36 replies to this topic

[ehd]

Without touching off a war of words which is everybody prefering? V-max in 55s or Nosler 55grain ballistic tips. This is on my 22-250 which i prefer the 55s. Thanks EHD . P.S. Dont really care about saving fur......

[Soreloser]

I can assure you that with the 40gr. vmax and Noslers I have not noticed a difference in performance. Smallblock Fuelie shoots the vmax and I shoot the Nosler and both share equal performance on everything from cats to jacks. I haven't noticed anything significant.

[ShooterJohn]

In the 40gr only the jacket is thinner on the V-Max which make it a little more explosive. Especially if you spin them up out of a tight twist barrel. As for the 55gr V-Max or Nosler the only difference is the V-Max is a flat base bullet and the Nosler is a bevel base. It mostly depends on the load you shoot them with. I have very good loads for both bullets in my .223's and they are quite different powder wise.

[tawnoper]

The baltips are solid based bullets, they are a bit more sturdy. I've used the 55gr for years out of my swift. Good bullet for coyotes. The v-max are good too, out of my guns the v-max and the bal-tips shoot about the same but for coyotes I prefer the noslers.

[jephs422]

I've shot nothing but 55's for several years. However, a few months ago I switched to 40g v-max and the results were phenominal. I am getting superb accuracy out of both the 55g v-max, and the 40g v-max. I haven't put a 55g into any animals yet, but the 40g v-max is responsible for all of this years kills, and with the exception of one bad shot on a dog, and one freakish cat that decided to run despite missing half his chest and spine, all were bang flops...Even the pelt damage wasn't bad at all on my fox, short of the few I shot in the neck and nearly decapitated. I may try out some 55's to see how they do, but I don't see myself switching away from the 40's

[Stiff Neck]

I've used both in 40gr on ground squirrels. I saw enough pass throughs and richochets with the ballistic tips that I stopped using them. The richochets were probably due to the solid base. The vmax is a little more explosive I think due to the thinner jacket. Logic tells me to use the ballistic tips on coyotes but I've had nothing but good experiences with the vmaxs so I'm sticking with them just to avoid having to load up two different rounds for the same gun.

[Cranky Farmer]

Those V-Max are my fav's.

[Ken H]

I've been shooting the 40gr Nosler BT's out of my 223 for several years. Very few exits with those bullets compared to what I had with the 55 Nos BT's.

[Frank]

Well, the V-max are more volitale with their thin jackets... ShooterJohn is correct in that the base of the Nosler ballistic tips are bevelled, however, the "entire base" is also solid / very thick, thus providing more reliability against premature bullet blow up... especially with lighter bullets.With my handloads for all my calibers, I use 40gr (204) & 50gr (223 & 22-250) Ballistic tips exclusively... But for my mini 14, I use black hills (blue box) 50gr v-max factory ammo... So how much difference does all this make? Beats me, as the coyotes we lose are always becuase of "poor hits"... Even with large bore calibers... However, I have "heard" of others losing game due to "splash" wounds... I have no reason to believe they were making stuff up... But, hey, who knows ?? Frank

[ShooterJohn]

However, I have "heard" of others losing game due to "splash" wounds... I have no reason to believe they were making stuff up... But, hey, who knows ??

I've only ever experienced what I would call a splash wound when I accidentally shot a large pig with a hollow point bullet when I grabbed the wrong cartridge. I've never had one on any other animal. But then again the pig I shot would be like shooting a rhino his skin was so tough.

[4RHUNTS]

Without touching off a war of words which is everybody prefering? V-max in 55s or Nosler 55grain ballistic tips. This is on my 22-250 which i prefer the 55s. Thanks EHD . P.S. Dont really care about saving fur......

I like and use the V-Max in my 22-250 and my 223's. They shoot the best in my rifles. As for the dogs and squirrels killed with them....none knew the diff! Kinda hard to go far with body parts all going in different directions.

[John]

ShooterJohn,I hear your the go-to-guy for 223,40 grain loads.I would appreciate your help with some suggested loads for my Savage model 12 with 1 in 9 twist ,26 in barrel.It's winter here in Ida-ho-ho-ho ,so now seems like the time to load up for spring.Thanks to you for any load info you would like to share with me: pjm1097@msn.com

[ehd]

Thanks for the advise guys, I like a round that has enough zap to go thru, but still blows up as much as possible. i think i will stay with the 55 ballistic tips.

