Most explosive varmint cartridge
- Thread starter jayph
- Start date
I agree with wal, the .257 Ackley Improved is hands down one of the best "exploders". In fact, many years ago when I first used it with 75 grain Hornady hollow points, I thought I missed the first three squirrels. Then I discovered a little patch of skin about the size of my thumbnail where the third was sitting. Went back and the first two had painted either the rock or log they were sitting on with little pinkish spots. Looking more closely I did find a tail about 10 feet away in one case. I was expecting to find carcases, not dispersed squirrel froth!
This past spring I found the V-Max even at a lowly 3,750 fps does just as well, but sometimes leaves half a squirrel behind in various pieces.
Only bad thing is the recoil prevents seeing the splat!
Other contenders are the .220 Swift and .22-250. Next spring I'll try the .204 Ruger with Varmint Grenades.
This past spring I found the V-Max even at a lowly 3,750 fps does just as well, but sometimes leaves half a squirrel behind in various pieces.
Only bad thing is the recoil prevents seeing the splat!
Other contenders are the .220 Swift and .22-250. Next spring I'll try the .204 Ruger with Varmint Grenades.
Living here in Wyoming, I have been vaporizing Pdogs for 35 years, the 22-250 or my favorite 220 swift with a Sierra 40 or 55 gr bthp, should work fine. very explosive and leaves a fine red mist mixed with white smoke where the little hole digger was just standing. good luck and happy hunting.
You guys are just toying around with pee wee bullets..Gophers what 2 lbs..Pheww...Ground Hogs Big ones over ten pounds!!! I saw a rig built on a short 30 Cal Mag case to fire 125 grain varmint bullets...The rifle had a slightly slower rate of twist than standard...It was Just the most incredible High flying varmint gym"Nastics" you could imagine..that little gun vaporized big Gh's every shot...I'm not sure how well a 30 cal 125 gr hangs onto its velocity & energy but this rig was nothing short of the nuts inside 300 yds....Mike In Ct
The list of wildcats that will provide impressive "On target" results is long and illustrious. Anything that moves a bullet at high velocity will vaporize small rodents.
One issue that you have to consider is this, with the larger calibers, bullets over 85 grs, what did you hit on the far side of your target after you vaporized the primary? Taking out a mound of p-dogs is very impressive, but when the cow 200 yds behind them that you didn't pay attention to drops also, well, Houston, you have a problem.
A high speed 22 is IMHO, the best caliber for this type of shooting. The bullets will rarely make it beyond the intended target and if they miss and hit the ground, that is the end of their flight. As far as standard chamberings are concerned, the 22/250 and the Swift are at the top of the heap for p-dogs.
They will both reach out there as far as you can effectively shoot on those western windy days. Both cartridges are readily available in many brands on the market today, just watch that bbl heat and don't ruin it the first day!
Have fun.
Bob
One issue that you have to consider is this, with the larger calibers, bullets over 85 grs, what did you hit on the far side of your target after you vaporized the primary? Taking out a mound of p-dogs is very impressive, but when the cow 200 yds behind them that you didn't pay attention to drops also, well, Houston, you have a problem.
A high speed 22 is IMHO, the best caliber for this type of shooting. The bullets will rarely make it beyond the intended target and if they miss and hit the ground, that is the end of their flight. As far as standard chamberings are concerned, the 22/250 and the Swift are at the top of the heap for p-dogs.
They will both reach out there as far as you can effectively shoot on those western windy days. Both cartridges are readily available in many brands on the market today, just watch that bbl heat and don't ruin it the first day!
Have fun.
Bob
243 with 52.5 grains H414 with the Nosler 55 BT. Its the accuracy load in the Nosler manual. It hits 4091 FPS through my chrono with no pressure signs. Nice rounded primer edges and easy bolt lift. That's about three hundred feet faster than my Swift with 55's. A bit mean on hides at close range.But very flat shooting way out there. Its still doing more than 3 thousand fps at 250 yards according to the Sierra ballistics program.
When it comes to explosiveness and accuracy, from 0 to 600 yards, the 6BR is king on small varmints. It might not be the fastest cartridge, however, it so darn accurate it's awesome! I've owned and used the following cartridges for varminting, 220 Swift, 243AI, 6MM AI and 6x284. In my early days of varmint hunting, I thought a bigger cartridge, shooting a light bullet, at high velocity would be king. Well, I found out just how wrong I was when a buddy of mine should up with his custom 6BR for our varmint hunt. I of course was using a my 6x284 with an 87grn V-Max being pushed at 3700fps. I thought I would be able to out shoot him at the longer as well as the short range shots, I was wrong! We were shooting ground squirrels from 0 to around 620 yards, and my buddy was hitting everything he shot at with his 6BR. He too was using a 87grn V-Max, however, he was only pushing them at 3100fps. I was amazed how accurate the 6BR was and how explosive it was even at the longer ranges. I am not trying to say the 6BR is more explosive on varmints than the 6x284, however, I am saying the 6BR will out shoot a 6x284 at ranges from 0 to 600 yards. At longer distances, the 6x284, with a VLD bullet is very impressive out to 1000 yards.
I too, had to learn that speed is not everything. I learned, on that day, that a 6BR was an awesome, accurate and explosive cartridge. After a couple of varmint hunting trips with my buddy and his 6BR, I decided it was time to have a 6BR built. I sold my 220 Swift, 243AI and the 6MM AI to fund a fully custom 6BR with a Nightforce NXS 8x32x56 and the reloading tools and components to go along with it.
The other great thing about the 6BR is that a 1-8 twist barrel will allow you to shoot bullets from 70grns to 105grns. This gives the varmint hunter a variety of bullet options for his varmint hunting trip. If your wondering, I kept the 6x284 and had it re-barreled with a 1-8 twist barrel for the 700 and 1000 yards shots when they come available. Another great thing about the 6BR, it has a ton of barrel life which makes it very nice when you have a target rich environment.
I too, had to learn that speed is not everything. I learned, on that day, that a 6BR was an awesome, accurate and explosive cartridge. After a couple of varmint hunting trips with my buddy and his 6BR, I decided it was time to have a 6BR built. I sold my 220 Swift, 243AI and the 6MM AI to fund a fully custom 6BR with a Nightforce NXS 8x32x56 and the reloading tools and components to go along with it.
The other great thing about the 6BR is that a 1-8 twist barrel will allow you to shoot bullets from 70grns to 105grns. This gives the varmint hunter a variety of bullet options for his varmint hunting trip. If your wondering, I kept the 6x284 and had it re-barreled with a 1-8 twist barrel for the 700 and 1000 yards shots when they come available. Another great thing about the 6BR, it has a ton of barrel life which makes it very nice when you have a target rich environment.
I`ve got to say something for that 7mm 120Vmax. At 3400+fps it buts pdogs into orbit and turns rabbits into litle patches of fur hanging in the sagebrush. I could go faster with my 7saum but 3400 works good enough. I use it for my back up gun when my 6br gets too hot or if the wind tics me off too much. That 162Amax works good too
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