Hornady 60 gr V-Max for Coyotes in 223

bea175

bea175

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Does anyone use the 60 V-Max for yotes in their 223 and how does it work for close called in shots on the big dogs? Does it blow up like the 40 and 50gr V-Maxs? I assume Varget would be a good powder to start with using this bullet. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
I shoot 60 VMAX's on top of 26.0 grains WW748 from a 18" RRA. This load chronys at 2925 fps. It has been a very friendly fur round for the most part. It has not given me any problems as far as not penetrating sufficiently. I posted some photos awhile back of a pair of coyotes I shot and skinned showing the damage and distance shot. Coyotes here generally fall into the 30-35 pound range or less, so I am not sure what you would consider big in your neck of the woods.

Good Luck and Good Hunting
 
I shoot the 60's in both of the Savage bolt .223's listed below. I'm using the Win 748 also with great groups. Mine (both by the way) like 25.5 grns. of powder. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif Oops, forgot to add , they do a great job on the P-dogs. Never ran into a yote yet. Looking forward to trying a 60 grn on one.
 
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I shoot 60 VMAX's on top of 26.0 grains WW748 from a 18" RRA. This load chronys at 2925 fps. It has been a very friendly fur round for the most part. It has not given me any problems as far as not penetrating sufficiently. I posted some photos awhile back of a pair of coyotes I shot and skinned showing the damage and distance shot. Coyotes here generally fall into the 30-35 pound range or less, so I am not sure what you would consider big in your neck of the woods.

Good Luck and Good Hunting



I hunt them in VA and TN and most run about 30 to 35 lb range. I use the Nosler 55 gr BT and they work really great but the BT isn't offered in the 60 gr. I have heard good and bad reports on the V-Max for coyotes and just looking for some first hand info. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I killed my very first coyote called in with 60gr. v-max, on top off 22.3 gr of h322 cci 400 primers. It did a great job. I'm the guy with the Bushmaster predator that is back at bushmaster for repairs, not cycling. The first shot messed up the fur pretty bad, but it was a bad shot the dog was running sideways and i aimed for the shoulder and I think the dog was on an up swing because my round struck low and hit the furthest leg hitting bone and well you know hardly a leg left. The second shot was quartering away at about a 140 yards bullet struck between the last two ribs and traveled forward towards the forward opposite shoulder, it never exited. I'm going to keep using it, we have pretty big coyotes up here in Maine.
 
Maybe I'm missing somethng but I've been using the 50 Gr. V-Max now for several years and I have never had one to blow up yet...I've used the 40 gr. some but mostly the 50 gr. V-Max......I've been shooting it out of a .223 AI at about 3750 FPS....Now I haven't killed as many as a lot of you guys, but on one trip last year in Texas, I killed 14 in 3 days at almost all different angles (no rear shots) and thats just one example......I've been using the 50 Gr for 5 or 6 years now and I've taken around 70 Coyotes and I like that bullet very much.......I've tried the NBT, The Speer 52 Gr HP, the 52 gr. Hornady Match HP and they are all OK.....I like the 50 Gr. V-max very best of all........I shot a fox a couple of weeks ago at about 70 yards in the shoulder and it left a hole about the size of a quarter where it came out. As I said, maybe I'm missing something but my experience has all be very good with the 50 Gr. V-Max...........
 
I have never tried the 50 Gr V-Max and have heard a lot of bad reports on this forum when it is used on coyotes. I use the 55 gr Nosler BT and it has been death on the spot for any varmint on the recieving end. I was thinking of trying the 60 gr V-Max with the 1&8 twist AR upper. Sounds like the 50 gr V-Max works better than most reports. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
My loads look a lot like Al Hansens loads I use the 55 grn V-max with 25.5 grains of powder, using CCI small rifle mag. primers with H335 powder and they are awesome, I have only had one real bad blowout when it hit the coyote this I believe because he ran in to 30 yards before I could get him stopped he quatered to me and the V-Max went in through the chest and caused the entire shoulder blade to explode.
OTHERWISE THE V-MAX IS VERY VERY FUR FRIENDLY. I have two othe rfriends that shoot the V-Max and they love them also.
 
