I have seen a lot of .224 fmj bullets for bargain prices. My question is: are the jackets light enough to cause them to mushroom some at .223 velocities? Or are they just going to bore straight through? I realize they are not explosive varmint blasters. But I was just wondering what I should expect if I try them? I saw a 60 gr boat tail and it seemed interesting.

(new member) the advice I have gotten so far has been helpful. Thanks Everyone

Rick

they aren't meant to expand
most people just use them for plinking

Most of them will tumble and fragment though. This will happen too late for real use on small game. They will also ricochet pretty easily so extra care should be taken in choosing a place to plink with them. They actually make usable feral hog bullets as do some of the heavier match styles.

Rick,
Welcome to the forums.

FMJ bullets are simply unpredictable. I've had 55gr fmj bullets zip right through varmints without expanding. I've also had them destabilize, fragment, and then literally blow critters in half.

Most of the wounds I've seen in humans from the 62gr NATO bullet show tumbling or fragmentation. I've never shot small game with these though.

Wes

I have a bunch of milsurp 55gr M193 ball bullets made back in the 80s'. They kill stuff OK, but I've never found them to be very accurate.

Hornady 55 fmj seems to fragment pretty reliably if it leaves the muzzle at around 3100 fps. Also the most accurate fmj you will find.

quote:

Also the most accurate fmj you will find

I shoot a lot of .22 cal fmj's in several rifles and the Hornadys have been by far the best like 390ish says.

quote:

Originally posted by daniel77:
they aren't meant to expand
most people just use them for plinking

FMJ may not expand, but they can blow bone apart and make a real big hole in what you just shot..

Daniel, you just need to know exactly where to shoot that liberal neighbor's cat at, when using an FMJ...

in the skull and their head comes apart like a bomb hit it...

Also keep in mind that in many locales, non-expanding bullets are illegal to use in hunting scenarios.