Is there anybody out there who knows the max speed for the Hornady v-max bullet just before it will explode. I want to use it for hunting doe and would like the bullet to penetrade the body to get trace. I want to use a 87 grain v-max, could it be better with a not so explosive bullet like the a-max.

Gunblond

Twist rate, height and sharpness of rifling and several other factors determine how a bullet will hold up in flight, so there's no cut-and-dried answer to that part of your question, though 3600 fps is a reasonable top-off level.

And as to using it on deer, I wouldn't. There are much better projectiles available. I am not sure what you mean by "penetrade the body to get trace," so perhaps you could elaborate. If you mean an exit for tracking, don't count on the V-Max to do so.

As to the A-Max, you'll need a fast-twist barrel to stabilize that long, skinny 105 grain bullet. It, too, would not be my first choice for deer, though if necessary I would take it in a heartbeat over the V-Max.

Yes i did mean an exit for tracking, I have seen you can slow down the bullet below 2700 fps to awoid the exploding effect and thereby maybe get the exit needed. Allthough the a-max bullet is a match bullet it looks very similar to the v-max, but with thicker wall around the core.

Yes, you can slow down a varmint bullet and significantly change its on-game performance, but your original question was regarding maximum velocity for that projectile.

What caliber are you shooting???

If you want to shoot a lighter bullet at 2700 fps or so, then try and get some of the now-discontinued Sierra 80 grain Single Shot Pistol bullets. The Sierra Blitz will perform quite similarly.

But if you want to be certain and have an exit, then by all means use something like the 85 grain Partition, the 90 grain Speer, the 90 grain Scirocco II or the various 100 grainers.

Hi Gunblond, I don't believe there is a maximum speed for the V-max or the Nosler Ballistic Tips, they were designed for any speed and still able to perform reliably even at the lower speeds upon impact.

They tear coyotes to pieces, I wouldn't use for deer game.

I have just recently started shooting 243 Win. Still got my 308 Win. though. But I am looking for a smaler caliber/load that will do the same job on game smaller than 40 kilograms, I think its 80 lbs i your therms. By the way, I have been thinking of trying out the Speer Spitz-BT 85 grain. I am just so impressed by the accuracy of the Hornady max bullet.

The Speer 85 grain BT spitzer that you mention is a fairly soft bullet, but if the game is 80 pounds or so, it will work quite well for you and should give you the desired exit.

The V-Max that you are partial to will do fine on the smaller animals as well as long as you keep the muzzle velocity restricted to 2800 fps or so.

Gunblond, I loaded the 87grain v-match with reduced loads for a niece and nephew to between 2200-2300 fps using Accurate 5744. The load worked great on deer for each. Very low recoil. Can't remember powder charge, I called Accurate for it.

Joe A.

Gidday Gunblond,

Try the Sierra 85gr HP in front of 39gr H4350.

I have found this to be a great deer killer with good expansion penetrating through the animal everytime.

This load has very little recoil.

Another great load is 40gr H4350 behind the 90gr Speer Hotcore.

Hope this gives you something to play with.

Happy Hunting

Hamish

Hi everybody, I have tryed different loads with the v-max 87 grain, I got results aprox 2890 fps with 40 grain Vihtavouri N 160, I think 39 grain will give me about 2800 fps. From ther I will work my way up or down depending on results in the field. Fastest load I did was 44 grain Viht. N 160, 3150 fps, very nice ballistics.

Gunblond-

Good luck with the project. Please let us know how the testing and the hunting goes. It certainly sounds like you are on the right track.

The V-max is way to soft for deer sized game. The Hornady SST would be a much better choice if your looking for a ballistic tip.

Coyote Caller-You would be correct if he wanted full throttle loads. He does not. He is interested in mid-range loads.

Trust me on this. I have been hunting with single shot specialty pistols for many years now, and in the handgunning game, bullet performance is even more critical since the operating velocities are lower than what one could achieve in a rifle. Certain varmint bullets take on a completely different persona when launched at more sedate speeds. At 2800 fps MV, the bullet in question no longer performs like a typical varmint bullet. And for the 80 pound game he intends to hunt, it will be more than sufficient.

I could get into more detail here, but I could go on forever as I tend to get a bit windy on this particular subject.

I have found the 87 V Max to be a reliable killer on game of the size you mention . I launch them at 3300 FPS and haven't had any blow up on ribs . Usually get an exit wound .
The Nosler 95 gn BT is a little heavier construction I believe .

The 87 grain v-max is a varmint bullet and designed for small game and shouldn't be used on anything bigger than a small dog.

This bullet would probably drop rod deer in their tracks most of the time but hit major bone and you risk the bullet exploding and failing to penetrate well.

For game like deer(even small ones) use a bullet that is designed for game not varmints!!, the 95 grain hornady SST or even the 87 grain spirepoint would be a much better choice than a V-max.

