What about the Hornady Match bullets? Wonder if they would work better than the vmax ?

I've shot the factory loaded Hornady 52gr. BTHP Steel Match. Killed every coyote and bobcat I ever shot with them. They're good bullets.

I know that Les Johnson was shooting the Hornady 52 grain Match bullets on his later shows.

And with Kirsch shooting 52 grain Berger Match, I dedicated two of my guns to those, as I had a bunch on hand.

Those two guys stack a lot of coyotes, so I had no problem following either of their leads.

I’ve been shooting coyotes for 20+ years with 40 grain VMAX bullets out of my 22-250. I dump 35 grains of 3031 behind the 40 grain VMAX and through my 24” 700 I’m pushing them around 4000 fps in my 1 in 14” barrel. Off sand bags I get clover leaf groups out of that combo. I’ve killed coyotes that were close enough to pet and out to over 400 yards with 40 grain VMAX bullets. VMAX bullets work fine on coyotes. I’ve hit them all over their anatomy and if you hit them in the chest, shoulder or guts they go down. If you are worried about fir, I am not, glancing shots with the 40 grain will tear fur up. Solid hits into the trunk of the coyote will put them down right now and usually just leave just a .224 entrance wound. I’ve killed way too many with the 40 grain vmax to stay quiet about people saying they don’t work or they are not “ideal” for coyotes. Coyotes are not Buffalo or grizzly bears!

Careful now! There's some real Vmax haters around here. But those of us who know, know. This current PM moderator seems to think they work ok, and he stacks them up in piles regularly.


Vmax were cool before they became un-cool around here.

Vmax would be a horrible defensive bullet also, of course not what we plan to load for but there isnt a bullet that would do much worse in FBI tests.

It would be interesting to test them in serious winter clothes, I often wear Filson packer coat (two layers 24oz wool+huge shearling collar), wool sweater and merino wool undershirt,,,, love wool. Almost 3/4" of wool when all layers are squeezed together, more around the neck and shoulders+leather in the shearling, if someone is shooting at me I sure hope its vmaxs. I would bet a hard 22LR would penetrate as much as the remaining base of a vmax.

Vmax are cheap and everywhere, conspiracy to remove hard ammo? Ban green tips and dispersce ammo as soft as a fishing sinker?

Even I've got a few hundred extra 53 vmax laying around because they were all I could find for the last couple years. Every handloader should probably have some good Vmax recipes figured out for their gun but I regretted hunting with them.

Well it's advertised as a varmint bullet, so it's not intended to pass duty/defense barrier and penetration standards.

I will agree with Borkon, that I also like the 55gr Sierra SBT, #1365 I think it is. that was my main bullet in my 22-250 AI. and I use it in my 223 Kimber Montana. IMO 25-30 lb coyotes really are not that hard to kill if you can place your shot (at reasonable distances).

Good grief, Several of my friends have killed hundreds maybe thousands of coyotes with a 17 caliber and a 25gr bullet, I still hunt with a couple 17's though they have much higher numbers than I.

I don't disagree that V-Max will kill coyotes. I've killed a lot with em. But I've also wounded and seen more than one wounded with them. I lost one of the biggest badgers I ever shot shooting a 55 grain V-Max. Shot it in the butt at less than 100 yards and it got down the hole. Saw a mangey coyote take a 55 grain. V-Max directly to the shoulder at 80 yards a few months ago and it got up and ran off. The last time I seen it,it was still running at 500 yards. If shot placement is perfect they do fine. But I don't live in a perfect world. I need as much help as I can get.

I've killed coyotes with a .22mag,.17HMR and .17WSM too. It's all about shot placement. No doubt about that. And a lot of people don't shoot them while they're moving. I'm not one of those people. If I bark and they don't stop I kill 'em.

Exactly how I feel.

Well shot placement means a lot.

A long time ago, I shot a big male coyote in Northern MO with a 85gr HPBT out of my 243 at about 75 yards away. It acted like I missed it and it ran about 50 yrds before it expired. I put a golf ball sized hole in it a little farther back, about center of the coyote. So yea, again shot placement matters, but it definitely killed it.

Last I knew, varmint bullets like Vmax are made to blow little critters to pieces and lessen the chance of ricochet . They have always done this for me. Will they work for coyotes ? Yes. Will they fail ? Yes.

Velocity, RPM and shot placment are always a factor in bullet performance.

I did not start this thread but have a question:

I am seeing a lot of posts on here saying the Vmax is too frangible. I picked up a Howa 222 in their mini-action model. I have tried a few different bullets with disappointing accuracy, but the 50g Vmax is very accurate. Since the velocity out of my 222 is 500+ fps less than my 22-250 will the Vmax perform or will it likely still be too frangible even at 222 velocities???

Edit to add: I am running it at around 3100 fps and it would be used on coyote sized game with shots ranging from 50-200 yards.

My choice is Hornady 55gr. Vmax pushed along at 3240 fps out of my CZ527, not chronographed but definitely in that Hornady advertised velocity. I have taken many coyotes and many hogs with this round with very satisfied results. Frangible, yes, but designed to be so. I once shot a coyote going straight away and the impact was direct in his "bullseye" and he was one of the very few runners. Went about 40-50 yds and laid down. Internal inspection found multiple pieces of metal all the way up to his liver area.
There are several videos using ballistic gel showing what speed coupled with a frangible bullet will do. Very interesting!

Cal Coyote,
Why don't you try it and find out if you like it. Some do like it.