Terminal preformance of .20 cal. bullets ?????????

[Catfish]

Has anyone out there played with the .20 cal. enough to know how the different bullets compair down range?? I`ve got 35 & 40 grn. Hornady bullets and also all 4 of the different bullets weights that Burger makes but have had no chance yet to see how each preforms down range. I`m planning a coyote hunt in Wyoming in Jan. and was looking for a recomandation for which bullets to load for the trip.

[DannoBoone]

Hi Catfish!

Can't tell ya a whole lot here, but since no one else responded.......

Which .20 shooter are you using?

My Tac 20 loves the old 33gr VMax's. I got enough of them when finding
they were to be discontinued, they'll last me a lifetime. The barrel is a
Shilen and VVCG tooled it for the Encore -- best load gets just over 1/8"
on a good day and 1/4" on a bad day, at 4100fps. Have only gotten one
coyote with this load @ 125yds. The bullet did not exit the lung area and
death was instantaneous. The 35gr will not go the length of a big, nasty
tom cat at 50yds, 3800fps.  This barrel does not like 32gr or 40gr bullets,
with groups opening up to 1 1/2" @ 100yds. Also tried the very first Berger
bullet (36gr?) for the .204 which was extruded with .22 jacket material and
very hard. Accuracy wasn't there (best was just over 1/2") and they didn't
open up. Dunno about the new ones.

[Graybeard]

Hornady makes 32 and 40 grain V-MAX bullets for the .204. They also load both in factory ammo. My friend Barry in PA used the .204 extensively this year on ground hogs and crows and I saw the results of most all of them. The 40 was used first and then he moved to the 32s. The 40s seem to exit every time with massive damage evident on exit side. The 32s exited less and there was less extranally visiible damge but both killed instantly.

If one accepts the factory ballistics (and reviews I've seen say they actually exceed factory specs) then the 40 should actually be the best. It shoots flatter and hits harder at all ranges. Barry's photos sent to me seemed to back that up.

If you're shooting fur bearers and do not want pelt damage you definitely do not want the 40s and even the 32s may give more pelt damage than you want.