Your thoughts on a good/accurate .224 55 grain bullet for the price.

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FROGO207

FROGO207

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I find it is time to replenish my 55 grain .224 bullet supply and want to get something hunting accurate (for my Mini 14's mainly) that is reasonable in cost while being somewhat accurate. Asking a lot there I know.:D So of the soft point bullets in 55 grain offerings I have had best luck with are the Hornaday bulk (zip-loc 55 gr w/cannalure) from Natchez Shooters Supplies @ $8.29 a hundred + S&H or you have to buy 6K rounds for the better deal. I only need a couple K for now as I am going to buy some heavier bullets for my new AR soon as well. Anyone find a better deal or a different bullet that is for hunting (I like SP for some reason) and NOT an FMJ at a better price that is as accurate in their rifle. I have tried the Winchester and Remington extensively with not so good results for nearly the same price. I am open to trying something different if they MIGHT be a better bullet. Thanks in advance.:thumbup:
 
I've had pretty good luck with mixed lots from American Reloading (https://americanreloading.com/en/). Sure, you have to sort out the different weights for yourself, but if you don't mind doing that, they often offer very attractive prices (currently 15% off site-wide).
 
How accurate do you want them?

For the price, the Nosler 55gr Varmegeddon are the best price at ~$13/1000.
I'd go with the 55gr MidSouth Varmint Nightmare soft point.. They reportedly are made by Nosler. Also about $13/1000.

Hornady 55with a cannelure often won't go under 1" for me. Last lot I got was about 2". Quit using them. The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the taste of a sweet deal.
 
FROGO207 said:
that is reasonable in cost while being somewhat accurate.
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I missed the "somewhat accurate" the first time, so I will echo what GooseGestapo said, how accurate do you mean?

Over the last couple of years I have caught some very good bullets, (Speer, Hornday etc, HP, SPs and plastic tipped bullets at 10 to 12 cents each, and 13 cents is good as well.

In the last few months or longer the Hornady 55 Gr FMJ has been very reasonably priced at times, and it's the best FMJ I have tried.
 
Thanks guys. I figured if I was hunting I would stay away from the FMJ as they usually are not as accurate and do not expand even though less money.
Yeah those Hornaday 55 JSP I have had good luck with are on sale at Natchez now. They were accurate out to 300 yards for what I wanted them to do.
 
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What are you hunting, varmints or medium game?

I really like the hornady 55gr sp but they are a varmint bullet. They come unglued and blow up when shot into water jugs.
 
A few guys have mentioned Hornady 55gr SPs. Good all around bullet. About 7-8 cents each. MOA accurate generally. Pretty tough to beat.
 
I've actually had the best accuracy @100 yards with the Hornady 55SP, slightly better than the 68 or 75 bthp. I can buy them at the local gun shows for 8.5 cents each. There are three flavors, The regular SP with and without cannelure, and the SPSX (super explosive).
 
Damon555 said:
A good compromise between accuracy and cost is the Hornady Vmax.....They are not really all that expensive and can be very accurate. Actually, I've never owned a rifle that wouldn't shoot V-max's well.....Yeah they're a little more expensive than the bargain bullets but they will more than make up for it with accuracy.
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I love the 53gr Vmax with a heavy charge of CFE223. Very accurate. But FMJBTs or SPs at 7-8 cents each is more than enough for out to 2-300 yards.
 
Right now Cabela's has 500 Hornady Z max for about $50-55. Same bullet as the v max per Hornady. 50-55gr.

Varmegeddon HP are very accurate for me too and priced good when on sale.
 
I've had such excellent results with the Nosler Ballistic tips that I don't mind paying a little more. I use the 40 grain in my 22 Hornet and the 50 and 55 in my 223's. Been using them for about 20 years now.
 
Silly me, I was looking at the V-Max. Thanks.

Back when they first came out the 55 gr Z-Max was significantly cheaper than the V-Max, so that is what I bought (2K) Still have a few left. Some more wouldn't hurt.
 
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Do V-Max and Z-Max worth the extra over Hornady 55 gr FMJBT at range <100 yds? I have plenty MidSouth Hornady 62gr HPBTs and they shoot 1 hole at 50yds in my Savage 12FV, ordered some Cabelas Hornady 55 gr FMJs and wonder if the V/Z-Maxs worth it. I also reload Wolf Gold 55gr FMJs, it is decent, almost 1 hole! Ordered Hornady 55 gr FMJs to see if it is better than Wolf!
 
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