HP or Ballistic tip for .223?

pachuckhunter

pachuckhunter

New member
What would the general consensus be for groundhog, other varmints, and Yotes? I know the B Tip expands quickly, but does it penetrate enough if it his bone first?
Does the .223 hp open up good at distances under 250 yards?

I am more interested in quick kills than seeing the animal blow in half.

Thanks.
 
I have shot alot of coyotes with both bullets out of a .223. I like the 40 grain Vmax bullet. I have had great results with this bullet. I used a 52 grain hollow point for years before I started using the Vmax. The hollow points preformed very well also, but my gun really shoots the Vmax very well.
 
I think I will try the 40 gr. B. Tip rounds, as well as the 45 gr. HP that winchester offers in that 40 pack at wally world. I will also get some 55 gn B tip rounds. Whatever is more accurate out of my barrel I will use most.
First I have to get the gun, and some nicer weather. PA is snow covered, and I can't remember the last day it was warmer than the low 30's.

I hate winter!

Karl
 
I like the 50gr Sierra Blitz bullets. My 223 has a 1 x 12" twist and they give out some excellent accuracy. I have had little to no fur damage to coyote pelts and they make quite a mess out of 13 stripe ground squirrels. Fun times. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
The gun is the Stevens 200 in .223 with a 22" barrel and 1:9 twist. I know every gun shoots different, just want a general consensus on which weight bullets (factory ammo) usually work best with the 1:9 twist. So far it sounds like the 50-55 grain rounds may tend to produce tighter groups with that twist?

Karl
 
Karl,
My suggestion would be to shoot whatever your gun likes. I have shot both the 50 gr. V Max and the 52 gr. HP in my AR and both work well. My preference is the V Max as it seems to be more explosive. I think it is even more explosive than the BT. Any of those 3 should work well. Just let your rifle decide.

Paul
 
I groundhog hunt where there are lots of cattle. I use the 40gr V-MAX molly bullets for a reduced chance of total pass throuch and hitting cattle. That said! My favorite load in my H&R ULTRA .223 is 40gr V-Max Molly bullets with 28.5gr of H-335 and RP 7 1/2BR primers. My other favorite boolit is the Nosler 50gr BT with 26.0 of H-335 and RP 7 1/2BR primer. These two loads are VERRRY accurate in my H&R and shoot to the same point of aim. I was out yesterday morning at the range. First three shots were 1/4" @ 100 yards with the 40gr's and my next three with the 50gr's were all touching the 40's at 100 yards. Its a shooter for sure! Hope this helps
 
In 1999 I shot some prairie dogs in Wyoming with a Ruger #1 218 Bee and 40 grain V-Max. I chronographed the load at 2990 fps. It devastated prairie dogs at distances out to 225 yards. Many times I could see instant red in the scope due to the low recoil of the rifle.

I have a question for those of you who might have experience with this next topic. I have a Bushmaster 223 M4 A3 flatop that I have mounted a scope on. The barrel is 16" and I've been hunting / calling bobcats. Most cats I've shot are at distances of 25 to 60 yards. I have used factory PMP 55 grain soft points and blew holes in the cats big enough to drive a tank through. I've been playing with various loads from 40 grains all the way up to 65 grains. Accuracy with the lighter bullets at 100 yards is somewhat lacking, but at 50 yards it groups pretty good.

Now the question: Is there a bullet out there that will put the critter (bobcat) down quickly and not exit at close range? If there is, I'd be interested in trying it.
 
I like the polymer tipped bullets for groundhogs. They always expand and have a higher BC for better trajectory.

However..I don't put down HPs. I love Win white box 45g in my 223. It is very cheap to shoot..extremely accurate...and pretty explosive on groundhogs. Works almost identical to a 50g Vmax performance wise on groundhog I have found with a rare amount of exits. Also I like Barnes 40g Varminator hps in my 223. They never exit and provide excellent internal damage to anchor varmints quickly.

If I could pick just one of the 2..it would be the ballistic tip type bullet only because it shoots flatter. Performance in the field is nothing different from a good varmint hp.
 
I have killed coyotes with the 40, 50 and 55 gr Nosler BT'S in the 223 and i can't tell the different in killing power between the three, they all just dropped in their tracks. I killed 12 groundhogs one evening last summer with the 223 Rem and the 40 gr BT and they just died on the spot with no more than the tail spin. Just use which ever one shoots the best in your rifle . /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
There is no magic bullet when it comes to being fur friendly unless you are shooting a .17 Remington. Generally, 55gr SP's don't do that much damage. I recently shot a bobcat at 50 yds using 55gr Hornday V-Max in one of my wildcat rounds. Vel was 3450 fps out of my AR. I figured it would cut him in half. To my surprise, only a small exit wound. Killed a yote 6 min later in the same spot with the same round and very little damage as well. This is not a real test by no means but may have merit. I am not worried about fur for yotes but cats I like to have mounted.
 
I shoot Hornady 52 grn. Match HP's. They shoot real well out of my AR, but are in no way fur friendly. I had a huge exit on that last Cat I killed at 65 yards. I also shot a 480 lb. hog behind the ear at 110 yards and he folded instantly, but I had no exit on him, lol.
 
My favorite .223 caliber bullets is the Remington 50g. Power-lokt Hollow Point.. This bullet has proven to be very accurate in all my .223 caliber rifles. They expand very well and give me one-shot kills on everything that I have shot with them.. Also, you can buy them very resonably from Midway or numerous other dealer..

Just my $.02 worth...

Dave
 
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