The enormous majority of the varmints I shoot are gophers (Columbian & Richardsons ground squirrels), often in close proximity to structures, livestock, neighbors, etc. I use a Hornet and downloaded .223s since the longest shots are little more than 150 yards.

Which bullet have you tried that REALLY goes all to pieces even when given little resistance and reduced velocity?

Thanks!

Redial

The most explosive .224 bullet that I have used is the 50 gr. Speer TNT. In my experience, it is more explosive than the Hornady VMAX and SX bullets or the Nosler Ballistic Tips. This bullet is long enough that you might have trouble stabilizing it in a 1 in 16 inch twist Hornet though.

52 grain speer hp.the most explosive bullet i've ever shot..

55 gr.sx. went out and shot prairie dogs last weekend. the carnage and devastation this bullet creates at 3300 f.p.s. is incredible.

This is a great question!

For years I have used the 50 VMAX on our local Richardson's and Columbias. Not sure if the 50 VMAX is the most explosive, but it seems to make the parts fly around pretty damn good.

My 222 Sako Vixen HB loves the 50 SXSP, and this bullet also tears these critters up, no second-guessing with reguards to hitting them.

Been shooting the 50 TNTs lately, and am quite impressed. They don't shoot real well out of all my 22 cals, but a 223 Cooper recently aquired sure likes them, and the price is certainly right. Had the opportunity to run 300 rounds of 50 TNTs through it on P-dogs near Malta the other day, and was quite impressed with the effects.

The 45 Hornady Hornet bullet is quite impressive in a 221 FB, (Lil-Gun) especially on the Richardson's.

Having said all this, I still like the 50 VMAX best, is just seems to elevate stuff better.

DEDA

My favorite " generic" is the Speer 50 gr TNT.
$7.99 a box via Cabelas. ( I order about 10 boxes at a time).

Not much more expensive, but a little exotic is the Calhoon line of bullets.

The 37 and 42 grainers have also done a very impressive job if you are into the Red Mist Society.

They can be ordered thru Calhoon and so far are pretty reasonable.

Last on the list is the 46 gr Winchester and the 40 gr Sierra HP out of a 22/250. Too fast of a rifle to use the Speer TNTs, unless you throttle back, and why bother?; if you own a 223.

Good luck.!

The TNT's are probably more explosive but the lightest ones are probably too heavy for your hornet.

I'd recommend the 35gr and 40gr Vmax's.... They're still highly explosive and still you can get decent velocities out of your hornet.

I believe that if you contact Hornady they'll say to go with that 35gr pill.... It's probably perfect for a hornet.

$bob$

In my CZ Hornet I think that Sierra Blitzkings are the most destructive, followed closely by V-Max's. I shot only Nosler BT's for several years, always satisfied with their accuracy but wanting more performance. A friend persuaded me to try the 35 grain V'max, but I was reluctant to shoot groundhogs with them because they seemed too light. I was very impressed with their performance. I then tried the Blitzkings and found them a little more accurate for me and just as destructive. They work very well on groundhogs here in NC, and I would imagine they would be just the ticket for your prairie dogs.

Here's my experience:

In the Hornet on "game" I have only tried the 35 VMAX. Shooting out of the 20" tube on my 77/22, I get about 2850 fps. On the smaller critters such as chizzlers (gopher/ground squirrel) and prairie dogs, they are explosive! Everything in this size has literally blown up out to and including 175 yards. Birds are a lot of fun!

As critter size increases to the size of a chuck, the external explosiveness virtually goes away at this velocity. I have shot about a dozen chucks this spring with the Hornet and 35 grainer, from 80 yards to 175 yards, and none exhibited any external carnage, but all were instant kills without so much as a twitch of the tail!

On standing broadside fox at 80 yards, center chest hit left a 22 cal. hole going in and a silver dollar size hole on its way out. Frankly, I did not expect this given its performance on the above creatures.

I'm still experiemnting with bullets for my .22-250. Currently, my accuracy load is with the Sierra 53 gr. Match. This bullet is very erratic on critters...sometimes a pin hole going in and out, and sometimes an eight pound chuck flying thru the air three feet high. When it expands, it does just that. When it doesn't, it might as well be a FMJ.

I will be trying the 52gr Speer and the 50 gr Sierra Spitzer and 55 gr Blitz to see how they work. I am glad to hear from above that the Speer performs violently! We will see on the other stuff!

Sierra 40 grains BlitzKing! Threw them at 4300 fps and they blew up in mid air. Did'nt touch anything, just blew up! 3,4 gram Vv N135 got me there.

NOW THAT'S EXPLOSIVE FOR YOU!

Back in the old days the 40grn blitz was but as many good bullets that have gone by the wayside so has the blitz

Today the most explocive bullet that I shoot is the Barnes 40grn VLC followed by the 50grn VLC they are truly mistifires... I do enjoy the little red rainbow,,,,,,,,,POW,, $##%$$#$@#@smack

sly

[ 07-03-2003, 22:52: Message edited by: Slydog ]

I've hit several woodchuck with my .22-250Rem. and turned them inside out using the Sierra 52gr HPBT. It's not really a varmint bulet. Most of my shooting is from the bench so I always have a lot of these Sierra's around and take them on my groundhog treks. They make nice clean kills in my .222Rem. but in the .22-250 have a tendency to blow up on the chucks. It's a
pretty grisley picture sometimes. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

redial, The most explosive is the VMax bullets, A test in the May/June issue of Rifleshooter mag. revealed a weight retention of 1.3grs. after an impact with wet phone books, only the base of the jacket was left. Jay

I have to go with the 50 grain v-max. it leaves legs in one area, guts in another area, sometimes 6 or 8 feet from the carcass.

