Varmint Projectiles

M

Maurice S

Guest
Seeking some guidance. 6BR with Sierra 85gn HPBT just punches through rabbits, hares and crows as far out as a lasered 435yds. I need a projectile which will give me "explosive" hits, to avoid ricochets. My choices will probably be limited to Hornady or Sierra because of very restricted brand availablility.

Can anyone suggest the best choice in the 75 - 80gn range.

If this forum is not the most appropriate, please indicate any alternatives.

Thanks in advance

Maurice
 
Vmax OK

the 75 gr Hornady Vmax seems like the 6mm choice. I wished for a Sierra 70 gr Blitzking for Christmas but Santa Sierra did not make me one yet. It has been my experience that the Vmaxs are fine but the Blitzkings are finer. I set up a little experiment shooting through plastic bottles of water and "catching" the fragments in some plywood backing. Both types exploded safely into tiny fragments in my 223. That test was only at 100 yards, you will get less energy on those 400+ yard crows. Nice shot mate!
 
I don't have much experience with Hornady's 6 mm V-Max's, but the .22's expand violently. They make a 75 gr and an 87 gr, you might want to try both to see which works best for you. Sierra says that their hollow points are "harder" than their soft points which seems sort of backwards to me, but they're the bullet makers. If anything will expand on a lightly built animal they will, and should avoid ricochets.
 
I shoot a lot of ground squirrels every year and by far the best bullet I have used is the 75 gr. VMAX. It shoots groups in the .2 to .3 range at 100 yards. I have not tried the 87 gr. VMAX but have heard that they do not shoot as well as the 75gr.
The accuracy is amazing and it will throw the California ground squirrel 4 or 5 feet in the air at 400 plus yards. These weight about a pound or so. The smaller Beldings ground squirrel from the alfalfa fields of Northern California and Nevada become dust and pieces. They are only about 10 inches long so you need a very accurate rifle and load to hit them at extended ranges.
Are you in the US?
 
Maurice S said:
Seeking some guidance. 6BR with Sierra 85gn HPBT just punches through rabbits, hares and crows as far out as a lasered 435yds. I need a projectile which will give me "explosive" hits, to avoid ricochets. My choices will probably be limited to Hornady or Sierra because of very restricted brand availablility.

Can anyone suggest the best choice in the 75 - 80gn range.

If this forum is not the most appropriate, please indicate any alternatives.

Thanks in advance

Maurice
Click to expand...

Maurice, there's two ways to look at this. ONE, softer projectiles, and TWO greater rotational energy. If your current rifle has say a 1 in 10 twist rate, going up to a one in 8 or even 1 in 7 will give you a bunch more rotation. This rotation translates to more pop.

As far as softer or more fragile projectiles, I agree that the VMax's explode easily. Another one to try would be the Berger MEF but the BC is lower. They'll drift more. Sinclair International ships overseas and could supply you with MEF's I'd think.



al
 
Thanks to all who replied.

Maurice, there's two ways to look at this. ONE, softer projectiles, and TWO greater rotational energy. If your current rifle has say a 1 in 10 twist rate, going up to a one in 8 or even 1 in 7 will give you a bunch more rotation. This rotation translates to more pop.

As far as softer or more fragile projectiles, I agree that the VMax's explode easily. Another one to try would be the Berger MEF but the BC is lower. They'll drift more. Sinclair International ships overseas and could supply you with MEF's I'd think.
Thanks alinwa. The twist is 1 in 8, & I cant stoke them up any more and the projectile choice in NZ is very restricted, so Vamx it will probably be.

squirrelduster, the squirrels have probably the same body mass as the rabbits we shoot, so red mist looks possible.

realm-aw
the 75 gr Hornady Vmax seems like the 6mm choice. I wished for a Sierra 70 gr Blitzking for Christmas but Santa Sierra did not make me one yet. It has been my experience that the Vmaxs are fine but the Blitzkings are finer.
Wind is a constant companion where I shoot, so the Sierra 80gn Blitz may have an advantage, but the farms are well stocked, so ricochet is a concern, but they may be just as effective as the Vmax. I guess I'll just have to find out. Fortunately there are plenty of targets.

