Most fragile .224 varmint bullet

[lhsako]

Whats the most explosive bullet you have found for the .223? 40 grains or less for my specific needs. Top velocity powder helpful as well,,,,thanks

 

[Bronsin]

Any one of the tipped 40's will do just what you're looking for.

 

[Mark M.]

Barnes Varmint Granades

 

[B23]

The 40gr Blitzking would be my first choice followed by 40gr Vmax. As for powders, there's lots of them that'll work well for you. Benchmark, RL7, H335 just to name a few. Even Win 748 shoots really well with the 40's it'll just be at a little slower velocity.

Things are getting better but unless you already have it on the shelf, it'll be more about just finding something that works well for you versus finding that perfect bullet/powder combo.

 

[B23]

Barnes Varmint Granades

Have you shot many of these yourself and if so what kind of results did they give you?

I've heard people complain they don't, reliably or consistently, grenade like Barnes advertises.

 

[DogBuster]

53 Varmageddon is a good one

when available

Although the 53 V max is flatter & costs more

Run 'em in a 9T 223 AI

 

[David Milisock]

Whats the most explosive bullet you have found for the .223? 40 grains or less for my specific needs. Top velocity powder helpful as well,,,,thanks

Hornady 40 grain VMAX, H322, I can't remember the charge, Malaysian military brass as it allowed 1 more grain, full case compressed load, 3,900 FPS. I'm not at home and I'm remembering 26+ grains, start lower. EXPLOSIVE on head shots out to 400, inside 200 devastating.

 

[Tommie]

Probably the 35 grain V-Max

 

[Zeke 225]

50 gr Speer tnt does a good job also on Prairie dogs and crows

 

[357Mag]

Whats the most explosive bullet you have found for the .223? 40 grains or less for my specific needs. Top velocity powder helpful as well,,,,thanks

Ihsako -

Howdy !

Since the mid -70's, the bullet I and my best friend have been using on groundhog is Hornady's
55 SX. The " SX " standing for " super explosive ". That comes from their use of a .009" thin jacket, that is pre-scored.

We have used the 55SX in .222, .223, .222Magnum, .22BR, .22-250s ( many ), my " .22-35Remington " wildcat; and .220 Swift. This bullet leaves notihng to be desired, as regards terminal performance and accuracy.

The 55SX has proven better at positive kills, than the 50 SX. We prefer it to the 55 "V"-Max, for shots out to around 435yd and under. Now.... for pressing a 55-grainer out to 500, the BT of the 55 "V"-Max helps the bullet retain energy better than the FB 55SX.


With regards,
357Mag

 

[ben lurkin]

Have you shot many of these yourself and if so what kind of results did they give you?

I've heard people complain they don't, reliably or consistently, grenade like Barnes advertises.

I’ve shot then and they’re the most explosive bullet out there when it comes to varmints. The various 40 gr plastic tipped are really good as are the Speer TNTs. The grenades, however, are the king of splat. I gotta question those who say otherwise; if they’ve ever used them.

 

[Fern]

Have you shot many of these yourself and if so what kind of results did they give you?

I've heard people complain they don't, reliably or consistently, grenade like Barnes advertises.

That’s exactly what we saw on p dogs. My friend likes to load them at higher end velocities and we saw some that just poked a hole through and others that performed like vmax

 

[209jones]

Over the years I've used Nosler, Sierra for the most part, 45 & 50gr. Started using 40gr Hornady and Nosler over the last few yrs, seen lots of red mist on gophers with all of them. With the newer powders available now and speeds you can get from the stuff like a 218Bee at 223 speeds and a slow twist 223 at near 22-250 speeds and a 22-250 at near Swift speeds, none of the 40gr and under are bad, just a matter of which one the gun likes best.

 

[sw282]

My PD buddy and l sometimes shoot 223 on the dogs together. He's a '55gr man' thru and thru. We both limit our shots to 300yds maximum. at similar ranges his 55s will knock great chunks from a prairie dog. My 40s will cut one in HALF! BlitzKings are #1 choice, followed by VMAX

 

[AlNyhus]

Hands down for accuracy and frangibility, it's the Nosler 40 gr. BTip. -Al

 

[effendude]

I use 40-55 gr V-Max first, Nosler BT second. I can't tell the difference between brands and the prairie dogs can't either. Mostly AR's, a few bolt rifles.

As for the Barnes Varmint Grenades, I loaded a few thousand up based on the hype and promotional material when they first were released. Every shot fired acted as though I was shooting a FMJ. My buddy was laughing at me about forgetting to "pull the pin" on the grenade before firing it. After about 50 shots, out of 2 rifles (both AR and bolt) with two weights of bullets, I switched back to some backup ammo with V-Max bullets and was instantly sending dogs into the air, into pieces, the normal performance we hope for. I pulled the Barnes bullets when I got home, and sold them to a friend who coyote hunts for fur. He likes them....

Scott

 

[hogpatrol]

Another vote for Speer TNTs.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I have some 50 gr verminators on the shelf(clearance sales years ago), pops in my head time to time to try them on coyote out of my 1/8 223. Probably will give them a run with low fur prices, not out much if they make big holes.

 

[Gary in MD]

Ihsako -

Howdy !

Since the mid -70's, the bullet I and my best friend have been using on groundhog is Hornady's
55 SX. The " SX " standing for " super explosive ". That comes from their use of a .009" thin jacket, that is pre-scored.

We have used the 55SX in .222, .223, .222Magnum, .22BR, .22-250s ( many ), my " .22-35Remington " wildcat; and .220 Swift. This bullet leaves notihng to be desired, as regards terminal performance and accuracy.

The 55SX has proven better at positive kills, than the 50 SX. We prefer it to the 55 "V"-Max, for shots out to around 435yd and under. Now.... for pressing a 55-grainer out to 500, the BT of the 55 "V"-Max helps the bullet retain energy better than the FB 55SX.


With regards,
357Mag

I have also used the 55 grain SX over the years, although not exclusively. Used it some in my 22-250 in the 1980s but had to keep the velocity @ 3500 - 3600 or they would start coming apart about 50 yards down range. Also used them in the .222 and they made the little deuce perform on another level. Lately I’m using them in the 223ai and they really shine in this case size, carnage on foxes and ground hogs is similar to using the 22-250 or Swift.
Gary

 

[Ackman]

Whats the most explosive bullet you have found for the .223? 40 grains or less for my specific needs. Top velocity powder helpful as well,,,,thanks

Unless you have a supply of different brands, you deal with what you have or can get. Noslers and Sierras and about unobtainable. So.......1- what's available to you. 2- most accurate in your barrel. Then, explosiveness. Any 40gr varmint bullet will be explosive at .223 and .221 velocity, the difference won't be enough to worry about. Before splitting hairs, worry about #'s 1 and 2. For light bulles VV133 and 2015 have worked well for me = velocity + accuracy. But there are others I've not tried, you just have to find what's best in your barrel.