For those that have tried these, in a 3900-4100fps 22 caliber varmint rig are they all of like preformance or is one a lot more frangible than another? I'm using the v maxes and getting good accuracy, but run into good sized coyotes as well as chucks and crows. Would one be better than another if shooting at a large coyote?

woods

All I ever shoot thru my varmint rigs are V Maxes. My 220 Swifts(4) flat love a 55gr V run at 3850. Lots of yotes have fell to 50gr V's thru the 223's. Now that I have a 6BR running it is taking several animals with 65gr V's.

My 40gr & 55gr BT's have woken up many an animal out to 400 yards before, All around 3750fps

I would stick with 55gr if you run into some decent sized coyotes up in maine. But around here in TX during the summer the little 40 grainers do just fine...bang flop no exit wound

I've shot the coyotes out here with the 50 grain Vmax at 3750 fps out to 350 yards. One hole in, no exit.

I have never shot coyotes because there anit any here in NZ, but I have shot a fair amount of bigger stuff with my 223, my normal load is a Nosler 50gr BT(sorry not V max) but I would say they would be as frangable as each other.
The farms I shoot on have game from rabbits through to deer on them and I wouldnt hesitate at shooting a red deer with the 50 grs in the head neck area,as for crows we have magpies which are very similar they EXPLODE!
The goats I have shot is in the hunderds with my 223 longest shot so far was a smige over 300 yrds,Past 250 it dosent out right drop them if they are hit in the shoulder/chest but they will normally drop with in a short distance.
Most goats shot under 200 yrds in the shoulder/chest area the bullet will exit, head/neck shots at this distance will be nasty eyes blowen out of sockets, taking out vertabre etc!!
The one below was shot 270 yrds 1/4ing shot up hill,It was hit behind the right hand shoulder blade and the small exit hole is visible in the middle just blow his chin. I know its not a coyote and it was shot using Noslers, my point is that a 50 gr BT that shoots great will be fine on pretty much anyting up to coyote size, utilize the accuracy !!





Regards Runas.

I've shot all three in a 22-250AI with a 1/10 twist. In each case they were 55gr. I wouldn't use anything lighter with that twist.

The V-MAXs disintegrated in the barrel. Wish I hadn't bought a bulk pack...

The BTs were good performers, but I noticed quite a bit of variation in COAL due to differences in the ogives. Not important at short range, I suppose.

I've been happiest with the BKs. Consistent shape, tough enough for a 1/10 twist approaching 4000fps muzzle velocity, explosive results.

Regards
Ben

quote:

Originally posted by bjld:
I've shot all three in a 22-250AI with a 1/10 twist. In each case they were 55gr. I wouldn't use anything lighter with that twist.

The V-MAXs disintegrated in the barrel. Wish I hadn't bought a bulk pack...

The BTs were good performers, but I noticed quite a bit of variation in COAL due to differences in the ogives. Not important at short range, I suppose.

I've been happiest with the BKs. Consistent shape, tough enough for a 1/10 twist approaching 4000fps muzzle velocity, explosive results.

Regards
Ben

Ben, Just how fast were you running the V's when they went to pieces? I doubt that your AI will out-do my Swifts. I've run them up to 4000fps thru my heavy barreled Swifts and have never had any problems. I prefer the V's over the the BT's and have toyed with some 40gr BK's.
Bob

All are similar in frangibility, however the Nosler BTip is made with a solid metal base of the jacket material. This solid base results in surprising pentration, despite the rather explosive nature of the bullet. Runas illustrates this above with his goat shooting experiences.

Woodsy: Any should do in the largest coyote, but if you're worried about penetration on a really big canine then use the Noslers. I've had excellent accuracy results with all three.

My .223 has a 40G.BT coming out of the tube at just under 4000 fps and has opened up rock chucks out to around 350 yards and makes big coyotes go stiff legged and give you that "ohhhhhh that stings" look and a flop over.

