22 Cal V Max Bullets

CalCoyote, I have shot plenty of coyotes with that bullet out of my CZ527 in 223 with no issues. If your rifle shoots it good and you have confidence in your ability of placing shots on target with it I would go kill coyotes with it. It is one of those bullets that folks tend to believe either works great, or not. I would give it a go and trust it until it gives you a reason not to. My guess is at 3100fps and probably a 12 twist in that 222, it will work just fine for you.
 
Originally Posted By: CoyotejunkiCal Coyote,
Why don't you try it and find out if you like it. Some do like it.

I just did not want to try them if they were likely to splash and not penetrate to the vitals.
 
Originally Posted By: CalCoyoteOriginally Posted By: CoyotejunkiCal Coyote,
Why don't you try it and find out if you like it. Some do like it.

I just did not want to try them if they were likely to splash and not penetrate to the vitals.


If they're the most accurate in your rifle I'd use them. But I'd be selective on your shots. Behind the shoulder,in the neck,chest or of course in the head will do them in. In the shoulder or in the tail end might not be the best route but if that's where you hit just be ready to shoot again. If they're flopping just shoot them again. They maybe won't get up. But if they catch a second wind they can travel faster than a person would think with a busted hip or front shoulder. If they're alive keep shootin.

That applies to every bullet though not just V-Max. I've shot some over the years that I thought were toast and they proved me wrong. If they're down I keep my gun on them for a little bit. If they pick their head up,move a foot or flip their tail around I shoot them again. Bullets are expensive but not that expensive.
 
Last edited:
Going a bit side ways here, It used to bother the crud out of me when I blew a chance at one, not so much now. I am just a sport hunter so the numbers are not as big a deal to me anymore unlike an ADC person. They have a different mission. If I don't have a good shot, oh well there is tomorrow.

If I wanted them just dead like an ADC or tournament guy then I would use a 6mm cartridge like a 6 CM or 243. With a good bullet you could bust bone and shoot them at many different angles, even Texas Heart shots.

I guess If you want to be certain, don't use a plastic tipped bullet, use a Barnes triple shock or a lead tipped spitzer point. I don't know too many average sport hunters that kill more than 30-40 coyotes a year, so that is only a couple boxes of shells. Guys that kill that many or more probably already have their favorite bullet.

Save the plastic tipped bullets for rodents.
 
I reckon I'm the odd ball because I used to hunt em with the Hornady 52gr match in my AR's.
They worked good too.
Then hard times came along 15 yrs. ago with not much bullet & powder selection.
I started using Hornady's 68gr bthp match bullet, wow love them for these big MN coyotes.

We don't have many scrawny half-grown coyotes here. Thats why there is so many different takes on bullets. Lots of bullets will knock these runt coyotes down. Most coyotes here are big. Anyhow another good one is Hornady's 55gr sp. Cheap, accurate & tough enough.

For me now I like the 68gr match Hornady.
 
Last edited:
I have hunted coyotes to pay bills not sponsored or anything else 100% fur guy and when I was doing it with a 22-250 55gr gamekings and 52gr matchkings never let me down. You had to push the matchkings fast though or shoot a 1-8 and spin them hard it seemed like. Having said that in recent years I’ve been shooting the 60gr vmax in a 20in 22-250 and it’s a [beeep] of a bullet! Totally different then A 50 or 55gr vmax. I’ve had really good luck killing and saving fur with it and it would be a great choice I’ve only shoot 100-150 with it so the verdict is still out but shows a lot of promise.
 
Originally Posted By: OKRattlerOriginally Posted By: CalCoyoteOriginally Posted By: CoyotejunkiCal Coyote,
Why don't you try it and find out if you like it. Some do like it.

I just did not want to try them if they were likely to splash and not penetrate to the vitals.


If they're the most accurate in your rifle I'd use them. But I'd be selective on your shots. Behind the shoulder,in the neck,chest or of course in the head will do them in. In the shoulder or in the tail end might not be the best route but if that's where you hit just be ready to shoot again. If they're flopping just shoot them again. They maybe won't get up. But if they catch a second wind they can travel faster than a person would think with a busted hip or front shoulder. If they're alive keep shootin.

