Has anyone tried their 55gr. Varmints Nightmare flat base soft point bullets?

I was wondering how accurate they are and how well they worked for varmints.

They are a good price, but you wonder about the quality/accuracy, and I haven't tried them.

I wonder who is making them for MidSouth....

thanks

Paul

I haven't used then as of yet. However, I can assume that it is a Hornady product. I have seen some next to a Hornady bullet and they sure looked like they were out of the same box.

Actually I have standardized on Remington and Winchester's 55 gr SP as my bulk varmint bullet, because they are cheaper still. and they are definitely accurate enough to be minute of prairie dog or even ground squirrel in any 223 I own.
All of mine are boltactions, if any one was asking.

Cheers,
Seafire

Seafire
Out of your bolt guns, what bulk bullet has generally shot the best for you..
I have had pretty good results with the Winchester 46gr. hollow point which does 3/8" @100 easily in more than one of my bolt guns and around 1/2 in my gas guns....
I think in bulk the Midsouth bullet is around $4.80 per 100 in quantity....which isn't to bad.

regards

Paul

Paul,

I haven't had as good of luck with the Winchester 46 grain HP as I have had with the 55 grain SP, and FMJ from Winchester and Remington.

I would tend to maybe blame that on the load I use instead of the bullet. I have heard some guys swear by the 46 grain HP and others just swear at it.

My volume shooting load in 223 is using 12.5 grains of Blue Dot shotgun powder. Velocity is only 2600 fps, but it has several advantages which I like. I also set up with a 22/250 loaded at 4450 fps with a 40 grain blitzking or Ballistic tip for those longer shots.

My 223 load is for shots that are within 200 to 240 yds. Zeroed 3 inches high at 100 yds, it is dead on at 200.

I like the Blue Dot load for several reasons,

It is economical. A pound of powder gives me almost 700 rounds. ( something like 675).

Its chronograph standard deviation in velocity is the closest powder I have ever used.

Noise is reduced ( for some of the farmers around that let me shoot on their property, this is a plus.)

A big thing after economy is that since the powder charge is so low, ( yet it fills 2/3s ot 3/4s of the case) it burns so efficiently, it takes a long time to heat up a varmint weight barrel. I mean 30 rounds of Blue Dot loads, heat the barrel up as much as about 5 rounds of regular factory or traditional loads.

Since about 80% of all prairie dogs and ground squirrels I take are within 200 yds, this really comes together for me.

Was out shooting ground squirrels this past weekend.

I took the head off of one, and walked out at the end of the day and just curious in the distance. An 8 inch tall ground squirrel with a head shot, and it was 217 paces from where I shot from. The rifle was one of the original pilot Varmint/Target models Rugers from 1991. Scope was an older Ruger 8 x 32 target dot rifle. The load was 12.5 grains of Blue Dot, Rem 7.5 primer, Lake City brass, Winchester 55 grain FMJ bullet.

A loaded round is less than the cost of a 22 mag shell at Walmart prices.

I have loaded Blue Dot down to 4 grains and the same bullet and got the same accuracy level, with the same bullet and a MV of 1100 fps, a 22 Long rifle load, with a lot more performance and accuracy. Noise and recoil in a 10 pound rifle is really none existant.

The only bad thing about getting use to reloading with Blue Dot, is that when you load other rounds, a brand new can of powder, and in no time flat you are asking yourself, "Am I out of powder already???"

Good luck it you try it out.
feel free to email me if you have any questions on it also.

Cheers,
Seafire

Seafire, You must be using the 55 sp, w/blue dot?? 2600fps.
Sounds like a good eco load. How does it do on dogs. I've been thinking about tring midways dog town bullits. Just curious about sp bullits on dog, gophers, etc. I have'nt tried any reduced loads in any of my guns. My goal is to send um flyin. My eco load is a 50tnt and 34gr aa2015. Not that cheap, but the tnt is a lot cheaper than the v-max and bt I prefer. I think I'll try what your doing with the blue dot. I have a bunch of it. I've also concidered the win 46 hp. The shots with a fmj would have to be head neck or I bet they crawl off. It would be fun to have 1 of my rifles on a trip loaded up like that. The .17 hmr sure is fun. Shot placement is important with it also.
Also, most importantly for me is that my bullits are'nt prone to ricochet. I worry about the sp bullits.
Dave

Seafire

Sounds like you have your volume loads pegged and working. I have tried the blue dot, and it works well. I would imagine that it would take a very long time to eat a barrel up with your combination

I bought about 80 pounds of AA2200 about two years ago when it was being sold at some low bulk closeout prices so I am working with it....great in my .223 and .223 wildcats...

