new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

[jayd4wg]

Tomorrow starts turkey season here in PA and rifles are acceptable method of harvesting...i was planning on using the 22mag if i could find ammo for it. I've been squirrel hunting for a couple weeks and depleted my supply of Remington 33gr polytips (a rebadged vmax I think). I could NOT find any of the green box stuff anywhere...and really no 22mag at all save for winchester softs which my rifle hates. Then I stumbled on a box of the hornady stuff at Dicks and I had never tried it before, but it appears to be the same stuff I was getting from 22ammo.com a couple years ago that shot VERY well.

Not to be disappointed in the least - I like this stuff and will be buying more and will print a couple targets after hunting season is over.

50 yard target:

and just for the record...tha's 5 shots.

here's 100 yards, 5 shots again...still Minute of Turkey I think

I had corrected windage at 50 before firing this target and the shot to the right is a called flyer. 3 in one hole, and one a half inch high....I really like this ammo. If i wasn't rushed this morning, I might have been able to really print a better group. All the 50 yard stuff was done from a clean barrel too (silly me - cleaned it and did some trigger work last nite - what is with me doing stupid maintenance and possible hunt ruining stuff to my equipment the day before season starts???)

Anyway...if anyone has a heavy barreled marlin 22mag, give the lighter pills a try. Mine seems to really like the light stuff.

 

[KHOOKS]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

A shop near the house has a punch of the Hornday 30Gr vmax like that. Guess I need to give it a try. I'd been shooting the CCI maxi mag hp stuff.

 

[jayd4wg]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

my only concern now is whether or not the 30gr pill will blow up on the feathers of a turkey and actually make it in to do the deed.

Forget the hip/pelvis shot on them, these pills will only do the deed on head and base of neck shots. I'm told some guys here will use a 223 up to 308 for turkey and hit the birds at the top of the thigh (can't hardly eat the leg/thigh meat on a wild bird anyway...very tough). I just can't see myself using the big boom stick on something like a turkey. It just doesn't seem right LOL

 

[hilbillee]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

All of my magnums like the Hornady ammo. And I shoot it thru a Rem. 597, 10/22 Magnum, CZ 452, and a Win. 94/22. They will shoot CCI mags pretty good too. The Remington 22.maga are a different story, they are all over the target. But I will say they are the hollow points. I haven't tried any of the polytips.

 

[bigwheeler]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

I don't think that is enough medicine for a turkey. Federal makes a 50 22mag
that is the best game taker I have seen. I too settled on a 30 grain (speer tnt)
for accuracy, seems the mags love more speed. But I have seen a turkey run
off with a direct breast hit at 10 yards with a 22. So the mag at 80 yards and
that light of a pill may not be enough.

 

[jayd4wg]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

not starting a fight, but why would anyone hit a turkey with a rimfire in the thickest part of the bird? Given that you will not be taking a shot over 100 yards EVER with this caliber at game, and that I and in fact MOST people shooting this caliber see 1-1.5 inch groups at 100 yards..why would you not aim for the base of the neck? this is a region that even if you don't sever the spine, theres enough vital stuff there that any hit with an explosive round would nearly sever the head and leave the bird to bleed out in seconds. You might have to chase it for a block...but that would be a WORST case scenario. I have seen them hit in the neck with the 40gr cci hp's and they are DRT. PMC Predator soft points, DRT with hip shot. Remmy 33gr's DRT with neck...I guess we'll find out tomorrow if it's enough. I'm pretty confident I can hit a golf ball out to 100...

If your bird is strutting - rare but not unseen in fall - 1" down and "1 toward body from eyeball, puts your bullet right into an S-fold in their neck with a high probability of hitting bone. any bone hit in the neck is DRT.

Standing or "on alert" - aim right at the neck where it starts to widen out to the body - this spot is about 3-4 inches thick with feathers, and the bone and tissue of the neck itself is 2" or less. Yeah, a small target, but no smaller than squirrels heads. Any bone hit here is DRT. Miss the bone, and with the poly tips and vmax i'm really thinking there will be enough tissue damage to be DRT or very dead, very soon

 

[bigwheeler]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

Don't know why he shot it where he did, most likely missed because it was coming
in fast with it's head down. We tracked the blood for two miles in very light snow.
The bird finally flew and a shotgun went off in that direction a minute later. It's been
years ago and I've forgotten some of the finer points of the conversation we had during the hunt.
As far as 2 moa with a rimfire in field conditions, not many are that good,
rifles or shooters.