[CRITTRGITTR]

I'm a huge fan of the 250, I swear by it. I like the 55 grain V-MAX but a friend of mine came across 20,000 52 grain sierra hollowpoints that were free so I have been shooting those with 33 grains of hodgdon 4895 with great success. He also got several thousand rounds of unfired 250 brass, and tons of IMR 3031 powder but we haven't quite worked up a potent load with that stuff yet. Bryan

[Iron Worker]

Hey don't for get about A-maxs for coyotes. I was told they are made a little tougher then V-maxs. Shot a yote at about 25 yards with 22-250AI 52gr A-max at about 3,900+ Itook out a big chunk of coyotes chest. Its was cool!!!! Any how I shoot a 6x284 my first coyote was about 40 yards I was shooting a 80 gr BT at I know for fact 3,900 FPS ( Super Hot Load) Coyote was broad side in relation to me. I shot it right in the chest just below the shoulder. Dang all it did wasput a pencil size entrance and exit on the very dead dog. Coyote did a 180 and droped dead. The shot a Coyote at 341 ranged yards. With 87 gr V-Max. No exit but yote looked like it was struck by lightening. Way cool. So my vote go's for both V-max and A-maxs.

[ShooterJohn]

A-Max's were really designed as a target bullet. They have the poly tip but it's just for the aerodynamics of the bullet. It isn't designed to to explode violently like the V-Max.

[Cranky Farmer]

A-max will ricochet if I am not mistaken.

[ShooterJohn]

A-max will ricochet if I am not mistaken.

You are correct.

[Stan]

Yep pretty bullets for paper http://www.hornady.c...tch_Bullets.pdfThe 50 Cal looks Nice!

[Iron Worker]

Sierra makes a 52gr match bullet that they state "This bullet is not for hunting" Where does hornady say that?That red tip acts like a wedge just like the V-Max. OK the V-Maxs has a thinner jacket! Well how much thinner?( A few thousanths) Some varmint hunter on Predator masters forum posted pictures cross sectioned coyotes shot with A-maxs a while back. Perfect wound channels devastateing kills. I've blown up squirrels with A-maxs before,plus these squirrels I shot were poking out of there dens and running and stopping on grass land hill sides.On bench rest forum I was inquiring about a 1 in 8 twist BBL on AI 22-250 and a shooter said try the 75 gr A-Maxs they are devastating for 500 yard kills on coyotes. That red tip still acts like a wedge,the Sierra is almost like a Full Metal jacket,now that bullet is designed to ricochet! Ok Prairie Dog shooting back in the Northern Mid west. They shoot Match Kings and VLDs and Long A-maxs for those shots some reaching out well past 1,000 yards. Now I confess I have shot at rocks before But!!! a bullet hitting a rock at varmint speeds and near 90 degree angles will not survive the impact ... Ok if a squirrel is on a rock and your at say 30, 20. 10, degree angle and you shoot a A-max and another shoots a V-Max do you think the A-max because of a few .000( Does any body know just exactly how much thicker?) is going to skip off and the V-Max will decentigrate? (Were to be sure of back stop regardless of what type of bullet were shooting) They both have that Red Tip that acts as a wedge.Is there another match bullet with a wedge? Lets compare side by side a A-Max and a V-max. Where in Hornady literature does it warn of ricochet?HEY I have the the 6th edition Hornady manual in front of me now. Page 41 reading description of A-max Ok I not going type everything but "A-Max bullets are greerally for match shooting.with jackets drawn to less than.0005 concentricity" Last sentice in paragraph "THIS BULLET IS ALSO EXCELLENT FOR HUNTING THIN SKINNED GAME" I typed from Hornadys own book!!!!!!!!!! So Long live the A-max!!! Just one more thing a There is a signifacant difference between the A-Max and the SST which is not a varmint bullet. Ok have a nice day

[tawnoper]

I haven't read up on the a-max much but I will say I have used them on coyotes and I think one bobcat. They worked well on the animals I shot. As a matter of fact, if I didn't have so many of my beloved 55gr Bal-Tips on hand I wouldn't hesitate to load them up for my Swift.

[Iron Worker]

Not through yet! Sitting here reading the 6th Edition Hornady book where did it EVER say the V-Max has a thinner Jacket? The difference is the A-Max is boat tail and the V-Max is flat base. Now for 6mm all V-maxs( at least 75gr and 87gr) are Boatail. More evidence for my case !!!! Niether the V-Max or the A-max have a cannelure...... Quoating "Lighter bullets in same caliber with out a cannelure are,as a rule,bullets for varminting"........Ok now reading SAierra reloading manual " Sierra does not recomend match king bullets for hunting" Ok I hereby rest my case.