Thanks again

Maurice
 
simple test

Maurice, I did a simple test on Vmax and blitzkings with my 223. Just filled a plastic pop bottle with water and set a piece of plywood behind the target to see what came through. Both fragmented into little bits. I shoot at praire dogs where there is livestock and homesites within a mile or two. It is good to know that the bullet is not intact and dangerous after impact. It is my opinion that far to many shooters fail to think in terms of a 3 mile danger zone for their bullets. I am looking forward to trying some of the Berger Varmint bullets, they are supposed to be worth the extra cost.
 
65 grn. V-Max in 6mm Br

Greyfox said:
Try the Hornady VMax. Explosive?......mmm, yep you could say that.

Rick
Click to expand...

I'll second the vote for Hornady V-Maxes. I shoot the 65 grn. V-Max in my 1:14" Hart barreled 40X @ 3450 ft/s. Deadly accurate on PA groundhogs. Haven't connected with any crows with this bullet yet!

I shoot crows with a .22-250 AI 1:8" Kreiger with 50 grn. Nosler Ballistic Tips @+4150 ft/s. All that one sees is a violent 'puff' of black and Mr. Corvid's former body mass has just become interstellar matter; not a foot, beak, or tissue. It just vaporizes them!

Lou Baccino
 
Last edited by a moderator:
realm-aw said:
the 75 gr Hornady Vmax seems like the 6mm choice. I wished for a Sierra 70 gr Blitzking for Christmas but Santa Sierra did not make me one yet. It has been my experience that the Vmaxs are fine but the Blitzkings are finer. I set up a little experiment shooting through plastic bottles of water and "catching" the fragments in some plywood backing. Both types exploded safely into tiny fragments in my 223. That test was only at 100 yards, you will get less energy on those 400+ yard crows. Nice shot mate!
Click to expand...


Sierra does make a 70gr Blitzking...have for a little while at least. Good shooting bullet. I shoot mostly Hornady 65gr V-max's. I keep a few of my old 6ppc barrels and brass and use them for varmits. The 65gr V-max's sounds like you hit them with a sledgehammer. I tested the original lot of these many years ago. The hornady rep gave them to me at the supershoot. I used to shoot the 70gr SXSP until these came available. I have a thousand or so of Watsons 65gr Short jackets that he made me with a larger hole for varmits. Very accurate, very deadly. I wish I could find another custom bullet maker that would back the point die out a little and make them. Since Bart has Ed's dies......wish he would.

Hovis
 
I use the 75 VMAX in my .243 and the 65 VMAX in my 6BR. Very accurate and I've never had a prairie dog walk away after being hit.
 
corrected

Hovis, I stand corrected it must be my 6.5x284 that I want Blitzkings for!
 
Maurice -
Can you give us a little education on the gun laws down there?
Why can you only buy specific bullets?
Thanks,
Steve
 
Varmint Grenades

I shoot 62s out of my 6BR. I don't thnk their quite as accurate as VMAXs, but their terminal performance is stellar. Major league splat factor on PDs and Ground Squirrels. No exit wounds on Groundhogs, but instant death.
I've had excellent results with Blitzkings also, just not as frangible.
 
I'm going to try some........

70 Blitzkings in a 6MM before I pull the barrel. Sierra also makes an 80gr. spitzer boat-tail "Blitz" that ought to give you fabulous performance. I long longed for an 80grnr that had the same performance on varmints as the Sierra 85bthp, but w/more speed(never had the problems of punching thru, but never shot any rabbits w/it), I have quite a few 85s, but maybe they've changed the bullet since I got these. Anyway I got a few boxes of 70bks & 80Bs & am looking forward to trying them out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top