any load development to speak of and I have a 700 varmint sf in .223 that is a 12 twist that will put them around .5" consistently. However, the Hornady manual states that they will not stabilize in a 14 twist swift or 22-250 so I never tried them for that reason along with the fact that everyone else told me the same thing. I will say that out of my .223 the 53's group better than 40 vmaxes at 200 yards even though the 40's shoot a bit tighter groups at 100.

 

[Changeling]

My current 13 twist Swift will not stabilize the 53 V-Max. Average elevation locally is 1100-1200 feet. My son's 22-250 LRPV in 12 twist loves them! That's why I tried some in my 13 twist Swift because of the high BC but they did not work out. Your 14 twist Swift and a Nosler 50 or 55 BT driven hard would be a great match.

As to the accuracy and devastation on chucks with the 53 V-Max.. They give 100 percent blow up and instant kills out of son's LRPV @ 3,788 fps. MV. Incredible bullet!

Frank

Thanks for the information Frank, I have another 220 Swift on it's 3rd barrel that has a 1 in 12 twist (Lilja barrel) and it shot up to 60gr bullets, but 52 gr Sierra hpbt was what it liked better then anything else, a LOT better. However, it's barrel is so shot out it's pathetic.

The barrel I'm writing about (1 in 14, original Rem) is the last Rem barrel I will ever have/own! Why they don't switch to 1 in 12 is beyond me ( As an option)! Maybe they still use the same tooling from years gone by!
I'm going to drop down to a 50 or 55gr type bullet (like you suggested) for the rest of this year and then have both swifts re barrelled next winter.