222 remington varmint loads ??

[dan610324]

this evening I was sitting and have a cup of coffe with an friend , he told me that he had problems with the ammo for the fox hunt .
the ammo he used now didnt stay in the animal , it destroyed the fure so much where it went out . he told me that he had some handloaded ammo before that just left an small hole where it went in and more or loss exploded inside the fox , no outgoing hole .

now I promissed him to try to help him to find the ultimate load and bullet for his needs ,
couldnt find any better place to ask the question then here .

he use an savage bolt action in 222 Remington with silencer , sorry I dont know the model number .
I would guess its approximately 20 years old
distance to target usually between 25 and 60 yards .
maybe once a year or so it could be up to max 100 yards .

what would be the ultimate bullet and load for this purpose ??
without to reach dangerous gas presassures .
what I could understand it would be an extremely light weight bullet in maximum speed .
the easier it have to expand or "explode" the better

is it anyone who have any experiance from such an problem ??
must find an bullet thats guaranted to not penetrate the fox . but still kill instantly .
hope you can help me .

Dan
from sweden

[stimpylu32]

Dan

What bullets do you have axcess to ?

The 45g Hornady V-Max would be a good choice in this case along with the 45g Varmint Nightmare bullet from Midsouth Shooters Supply , both of these bullets tend to explode after they enter Coyotes as well as Grounghogs , both of these have a skin close to that of a Fox .

stimpy

[dan610324]

thanks for the fast reply

I would guess that I could get any bullets , except maybe for some chinese and korean bullets 

with an computer and visa card it wouldnt be any problem to get any bullet .

in this case I just want to find the absolutely best possible bullet .

what powder will be the best to achive maximum velocity within reasonable secure gas preassures ??
a little flat primers doesnt matter as long as they dont get nipples   

what velocity could be achived in an 222 remington ??

[stimpylu32]

Dan

Depending on the powder used your looking at anywere from 2300 FPS to 3300 FPS with a 45g bullet , I happen to like IMR 4198 , it will get you to around 3300 FPS and still keep pressures in a safe range , but Win 748 , IMR 4895 , BLC-2 and Benchmark will also work well in the 222 .

stimpy

[dan610324]

isnt it any powder that can give over 3300 fps ??

[stimpylu32]

If you need more than 3300 FPS in the 222 Rem , you have 2 choices -- smaller bullet or bigger cartridge , and even the smaller bullet is not going to add much more than around 50 FPS .

stimpy

[dan610324]

is there any smaller ( lighter ) bullets then the 45 grain with the same "explosive" effect ??
would be nice to reach 3500+ fps .

[OLDHandgunner]

Dan,

My favorite bullet is Hornady 50 SX or Sierra 50 Blitz for the 222. Used 4198 & 3031 powders for years but now really like H-322. Around 3100-3200 FPS.
There are lighter bullets out there for more speed, but you will have to see if they shoot ok in this gun.

[Grumulkin]

I have difficulty understanding why a varmint bullet must "explode."  If there was ever an animal where one did NOT need a bullet to explode it would be on a varmint.  If you used a solid, it would kill the varmint just as dead.

As for for 222 Remington bullets, I can highly recommend the Speer 70 grain Semi-Spitzer.  It stablizes well in a 1:12 twist barrel for sure and I heard of it being used successfully in a 1:14 twist barrel.  Using this bullet in my 222, I've taken ground hogs, rabbits and even a whitetail deer all with one shot.  The bullet doesn't "explode" but it sure penetrates kills things; thus far nothing I've shot with this bullet has gotten away or even needed a second shot.  It doesn't leave ghastly exit wounds either.

[dan610324]

yes there are many normaly good bullets , but this is very special conditions .

my friend have an very serious heart failure and this is the absolute last hunting he is able to do .
4 years ago me and a few friends built him an tower where he could sit and do this hunting , it even have an elevaiting stair that he dont need to climb up there by himself . he couldnt do it because of his heart .
its just 25 - 30 yards from his front door , thats about tha max distance he is able to move .

I need to find the most "explosive" bullet that exist , anything to be sure that the fox dont walk away .
and makes as minimal damage to the fur as possible as he prepare all hides for fur coats that his wife makes . but it must be guaranteed to not come out at the other side .
he is not in the condition that he even could track an animal for 30 - 40 yards , its an extreme bush vegetation around where he is sitting .

Im helping him as much as I can , all roadkilled rawdeers in this area Im bringing to him and place them approximately 25 - 30 yards from his tower. its often 2-3 each week .

he have been hunting all his life and now this is the only he still can do , I do anything to help this old man . half of his and his wifes accumulated yearly income comes from those foxes .
an normal winter he shoots somewhere beween 35 and 50 foxes . last year he got only 32 foxes , from them his wife made 2 waist long jackets and one foot long coat .

[Graybeard]

Based on your situation I'd recommend either of three bullets. The Hornady 35 V-Max, 40 V-Max or Nosler 40 BT. Are are highly explosive and all can be pushed to around the same velocity. The 35 is made for use in the Hornet primarily but they provide data for its use in other .22 rounds as well. You might get 3500 with it but that would really be pushing it for sure. It will be the most explosive of the three.

As to loads I prefer not to give them out really. Look on line at Hornady's site or e-mail and ask them for data for that bullet for the .222. I'm not sure which powder would be best but there are at least a dozen perfectly suitable ones.

[BruceP]

In addition to the bullets that Graybeard mentioned Speer makes a 33 grain TNT bullet made to the .22 hornet. I've never used it but it might work well for the conditions you listed.

Bruce

[Autorim]

Dan,

I have used the .222 for many years and it is one of my favorite cartridges. My standard loads now are with 50 grain bullets at about 3140 fps with H335. It is maybe a bit mild, but very accurate. I used IMR 4198 for quite a few years at about the same velocity before settling in on H335.

The TNT or the Sierra Blitz should work. They are accurate in my rifles, but I can't vouch for the performance on animals like the fox. I agree that some of the lighter bullets for the Hornet may also work. Just make sure it has a thin jacket.

[LaOtto222]

I have not shot any fur bearing critters, but have shot a bunch of wood chucks with a 222. I got a hole going in with nothing coming out. I used a 50 grain Hornady SXSP over a charge of 24.6 grains of BL C2 and a Rem 7 1/2 primer and Winchester cases. I seated it .020" off the lands. It was very accurate and I estimate the muzzle velocity was around 2900 fps. It was before I had a chronograph to really test it. I found it accurate out to 250 yards staying under 2" all the time. I have shot wood chucks as close as 10 yards and as far as 250 yards and never had a pass through; it never blew up on the surface either, not even at 10 yards. Good Luck and Good Shooting