njc110381 Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 I've been looking around on the net for a nice light explosive bullet to use in my new Hornet when it arrives. I want something that breaks up reliably even at low velocities. So far I've found.. 36grn Barnes Varmint Grenade 35grn Hornady V-Max 30grn Berger Varmint 33grn Speer TNT All are supposed to be extremely frangible. The TNT is said to break up very easily but then that could just be the marketing talk. Which ones do you find most reliable on small vermin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redfox Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 The TNT works pretty well, but there are Hornady and Speer and Nosler bullets designe specifically for the Hornet that work best. Hornet and explosive are not used in the same sentence , however hornet designed bullets work very well together with a good load, otherwise your into the improveed versions of th Hornet to up the velocity. I developed a load for a friend using a nosler bullet for the Hornet and H322, it was I think a 40gr bullet. redfox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted January 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 I understand that the Hornet may not give the velocity to create a major explosion on impact. That's why I'm after something really sensitive to impact. My understanding of the Hornet bullets is that they are .223 instead of .224 to allow for the older barrels being tighter, is that not the case? I'll only be pushing these things to around 2500fps, so they really do need to be keen to expand as soon as they hit something! I'll look again at some Hornet bullets. Maybe I've got the wrong idea of what they are designed for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarinePMI Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 You can look for 33gr VMax blems (I believe Midway has them). They were designed for the .22Mag, so they should be very frangible in a Hornet at those speeds... These would work as well... Blem 30gr VMax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted January 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Thanks for that info. I've just noticed I'm being a bit daft. The 33grn Speer TNT JHP are listed as Hornet bullets and are .224. I think I'll give them a go first as one of my favourite gun shops stocks Speer stuff. Reading the details it says the jacket is fluted to make them split open more easily, sounds like they're exactly what I'm after! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casts_by_fly Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 take a peek over on saubier.com. It is a buch of sub caliber guys there and 'big' is a 22-250. Lots of guys shoot hornets and there is half a ton of load data. Seems that the 40 gr v-max is pretty popular in addition to the TNT and 35 v-max you've listed. If you've got TNT's local, I'd start there and see what you get. Thanks, Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-NZ Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Shame you're not closer- I have an untouched box of 35VMaxs for a long-sold Ruger Hornet. They went really well in it Chris-NZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 I would contact MidwayUK and get some of their 34 grain Dog Town bullets. They are very accurate and very, very explosive. I shoot them over 13.5 grains of Hodgdon "Lil Gun" powder to about 3100 fps. If your Lot of brass will hold it, 14 grains will work as well. (10.5 grains of H-110 will work but at higher pressures with faster speeds.) The last three scope zero verifying groups I have shot with these bullets have averaged around .28MOA for three shots; the last being .098" at 100 yards. I have killed a bushel basket full of prairiedogs with them so far as well as a heap of rabbits. Very good bullet for a reasonable price.~Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted January 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Thanks for the advice, I'll try to get hold of some Dog Towns to try. Chris, thanks for the thought. It would probably cost more to get them to me than they would cost here! NZ is a fair way away from me. It's good to hold on to these things, you never know when you may get another .22. I need to do a bit of work before I send in my FAC. I'm going to try to get the .375H&H OK'd for Deer in the UK at the same time as the variation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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