Hornady 52grBTHPMatch for hunting?

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cath8r

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Bought these to reload in a new to me .22-250. The idea was that its still a hollow point and might not be quite as explosive as a V-Max that I used to reload with.

Does anyone use or have used this bullet to varmint hunt with?

My gun seems to like them with 36grs. of Varget so I hope the consensus is positve.
Rob.
 
I shot the 53 gr. hornady hollow point match into short 3"x5" wood blocks sitting on fence posts and the pieces didnt' even budge...I figured I missed....turns out they just penciled through. These were at 100 yards and the MV was about 3550 fps.

I havent tested on varmints but I can imagine what would happen (or what wouldnt' happen in this case) .
 
Many bullets will pencil through on hard targets. They turn into something altogether different when shot into flesh. I have used match bullets on varmints for years with dynamic results. Your mileage may vary, but I don't think you will be disappointed.
 
the bullet makers will tell you that bthp match bullets have a hollow point for balistic reasons only and not to expect them to function as an expanding bullet. Sometimes they will but not reliably
 
I could be wrong but I think les johnson from predator quest has used them in his .22-250. I am not certain but if those were the bullets he uses it looks like they work just fine to me. check his website it might have the info.
 
Varmints are the only time to use a match bullet for hunting. Kind of expensive shooting though. Mind you, a ground hog, coyote, etc., won't care.
 
I tried them once out of my .22-250 for groundhog hunting. I gave up after one session as I was not getting the type of bullet performance on the groundhogs that I wanted, or that I got from regular spire points. Perhaps on the larger coyote it is OK, but I do not use them any more for varmints. There are HP bullets that are designed for hunting, and those should be the first choice. In my experience they shoot almost as well as the match bullets.
 
The idea was that I wouldn't get shallow wounds or 12" exits on coyotes that I've seen from vmax style bullets. Where I live it is no way no how a high volume shooting scenario. This might be the only coyote for the year. I'll keep on them, but we aern't infested with them nor have gophers or g-hogs. A few shots at jacks, yotes, crows and sighting and its a full Essex County season. Sadly....
 
I have been using them and they seem to work good for me. With a well placed shot there is very little pelt damage and they go down hard. I also had one were I botched the shot and large exit wound was left. I shoot them at about 3400fps and they work for me.
 
I've shot them out of a .223 at gophers and they don't have a whole lot of structure left if that means anything.
 
I have used them in my swift for 5 years now. Factory federal loads at 3600 fps, and my handloads at 3800 fps. Work great. Even if through the ribs, quarter size exit hole, but shoot them in the shoulder, and they don't exit. Just go down dead. Best group is under 1/4" for 3 shots at 100 yds.
 
There is no reason they won't work. As has been noted before I wouldn't use them in any large game application (or, that is, not again) but they should work fine on varmints.
I currently use FMJ in my .223, and V-max's in my .243 and .308. They work great and I haven't experienced any of the "12 inch exit wounds" from either of the V-Max bullets. At 200yds, often no exit wounds at all when shot in the shoulder. I was looking for as little damage as I could get and, for me, that translates into the V-max's or FMJ's. However, I like the V-max's since they don't ricochet when shooting gophers.
Enjoy shooting your rounds and kill some 'yotes. I have had a zero count so far this year.
 
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