223 gopher bullet

W

Whiskers

New member
I ordered a .223 last week, hopefully it will come in a few days. My scope came yesterday. Anyhoo, when I get my rifle I want to get a few boxes of bullets to sight in with and to wreak havoc on gophers.

What brand of bullets has made the most carnage on varmints for you?

I am not looking for 1/2 MOA so dont worry about accuracy. I wont be shooting past 150 yards.

I dont reload so thats out of the question.

-Jerrett
 
Since you don't reload, that's a tough one...

I've had good results in accuracy and effect using the cheap Federal bulk pack 50gr hollow points that are usually carried at some Walmarts for about $55 per 200.. This is not the American Eagle stuff, but comes in a Blue & Black bulk pack box with 10 smaller white boxes of 20 each.

Finding it is pretty spotty as not all Walmarts carry it. I have a buddy that travels to Denver on a regular basis and he used to pick it up for me. A local Super store about 25 miles away is now stocking it if I need some high volume fodder.

The price is right compared to even the cost of reloading, and as I said, in a couple of my ARs, it's pretty accurate in most barrel twist rates, except the 1/7s.

I've used it in a couple of local competitions for shooting out to 200yds with good scores and popped PDs at 300+.

When I started reloading, I found it had crimped primers, so that adds an extra step, but the brass is good for several reloads.
 
Don't reload? Then BlackHills loaded with V-Max bullets, either 40, or 50 grain would be the best bet. They are getting harder & harder to find due to the military getting first choice, but that would be the best factory load, IMHO.
 
Ok. When I go to pick up my rifle I will pick up a box of Winchester White Box 45 gr. and a Federal Blue and Black box 50 gr. I believe the Federal will shoot better because of the heavier bullet (1-9 twist) but might be able to find 50 or 60 grain Winchesters.

Have any of you tried Ultramax?

I wanna see which one will shoot best out of my rifle and which has the most expansion.

The last time I was at the gunshop Black Hills Ammo was $1.50 over the rest.
 
My win stealth is a 9" twist 26"barrell and it loves the winchester 45gr white box jhp bullets. I ran them through my chrono and they do not fly the 3600fps that they claim. They averaged around 3300 fps. Great ammo but would be nice if they gave the correct speed a little misleading.

Love the ammo skulled a tweety at 150yards this weekend.


kyle
 
Quote:
I ordered a .223 last week, hopefully it will come in a few days. My scope came yesterday. Anyhoo, when I get my rifle I want to get a few boxes of bullets to sight in with and to wreak havoc on gophers.

What brand of bullets has made the most carnage on varmints for you?

I am not looking for 1/2 MOA so dont worry about accuracy. I wont be shooting past 150 yards.

I dont reload so thats out of the question.

-Jerrett



Depends on the rifle and twist rate ???
 
How would that matter in expansion? The rifle I am getting is 1-9 twist so it should shoot heavier bullets better but I am not looking for 1/2 MOA accuracy. I just need something that will blow up gophers and cheap price so I can shoot alot.
 
Quote:
How would that matter in expansion? The rifle I am getting is 1-9 twist so it should shoot heavier bullets better but I am not looking for 1/2 MOA accuracy. I just need something that will blow up gophers and cheap price so I can shoot alot.



OK, the two .223's listed below are spectacular with the Vmax 60 grns (both 1/9 twist). If you can find a factory load in them , I would certainly give them a try. Hope you find that perfect bullet.
 
Try the Federal American Eagle brand. But get the 50 grain hollow point. They are pretty accurate from most guns/actions and seem to impart energy well up to 200 yards. I have used them on ground hogs here in PA for 10 years.

Best regards,
chalmitch
 
I've used the white box Win 45 gr HP on groundhogs, and they had very "explosive" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif results. Haven't tried the Federals yet. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
Yes, I've shot the Ultramax 55 gr. soft points out of my DPMS with a 1:9 twist and they shoot great! They'll do some damage to PD's and gophers!! Cheap and shoot great -- you can't go wrong IMO. Good luck!
 
I like the 45 gr. White Box Winchesters as well for factory ammo. My AR and T/C Contender both love them. They are about $14 for 40 rds and shoot 3/4" or better in my rifles. They're so popular around here Walmart can't keep them on the shelf more than a day.
 
Vmax's of the 40-60 grain variety will do just the damage you are looking for. I went out this weekend and shot some rockchucks and for rockchucks 6-7 pounds or smaller the Vmax will darn near rip them in half if hit center mass. For squirell sized game all that will be left is little chunks.
 
Quote:
Vmax's of the 40-60 grain variety will do just the damage you are looking for. I went out this weekend and shot some rockchucks and for rockchucks 6-7 pounds or smaller the Vmax will darn near rip them in half if hit center mass. For squirell sized game all that will be left is little chunks.



You went without me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

CW, I'm headed for a scouting /small shoot in Wyoming Saturday , you interested ???
 


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