Heavy 22cal bullets for Prairie Dogs

J

jasonprox700

Member
I'm starting to put together some loads for my 22-250 AI. I'm looking at doing some heavy weights (77-80) for longer range prairie dogs. I'm looking for something that will still open violently like my Vmax's. Does such a beast exist?

I have a handful of 77gr Nosler Custom Competitions I'd like to try. From what I've read, they should come apart pretty quickly on game.
 
For P Dogs what difference would it make? I mean if that's all your using them for. I use them out of my 223 7 twst on coyotes with no issues.
 
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Sierra has a 69 gr tipped matchking. I just don't think there will be anything violent at 500 yards out of a 22-250 heavy. Will be more like a 223 at 250 yards. The tipped match should open up.
 
I have a good buddy that shoots Hornady 75gr Amax out of his 22-250 with Superformance powder.

Those 77gr CC's are for being loaded to mag length in an AR, for the 300 yard prone event in a high power match.
 
Curious as what the trajectory and velocity of a 77-80 grain bullet from a 22-250AI is at say 500 yards. I don't see much if any violent expansion. Like I said....curious??
 
The new 75gr Hornady ELD-M has a very impressive BC for a 75gr bullet. If your 22-250AI has an 8tw barrel, and you are looking for a tipped heavy for caliber bullet to shoot, that would probably be my first choice. I'm shooting the new 80gr ELD-M from a 22-243 improved and they shoot very well.

The Nosler CC bullets tend to be a pretty tough bullet so even though they generally shoot well, I think they'll likely just kind of pencil straight through a PD.

Velocity usually helps bullets with the rapid expansion you're looking for so in a 22-250AI I'm not sure I'd look at bullets much over 75gr if you are wanting splat factor. With the right powder and barrel length, 3400-3450++ from a 75 grainer shouldn't be out of the question.
 
69g tipped Sierra will be your best bet. You need velocity to get rapid expansion.

It would be prudent to carry 50-100 of several types of bullets, become your own expert.

In a 12T barrel, I would shoot the 60g tipped match kings at 3700 out of the 22/250 AI.
 
I shot some prairie dogs earlier this summer with my 22-243 with 75g amax @ 3500. I was shooting them around 350-375 and I wasn’t that impressed with the explosiveness they did. Lots of the prairie dogs just tipped over layer there kicking some even tipped over kicked the got up and crawled off to there hole wasn’t very impressed. I would think a 6mm with the 70g plus or 87vmax would be a better long range varmint round. I might do a 243ai or 6x47 or something like that.
 
I have killed prairie dogs as far as 705 yards with a 50 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip out of my .223 AI. Certainly no toss at that range and other than the fact they were dead there was no visible damage to them. The bullet was pretty much tuckered out at that range but it still put their lights out.
 
Yea, you have to use those little VMax or Blitzking to get explosive. I use 69's once at 100/200 yards and they just passed through.
 
If you hit a prairie dog at extended ranges with bullets not intended for that job, alot of them you won't know if you hit them or not. If you don't get the spine/brain, their heading down the hole wounded. Some you won't even know you hit unless you have someone spotting for you. No reason not to use a good expanding bullet, there's a bunch available that are accurate at extended ranges, no matter what twist rate you have
 
I've shot a lot of pdogs with quite a few different heavy bullets in my 22 creedmoor at 500yds+ and can say I've never found a bullet that will splatter them. Too much mass there, I think. Splatters stop happening at around 60gr.

They key to splatter is fast twist, light jackets, and high velocity.
 
Originally Posted By: orkanI've shot a lot of pdogs with quite a few different heavy bullets in my 22 creedmoor at 500yds+ and can say I've never found a bullet that will splatter them. Too much mass there, I think. Splatters stop happening at around 60gr.

They key to splatter is fast twist, light jackets, and high velocity.

how fast is a heavy 22 bullet shot from a 22 cm going at 500yd+?
 
At 500yds, an 80gr berger will be doing about 2500fps.

A 52gr SMK at 4100 launch velocity is only doing 2050fps or so, at that same distance.
 
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