This is why the 243 gets a bad rep for shooting medium/big game, because people shoot them with varmint bullets then winge that the 243 isn't big enough when the varmint bullets dont put the game down properly.

87gr V-MAX is what i use most of the time goat culling,loaded to 3300fps i have found they do exit on the smaller goats.

If you want to use 87gr hornady bullet and have it exit why not use hornady 87gr SP?? or 85 partition

Tumbo wrote:

quote:

The 87 grain v-max is a varmint bullet and designed for small game and shouldn't be used on anything bigger than a small dog.

Tumbo-You need to read and understand the entire thread before you make a blanket statement like that. At the reduced velocities he will be shooting these bullets, they are no longer the fragile projectiles that impact violently when the impact velocity is high. What bullet do you think the 7mm SIngle Shot Pistol bullet is? It's a glorified V-Max in different packaging. Don't believ me??? Load up the SSP and the V-Max to 3000 fps and see if you can tell ANY difference in a close-range impact. Then load both to 2300 fps and see how they perform at 100 yards. You won't be able to tell the difference...

What bullet do you think the Sierra 80 grain Single Shot Pistol bullet is? It's the 80 grain Varminter Blitz (without the boat-tail)? Sierra even states that the Blitz basically duplicates the performance of the 80 grain SSP GAME BULLET when launched from medium capacity single shot pistol velocity.

Trust me on this. I have been working with this very scenario for many years now as specialty pistols have been my primary shooting interest.

That's why I do get a little miffed when generalizations without merit are regurgitated. I guess it's one of my pet peeves, but I believe everyone is entitled to good, solid information.

I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET THE 87 V-MAX'S TO SHOOT IN MY 6MM-06. SO FAR I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO BLOW THEM UP AT 3700 FPS, BUT I HAVEN'T HAD ANY GROUPS TO BE PROUD OF EITHER!


Jerry

quote:

Tumbo-You need to read and understand the entire thread before you make a blanket statement like that. At the reduced velocities he will be shooting these bullets, they are no longer the fragile projectiles that impact violently when the impact velocity is high.

Mate, I understand what he wants to do, but I cant understand why he would bother
mucking around with reduced loades using a bullet that isn't designed for the game he wants to use it on?

quote:

Load up the SSP and the V-Max to 3000 fps and see if you can tell ANY difference in a close-range impact. Then load both to 2300 fps and see how they perform at 100 yards. You won't be able to tell the difference...

I have had extensive experience with the 87 V-max launched from a 243 and have found it to be unpredictable at lower velocities, yeah perhaps not as bad as at high velocity, I have had them fail on game at longer ranges where velocity's have dropped.

My point is why bother going to all the trouble of working up reduced loades for this bullet especially if there is the possibility of it still failing, considering the large selection of good game bullets that are avaliable, he wants one that will completely penetrate his roe, well a V-max would would be my last choice for that, I just cant believe anyone would think it a good choice?

Jerry-what have you been burning for powder behind the 87's?

I run H4831sc and in my rifle the combo perks quite well.

Also you may wanna give the 75 vm's a go as they shot very well in my rifle also.

Just a thought.

Mark D

I've used 100 grain hornady interlocks in a 243 for deer and antelope without a failure. I would not use a varmint bullet on a big game animal.

quote:

Tumbo wrote:
quote:
The 87 grain v-max is a varmint bullet and designed for small game and shouldn't be used on anything bigger than a small dog.

Yeah I agree . Once read about a guy that had one blow up on the hide of a half grown field mouse .
A Roe buck weighs around 24 - 30kg BTW . Hardly big game but suggest you use a .375 H & H just in case it charges .

Can't you get a deer bullet to shoot in your rifle ? I can see no advantage to using the Varmint bullet for deer hunting.
If you want velocity, why not try the 85 grain barnes tripple shock ?
Also the the 95 grain Nosler balistic tip, or the same weight in the partiton.
THe varmint bullet might work but it is desiged for another purpose.
Why not drive a deer bullet at 2900 Fps . Should be flatt acurate and I can't imagine recoil a problem. Use it if you want but there are better loads out there...tj3006

I get the point, maybe I can use the V-Max bullet for small game and also shoot rod deer up to 40 lb, but it wood not be the ideal bullet for anything bigger, in particular if I want penetration. I decided to try another bullet, a Sierra Gameking 100 grain BT, or a Speer Spitz SP BT, I am open for surgestions on loads and comments on these bullets, maybe you have experience good or bad using them in the field.

Well some personal experience here. The Remington 80 grain PSP was designed before the current crop of really fast expanders and it is jacketed thick enough to do good work on small deer like animals without being overly destructive. It shoots pretty good too. I push it around 3300 fps. Try it and see.

If you want penatration go with a 100 grain partition or somthing similar. The 105 grain hornady might be good. I keep hoping nosler comes out with a 95 100 grain acubond.
The 100 grain sierra would probably be a very good bullet, but not really a penatrator...tj3006