Ok, I know this has probably been discussed before, but the searches didn't return the results I was looking for.

I'm looking for a cheap and accurate 50 grain .224 bullet. I shoot the 50 gr vmax out of my savage 22-250, but I'm looking try something different. Must be cheaper than the v-max. What can I say, I'm bored and want to do some more load development.

I've read a lot about the speer tnt, but I'm worried about the 22-250 velocity. I've also got a 1/9 twist 223 I'm looking to try out but the fast twist could be too much for it.

I'm not interested in saving hides or anything like that, just puching paper and the occasional varmint.

The Sierra Blitz may be what you are looking for. It is pretty explosive and will take the higher velocities if need be. Not Blitzking just plan Blitz. You mentioned you were looking for a bullet cheaper than the V-Max and Nosler BT's are more.

Sierra Blitz

Second on the blitzking. PM me your adress And I will send you 20 or so to try out. If you want-Ben

I've always had good luck with Speer 50gr. TNT.

You might consider trying the Nosler 50gr BT Varmint. I shoot the 40gr BT in my 223 wssm @ 4400 fps they are working verey well.
Dr B

The Barnes 50gr "Varminator" is a great bullet in my 223 and 22-250. Have found them to be cheaper in most cases (box of 250) than the VMax's, sorta depends where you shop.
Mine came from MidSouth.

You've already received some good advice. But since you said "cheap and accurate," I must add the Remington 50 and 55 grain Power-Lokt Hollow Points. They are neither as flashy nor expensive as some of the others, but they do a heck of a job on varmints.

Besides the Remington, two of my favorites are the Hornady 50 grain SX and the Sierra 50 grain Blitz, though in rifles with rough bores or fast twists, they can't be run beyond 34-3450 fps.

Justin-this one to me is slam dunk easy.

I would go to the Speer 50 TNT, you can buy them in packs of 1K. And IME it is one of the most accurate and deadly 224 bullets going.

Mark D

Do you think the tnt will hold up to the 22-250 velocity? Do they perform well enough for coyotes?

JustinB---You want cheap? Cast your own. I use the 58 grain RCBS mold to cast for .22 and in my .222's and 22-250 they work great on jackrabbits to the distance you can spotlight them. They don't do worth a hoot in my .223. A huge advantage besides the price is the noise level is way down which helps when shooting from inside a pickup. Velocity is down to around 2000-2200 so there is very little recoil---another plus in my books.

Justin B : The Speer TNT is accurate and has the best terminal effects of any bullet that I have used in my .222s. It might be worth a try in your 22-250 and .223. Although a little bit more expenswive than the TNT's, you might try Hormady 53 gr. match bullets. My buddy has used them for a while in his 22-250. They were very accurate at 22-250 velocities and very reactive on groundhogs. He never had a bullet exit.

rollinghills

Justin:

I am shooting 50gr TNT's out of my Ruger 1v 220 swift at 3850 fps and haven't had any problem with them. I use them for shooting P-dogs.

My choice would be the Sierra 50 gr SPT. It's a been a super bullet for my 219I.

The Blitz was designed for 222 velocities and there used to be a 3400 fps limit on them when they came out. They will vaporize out of my 219I.

Justin-unless for some reason or another the throat on your rifle is really rough, then yeah it'll work just fine.

We've used them in a bunch of 22's big to small and or vice versa.

They always shoot incredibly well, they are very cost effective and they are very effective on rodents!

Mark D

Why am I the only one who lies the Nosler balistic Tip. They don't cost any more than the others and the BC is the highest for each weight class.
Dr B

quote:

Originally posted by Dr B:
Why am I the only one who lies the Nosler balistic Tip. They don't cost any more than the others and the BC is the highest for each weight class.
Dr B

Justin B said:
"Must be cheaper than the v-max."

And as good as Nosler BT's are, they ain't that.

Mulerider, I think you need to shop around a little. these prices are copied of midway's web site.

Hornady V-Max Bullets 22 Caliber 50 Grain Box of 250 Our Price: $31.49

Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint Bullets 22 Caliber 50 Grain Spitzer Box of 250 Our Price: $27.99

Dr B

Dr B:
I do shop around, which is why I seldom buy components from Midway. That is an excellent price on the Noslers, but a ridiculous price for the Vmax's.

