Hornady 40gr. V-Max

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flyrodder

New member
I use Sierra 52gr. BTHP and Hornady 52gr. BTHP bullets for my coyote loads in my .223. I was wanting to try some 40gr. V-Max on coyote but I am concerned about the bullet being to light and exploding on the skin with little penetration. What about bullet impact not directly on the lungs? Maybe a frontal shot. Would the V-max penetrate through the front chest into the lungs?
What is your experience with this bullet on coyote?
Flyrodder
 
I shoot these 40 V-MAX's in my 222 rem at about 3,300 fps and they are one of the most accurate bullets I have ever worked with. I've never had a problem with their terminal performance in the field either! At 223 speeds, well - go for it. (I'm assuming you have a 1 in 12 twist rifle, because I'm not sure how good they would do in anything tighter than that. My 222 is a 1 in 14.) Good luck.
 
I have used the 40's in a 1/8 twist Tikka with great results. I too found the Nosler to be better on Coyotes, while the VMax shined with arial displays on Ground squirrels.
 
Originally Posted By: Jack RobertsIf you can slip it in between bones it will be great. If you hit bones on the way in, that could be a problem.Jack

That is my concern.

dmpowder said:
I was getting a lot more splash with V-max.
dmpowder said:
Ditto.

sbranden: It is a 1/8 but I get less than moa with the 40gr.V-max.

orneryolfart357: Seems like the experience you three had with the 40gr. V-max on coyote is what I was concerned about. I think I may try it on broad side shots only until I get a feel for it.
Thanks for the replies.
Flyrodder
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Ive used the 55 gr in 223 and had bad results with splash i wont shoot them anymore i have used the 50gr in 22-250 and have killed a few with them but just dont trust them. I switched to noslers ballistic tips ive only killed one so far at 300yrds and it left a nickel size hole when it exited im still yet not impressed with them not enough dead stuff to realy know the one i did kill went straight down but there wasnt much blood. I think the Vmaxs are better for small stuff like praire dogs and ground hogs.
 
No one ever talks about the 40g Speer Spire point, great yote bullet. It is a high velocity bullet, and you can seat it out in the case and touch the lands in many cases.
 
Tried the 55gr v-maxes in the 223 and 40gr and 32gr v-maxes in the 20pr. With the 55gr I did not like the way they copper fouled the barrels and they didn't group that great. So I switched to 55gr nblt in the 223 and went to 35gr bergers and and 26gr barnes in the 20pr. Have not shot anything with the 20 yet. All three group much better than the v-maxes ever did. My brother use to use them and was getting alot of spinners and splashes so he switched to 55gr nblt. The v-maxes are great for rodents but that's about it. JMO
 
Originally Posted By: Displayed Name Here's a small sample of some results

http://www.coyotecanada.ca/

Go under terminal ballistics. A very small sample but a sample none the less.


Thanks for all the replies. I liked the link info. Their % of drop right there is better than what I have with the 52gr. BTHP's. Most of my shots have a entry and exit hole and they run around a little. I have thought about shooting gal. jugs filled with water to see if the V-max bullet fragments remain in the bottom of the jug.
Flyrodder
 
55gr Nosler would be a better choice, The back of the bullet is a solid copper thick piece, it will trave across the body, even if the rest is blown up.
 
There are 3-4 Vmax haters here, specifically the 40gr Vmax, and they post their opinions in every single thread like this one. Others parrot what they read without any experience themselves.

Then there's the silent majority who read those posts and wonder what the problem is. The Vmax works great for me, am I the only guy who does not get those mysterious splash wounds on coyotes? No.

I don't care who you are or how long you've been hunting coyotes. If you have "lots" or "many" or "regular" splash wounds on coyotes then YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG and you need to work on your marksmanship. That's the way it is.

I use the 223 40gr Vmax with fantastic results almost every shot results in a coyote that is dead instantly before he hits the ground.
 
Dirty Dog.. your thoughts here are well taken. Although I saw no posts that revealed "Haters" of the 40 Vmax. I just loaded another 100 today. They just arent my favorite for Coyotes. As I have stated, I have never lost a Coyote from a V max, but have had better results with the Nosler. "Quote" I use the 223 40gr Vmax with fantastic results almost every shot results in a coyote that is dead instantly before he hits the ground. Its the "Almost" part that some may be trying to get rid of. No one is wrong in this post IMO. It depends upon what works best in your situation. Good Hunting.
 
