.224 lead free?

7

7887mm08

Member
Have 3 different 22 caliber centerfire rifles that i will soon be forced to use lead free bullets for hunting. 222, 22-250, 220 swift.
All are 14 twist. Hunt fox and coyotes out to maybe 250 yds.
What do you recommend?
Thanks
 
Not sure the 14 twist will stabilize the 50 grain Barnes varmint grenade, but if they will stabilize that would be my choice of bullets produced by the major manufacturers. I have killed several coyotes with the Hornady NTX and some with the Nosler Lead Free. Both of them get the job done, but I did have several that ran a ways with shots to the heart/lung area. Seems like the bullets don't deliver the "shock" or energy dump that the heavier lead core bullets do, IMO.

That being said, there are some of the smaller bullets makers that are making lead free mono-metal bullets that have very good reputations for on game performance. I have no expereince with them, but Hammer and Cutting Edge are two that come to mind. They might make something that would be short enough to stabilize in your 14 twists.
 
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We use 50 grain Barnes varmint grenades in our 223/and 222 all the time and there 1/14. Shoot them as fast as you can and pay attention to their recommendation on set back from the lands.
 
I'm hoping "derbyacresbob" chimes in, he's out in a lead-free state and if I remember he is using the 36gr VG for predators. You might want to PM him.
 
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I have a load worked up using Barnes 36 gr Varmint Grenades for my 220 Swift 1:14 twist using AA2700. It is a screamer and accurate. I like the bullet and performance but in the winter we get a lot of wind up here so it is not my #1 go to bullet just for that reason. Having said that, it is a very solid performer and the coyotes in my avatar were both taken with that bullet.

I also use it in my .222 Rem with very good results and accuracy as well.

I have not tried the Barnes 50 gr because my go to bullet for the Swift is the Sierra 55 gr HPBT (#1390). I just love that bullet.
 
My dad loaded Nosler 50gr LF bullets for three different 22-250's.
A Savage, Winchester, and Remington. All were factory barreled rifles and they shot really well for him in those guns. I'm nearly certain he used 4895 but if it wasn't 4895 it was H380.
 
Unfortunately the left has used this false narrative(lead projectile poisoning) as a means to an end, stopping hunting and gun ownership. Vote them out, lead bullet bans are only the start.
 
I have a little experience with lead frees in a 1:9 223 Rem. (I now use 6mm because I built a predator AR in 6mmDTI).

The 35gr NTX and NBT shoot amazing and are very fast. You may find you need to treat it like a 17Rem- selective shot placement and angles. The 35 NTX performs very similar to a 223 Rem 40gr Vmax on ground squirrels. You may have penetration trouble if you're the type to spray n pray mag dump at running coyotes.

50gr NBT works great.

You'll be successful with pretty much any reasonable hunting bullet. Shot placement is probably way more important than the bullet in a 223.

*Most of these varmint type lead free bullets have been out of production for sometimes years due to covid.

45gr TSX works awesome, full penetration, small entry/exit, hits with authority. Has always been difficult to find in stock due to small production runs.

50gr TTSX is good.

But if I was going to fork out that much money for TTSX, I'd probably just go all the way and use Hammer bullets for just a little more $. Hammers shoot extremely well and are always in stock.
 
From what I have seen the Hornady Lead Free 35 gr NTX bullets outperforms the Barnes 36 gr Varmint Grenades. I have seen at least 15 coyotes shot with Hornady 35 gr NTX bullets and none of them ran off.

The Barnes Varmint grenades in 22 cal and 243 cal don't expand as good as lead varmint bullets do.

In my 243 Win I get more exit holes shooting 62 gr Varmint Grenades than I got with 75 gr V-Max bullets.
 


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