MidSouth- 50gr Vmax - $22.39/250
50gr Nos BT - $32.59/250

I live a little closer to Midway than Midsouth, but freight is always lower from Midsouth...methinks Midway's "fair and honest" shipping is a bit inflated.
But Midway has the biggest selection, if needed.

Mulerider if you buy the BT at midway and the Vmax at midsouth it's only $.o22 a bullet difference. I'll take the better BC and accuracy for two penies a shot. It cost more to keep your rifle clean.
Dr B

It wasn't me, it was Justin B looking for cheaper (than Vmax)50 grainers! You/we hijacked the thread...

I too will often shoot the more pricey bullet, if the difference may show in the field. I seldom see enough difference (if any) to justify Noslers (even at $.02 more each).


Now if they would fully re-release the Solid Base line....

It's been a while but for a long you could buy the TNT for 70-80 a 1K.

Haven't checked lately but I don't think many will beat them these days for price,accuracy and or effectiveness.

Mark D

I second the Barnes bullets.
I dropped a small coyote last weekend at 155 yards with no exit. Also took 2 porcupines and a jackrabbit. Those animals were turned inside out. I'm pushing mine out of a long-barreled 22-250 at over 3900 fps. Groups are half inch.

Thanks for the input guys. The money ain't much, but if I am going to try something new, might as well be cheaper. V-maxes shoot just fine for me, but the bulk packs of TNT's look good. I'll probably order up 100 or so on my next order.

50 g TNT worked well with BL-C2 in my 1-9 .223. I was surprised at how un-uniform the tips were, but accuracy was still good.

I called Sierra tech the other day. It was a very informative conversation. They liked 1400's and 1450's for targets & varmints in that order of priority. I would strongly suggest that you call them. Good luck, Peter.

Peter-the only thing I can say about calling the Sierra techs is that like in anything in life you gotta take of it with some salt.

The last 3 things I talked to them about they said no way don't do it yatta yatta. When I asked them about their personal experience with the bullets I was asking about. It turned out none of the 3 times had they actually worked with it!

Mark D

quote:

I too will often shoot the more pricey bullet, if the difference may show in the field. I seldom see enough difference (if any) to justify Noslers (even at $.02 more each).

I THINK DrB said that the Noslers were 0.22 cents (that's about 1/5 of a cent) Not $0.02 different.

And my preferences also run to the Noslers, but I don't pay shipping, I grab them off the shelf at Cabela's for $28-something per 250.

Though I can't decide between the 40gr and the 50gr in my 223Rem bolt gun, with either bullet
I can shoot the zero out of the 10 in everyone else's abandoned targets or make smiley faces out of 1" flourescent target dots, that people leave stuck everywhere at the range.

I never saw the purpose of shooting cheap bullets when the good ones are only a penny
or two more.
generally less than the price of a draft beer difference between them for a box of 250

Hey, you want to save money somewhere?

Use a propellant that allows a smaller charge and thus gives you more shots per lb.

I used to love RL7 for this...

Let's say for purposes of discussion that you have a 50gr flat base bullet loaded to 3400fps with 27.0 RL12.
1lb of RL12 will load 260 rounds (actually 259.3 but there's always a bit extra, usually 75-100gr, of propellant in the can)

Switching to RL7 lets you get the same 3400fps with only 23.0grs, which will get you 304 rounds out of a 1lb can of propellant

The fact that I think RL7 shoots better than
RL12 in my 223 is icing on the cake...

But then again I just bought a fresh can of benchmark and a 250box of 40gr Nosler BT's

I don't think the groundhogs are really more impressed by one bullet over another, but being able to shoot an empty 20ga shotshell at 150yds and being able to tell my spotter which way I'm going to make it bounce (left, right or straight back) definatly makes me feel more confident before I actually pull the trigger on a live target....

AllanD

While it is hard to pick the "Best" 22 caliber bullet.... price and accuracy can add to the equation and leave a few out....

I agree the 50 grain TNT has a lot going for it, based on price, accuracy and performance....

A downside is that sometimes they are so popular, that they are out of stock everywhere... or on backorder....

