Hornady 40gr VMax in 10fp

[joed]

I have not been impressed with using the .223 for hunting ground hogs in OH. I thought I'd try the 40 gr bullets to see if they work any better. I know this bullet will never get close to the lands of the chamber but I'm wondering about seating depth. Are any of you shooting them? What are you seating them at?

[hailstone]

Your rifle probably has a 1-9" twist rate which is not good for 40 grain bullets. If your reloading then there are powder options available too help in accuracy department. My rifles group better with 50 grain bullets using the 1-9" twist barrel as do my AR with same twist. Older rifles with the 1-12" twist rate tend too shoot very well with either weight bullet. Some will tolerate the faster twist with lighter bullets but my experience is the group accuracy opens up.

Don't know what type of problems your having that leaves low impression of the 223. My experiences tend too limit the caliber in range too 300 yards shooting varmits. That would be marginal on coyotes where the 22-250 or 243 would be a better choice at that yardage.

[hank440]

I use the 75gr Amax and it work great on groundhogs

[5spd]

Ive run a thousand + 40vmax rounds out of 3 FP10's with super performance & accuracy over 25 yrs.
I did go to the 50g vmax though for better performance & they do shoot tighter groups.
The 40g vmax 's were super explosive on p-dogs at 3400 + fps to 300 yds.
COL was 2.220".

[nova1194]

Like 5spd said 2.220 on the length, I run mine over 26.0 gr of H335 and get 1 inch groups at 200 yards on days with low wind, I have seen other posts here that say 26.5 grains works well also, I use this as my fireform load in my ackley, it is not a 10fp, but it is a 9 twist heavy barrel.


Mike

[joed]

Thanks for the responses. I have a feeling the 40 gr is going to be a disappointment but thought I'd try it.

My reason for not being impressed with the .223 for ground hog hunting is from my observations this cartridge is at it's best below 250 yards. All the targets have been at 400 to 500 yards giving me to many misses. I'm hoping the 40 gr bullet will extend the range.

[gotcha]

I agree w/ hailstone and hank440. Try the 75 grn. Amax it's B.C. might get you where you want to be. If it doesn't, 22/250 or .243 would be good choices. (Christmas is just around the corner)

[AVanGorder]

Thanks for the responses. I have a feeling the 40 gr is going to be a disappointment but thought I'd try it.

My reason for not being impressed with the .223 for ground hog hunting is from my observations this cartridge is at it's best below 250 yards. All the targets have been at 400 to 500 yards giving me to many misses. I'm hoping the 40 gr bullet will extend the range.

40 grain VMax is my bullet of choice for my Savage 223s. I have 4 of them and they all shoot great. I have used a wide range of powder from H4198 to the new IMR 8208. The 8208 seems to be the ticket. I have shot thousands of these rounds, mostly at prairie dogs and paper. I have killed many pdogs well past 500 yards with a 40 grain VMax. I do push mine faster than most people do, I want that speed.

400 yards is honestly a long way out there and it is easy to miss using any gun/round/bullet combination.

Adrian

[joed]

Kind of funny. I originally bought this gun for groundhog hunting. I learned pretty quickly that the .223 comes up short on the long shots, most at 400 to 600 yards. I had people telling me the .223 was good to 500 yards with the right bullet. Guess I've been trying to make the gun do something it isn't meant to and hoped the 40 gr bullets would get me out to 500 yards.

I had stopped using the gun and reverted back to my original varminter, a .25-06. This one reaches to 500 easily. Maybe I'll just keep using it.

[5spd]

Kind of funny. I originally bought this gun for groundhog hunting. I learned pretty quickly that the .223 comes up short on the long shots, most at 400 to 600 yards. I had people telling me the .223 was good to 500 yards with the right bullet. Guess I've been trying to make the gun do something it isn't meant to and hoped the 40 gr bullets would get me out to 500 yards.

I have no problems shooting to 700 yards with my FP10 with the 50gr Vmax in front of W748.
I have been known to roll many over at just about 750 yds, nothing to it really, dial the scope up, dial for windage and pop em off. I dont do it all the time as 99% of my shots are under 300yds in the towns I shoot. Long range shooting is tons easier than most people think.

[nova1194]

I dont know about 700 yards since I rarely get to shoot that far, but I whack pasture poodles regularly out to 500 yards with my stevens 200 and its factory barrel. And thanks to my 223 ackley I am seriously considering getting out of the 22-250 business, because for the ranges I shoot it doesnt seem like burning all that extra powder is worth it.

Mike

[Appleseed]

I use the 75gr Amax and it work great on groundhogs

What powders/loads have you tried with the 75's? Not finding a lot of data on loads for this.

[jo191145]

Fella at the Eggshoot I attend is doing very well with 40gn Noslers in a Savage 9 twist.
No idea if they'll perform to your expectations but accuracy should'nt be a problem.

[xj4me]

i would think they would do just fine, i was given some 36gr vmax to try and to my surprise they shoot out of my 1 in 9 twist at about 3/4"