For those that are interested in new trends in varminting, and desires something that actually works....

I recommend looking at the new Hornady 35 grain NTX... a NON lead, NON Toxic bullet in 22 caliber.

although I don't buy into all of this 'lead free' stuff that the environMENTAL wackos are always pushing.. claiming lead is causing the California Condor to go extinct.. I did pick up a box of these to give them a try for another reason...

Just like a Barnes Lead free bullet, they are long for their bullet weight... the little Hornady, is about $15 a box at our local Sportsman's for a box of 100 bullets...

although only 35 grains, the bullet is as long as many 50 grain bullets... it is also a plastic tipped bullet like the V Max and Ballistic Tips... think of it as a lead free V Max....

a little testing in the 223 and 22.250, showed me that this bullet is very accurate... in fact showing better accuracy than several rifles I tested it in, that the V Maxes and Ballistic Tips...

a few local birds and squirrels have sacrificed their lives showing me that it is also a very explosive bullet also...

haven't tested it on Coyotes yet, as the opportunity hasn't presented it self, but their time will come..

as far as velocity, out of both the 22.250 and 223, being 35 grains, this little baby can achieve some pretty impressive MVs...

on the other end, it doesn't take much of a light charge to get this little guy, also getting some pretty impressive numbers with powders like Blue Dot and SR 4759...like 3800 fps..

with RL 7 in the 223, it is over 4000 fps....

and in the 22.250, with AR Comp...the 4400 fps range or more is not a hard achievement...

don't get this confused with the 35 gr VMax, for the 22 Hornet, which has the aerodynamic profile of a pingpong ball...this is one aerodynamic little bullet.. better than a 40 grain VMax, and on par with a 50 grain V Max...

after testing the first box on 100, I have picked up 5 more boxes for the upcoming varmint season, to start off with..

I'm looking at some of these new "lead free" bullets, for some of their attributes, way beyond the politically correct ones...

would suggest a look/see to my fellow varmint shooting forum members also...

Seafire

I went out today to test out some 22-250 loads using RL-7 and the Hornady NXT 35 grain bullet. It was windy out there in the desert and that wind blew my chronograph over once before I anchored it with some large rocks. As a result of the wind the accuracy test was null and void but the chronograph pumped out some interesting numbers.

I was shooting 33.8 grains of RL-7 out of a Rem 700 VSSF version I with a 26" barrel and got an average of 4,294 fps with a SD of 41 for the 35g NXT's. I wish that I could have seen how the impact changed from my standard load for that 22-250 of a 50 grain NBT using Varget and running about 3825 fps. Just too doggone windy. I did notice that the barrel did heat up quickly. I'm interested in seeing how the bullet shoots accuracy wise to see if it is a keeper for the rockchucks and coyotes around here.

I was out hunting coyotes with a couple of our sons a week ago and on the way back in when ran across a pack of 5 coyotes crossing the road just a head of us. I tried to hit one with the truck but he was too quick. We were all put away with our shooters and only got off one 500-600 yard shot by the time that we got a rifle freed up.

I was also testing some 9mm hand-loads this morning using your favorite...Blue Dot. I purchased a new 9mm Ruger SR9C pistol that is a compact with a 10 shot magazine and a 17 shot magazine also. It has a 3.5" barrel so getting performance out of that shorter barrel is a challenge. I was shooting a 115 grain HP with 8.7 grains of Blue Dot and rung up an average velocity of 1,256 fps which is good performance from that short barrel. I don't know if you are a pistol shooter but that Blue Dot works there very well also. I ended up loading up around 1,000 rounds with the BD and had to make a trip to Sportsmans Warehouse for a resupply!!!

I'm liking the BD. Thanks for your input on the 22-250 loads.

this is just for experienced handloaders and WORK UP...

Tean,

I've worked up RL 7 with that bullet to a safe load of 35 grains of powder...

but that has not seen my chronograph yet for velocity results...

once varmint season arrives, I'll have a chance to test the bullet out at high velocity and see how it performs at long range...

it has the aerodynamic shape to get out there, now we just need to see how susceptable and effective the lighter weight is going to have..

I am currently shooting the 36gr Barnes Varmint Grenades, 40gr VMax and 40gr BT out of the 222 Rem.

They work great on jackal.

Will test this new Hornady as soon as I can get my hands on them in South Africa.

I've been using the Nosler BT Lead Free 35 grain for a while now and like them a lot. My results are pretty much what Seafire saw. I get sub inch groups with them out of a 20 inch 9 twist barrel using 12 grains of Blue Dot.

Seafire/B17G:

You are absolutely correct. I was ticked off when the lead free zone was established in California, it included my hunting area. The upside of it was that I found the lead free bullets were generally quite a bit more accurate than lead cores. Starting with Barnes 26 grain .204's I found that .250" groups were the norm in a 1:12" twist Shilen barreled Savage Precision Target Action based custom rifle. Next came the 62 grain Barnes 6mm bullet. It wouldn't shoot worth a darn in a 6mm PPC rifle with a 1:14" twist, and was marginally acceptable in a 1:10" Shilen barrel. That bullet came to life in an experimental Brux 1:8" twist barrel chambered for the .243 Winchester Super Short Magnum. Groups ran between .125" and .300" depending on my bench technique.

The Barnes 50 grain .224" Varmint Grenade shot splendidly in a 1:10" Pac-Nor barreled Remington 40-x chambered for the .22-250 easily giving groups in the .2's and .3's. Even though the bullet length varied by quite a bit. The 36 grain Barnes .224" worked okay in the .223 Remington.

The real surprise was the Nosler 40 grain BT Lead Free in the .223 Remington. Fired in a Pac-Nor 1:9" twist polygonal rifled barrel with Reloader 10-x this bullet shot a .206" 10 shot group at 100 yards. It absolutely proved deadly on Oregon sage rats. All the Hornady lead free offerings proved good, although I haven't had time to refine a load.

The one limiting factor is that these heavier lead free bullets require a faster twist than the standard 1:12".

Speer offers several new lead free bullets, which are open point designs. These are my next experiment.

I now use lead free bullets exclusively for varmint hunting.