That applies to every bullet though not just V-Max. I've shot some over the years that I thought were toast and they proved me wrong. If they're down I keep my gun on them for a little bit. If they pick their head up,move a foot or flip their tail around I shoot them again. Bullets are expensive but not that expensive.

Now that is some very good advice with any bullet and any caliber!
 
I came and read through this thread after Skinney mentioned it last night on a IG live. Lots of information here, and I'm the first to admit I'm not a 22 caliber guy for the most part, but I have shot them plenty over the years. I stick to the 6 and 6.5 cartridges pretty hard. What I have learned is that every barrel length, velocity, and twist rate is going to cause any specific bullet to react differently. So no one can say that XYZ bullet is absolutely the worst on coyotes. A V-Max of any weight for example is going to be completely different for the guys shooting it out of a 22 Creed at 4000 fps than it is for the guy shooting it out of a short barrel AR at 3000 or less. It is going to be different out of a 7.5 twist than it is a 12 twist. So what I'm getting at is no one is wrong. What kills like lightning for one guy with a particular set up may not work as well for a different person with a completely different set up. One guy may shoot the majority of his coyotes at 50 yards and someone else may average 250 yards. Too many variables. Just figure out what works best for your setup and typical situation and go with it.
 
I’m a fan of the Hornady 60 v max in my ARs. More time than not I get no exit, even on bobcats. That can’t be said on the fox. I don’t get a lot of runners either.
 
Originally Posted By: borkonOriginally Posted By: Kino MIMO yes, there is a tremendous difference in jacket and bullet integrity, not just BC. The 53 is a tremendous coyote bullet.

Why?



We've used 50's, 53's, 55's, 60's, etc. there is no difference in jacket thickness or metals used.

The 50, 55 and 60 all have the exact same ogive, the 53 is about 65thou longer. The 55 and 60 have the flat base, where as the 50 and 53 15 degree boat tails.

Jacket thickness in all of them is 0.10 towards the front and tapers to 0.16-0.19 at the base.

The bulk of Hornady's core is 3% antimony lead, and C210 copper. The ELD-M is almost the same construction as the VMAX, just the heat shield tip, heavier and more aggressive design.

I have had the same exact result with the 50's as the 60's as the 55's as the 53's.

DEATH.

I'm not going to throw a number, cause the count got lost a long time ago.

I'm not going to argue my bullet selection is better than yours because 99.9% of our kills are DRT.

USE what you want, What works best for you. When you can gather stats from 1000's of kills with different bullet selections, then you can really start to bad mouth what doesn't work.

I'll tell you, don't be afraid of the 50 Vmax. They flat out hammer.

We will also be touring the facility this year, I have a pretty good buddy that works down there, and gives us tons of insight regarding statistics, that most don't know.
 
DRT means different things to different people.

I interpret it to mean near simultaneous impact, drop, stop moving, all within the time it takes gravity to drag a live animal to hit the ground and come to a stop. A quick squirm, a tail flop, sure. Not spinning in circles, not lifting the front half of it's body trying to get up and drag it's gut shot body, not howling, not running a single yard. Literally Dead Right There on the spot of impact. Drop right there.

Other people interpret DRT to mean it will eventually die. It's dead but doesn't know it yet, give it 30 seconds. Running 5 or 10 or 100 yards. Spinning in circles for 3 or 5 seconds, running, and then piling up. DRT means different things to different people.

Personally, for me, in my opinion, the way I prefer to hunt, a spinner or runner is a failure in my book. But I have different way of doing it. My username includes DRT for a reason.
 
Originally Posted By: DiRTY DOGDRT means different things to different people.


Here's a brief definition of what I mean.

 
Originally Posted By: skinneyOriginally Posted By: DiRTY DOGDRT means different things to different people.


Here's a brief definition of what I mean.




thumbup.gif
thumbup.gif
thumbup.gif
 
Those shots are just a small blip of the actual numbers you kill Skinney. Very easy to post the best.
If I were to have filmed all of the 100's I've killed with my .17_.204, shooting Chan Nagels 30 grain bullets,and cherry picked what you did, people would think it's "magic ".
And it is frontal and broadside ribcage shots.
But lacks on quartering away/straight away shots.

