"Stockpile" ammo. Varmint Nightmare bullets?

G

goose_boy

New member
Hey guys. I am going to be laid off for a couple months this winter, and I'm going to utilize that time to get back to my reloading bench for the first time since I moved over 2 years ago. So my goal is to build a stockpile of general use .223 ammo. Acceptable for hunting coyotes, range use etc. probably not very hot so they could be run in virtually any rifle. I've been running different Vmax bullets and played with some different sierras for accuracy and hunting, but I want to go with a more budget option here as accuracy is not top priority.

The midsouth varmint nightmare 55gr soft point bullets really have me thinking. Solid enough but enough expansion, also should feed in an AR better than a hollow point. I'm wanting to use a ball powder to throw accurately and quickly. Anyone have a recipe for this bullet and say, w748 or TAC or any other ball powder that might do what I want? Thanks guys.
 
I used that bullet for years as a Hornady product with great accuracy and performance. Now that they can be had in bulk from Midsouth, they are an even better choice.

My load is 26.0 of TAC and a CCI 450 primer. It shoots well in several guns.
 
If you have the powder, try 25.5gr of H-335 with the 55gr bullet...Not hot, but you might want to drop down a few tenths of a grain to be on the safe side and work up...
 
be warned that doing load developement stuff in the cold months isnt always advisable.

what is a safe load in winter temps may be above max and heading into unsafe in the height of summer.


the only way to know 100% sure what works safely in your rifle is to do a proper load developement shoot.
 
Quote:be warned that doing load developement stuff in the cold months isnt always advisable.....If planning on shooting it during warm months...+100

I use W-748 and TAC almost exclusively for my .223s and have found that if kept at a reasonably consistent temperature, it's very stable..We do pack our ammo in styrofoam ice chests when heading west for a Prairie Dog shoot, as those days heat up pretty quickly..

I used to spend the winter months prepping brass to the point of being primed, but didn't charge the cases or seat the bullets until a couple of weeks before intended use...
 
Originally Posted By: OldTurtle

I used to spend the winter months prepping brass to the point of being primed, but didn't charge the cases or seat the bullets until a couple of weeks before intended use...

this is exactly what i do.

i spend the winter prepping brass for primer/powder/bullet or even just powder/bullet, and unless i already have a proven load, wait till warm weather to load them up and head out for testing.

occassionally i'll prep load developement ladders ahead of time and let them sit on the bench in boxes too. depends on how frisky i feel heh!
 
Load development with these ball powders is very important to me. I'm hoping to get to the range on a remaining 60 degree afternoon and do that, if we have another. Should be warm enough, I don't intend these rounds for dogtowns or anything like that. More of a general purpose SHTF stock, worst case scenario..... Hillary gets elected and there's no ammo for a year again lol. I can keep getting some trigger time and have a decent yote round. Think I will try a few loads with w748 and see what I come up with, also have some TAC to play with. If that doesn't get me anything maybe I'll pick up some 335. Thanks fellas appreciate the input.
 
Its my understanding that ball powders are really bad with temp swings. Why not use stick powder? H4895,reloader 15, imr 4166.varget. I always try to use stick powders because of the ball powder fear of over pressures. Just a thought.
 
my go to load for many, many years with win 748:

26.5g with a 55g bullet, and the Hornady soft point 55 is a very, very accurate bullet, I use a thick cup primer, cci 41 if you can find them, otherwise a Rem 7 1/2

50g bullet load is 27.5g and these are in 9-14 twist 223 rifles with Rem, Win, Fed brass. These are not max loads in my rifles.
 
Originally Posted By: Plant.OneOriginally Posted By: OldTurtle

I used to spend the winter months prepping brass to the point of being primed, but didn't charge the cases or seat the bullets until a couple of weeks before intended use...

this is exactly what i do.

i spend the winter prepping brass for primer/powder/bullet or even just powder/bullet, and unless i already have a proven load, wait till warm weather to load them up and head out for testing.

occassionally i'll prep load developement ladders ahead of time and let them sit on the bench in boxes too. depends on how frisky i feel heh!