Thanks for the experiences guys.....we do have coyotes that run 55-65 lbs....sometimes a little more, but it doesn't sound like the v-maxes will be lacking. I have a 22-250 that just flat loves the 50gr vmax in the 1-12 twist barrel and I push em' pretty hard with 38.5 gr's of 4064. They explode crows and do quite a job on chucks, just getting ready to try some coyote night hunting and calling. I've got a middlestead almost ready and expect to shoot 55's in that one and will try all three kinds and see what it prefers. Interesting point about the base material in the BT Stonecreek.....I'm sort of hoping I find an accurate 55gr load for that one in the new gun.

woods

quote:

Originally posted by Tx6BR:

quote:

Originally posted by bjld:
I've shot all three in a 22-250AI with a 1/10 twist. In each case they were 55gr. I wouldn't use anything lighter with that twist.

The V-MAXs disintegrated in the barrel. Wish I hadn't bought a bulk pack...

The BTs were good performers, but I noticed quite a bit of variation in COAL due to differences in the ogives. Not important at short range, I suppose.

I've been happiest with the BKs. Consistent shape, tough enough for a 1/10 twist approaching 4000fps muzzle velocity, explosive results.

Regards
Ben

Ben, Just how fast were you running the V's when they went to pieces? I doubt that your AI will out-do my Swifts. I've run them up to 4000fps thru my heavy barreled Swifts and have never had any problems. I prefer the V's over the the BT's and have toyed with some 40gr BK's.
Bob

G'day Tx

I don't think it was just the velocity of the 55gr V-MAXs but also the twist rate causing them to come out the end of the 28" barrel as grey puffs. I think they were just spinning too fast for their thin jackets.

The BKs and certainly the BTs have much better reputations for holding together, and it has been the case in a couple of my rifles. I developed loads around 3850fps muzzle velocity for them in my 22-250AI, so I wasn't pushing them too hard. I couldn't chrony the puffs of lead, however...

I tried the 95gr V-MAXs in my 6.5-284 with a 1/8 twist 30" barrel. With the starting load about 90% made it to the target. As the loads went up the bullets began to disintegrate, and the self-destruct frequency hit 100% well before I got near max loads. However, that rifle performs perfectly with the 139gr Scenars it was chambered for.

Not all my experiences with V-MAXs have been bad. The 60gr bullets worked very nicely in my 1/10 twist 223. And I've had a lot of success with the A-MAXs in my faster twist rifles.

Regards
Ben

I've shot a few coyotes with my 22/250 Ackley with 50g Balistic tips at about 3970fps. They don't stand a chance. It's not always fur freindly at that speed depending on where you hit them. The last one left almost a fist sized hole at 60 yards.

a lot of good info and experiences shared here..

Runas.. great report. I have found similar experiences... I sure wish I could come down and hunt in NZ ever year.. that country just looks gorgeous.. and also all the plentiful game that you Kiwis always tell us about...

bjld hit the nail on the head, the disinteqration of the bullets is coming from the RPMs down the barrel making them come apart..I have a factory barreled Savage in 223 with a one in 9 twist... forget about using Hornady SPSXs in that rifle, unless their MV is well below 2500 fps...

As Stonecreek pointed out on the Ballistic tips... their rear core is pretty tough... If you keep their MV below 2700 fps or so, they will perform just like a big game Ballistic Tip.... penetrating thru quite a bit....

Just throttle some down to 2500 fps or less and shoot them into a sappling with a diameter of about 6 to 10 inches... they will usually penetrate all the way thru it...all the way down to about 1500 fps... just like the hunting ballistic tips do....

and of course, put a ballistic tip in a magnum and run it upwards of 3000 fps or better and what will it do at close range? Blow up just like their "varmint" counterparts in smaller calibers...

I have noticed the same thing with Blitzkings in 55 and 50 grain...

As also mentioned above.. a 60 grain V Max is a pretty awesome bullet for antelope sized deer, and is built to take a faster twist to stabilize it... therefore giving a more heavy core...which makes it a pretty darn good hunting bullet!