got what i wished for...and then some!

[lpreddick]

shooting my new 22 BR pushing 52 fowlers at 3700+ fps and nailed a ghog at nearly 300 yds. saw the mist and heard the impact. held into wind so i felt good until i went to check the pig. WHAT THE H! he crawled into his hole! shot placement was good but not enough energy transferred, so i decided to add more ft-lbs. my 12 tw 22 BR one holes with 60-64 gr bullets using n540, so i loaded 60 bergers with same load and it printed one hole off bench, so load some, make a ballistic table and back to the field. to ensure the berger comes apart, i hollowpoint these bullets and this leaves a very thin opening and with other bullets using the j-4 jacket, they REALLY come apart. found a ghog staring at me 209 yds away. put the sightron 1/8 dot on his neck and sent it...WHHHAAAPPP! the impact was really loud so i knew he was done. sorry i can't post photos...the carnage was unbelievable! the bullet entered his neck and exploded taking out his spine and all entrails down to his/her tail...talk about overkill. he/she probably didn't weigh more than two lbs when intact. i'll have to consider using these bullets at longer range and bigger targets.

 

[MrMajestic]

Sounds like you got a plan! Kill'em all....

 

[jonbearman]

I wouldnt kill them all because if they dont reproduce you wont have any targets.I personally only shoot the ones that are nesting in the middle of fields.The rest that live in the woods I leave be so they will have young and restart the process over again.

 

[MrMajestic]

Just a figure of speech Jon. And if you let a Farmer, especially Amish, know of your strategy you may not be welcome. The crop and livestock damage negates any thoughts of species survival in their eyes and wallet. I shot three tonight and when I walked to confirm the kills I was amazed at the number of open burrows in a 5 meter wide strip by 100 meters long. 50 would probably be a low estimate! Lucky for me this is less than a mile from my house! 8)

 

[Jayman_10x]

I wouldnt kill them all because if they dont reproduce you wont have any targets.I personally only shoot the ones that are nesting in the middle of fields.The rest that live in the woods I leave be so they will have young and restart the process over again.

Hey John I found your purse at the exit.

 

[CT10ring]

lpreddick, interesting to read! I am curious to know how you make HP's and a suggestion
For powder charge. I have a 22 BR 1/12 & really like how it shoots. Info appreciated if you would, thx!

 

[lpreddick]

spent most of one winter developing a process to hollowpoint match bullets as quickly as possible and here it is: mount a b&d drill upside down in a vise. insert bullet into drill and spin slowly while pushing a metal file back and forth across the tip. the number of strokes will vary as i try to get a flat tip slightly wider than 1/16 inch. vlds take a really long time since their tips are so pointed. hold a 1/16 in kobalt titanium drill bit with a 1/4 in hex shank (this shank lets you hold the bit, without it i tried a drill press...time consuming) and GENTLY press the drill against the flatten tip and two small pig tails of copper will begin to twirl away until you pop into the space ahead of the lead core. keep slowly spinning the bullet and buff the drilled edges with an arkansas stone to take off the burrs. push a piece of 4-0 steel wool against the tip and this removes the scratches and really sharpens the edges. some bullets have a sizable opening already and this is quick. some, esp vlds, take awhile and the lead cores are at the tip and you can drill into it...not bad if you drill perfect as the core is now hollowed also. some bullet have a lot of space ahead of the lead core (65 and 68 6mm bergers esp... 1/4 in!). to test if this does anything try this: fill two 1 gal milk jugs with wet shredded newspaper and shoot one with the match bullet and the other with the hp. UNBELIEVABLE! after a little practice you can turn out enough for reasonable varmint hunting. i shoot two 22 BRS. the 14 twist loves 52 fowlers with benchmark 30.2-30.8 gr, n133 30.2-30.4 gr, 8208 XBR 31.2 gr. 60 bergers with n540 32-32.4 gr(the most accurate). the 12 twist prefers 64 bergers with n540 32 gr. 63 cheeks with n140 31.2 or n540 31.8 gr are a close second. all bullets are seated .020 thou into lands. i would post photos, but for the life of me, i can't. let us know if you try this and how it works for you.

 

[CT10ring]

Lpreddick, great info, I have made my own .22 lr hp ( using match ammo ).
Modified 22mag too with great results.best of both worlds...if I understand after filing, you are holding a bit in a chuck, by hand while the bullet in a drill is spinning?
Seems like you could use a drill dress instead of the drill in a vise, right?
I'll give in a try. Thanks so much for sharing your info. Have vv133, vv 135
& 8208.

 

[jonbearman]

Where I live the woodchucks are hunted hard and there are not as many any more to hunt which sucks however that is why I posted what I do to have targets for next year.I dont have to worry about the amish as there arent many in this area anyways.Jayman,your joke is seriously in bad taste as you dont know me at all.So please dont read my posts so you dont have to degrade someone with a different opinion than your self.

 

[lpreddick]

CTshooter: i have used a drill press but time consuming. the 1/16 inch drill has a 1/4 inch hexagonal shank that i hold between my index and thumb. if you press too hard the drill can bind and bullet will twist in drill. you can carefully tighten the drill around the bullet such that it does not mar the jacket. some have questioned if this alters the bullets flight and i tested this to my satisfaction...for varmints out to 500 yds...no. you can file the tip a lot and use a larger drill and REALLY make a hollow point, much like an old berger bullet they called an MEF (maximum expansion factor). i still have some and they REALLY expand but had low bcs, which is why i hp higher bc match bullets. many ghog kills have no exit wounds meaning all the energy has been absorbed by the animal.