I do the same as you guys too. I get it all ready, but don't actually load until i am ready to shoot. (to many times have i see others say they are pulling bullets)
Why use the components until you are ready.

I also don't understand loading anything but the best you can. I can buy piles of cheap blow off ammo, but that isn't something I would want to use hunting.
 
I'd love to be able to hit the loading bench whenever I need some ammo, but that's not a reality for me. I have several proven recipes for my rifles that I can duplicate when I want, I already have the brass prepped. Truth is I'm very busy anymore, between chasing a 3 year old around, working from before sunrise to after sunset, and maintaining/working on my home, I just don't have a lot of free time. When I do have free time I'd like to use it shooting the ammo, not making it lol. As far as cheaply bought blasting ammo... I have some connections so my .223 brass is free. These will be blaster rounds indeed so they will not get my LC brass, those will be saved for the good stuff. And cheaply bought blasting ammo is both subjective and not what I'm after. Cheaply bought, best I've seen is 350, maybe 325 a thousand for fmj stuff that is going to be mediocre at best accuracy and only suited to killing paper. On the other hand with free brass and 1k soft point bullets for 90 bucks, I could probably load 1k rounds that I hope to better that bulk fmj stuff on accuracy, and have a bullet capable of performing on game for maybe 250 a thousand.

I would like to go with ball powder on these as I will not be pushing them hot, so my pressures should not be high to begin with. More so I would like to use a powder throw for these to quickly charge my cases, and stick powder just does not meter accurately in my throw despite my best efforts. I have used quite a bit of 8208 XBR, and even though it is a shorter stick powder it doesn't meter as accurately as I'd like. Maybe Santa will bring me a charge master and this post will be obsolete lol.

Thanks for the opinions guys, appreciate it.
 
I shoot thousands of the midsouth varmint nightmare bullets and really like them for 250-300 yard shots. They are exposive in my experience. A good value for the money. I also use the V-max and the 55 Varagedon which has the best BC of any 55 gr 22 cal bullet for the longer shots. I'm with Oldturtle, I lke to work up my brass preped, sized and primed ready to drop powder & seat bullet just days before they get used. Cold weld is the concern. My two favorite powders for my 223's are BlueDot and H322. I've shot as many as 100 rounds in 35 minutes in a thick dog town.
 
I have ball powders(w748 & TAC), but for my SHTF ammo, I load Varget. It is temp stable, and seems to grow old well. It meters well enough in my Hornady Progressive(Hornady LNL powder measure). I have a powder check die, and if that shows a deviation, like a powder bridge, etc., I pull the case, measure the charge and fix it if need be. But my sample checking of charges show +/- .1 grain range, and since I am down a couple of tenths of a grain, from published max, I have never had an issue with pressure. And accuracy seems to run about 1-1.5 MOA with Hornady 55 gr. SP W/C bullets, I buy in bulk.

We are probably thinking similarly. I want my ammo stockpile to be usable for fun target, hunting, and self defense purposes. So for 223 and 308, I load inexpensive soft point bullets, over temperature stable powder, and store in a cool dry place. When someone wants to shoot a SHTF rifle, like a LR-308, M1A, or an AR-15, I haul out the SHTF ammo, and we "rotate the stock".
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Like I said, accuracy is good enough for most hunting situations. I probably wouldn't take a can of it to the P-dog fields, but wouldn't think twice about shooting coon sized varmints, or coyote sized predators, with this ammo. Deer will definitely have a bad day, if one of the .308 cal 150 gr. Hornady SPs, are headed their way.

Squeeze
 
Squeeze, thanks for the input. Perhaps running the more stable stick powder would be better long term. I already have a good load with 55gr Vmax and 8208 XBR... Maybe I will just work that back up with the varmint nightmares and see what I end up with.... And ask for a chargemaster for Christmas lol.
 
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