Hey guys

I got some Hornady V-Max. .224" 55 grain bullets with the red tip.

The intended use will be for coyote hunting.  This will be the first time loading with these bullets  My question is has anyone used these before?  And if you had, do you have a particular favorite powder?

I have

IMR 3031
Ramshot TAC
Vhinv N133
Vhinv N135

I will be shooting them out of my AR15, 18 inch barrle with 1/9 twist rate.  Most likely out to 200 yards or less

I have loaded all these under 55 grain berrys plated bullets with good results all around.  I would like to use my "best" powder for hunting.  I can not really say which powder is the best but I am leaning toward the TAC or the Vhinv 135.  I dont mind working up the good load again but I only have a box of 100 so I dont want to work up all 4 powders, or should I?   My plan was to choose one and start at 5% below my fmj load and work up from there.  Any suggestions?  

Also the guy at the LGS said these do very well at lower velocity, should I take this into account when choosing my powder? My biggest concern is making sure my kill goes down but I also understand that shot placment is the biggest factor in this.



Not the greatest photo.

I would use the 3031, it is a good powder for the 55g.  I use TAC for heavier bullets.  My loads for 55fmj is 23.7 up to 24.3 with 3031, hope that helps you.

Thanks for the response,  I have a few pounds of the IMR 3031.  It is one of the few powders I tend to find locally. I will give that one a shot, its a good powder for my 55 fmj.

Thanks again.

Any of those powders will work just fine.

My personal favorite for 55 gr. VMax (or the similar Nosler 55 gr. BTV) is 24.5 gr of AA2230.  I haven't used them for coyotes, but they sure are fun on Pdogs.


All of your powders are close to 2230 on the burn rate chart, so it's just a matter of working up the best load for your rifle. At 200 yards and in, your load just needs to be Minute Of Coyote, not a huge problem.

Tac

24.5 of 335 is the best I've used on for the V-max.  It works with all my rifles really well.  Tac works great with 55 gr bullets so I would just build a latter and go from there.  A really popular load is 24.5gr of Tac with 55gr fmj bullets; so, I imagine a load somewhere in there would do pretty well.

26.3gr of TAC can push a 55gr to 3100fps.
25.6gr of V N135 will push a 55gr to 3100fps also

Vince

Here are my work up test loads and then my best shots on my ladder test for the TAC and vhiv 135. I didnt save the info for the others unfortunatly I did them months ago.  As a matter of fact the IMR was my first 223 powder and that was a little over a year ago.  Now I am using these stickers now and I can peel them off and put them right into my load book.  These are with the berrys plated not the hornady vmax bullets, both are 55 grain.  I am asumming they will be close but will work them up also.  Also these are at 100 yards with Iron sights.  I have a scope coming for future testing.

My box of loaded test rounds.


TAC. 25 grains


Vhinv N135. 24.5 grains


Maybe I will work up the IMR3031 and work up this TAC with the Hornady vmax bullets.  

Reloading is so cool, the ability to taylor my loads is really amazing.  I am only a year into it, but I feel like I have learned a lot in the time I have been lurking around in this section.  I enjoy the responses and the insight.  Thanks for all the good stickies also.

I've loaded up a bunch with surplus BLC-2 type  powder, AA2230, and Win748

they are very accurate and work great on coyotes

I've had some really good results with Benchmark in the 50/55 weight range.  5 shot sub 3/4 moa with some sub .5's and (or course) some at 1 moa.   Same weight charge for me in my gear with my stuff and my phase of the moon works great for both 50gr and 55gr Amax and Vmax.

out of those powders I would use TAC

TAC has been very accurate from my SPR, but my go to load with vmax bullets is using 24.5gr of H335

Tag

Txl

TAC for ease of measuring.  One thing you may consider playing with is the primer.  CCI 450 is my primer of choice with TAC and lighter bullets.  Rem 7.5 for heavier bullets.
The old Ramshot load data used the CCI 450.

