Most destructive bullet

AustinL911

New member
I'm sure this has been covered before, but the search function didn't turn up anything.

I'm building a 16" bull barreld AR whose sole purpose will be destroying jackrabbits and the occasional coyote on my upcoming hunting trip to New Mexico.

My goal is to load it up with some extremely light, and extremely fast varmint bullets. I've got some 36gr. Barnes Varmint Grenades, 40gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips, and some 40gr. Hornady V-Maxs. I'm only familiar with the V-Maxs since that's what I used (50gr.) in my .22-250 on last years trip. I was extremely pleased with the explosive results they produced. My father swears by the NBTs but I've never used them. And of course you've got the BVGs whose name pretty much begs you to try them out.

So, being that this board is loaded full of varmint hunters, I figure you guys would know better than anyone else. Which bullet wins the 'Most Explosive' category?

Also, I'm thinking about using RamShot TAC in both my 16" AR and my 26" .22-250, aiming for the most velocity possible. Shots will likely stay
 
TAC is good, I'd be up in the 50-55 grn though. Do you want to anchor that coyote? A very light & highly frangible bullet may not be enough at times with shots offered while hunting. IMHO
 
I loaded up some 40gr nosler BT useing benchmark and they were impressive. The coyote i shot with them was at 100yrds +or- a few yards and it blew one [beeep] of a hole threw the coyote. Massive hole on exit side. friend of mine shot a rabbit the same day with the same load it was not very far but it blew it into the fence and destroyed it. If your going to shoot coyotes as well i would go with the noslers they are a little tougher then the v-max. The 40 gr bullet is a nasty little bugger.
 
Earlier this year I shot a 35 lb coyote @ 240-250yds with 55gr V-Max (factory Hornady load) with my .22-250. No exit wound, but it dropped the coyote instantly. I didn't examine the wound well enough to tell if it hit bone, if it penetrated the bone, or if it was all soft tissue. It was a direct side shot just behind the shoulder, so I don't think it hit the really big bones. My concern would be how well the bullet penetrates at longer ranges, once it begins to really lose velocity.
 
I like the 55 grain Hornady V-Max bullets also. I had read some pros and cos on this round and some dislike it because of it fragments too much. I called the Hornady people and they told me that they designed this bullet to preform this way because small varmits have thin skins and unlike shooting a hog, deer or any big game this round is designed to drop varmits in their tracks. I have a friend who has been reloading for over 25 years to load me some 22-250 rounds. I use Remington brass, Nosler 55gr. Ballistic Tip, IMR 4350 powder and CCI large rifle primers. He loaded me 5 round with different grams of powder and marked them in lots. One lot shot well, about 2 inches at 150 yards. Two other lots had 2 1/2 inches at 150 yds. But one lot, Lot #37 grouped five rounds that could be covered with a nickle at 150 yds. So this is the load that I use. If you have someone who can load you lots of 5 rounds then you can go out and find out which one is best for you and your rifle.
 
Originally Posted By: John Brent RoyIf you have someone who can load you lots of 5 rounds then you can go out and find out which one is best for you and your rifle.

Well, I can do that myself. I'm just curious as to whats the most explosive on the thin-skinned guys.

And to the guy who asked earlier, the barrel is an Oly Arms UltraMatch 16" bull barrel w/a 1:10 twist. It's the slowest twist I could find in a 16" bull, so hopefully it'll work with these light of bullets. I'm told that the BVGs are quite long for their weight, because they're lead-free, so they should stablize just fine. The NBTs and V-Maxs, I'm not so sure about. We'll see. I'm gonna load up all 3 and see what works the best.
 
The v-max is a great varmint bullet and usually cheaper than the others mentioned. Wish I had pics but it destroys possums, coons and armadillos.
 
Another good Hornady product, though not as flashy as the red plastic tipped V-Max, is their SPSX. It might be even more self-destructive than the V-Max. I've found them to be very accurate out of my 22-250, and while some say you can't push them fast out of a fast twist barrel, they'd be worth a try.
 
Originally Posted By: podunkcowboy The v-max is a great varmint bullet and usually cheaper than the others mentioned. Wish I had pics but it destroys possums, coons and armadillos.

I've got some nasty pics of what a 55gr V-Max will do to a Jack Rabbit.
lol.gif


Yeesh.
 
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