Bottom line, if you're gonna (need to) kill coyotes in every scenario that takes place in the fields, a V_Max bullet has shown to me, the very worst bullet other then the Barnes Varmint Grenade to do the job.

I don't know how often your group shoots at runners as you don't show that much in your films but if you do it(and not show it),I'll guarantee it would show lots of " Not DRT's".!

I'm sure you guys can afford better bullets.

If not, I'll send you a couple boxes of Sierra #1365's to try.

smile.gif
 
Yeah I dont get to pick shots at all, we hunt them under a full moon and i use a 1-4x VXR. It reminds me more of duck hunting than any other hunting I've done, show up quick, leave quick and you've got to have a call in one hand and a rifle in the other with your head on a swivel.

Maybe half the time a bark can stop them for a few seconds but half the time they keep moving and it being night time in a black and white environment a running coyote at 100 yards vs a running fox at 60 yards isnt even abundantly clear nor a perfect broadside shot or slightly angled and certainly not clear if its angled towards you or angled away, most of the coyotes I think are perfect broadside on the way in afterwards the tracks show they were coming at various angles all along and they're big thick furry MN dogs.

Varmint bullets havent worked for this, not for my hunting buddies shooting matching guns and my reloads ether... I shot one big coyote running with i think a #4 Duke foothold it had broke the swivel on, I hit it in the rear end first then the head, my buddy was the trapper and when he was skinning it the base of the bullet fell out of the rear end. But they're big enough around here to break unmodified footholds all the time, that was actually the second coyote that day we tracked down running with a broken trap stuck to it, it's actually a heck of an exciting hunt with a couple guys.
 
Originally Posted By: borkonThose shots are just a small blip of the actual numbers you kill Skinney. Very easy to post the best.
If I were to have filmed all of the 100's I've killed with my .17_.204, shooting Chan Nagels 30 grain bullets,and cherry picked what you did, people would think it's "magic ".
And it is frontal and broadside ribcage shots.
But lacks on quartering away/straight away shots.

Bottom line, if you're gonna (need to) kill coyotes in every scenario that takes place in the fields, a V_Max bullet has shown to me, the very worst bullet other then the Barnes Varmint Grenade to do the job.

I don't know how often your group shoots at runners as you don't show that much in your films but if you do it(and not show it),I'll guarantee it would show lots of " Not DRT's".!

I'm sure you guys can afford better bullets.

If not, I'll send you a couple boxes of Sierra #1365's to try.

smile.gif


Regardless, we can all agree to disagree. I don't care what you use to stack bodies. I'm just here telling the original poster, don't be afraid of a VMax, we kill a helluva lot with them.
 
I recently picked up a tikka 22-250 with an 8 twist barrel. Im thinking if using 50, 53, or 55 grain v max. I don’t need heavier as I have a 6 cm slinging 108 grain bullets if I want heavy.
 
Originally Posted By: ErmineI recently picked up a tikka 22-250 with an 8 twist barrel. Im thinking if using 50, 53, or 55 grain v max. I don’t need heavier as I have a 6 cm slinging 108 grain bullets if I want heavy.

Of those three it would be an easy choice for me, 53gr Vmax all day everyday.
thumbup1.gif
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: DiRTY DOGOriginally Posted By: Rock KnockerVmax would be a horrible defensive bullet also, of course not what we plan to load for but there isnt a bullet that would do much worse in FBI tests.
Originally Posted By: Rock Knocker if someone is shooting at me I sure hope its vmaxs.
Well it's advertised as a varmint bullet, so it's not intended to pass duty/defense barrier and penetration standards.

and while its not intended to pass duty/defense barrier/penetration standsards...

i sure as heck wouldnt wanna get hit with a bullet designed to start to expand and frag/enegry dump starting in the 4" of penetration range.
 
I’ve been shooting the ELDm 108’s out of a 6 creed. To me it’s basically a big vmax. It lays the coyotes out
 
Last edited:
Back
Top