Favorite 22 Caliber Bullet for Prairie Dogs

[hunter67]

I like 53 vmax for 223 and 34gr dogtown for 20 vartag. I shoot Pdogs couple times a week.

 

[charlesasmith]

I use the Speer 50 gr TNT in my 222 and 223 guns. They have been very accurate, but not quite as explosive as Sierra Blitz kings. They are also quite inexpensive compared to the Sierras.

Chuck

 

[jpx2rk]

I've had excellent results with the 39g TNT's in 204R & Varmint powder, and the 223 caliber in TNT is my next project.

 

[6MMWASP]

I shoot a lot of 50 TNT's in 223, 223AI, and 222 mag. Reasonable cost and very accurate. Not usually quite as explosive as the V-MAX and Blitzking but very effective.

 

[Randall Hardy]

I’ve had good luck with 40 gr vmax in both my 250 and 223.
Randy

 

[KY_Windage]

35 gr. VMax are the best for PD's.

 

[urbanrifleman]

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

50 grain TNT at 3850 is my 223A is my favorite setup to date.

Shoots tiny. Blows up good, many good launches. And cheap too.

I may have to try the Sierra 50 Blitzking to compare. I have the 55 Nosler Varmegeddon and they shoot quite well and blow up quite well also.

David Tubb called my 223A TNT combo "quite impressive"

 

[urbanrifleman]

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2149108963

Wow they are on sale for $99 a 1000 right now!! That is a crazy price for this bullet. It won't shoot with a Fowler 52, or Berger 52, but it's only barely different from a Sierra MK for group size. That's nuts.

Blitzkings are 28 cents each. That is very expensive for a 22 bullet. I was going to get some but that is very high.

 

[centershot]

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2149108963

Wow they are on sale for $99 a 1000 right now!! That is a crazy price for this bullet. It won't shoot with a Fowler 52, or Berger 52, but it's only barely different from a Sierra MK for group size. That's nuts.

Blitzkings are 28 cents each. That is very expensive for a 22 bullet. I was going to get some but that is very high.

That is why I went to the v-max. Blitzkings are great but pricey.

 

[10XSHOOTER]

Moly 50 gr TNT's with 27.0 gr H335 in .223. Will paint the town red with lots of pink mist !!!!

 

[searcher]

Between myself and two shooting buddies - we put about 7,500 ground squirrels on our clickers annually. We have done as many as 4,500 in one week when in peak season and taking five full days of straight shooting. We use mostly 40 and 50 VMAX in the .223's, some Nosler Varmageddon, some Nosler unleaded 40's, Sierra Blitz Kings and a host of other various bullets up to 63 grain. NOTHING provides better red mist and flying body parts than the 50 Varmint Grenade. We have had a running contest for years and every time we call out that it is contest time - everyone usually switches to the Varmint Grenades. I shoot several times as many of the V-Max and other lower-cost bullets as they are just as accurate (or more) most of the time - but when it is time for flying high parts - you just have to pull out the magic pill. We have measured halves of ground squirrels 33 feet apart. Crazy.

 

[2506]

Never lived where Pdogs are but I used to shoot crows out of the peanut fields in east NC. I had a Ruger 77 varmint 220 swift and used a Speer 52 or 53 gr match HP can't remember the exact weight bullet. When it hit a crow it looked like you had set a cherry bomb off in it. Black feathers floating down out of the air for a while. Used 50 gr Sierra blitz out of a Savage 110 223 Rem on groundhogs and it was wicked.

 

[Just Say Moe]

I used 50 grain TNT's at first, but with 3 shooters to provide for got expensive. I switched to Midsouth 50grain Varmint Nightmare Extremes - they worked great. I still have a bunch but now use 50 grain Midway Dogtowns (made by Nosler I believe). They are cheap and very accurate - and work well!!

 

[urbanrifleman]

I used 50 grain TNT's at first, but with 3 shooters to provide for got expensive. I switched to Midsouth 50grain Varmint Nightmare Extremes - they worked great. I still have a bunch but now use 50 grain Midway Dogtowns (made by Nosler I believe). They are cheap and very accurate - and work well!!

Cheaper than 10 bucks a hundred? That's pretty cheap.

 

[searcher]

Using the "seconds" plain-Jane cup-and-core bullets available at a few places out there - the price gets down to around $8.00 per hundred. I use a ton of those for the days when we are shooting within 300 yards on the ground squirrels. Could go out further on the prairie dogs and never miss the extra accuracy from the more expensive bullets like the Blitz Kings.

 

[Just Say Moe]

Cheaper than 10 bucks a hundred? That's pretty cheap.

10-12 years ago IIRC they went from $70/K to $110/K quickly.

 

[benchracer]

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.

It does. No other bullet in existence comes close to the price/performance balance of the 53 VMAX. It takes heavy bullets and a fast twist to beat it. If you have a 14 twist, 52 ELD-M (formerly AMAX) or 50 VMAX are the way to go.

 

[vonb]

53 or 55 VMAX. In looking at drift tables for .223, the heavier varmint bullets drift less albeit somewhat slower. I've always had great luck with the plain old 55 VMAX.

 

[sscoyote]

53 V-Max is my go-to pd bullet out of my 9T AR. Impressively acrobatically explosive to 200ish yds. then moderately "explosive" further out. Been my experience that faster twist barrels contribute a lot to the EF (explosive factor).

 

[Tommie]

I’ve used many different bullets on colony rodents. Just make sure that somewhere on the box you can see “V-MAX”.