[ShooterJohn]

Larry, you're taking this personally again. If you're going to quote from the Hornady book you best quote it word for word. You refer to the red tip acts like a wedge. That's true in the V-MAX but not so in the A-MAX. Go back and read the A-MAX again, it says Hornady's Ultra-Low Drag Tip. Ultra-Low Drag Tip is not the same as V-Max which says the tip acts as a wedge driving it into the core and causing very dramatic fragmentation. It does say as you quoted, "This bullet is also excellent for hunting thin-skinned game." But coyotes and ground squirrels are not game. If you contact Hornady they will tell you they mean game to mean deer and antelope sized game. Then you turn around and say the SST is not a varmint hunting bullet and the book doesn't state that either. It is a hunting bullet with Hornady's ballistically superior tips and the profile of the A-MAX and V-MAX bullets. It is a bullet that is meant to hold together better and one I would use for thicker skinned game like bear, boar or elk.You want to talk about ricochet bullets, anything can ricochet. I've heard my .17HMR V-MAX's ricochet lots of times. DO they ricochet as often as a .22LR, NO! But from my personal experience with A-MAX bullets they ricochet more than I care to deal with and I have a pretty good back ground of experience with more bullets than most people. I just don't like a bullet to tear through an animal and keep going God knows where. I didn't say it wasn't a good bullet I just said it wasn't the best choice for hunting coyotes with.Sorry I'm not trying to be picky here just state my point of view and that reading a small part of one bullet type does not cover every bullet that looks like it. Honestly I've shot a lot of different bullet types and found that looks aren't everything when it comes to performance.

The difference is the A-Max is boat tail and the V-Max is flat base.

Now you're wrong again. Go look at a .224 40gr V-MAX page 148 of your Hornady book and then go look at the .224 55gr. V-MAX page 149. Notice anything different in the picture. The 40gr. V-MAX is a bevel or boat tail bullet. The 55gr. V-MAX is a flat base. V-MAX come is both flat and bevel base depending on bullet weight.I don't want to argue with you on this I've shot coyotes with full jacketed bullets and killed them too. I was just point out the A-MAX maybe isn't the best choice of what is available to use. You can use whatever you want to shoot whatever you want. There are no bullet police out there that are going to come get you. I prefer not to use them on smaller animals. I'm done now thanks for reading along.

[Iron Worker]

If I sounded like I took it personally I didn't mean to. I really like our forum its fun to bounce things back in forth. No doubt I need to improve in spelling and sentence mechanics,its just as an Iron worker I don't talk or send memo's to the steel girders I hang or weld. Wouldn't it be a logical asumption that the tip on the A-max is one in the same material as the V-max? So no its not stated as acts a like a wedge but I bet it does. No I don't want a bullet that has torn through an animal to continue being dangerous Good point ( John I respect your experiene)( I love to jabber on our forum)I've shot coyotes with V-max and one time a 300 yard shot there was no exit but a 90 yard shot even after hitting shoulder bone and creating a splash wound there still was an exit ( Both cases were 87 gr V-max)I brought up the SST bullet as a distinction between a varmint bullet and a heavier contructed bullet. Ok coyotes arn't thinned skinned game. Then thier thinned skinned non game. Yes in the past I took things to seriously but not any more ( Does not apply to gun handeling and hunting safety)

[ShooterJohn]

No problem Larry I just didn't want to get to far off topic as this thread was about the differences between the V-MAX and the Nosler Ballistic Tip. One last point an 87gr bullet is going to make a hole in a coyote. My .243 showed me that point quite often.

[Frank]

Great topic & posts All... especially Iron Worker & ShooterJohn... Occasionally topics like this can easily become heated & this one did not... Which made it all the more enjoyable of course...Iron Worker, do not worry about your spelling etc as this is not an English forum anyhow. We get your drift & as always, your good participation is all that matters :)Frank

[Camoghost]

I have just finished my test on 40 grian bullets with my Rem 700 22.250 with 1and 12 twist. I can tell you that my gun loves the Vmax over the Nosler hands down.. I cannot get tight groups with the Noslers at all in fact I threw out the Noslers after 1 trip to the range.

[Frank]

You threw out the Noslers after only "one" trip to the range? That's a fair test? Did you happen to use the "exact" load I listed? Or vary the charge up or down a little? If you tested the Hornadys like the Noslers, & received good results, then you were just plain lucky... And am glad you became lucky so quickly btw. I do agree that the 1-12 twist can cause a difference, however that would not offset poor testing methods...Truthfully, I have not found anything that would NOT shoot ballistic tips well... including my 204... I suppose it can happen, but I've seen them work in so many calibers and loads over the years, that I become extremely skeptical whenever I read something like this. Again, my just experience is all...Anyway, glad you did find a good load.Frank

[MeatVapor]

Why isnt anybody talking about the Blitzking's?I have used all 3, and my fav is the blitzking 50gr. All purpose and just shatters sage rats. I put one through the skull of a yote at 250 yards, right above his eyebrow, and exited his ear, when i picked him up his brain actually fell out of his ear with a slurp sound, like a big red slug. IT was my best kill to date, he was laying in a fresh bailed field with his paws crossed, when he hit, he stiffened a little, and just laid his head on his paws, hardly any movement.As for squirrels, they are dead on, and explosive. My favs by far.http://www.midwayusa...leitemid=134377

[ShooterJohn]

50gr bullets are ok for ground squirrels but you've never seen them vaporize until you've shot them with some hot 40gr Vmax's.