My alternative to that, is the Speer 52 grain HP.... they make two different ones.. one is a Match Boattail Bullet.. I am meaning the plain old 52 grain HP.. I use it in the 22.250... because sometimes you can drive a TNT too fast in the 22.250 so that it disintergrates in flight...

This doesn't happen with the 52 grain HP.. it is just as accurate.... not as fragile, but still inexpensive and very explosive...it is as accurate as any 52 or 53 grain Match bullets that I have tried....

I also second the use of Rl 7 as a powder, In both the 223 and the 22.250....I go thru 5 to 10 pounds a year of it! I consider myself almost out when I am down to 5lbs on hand! as I purchase it in the 5lbs. cannisters...

cheers
seafire

I see that midway offers a bullet they call the dogtown. Cheap, but they claim it's good, and made for them by one of the premium bullet makers. Might be worth a look. My favorite was the 52 gr. JLK LD. BC was .302, and they shoot pretty consistently in the .3's in my Cooper 22-250. I shot a 2.34 5-shot at a lasered 650 yards with them. Sure wish I could find some more.

quote:

I also second the use of Rl 7 as a powder, In both the 223 and the 22.250....I go thru 5 to 10 pounds a year of it! I consider myself almost out when I am down to 5lbs on hand! as I purchase it in the 5lbs. cannisters...

A particularly nice thing about RL7 is that there is a distinct reduction in report Vs some other popular propellants in the 223rem.

If you want a MASSIVE muzzle flash it's hard to beat H335, W748 or the non-cannister W229.

I suppose for the AR-15 "space gun crowd" (or on a full auto M16 with an A2 muzzle brake) the bigger flash translates into less muzzle flip, because there is more energy available to redirect...

I originally started using RL7 for a Mini14
(no brake) because I was annoyed by the dazzling muzzle flash of the Win factory loads
and any ball propellant reloads I tried.
and I figuired that the fastest propellant that would still give high velocity might be the ticket.... the fact that they shoot well? pure gravy

AllanD

quote:

Originally posted by Savage99:
The Blitz was designed for 222 velocities and there used to be a 3400 fps limit on them when they came out. They will vaporize out of my 219I.

I'm thinking you 219 has a rough barrel. Sierra says the Blitz is good to 3600 fps ( 1-800-223-8799)

Another option is the Speer 52 grain FB with the large hollow point. No velocity limitations and are available in bulk.

Speer

A particularly nice thing about RL7 is that there is a distinct reduction in report Vs some other popular propellants in the 223rem.


Allan Degroot

How were you able to measure the drop in the report of the rounds with the RL7? Was this through the use of sound equipment or through observation? I have my 700 ADL .223 set up with a George Vais suppressor, which actually increases the velocity slightly, so I haven't notice the difference in sound that you are pointing out. Please advise

The difference was fairly obvious to everyone on the firing line.

I never bothered, nor do I have the equipment to document the difference, NOR would I waste time doing it if I did.

I can hear the difference even when wearing my
David Clark earmuffs.

Basically the "concussion" that some people talk about with 22-250's and 220swifts is something you can feel from a 223rem when loaded up with W748 or H335. (and some other slower propellants)
It simply doesn't happen with RL7, or for that matter with H4198 or IMR4198.

I'll also note that on shorter barrels the difference is more pronounced.
I haven't played with any compensated rifle barrels.

You results may vary.



AllanD

Gidday Guys,

Has anyone tried the Taipans out of a 222 or 223 as I hear that they are supposed to be very accurate and very explosive.

From what I have heard they are even more frangible than the TNTs so they may not be much chop out of a 22-250 or swift.

Haven't tried them yet but wouldn't mind if they are all they are cracked up to be.

Are they cheaper than 55 gr V max's?

Happy Hunting

Hamish

To me it really doesn't matter as long as the bullet destroys the vermin!!!

I have found that the 50 grain Winchester Power Soft Point (PSP) is very accurate and very explosive. I buy them in bulk and split an order with my brother. The last batch we paid $8 per 100. For the money they are the best thing I have found.

quote:

A particularly nice thing about RL7 is that there is a distinct reduction in report Vs some other popular propellants in the 223rem.

Allan: What kind of velocities are you getting out of the RL7? with a 50g bullet, I've got a 20" barreled Rem 700 PSS LTR muzzle blast is worse than my 22-250 but man will it shoot! Thanks