"Almost" meant I had one coyote that fell immediately, spun about a half rotation, and then tumbled head over heels down a steep hillside he was on. That was a 120 yard front chest shot. Pin prick entry no exit. He didn't die "instantly" but he didn't last more than a second or two tops, not really sure since he rolled down the incline.

I have never had a runner, or a spinner, or a splash, or one that required a second shot.

I even hit front leg once on a shot quartering towards me pretty good at 75 yards. I passed on my preffered neck shot for this angle and aimed for his heart. The 40gr Vmax struck him directly in the front leg completely shattering the bone. It continued into the coyote's chest where it liquified the vitals. The coyote dropped instantly and did not even twitch. The very definition of "DRT".

I don't know what people are talking about when they say they have "splash" wounds... I've never seen one.
 
dirty- you'll know it when you see it. You have shot enough to know how things are supposed to look on an entry, a splash wound tends to look more like an exit than an entry in my opinion. Hope you never have one, it is pretty disappointing. I had one with a white box winchester 45 gr. hollow point on a coyote, and my brother had one on the one bobcat we have called in.At 30 yards the cat was quartering towards him a little and the 40 grain 204 v-max entry was about the size of ping pong ball. Killed several coyotes with both bullets mentioned, but both of us have decided to go with bullets that are constructed stouter. Seems like everyone has their favorites, and the bullet companies keeping coming out with new stuff, so I figure there is something for everyone. ObarO
 
I use the 40g vmax in my triple deuce at 3500fps on coyotes and I haven't lost a single one with it yet. Most are DRT, and the few that happened to run, didn't make it very far, less then 30 yards. Shot them from 10 yards out to 350, behind the shoulder and in the shoulder and never had a problem with them splashing at 222 velocities anyways. Most have exited even with a shoulder hit providing they weren't closer then about 100 yards. I think its the perfect bullet for it, good terminal performance and pretty flat shooting combo, and so far about 20 coyotes have hit the dirt from it with no complaints from me. They also shoot way better then the 40g NBT, usually in the .3s at 100 yards, for 3 shots off a bench from a factory sporter Rem 700 ADL. Its shot a few groups in the .0's and .1's as well with that 40g vmax and IMR4198, what a sweet little combo it is...
 
I don't hate the v-max, it was the first bullet I used in the tactical.20. It is very accurate, great on prairie dog type animals, but not on coyote. I saw a lot of crater hits on my coyotes, then blew the shoulder off a coyote at 200yds, that ran off into a low spot, didn't stop running. I then switched to the Berger 35 gr, no crater hits, no run offs, the Berger 40 gr hits harder than the 35 gr. I then tried the Nosler 40gr, even better on coyote.
I have experience with all 4 bullets, total coyotes shot nearing 200 on the 4 bullets, more than 50 with the v-max, which I will never use again.
 
40g bullet is the minimum I will use on a coyote, out of a low capacity case like the 222, dont need to worry about blow ups, dont happen very often unless there inside 100 yards and you hit on point of the shoulder.

Now I will not use the 40g vmax on coyotes out of a 22-250 or swift, it is just going to fast and that is like a bomb. Those leave splash wounds...However thats 500-700fps added velocity. I have used them out of those 2 cartridges with mixed results. Sometimes bang flop, DRT, tiny entry, big exit, or sometimes big entry (splash, blow up) no exit, resulting in a runner and sometimes a lost coyote. 55g vmax or nbt is what I use in the 250 or the swift.
 
Originally Posted By: flyrodder
Displayed Name said:
I have thought about shooting gal. jugs filled with water to see if the V-max bullet fragments remain in the bottom of the jug.
Flyrodder

Don't expect to see much. I shot a milk jug at 200yds with 55gr Vmax out of my 22-250, and it pretty much turned the thing inside out. I tried it on a 1 liter water bottle first, same results but all I found was about the bottom 2", again turned inside out. We ran out of milk jugs... but we had a frozen gallon milk jug, and a frozen 2 liter! At this point we were just having fun watching stuff blow up. We put the girls on the gun for fun, and they both hit first shot. First shot at 150 split both frozen bottles clean in half (or 1/3 or 2/3), then connected with the remaining largest piece of ice on the second shot. Never found any piece of the bullet, but I figured if a 55gr Vmax will turn 6" deep block of ice into two softball sized pieces and a few snow cones, it should be good enough for a coyote even if I hit some shoulder.... IDK just my way of thinking.
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