Favorite 22 Caliber Bullet for Prairie Dogs

[sw282]

l like 40gr bullets best in 22 caliber. The 40s get there quicker and hit HARDER than the heavier 22 cals do.. My main objective is to see the RED MIST. l don't care about getting in the 500yd club or the 5Million yard club... l want to see those little boogers BLOW UP.. The 40s are true VARMINT bullets... Thin jackets with a big plastic wedge on the end that acts like a splitting mall when the bullet hits the target... After almost 30yrs of shooting these l am no expert, but l have seen bullets that work and ones that DON'T. EX...0n my last PD shoot l decided to use my Remington 221FB Rem 700 LVSF as my main gun. l had some 40gr VMAX bullets and 500 35gr BERGER match JHPs sitting around.. l shot some of the Bergers and VMAX too on paper. The accuracy and speed for the Bergers was better... That's what l loaded most.. Also took 40gr VMAX too. l was really disappointed on the Berger's when the hit a dog... l saw quite a few crawl back into the hole or dance around after being hit.. No lnnocent creature should suffer!! Switching to the few 40gr VMAX there was no more crawling or flopping... Just a RED MIST

282

 

[long40shot]

I like 50s for a good all around p-dog bullet.

 

[pdog2062]

After 40 years of prairie dog shooting I decided to consolidate my bullet choices,40 grain vmax and 55 grain bulk softpoint from Midsouth.These two bullets take care of 95% of my needs in the prairie dog town. I am happy keeping my shots 400 yards or less and usually have several rifles in 223 to swap out.

 

[Mudygmc]

22-250 and 220 swift 40gr vmax are a blast. 223 I run 55gr sp because of the price and volume I shoot. 22 creedmoor it's 77gr TMKs for reaching 500+yds.

Adam

 

[Prose]

40s die too fast. Anything past 200 is a lost cause for red mist and acrobatics. 50/52/55 is best all around with a 223.

 

[BP1]

Maybe the 53gr vmax has a nice bc for a little bullet.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I really like the 53 gr vmax, only have shot it from 223 with 1/9 twist very accurate. See the hits with varmint weight barrels. I think it would work well with a 1/12 22-250 or swift.

 

[Bill K]

For hundreds of shots, like in a pd or ground squirrel field, hard to beat the Midsouth 55 grain Sp's, bought by the 500 bag.

 

[B23]

The 53gr Vmax is my all time favorite mid weight .22 Caliber bullet, but you'll need at least a 12tw to shoot them well.

 

[284winner]

22-250 AI w/53 Vmax @4000 fps makes one hell of a mess. Great long range bullets too.

 

[Mark W]

Being a big fan of Sierra Bullets, I use a lot 50 grain Blitzkings in .223 and 22-250. They expand great in both cartridges. I love that thump that sounds off on a solid prairie dog hit.

 

[Prose]

Being a big fan of Sierra Bullets, I use a lot 50 grain Blitzkings in .223 and 22-250. They expand great in both cartridges. I love that thump that sounds off on a solid prairie dog hit.

Agreed in full. Sierra 50 gr BlitzKings have been my go-to for at least a decade. Every so often I buy a box of 100 hornady or nosler bullets just to test, and they just don't hit the PD the same way IMO. For me, A PD bullet must be tipped, and the sierra is the only on that maintains that Hollow Point thump.

 

[drover]

I like 40's at 3800 fps in a 223. The 40's mirror the wind drift and drop of 50's out of a 22/250 at 3800 fps which was considered the quintessintial PD load for many years. I rarely shoot beyond 300 yds anyway so for me the 40's are perfect.
I prefer the Nosler BT over the V-Max for PD's and I like the V-Max for ground squirrels. The Nosler have a slightly thicker jacket which works better on Badgers and Coyotes in my experience.

drover

 

[Calgary Bill]

40s die too fast. Anything past 200 is a lost cause for red mist and acrobatics. 50/52/55 is best all around with a 223.

This has been my experience as well. Especially in 22-250.

 

[Calgary Bill]

The 53gr Vmax is my all time favorite mid weight .22 Caliber bullet, but you'll need at least a 12tw to shoot them well.

I normally use 50 or 55 gr but next time I order bullets I'm going to get some 53 Vmax.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

52 Sierra SMK. Absolutely destroys a pdawg. 22-250. 55 Vmax is also a grenade of prairie rats

 

[people]

50, 52, or 53. I really like the 52gr bullets.

 

[AckleymanII]

I carried 2000 of the 22 ppc's loaded with 52g Sierra match at 3550, had to shoot them in the head or shoulders to kill the dogs.

Hard to go wrong with:
50g V max
52g A max
53g V max
55g V max

The 55g Sierra blitz kings are more explosive than the above but cost more.

The 50 and 55g Sierra lead tip blitz are very, very accurate bullets, and they blow up p. dogs and coyotes.

Short range with a 223, the 55g Winchester SP blows up dogs very, very well!

55g nosler tipped varm are proving to be very, very accurate but have not killed anything with them.

 

[jpx2rk]

Anyone have any experience with the Speer TNT HP's in the 223?

 

[Mark W]

Anyone have any experience with the Speer TNT HP's in the 223?

I have a bunch of 50 Gr TNTs, but I haven’t worked up a load or shot any varmints with them yet.

The 6mm 70 Gr TNTs are great in both accuracy and terminal performance.