Have been shooting the V-Max's 55 and 60's for as long as they have been out. Never experience the problems seen and posted on this board. The 40's may be a little light for yotes in my opinion but the 55/60's are good.
 
My favorite load for my CZ 527 with 1-9" twist is with 60gr. V-max I shot 2 bobcats with it in Texas this past month with almost no damage. We had to look good to see where blood was coming from but they fell in their tracks.
 
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Maybe I'm missing somethng but I've been using the 50 Gr. V-Max now for several years and I have never had one to blow up yet...I've used the 40 gr. some but mostly the 50 gr. V-Max......I've been shooting it out of a .223 AI at about 3750 FPS....Now I haven't killed as many as a lot of you guys, but on one trip last year in Texas, I killed 14 in 3 days at almost all different angles (no rear shots) and thats just one example......I've been using the 50 Gr for 5 or 6 years now and I've taken around 70 Coyotes and I like that bullet very much.......I've tried the NBT, The Speer 52 Gr HP, the 52 gr. Hornady Match HP and they are all OK.....I like the 50 Gr. V-max very best of all........I shot a fox a couple of weeks ago at about 70 yards in the shoulder and it left a hole about the size of a quarter where it came out. As I said, maybe I'm missing something but my experience has all be very good with the 50 Gr. V-Max...........



I am shocked that this is your experience, I shot 3 yotes yesterday, all with the 50 grn vmax, and all dogs where like a hand grenade went off inside of them, one dog had the entire stomach section blown off, and most of the guts where blown out. another dog was hit in the neck and had a large grapefruit sized exit on the in its mid section, the other was hit high near the spine and blew a baseball size chunk out of the top of the yotes back. fur friendly uhh no. only 1 of 7 yotes I have shot with this combo has not blown up, and that was a chest shot that quartered into the shoulder that one blew up inside the dog,

the 60 grn vmax is supposed to be the be all end all, but it shoots very poorly from all of my .22 cal rifles. I think I am going to try the berger match next its small .055 hollow point should not open up so quickly
 
Steve, the experiences that I related about are actual, factual and completely truthful.....It may have something to do with the rifle twist, the roughness of the barrel interior or some other unknown.......I have killed Coyotes at 30 yds. and 300 yds and have NEVER had a blowup...If I knew how to post a picture on here, ( I just got on this board a week or so ago) I would show you a picture of a fox that I killed recently with the 50 gr. V-Max......Sorry about your blowup problems.....
 
well I think that I will give the 60 grainers a shot in my ar 24" with 1-8 twist. I have shot 3 this year 2 with my howa varmint .223 24" with 1-12 twist. I am 0 for 3 in the clean kill dept. Both of my rifles shoot the Nosler bt and Hornady v max 55gr very well. The 1st 2 I put down but not clean and had to finish them off...innards out but not dead, 120-150 yards. Today I caught one sitting in some tall grass 150yds easy shot, quartering but stationary. I shot and he disappeared in the tall grass. I assumed that he was done but a moment or so later I saw one run off from the same general area. I was not sure if it was the dog I shot or another that I hadn't seen so I stayed put. Well it must have been the one I shot as I never found a dead one. last I saw it was 400yds out and crossing a ridge and I never found it. I am not very happy with my performance so far, might a 60gr vmax make any appreciable difference over the 55's. I would go to a SP right now if these bullets weren't so accurate....

Steve in AZ
 
The only bullet I shoot out of my .223 are 40g v-max. I have never had a single "blow up" yet. Foxes are bit delicate, and with a bad shot, it's not too fur friendly, but nothing I can't sew up. On Bobcats, the same thing. On dogs, I hav eyet to have an "explosion" I have had a few shots a little far back, or a bit high. But most of them DRT and you can't even tell where I shot the dang thing. Looks like I scared it to death most of the times...
 
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