Vit N-133 is by far the most accurate/precise for 50 - 60 grain pills out of my RRA Varmint EOP.  Best group ever at 100 yards was a .284 with 10 shots. Been chasing that for a lomg time since it happened. V and A max's shoot extermely well for me. Heavier bullets seem to fly all over the place

Vit is expensive but is the best in my guns. I love the way 335 meters but for hunting loads I dont mind trickling. IIRC I was loading 24.5 to 26.4 grains of 133 with the best results for 55 grain projectiles at 25.8. They absolutely destroy woodchucks and Yotes on contact. Kill them with extreme prejudice

Of the powders in OP, I'd use TAC for its uniform metering.

For best velocity and accuracy with 55 grain bullets, my 16" carbine likes near max loading of H4895.  It does not meter as well, but sure does shoot great.

great bullet choice for coyotes!

the first bullet i seated in my life was a 55 grain V-MAX in a 22-250 and i have since fallen in love with it.

still to this day, it is my go to bullet as long as meat or pelts are not a factor.


P.S. damn good shooting with open sights

The N135 is a good powder and shoots super clean in the AR.

I like CFE223 for that round.

Anyone use AA2015 with those bullets? Or with Hornady 55 fmj w/cannelure?

Thanks for the responce everyone, I decided on the ramshot TAC it seemed most popular.  So I have loaded up 24.3, 24.5, and 24.7 grains 5 shots each, im hoping to get out and test them the next couple of mornings.  I will post up the results.

Grabbed another 8# of h335. That load works great for me. Looking forward to the results.

I started out with 3031 because it was usually the only powder on the shelf.  It doesn't meter well, however it performs well with the light to middle weight .223 bullets.

For what it is worth, I really like AA2230. I have had great results with the V-max 55gr and 55gr fmjs.

I've never managed to get good results with TAC and lighter bullets,  seems much better with heavier bullets.

Looking forward to the final results though.

I have had very nice groups at 25gr and 25.5gr of TAC in LC or WCC brass.

I went and shot my testing loads and was a bit disappointed but still had fun and was informative.   I am using a scope now and it's clearly not zeroed well (my fault) .  I was shooting better with my iron sights.  I also shot poorly I guess, as you can see.   I even forgot my shooting glasses and was using my sunglasses.  it was a little gusty and windy but it should not be an excuse. Any way on to it.

It was hot about 100 but had the nice wind.
Shooting out to 100 yards.
I am using the 55 grain Hornady Vmax no cannula with the Ramshot TAC.  Here are the results

24.3 grains


24.5 grains


24.7 grains  I totally gorged that last round.  I knew it was way high and right when I shot it. Lol at least it was partially on the paper.


My normal go to with TAC and the 55grain FMJ is 25 grain. But looking at the Hornady loading info,  I did not load that load because the Hornady information says max load is 24.7 under the Vmax bullet.   I don't see any signs of high pressure.



 Do they recommend a lighter load because of possible fragmentation?    The data says 3200fps can be achieved with the max load of 24.7

Im wondering now about the 3 options.   Should I should creep it up ignoring Hornady published info,  stick with the 24.3 grain load and/or retest after better zeroing.   I'm not sure zeroing would make a difference in the grouping just how far off aim point I am.  Im going to do that anyway. These loads did not feel hot to me,  but I'm wondering about bullet design as the reason for lighter published load.


I literally shot better with my pinker loads.  I am new to having optics as crazy as that sounds,  I may have been rushing my shots,  where I really take my time with irons.  

I got another 100 of these bullets so I'm not to worried about retesting. II Just need to shoot like I normally shot,  I guess optics don't make the shooter either, I still need to practice good breathing control and follow the steps just like normal.  Just typing this out I don't feel so bad, because after I tested these,  I shot another 120 plinks doing some mellow shorter range motion drills with my irons,  that keeps it fun.  

Thanks for reading guys, Any suggestions on the next step with my Vmax bullet adventure are welcome.