The Hornady "Hornet" bullet of 45 gr weight is a very fragile bullet. They come undone from hitting a paper target with cardboard backing. They make 'Dick Tracey' holes in critters too.

Thanks guys! Great to see what a terrific selection we enjoy, huh?

I've used nearly all the mentioned bullets at one time or another in full-snort .223 or 22-250 loads and every last one of them takes rats apart spectacularly. Harder to do, and the basis of my question is to get a bullet to fragment on lighter targets at lower speeds. I'm really eager to try the 35 V-Max and Speer's new Hornet pill!

Again, thanks for sharing your experiences. This gopher-sploding is just too much fun!

Redial

Ty From Baker City, Oregon: I have a question for you regarding the Speer 52 grain HP. The question is - WHICH Speer 52 grain HP is the explosive one. Speer makes two 52 grain HP bullets! One is a flat base and the other is a boat-tail. One reason I ask is that I have just started using the Speer 52 gr. HP/flatbase this spring. It was recommended to me by two different Coyote Hunters as being "THE" bullet for Coyote Hunting. I have gotten good accuracy with it and it is very explosive on Prairie Dogs and Jack Rabbits! But in my Rifle it will not feed from the left side of the magazine! I can only load one cartrdge in the magazine of my Remington 700 Sendero in 220 Swift. The bullet will jump the lip of the magazine well from the single loaded right side of the magazine but adding anymore of these cartridges to the magazine is futile as the next bullet coming from the left side of the magazine well brings loading to a halt!
Anyway if the bullet which you recommend is the 52 grain HP/boat tail I may try them as they have a much smaller hollow point nose and it may ride up the lip of the magazine well allowing me to have a full magazine and use them!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Varmintguy, you ought to have a gunsmith open up the left rail a bit so it will feed those wide HP's.

Redial,
I think you're on the right track. The key thing for you is velocity. My 22 centerfires are 12-14" Contenders so I'm also familiar w/ the critcal role velocity plays w/ bullet expansion. Frequently a short Contender barrel can't push a bullet fast enough to make it as fragile as we'd like it to be. For you, I wouldn't even consider anything except a "plastic-tipped bullet", a "hornet" bullet, or a "reduced velocity-223 bullet" (including 50 gr Speer TNT, Sierra Blitz and Hornady SX). Even in my 15" 22 BR at 3250 fps, I've had ricocet problems w/ the various BTHP Match bullets. Given your velocity parameters, I'd probably skip the 50 grain bullets and mainly look at the 40 grain bullets. I'd forgotten about the 35 gr V-Max until a previous poster mentioned it, but it might be your very best bullet. Should be able to push it high enough to make it really explosive. Gary T.

[ 07-06-2003, 22:50: Message edited by: Gary T ]

I was refering to the 52 grain flat base
I used them in my savage 22-250 and my winchester 22-250 with no feeding problems.hope this helps

REDIAL --- have you tried the hornady 45g bullit for the 218 bee it looks like a mini hydroshock bullit or the 35g v-max it takes the heads off rabbits at 50----100 yrds in my cz hornet!!!!! steve

In my .223 rem at 3000 fps the good 'ol Speer 50 grain TNT is the cat's meow. Very explosive on groundhogs. On young ones it literally turns them inside out.

Thanks for the data, guys! Much appreciated.

I've been grabbing things off the shelf and experimenting but haven't been thrilled with one aspect or another of each attempt. I located a box of 35 gr V-Max's the other day but haven't aimed them at fur yet.

To date, the list of "too hard" bullets includes several that surprised me with audible riccochets. The 50gr Hornady SX, the 40gr Speer spire point, the Sisk 41gr spitzer and the 50gr V-max have all stood the hair on the back of my neck on end with bullets zinging off toward who-knows-what. Granted, they all burst gophers in dramatic fashion but I'm glad I had stuck to shooting in a safe direction when it happened. Whew! Hopefully the 35 V-Max's are the answer. If not, I'll try some of Sierra's designated Hornet bullets I guess.

To all who've replied, a tip of the hat. Thanks again.

Redial

redial,

I was out prairie doggin' a little on the 4th with a couple Hornets and the 35 VMAX. Above, I stated my experience with them, which held true on Friday, but I did notice a couple richochets, too..... FYI. Surprised me, as the other bullets you tried surprised you.

Hearing your report and seeing the 35 grainer skip along a few times myself the other day makes me wonder... I suspect that no matter what bullet one uses, even those designed to blow up, there will always be the odd one or two per box that will hold together better than their buddies!

This is the FIRST time I have seen any of these bullets act this way, and I have been shooting them for about 3 1/2 years....

[ 07-09-2003, 18:19: Message edited by: Trapdoor ]