Quote Originally Posted by 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.
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