22BR and the 36 gr Varmint Grenade.

[WildPete]

Well I'm finally getting the 22BR ready to sing to the local ground squirrels. In an effort to be politically correct and CA compliant, I would like to use up my supply of 36gr Varmint Grenades. Then I can be shed of the troublesome projectiles. The barrel is a 10 twist and I'm looking for a recipe that is sufficient to create a bit of technicolor.

The Varmint Grenades in a 222, 14 twist and a 223 with a 12 twist were, as my grandfather would say, "Less than satisfactory". The 223, 9 twist Savage had a bad scope, so it shot a nice 4ft pattern at 100 yards so I will try again with that rifle.

Any suggestions would be appreciated and tested judiciously.

Wild Pete

 

[snert]

If you can get them to shoot, let me know how you did it. I couldn't

 

[dedogs]

The 36g Varmint Grenades have been the least accurate bullet I have tried in any of my .22s. Let us know if you get them to work for you. dedogs (.221, .222, 22/250, .22BR)

 

[AZROY]

The 36g Varmint Grenades have been the least accurate bullet I have tried in any of my .22s. Let us know if you get them to work for you. dedogs (.221, .222, 22/250, .22BR)

Tried 36 gr in 223 at 3700 fps, extremely accurate on paper but not worth a darn for killing parairie dogs, not explosive enough, like shooting with 22LR. According to discussion with Barnes they get their explosiveness at over 4000 fps. AZROY

 

[WildPete]

Snert and Dedogs, thank you for your reply. My experience with the Varmint Grenade to date is not the best either. What I had hoped for was a recipe that is reasonable. I've found that they have no range. They seem to fall out of the sky at 250 to 300 yards and take a dirt nap. If the groups are not the best, I would hope to get close enough that there would be enough effect from gravel and shrapnel to get the desired result.

AZROY, If you have achieved extreme accuracy with the Varmint Grenade in the 223, then please share your secret. I would venture to guess that thousands have suffered the frustration of this projectile and would like to know. Please look at this request as a benefit of the mental health to the varmint shooting community.

I agree that the bullet is a hole poker and on the occasional hit that I've had, the little varmints just fall over. Technicolor seems not to be an option.

 

[AZROY]

Snert and Dedogs, thank you for your reply. My experience with the Varmint Grenade to date is not the best either. What I had hoped for was a recipe that is reasonable. I've found that they have no range. They seem to fall out of the sky at 250 to 300 yards and take a dirt nap. If the groups are not the best, I would hope to get close enough that there would be enough effect from gravel and shrapnel to get the desired result.

AZROY, If you have achieved extreme accuracy with the Varmint Grenade in the 223, then please share your secret. I would venture to guess that thousands have suffered the frustration of this projectile and would like to know. Please look at this request as a benefit of the mental health to the varmint shooting community.

I agree that the bullet is a hole poker and on the occasional hit that I've had, the little varmints just fall over. Technicolor seems not to be an option.

 

[AZROY]

Maybe "extreme accuracy" was a slight over statement. The load was 26.5 gr of Accurate 2230C data powder fired from a Rem 223 VSSF at 100 yards. This yielded 0.4 inch with a nice round pattern. The dogs were shot at 100-150 yards, lots of hits but never any red mist. Switched to 50 gr VMAX/ZMAX with same powder and never looked back. Majority of dog work in recent years has been with 20 cal especially with 20 Practical (Savage 12FV with Shilen match barrel). I am so impressed that I building a second one.

 

[A_Gamehog]

Your friend would be the:
53 V-Max
55 V-Max
60 V-Max
The 60's are best @ 3500 and faster
I would not use the A2230 powder myself
R-10X
LT-32

 

[sofarfrome]

My "red mist" 22 BR load combination: Lapua case, Rem 7 1/2 primer, H4895, and a 50gr Speer TNT bullet. I could get these up to 4200FPS. At 4300 the bolt lift was a little stiff. It would agg at 0.350" with the occasional one holer with 5 shots. The rifle was on older 40x with a rechambered 222 40x barrel. Wish I still had it. Anyhow, I did not mention the amount of H4895. That will be up to you.

 

[hfinkle]

Well I'm finally getting the 22BR ready to sing to the local ground squirrels. In an effort to be politically correct and CA compliant, I would like to use up my supply of 36gr Varmint Grenades. Then I can be shed of the troublesome projectiles. The barrel is a 10 twist and I'm looking for a recipe that is sufficient to create a bit of technicolor.

The Varmint Grenades in a 222, 14 twist and a 223 with a 12 twist were, as my grandfather would say, "Less than satisfactory". The 223, 9 twist Savage had a bad scope, so it shot a nice 4ft pattern at 100 yards so I will try again with that rifle.

Any suggestions would be appreciated and tested judiciously.

Wild Pete

I use varget with 40 vmax's, lapua brass, cci br4 primer, watch them dogs explode all day.

 

[WildPete]

Thank you all! I have plenty of V-Max and Nosler lead free that have been proven performers. I managed to dispose of 1000 rounds of Varmint Grenades with a local dealer. Still have about 200 rounds in an opened box. So, I guess I'll start testing an see what happens. With any luck I'll "choot 'em up" testing and never suffer the frustration of poor performance on them pesky little critters.

I'll stay in touch and let all know the results.