I haven't heard much on the MidSouth bullets OR the Midway dogtown bullets....strange but you would think some of the shooters would have tried them and have some reports...

Paul

Dave,

At 2600 fps, I would not worry too much about Riccochets with a SP bullet. I have seen them with a FMJ tho, so I am descressionary ( screwed the spelling of that one I bet) about where I use them. I real open country in central oregon, where the only thing in the back drop is a mountainside I don't worry about them.

At the lower velocity of 2600 fps, the little rodents still come apart quite easily. A 55 grain SP seems to be more explosive than a 45 or 46 grain bullet in my experience.

I do love the 50 grain TNT HP. Of course I am the reason they are not as available and as cheap as they were last year.
As SOON AS I LIKE SOMETHING, the manufacturers HEAR ABOUT IT, and quit making it, or slow down production and jack up the price.

A bullet of honorable mention that is not available in bulk but is cheap and does a good job, is Sierra's 40 grain HP.

As much as I love the 22 Mags, and the 17HRM, I can't see half the performance from them that a Handloaded 223 can't give and do a better job of. A blue dot load with a 55 grain SP is a hair faster than a 17 HRM load, yet has more range.

People turn their noses up at a 223 at 2600 fps, and yet think a rimfire at 2500 fps is the greatest thing since sliced bread!
The attraction escapes my logic. A Blue dot load in a 223 is also a lot cheaper to shoot than the average 17 HRM load, or the 22 Mag load.

Some days we need to put on our thinking caps, instead of just listening to the latest marketing hype. ( IMHO guys, no intention of starting an arguement. I love a NEW rifle and the excuse to get one as much as the next guy, IN fact instead of getting new rifles anymore, I am into rebarreling the ones I have into something that is better, such as instead of a New 204 Ruger, Put a Stainless Steel barrel on a 223 with a 1 in 8 twist. That will give me more long range than a 204 Ruger will any day. A 75 grain Amax or HP at 3,000 fps will shoot a lot flatter and put a lot more oomph on target than a 204 will.
Really want fun, is they also make barrels with one in 5 1/2 twists at PacNor for shooting a 90 grain 22 caliber target bullets.

Just my prospective from Grants Pass, OR

Cheers and good shooting!
Seafire

I just ordered 1000 Hornady 55gr SP from midway for $51.00. I didn't think that was too bad. I think there only $3-4 dollars more than the Rem or Win 55gr SP.

You might want to see if this is the same bullet your looking at from Midsouth

FWIW: I've had very poor luck with either the Rem or Win bulk 55 SP bullets. The cannelures have been inconsistent in placement and the lead noses sometimes protrude from the jacket and sometimes not. Accuracy has been dissappointing, both for me and for a friend who has tried them. It could be that I've just happened on to some bad lots, or maybe I don't hold my mouth just right. On the other hand, the slick Win 55 FMJ does very well in my guns.

Can't say about either the Midway or Midsouth proprietary bullets, but if you burn a lot of ammunition I would think they would be worth a try. At the fairly modest amounts I shoot, I'm happy to pay for the pricier, but still economical, Speer TNT's. Knife-edge accurate, and boy, do they expand!

Not tried Midsouth bullets.

Midway's Dogtown bullets are great.
Hornady bulk 55gr. W/C are not bad for inexpensive bullets.
Midsouth has Hornady 60 gr. TAP bullets for 3 cents ea. in bulk, not sure how they would work on critters, but initial shooting shows promise accuracy wise.

Travis F.

seafire,

You're right about the respective rounds, assuming they're used under similar circumstances. I use both (downloaded .223's with 2400 and the 17 HMR) but for shooting "danger close" to structures, stock, vehicles, and everything else we value, the 17 has no equal. Frangibility is its biggest asset, in my view. No bounce! No noise is nice too.

Glad to hear you have gophers already! I was X-country skiing last weekend at Lolo Pass - in 70" of snow! Our gophers are wearing mukluks and mittens just yet.

All the best,

Redial

TBF
re TAP 60gr. bullets...

I HOPE they shoot....I just ordered 3000 of them

Hard to pass that up huh.

Paul

PPRO,

You and me both, I got 15,000 of them.
But like I said, initial results are good, and not just good for 3 cent bullets either.

Travis F.

Those 60 gr 3 cent TAP bullets at Midsouth look allot like the 60 gr PP 3 cent bullets I just got as blems from Lock Stock and Barrel. I had mine sent to Russ Hayden for moly coat, so they are 5 cent bullets now. I got 2,000.

They're the same bullet. I've bought 'em from both sources.

Haven't shot anything live with 'em, but at about 3250 FPS they do an impressive job on a water-filled 1 gallon milk jug.