Varmint bullet didnt open
- Thread starter Axis II
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That is my thought. While I do not want an animal to suffer, I see no need to blow them to bits. Been using cast bullets for many decades. I can alter the alloy for the expansion I want. Most times I am quite happy with little or no expansion.
Kevin
Chuck R.
Member
Reminds me of a quote I once read from a bullet manufacture when one of their bullets was recovered on the deer's 'offside' rather than full penetration. The technician wrote something to the effect of: "At what point during the animal's demise did our bullet fail?"
I've had great luck with the 55 grn BTs at about the same MV as the OPs, but my shots were muskrats and beavers at about 100 yds and coyotes out to 300. Maybe he's gotten a bad lot, or I've been lucky.
Try RL10x, AA2015 or Hogden 3031. Those powders won't give blinding velocity for they make my Varmageddons accurate.
kwg
I don't need to have violent expansion or blow them to bits but woodchucks are very strong and persevering critters and at least one I shot in the body made it 3-4ft. I shot him in a tuft of grass and found him 3-4 ft away from that tuft of grass. I don't like stuff suffering and that's why I spend the $ on varmint bullets. I have been told shoot them with a 22lr or FMJ, why waste the money?
I've used several kinds of varmint .223 bullets and its hard to complain about Sierra 50 to 55 grain varmint bullets. They're consistently accurate and haven't failed me. Hornadys use a flatter ogive and may not shoot as well in long-throated, or worn barrels. Speer bullets have been very consistent, but I tend to use more Sierras.
You're using a varmint bullet in a rifle caliber that's meant for 20 lb. critters at 200 yards. If you were hunting Maine whitetails with that rifle, it would only be good for about 200 yards max. Not a great cartridge for that distance on deer.
Tell that to the 2 dead doe. For the record, They were very small animals taken on a DNR block permit. If I was hunting, I would have been limited to a 12GA, but these animals were considered vermin, pest.
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I hunted deer with a .22-250 for several years and considered it only good for 200 yards with good lung shots, using 55 grain Nosler Zipedo bullets that had solid gilding metal bases. I shot a couple of Maine deer with them and wasn't impressed, so switched to .30-06 and didn't change until we got opportunities at 400 yards and switched to the .270 Win, which is a great deer round out to 400 yds. or more.
GooseGestapo
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Shot placement!!!
Hit bone, get explosive expansion. Miss bone, there’s not much in a woodchucks neck to get massive expansion. Nick a vertebrae, and he’s very dead, but bullet doesn’t hit something substantial enough to generate expansion.
I got similar performance from a CCI Minimag on the last one I shot. Similar shot placement.
In 1993 I went hunting with my two brothers and nephew in Montana. I had a batch of bad Hornady 117’s with my .257Roberts. 7 shots at mule deer, zero hits. Easy 150-200yd shots. Checked at 250yds, zero hits on target. I’d taken 100rds of 85gr Nosler B.T.’s for a planned P.Dog shoot. Fired 3rds on same target, 1.5” cluster at point of aim. Next day, I dropped a 200+lb muley doe at paced 378yds. Dropped to a spine hit. 3” exit wound. Two days later, shot over 60 p-dogs with remaining 96...
The 55gr BT is wildly popular for shooting deer in W. Ga and E. Ala. They’re a surprisingly tough bullet. (IMO, it’s the heavy solid base).
Hit bone, get explosive expansion. Miss bone, there’s not much in a woodchucks neck to get massive expansion. Nick a vertebrae, and he’s very dead, but bullet doesn’t hit something substantial enough to generate expansion.
I got similar performance from a CCI Minimag on the last one I shot. Similar shot placement.
In 1993 I went hunting with my two brothers and nephew in Montana. I had a batch of bad Hornady 117’s with my .257Roberts. 7 shots at mule deer, zero hits. Easy 150-200yd shots. Checked at 250yds, zero hits on target. I’d taken 100rds of 85gr Nosler B.T.’s for a planned P.Dog shoot. Fired 3rds on same target, 1.5” cluster at point of aim. Next day, I dropped a 200+lb muley doe at paced 378yds. Dropped to a spine hit. 3” exit wound. Two days later, shot over 60 p-dogs with remaining 96...
The 55gr BT is wildly popular for shooting deer in W. Ga and E. Ala. They’re a surprisingly tough bullet. (IMO, it’s the heavy solid base).
When we started shooting chucks around 1959, we did so for practice with our hunting rifles, which were .30-06s. We used 125 grain Sierras that shot really well, but I only had a Weaver 2.5X and my buddie had a 4X Weaver. We could still group about 1" at 100 yards and if we weren't sure about the distance aimed a bit low and bounced the round into a chuck. When we got 22-250s there was no more "bouncing them in."
We also didn't have range finders, so if we missed, we tried getting closer because we often couldn't see where most missed shots went.
We also didn't have range finders, so if we missed, we tried getting closer because we often couldn't see where most missed shots went.
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