I

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

as i also use the 30gr. vmax as my favorite ammo, for my hunting rifle (*for other than deer and long range chucks). my 882 marlin shoots 5 shots around one inch at 100, -.75" at 50, and -3" at 200. it a very accurate and destructive round on squirrels, rabbits, crows and other critters out to 125, ok out to 150 and really start dropping off at 175 for effective hunting range. i've littery tried every ammo offered for the .22 mag, and the hornady is definately the fastest and most accurate / consistant ammo i've found for it. try weighin them into lots (which is tough as the manufacturing is so good there is hardly a difference), and you'll see your groups get even better. looks like you don't need it but a rifle basix trigger make a world of difference in the marlins.

however on turkeys, you would be better suited with another type of ammo. the reason is that the hornadys are TOO destructive, and doesn't have the penetration to reach the vitals, and ruins a good portion of the meat. which as hunters, we should always strive to take a quick, lethal, ethical shot, and keeping the most meat edible as we think of shot placement.

this is why for turkey, i have to give up some of the performance the hornadys give and go with cci fmj (they call it tmj) for the penetration factor.

as hunter's we should strive for a high percentage shot, and although a hit to the head, neck and base of neck on turkey will bring it down, those parts are usually in motion, not providing that high percentage shot, and you have a better chance of wounding loss.

the best would probably be the boradside shot, aiming at the wing socket. this will not only take out the birds ability to fly, but usually the bullet finds it's way to the vitals, and through the other wing socket. this will also ruin less edible meat.

i'm glad you are excited about the ammo, and you should be, and don't mean to burst your bubble, however for turkeys you would be better served with using the CORRECT ammo / tool for the job.

last year was a 93 yard shot, wing socket, the bird took two steps and fell. so the .22 mag is good enough for turkey, with the proper ammo, practice, patience, and shot placement.


cci "tmj"

same gun, different paint, new stock mods,....hornady 30 gr vmax

 

[Skeeeter]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

For the 22 Mag I have had some really good luck with the Winchester Supremes. Federal Premium second and Remington light and fast a close third.
If you can get the accuracy then by all means shot placement makes it so much fun, like which eyeball socket to enter through.....As far as the V-Max goes, I have been present and personally witnessed a 22-250 with a 45 grain V-Max running over 4,000FPS at 100 yards shatter like glass on the breast feathers of a large Tom (9"+ double beard) and not even knock it out, let alone kill it. The kill shot came from an HM2 17gr V-Max.......The V-Max's penetration has a lot to do with its speed, the slower the more penetration, the Mag with a V-Max is going slow enough that it should be okay......

 

[Dirtracer151]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

Nice Turkey!!

 

[jayd4wg]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

given what I've seen after shooting a couple large squirrels in the past couple days - the 30gr Vmax will be more than sufficient for a turkey on a neck shot.

First shot entered base of neck (missed the nose) and exited thru the abdomen leaving the right back leg useless and massive internal injury, not to mention a VERY large hole in the guts. Second (killing) shot entered right side ribs, and exited on the shoulder wound you see here. After the first shot, he fell and hit the ground with a loud THUD...then took off running like a bat out of hell. I knew he was hit hard, but running hard too. I took the first shot he presented on his run as he treed himself. this shot was thru the boiler room and resulted in DRT.

Seems once they get thru about 1.5-2" of flesh, they really open up. I'm impressed with their performance. shot placement is key. I lost nearly half of the biggest squirrel I've ever shot. his smaller sister was a perfect "thru the neck from the front, out the back shot on the side of a tree leaving a barely visible entry hole, and a dime sized exit. I had no head shot avail because of limbs in the way and the cover got worse the further up the tree he went so i took the first shot presented. Sorry they (the wounds) are not visible in this pic...bullet damage was not a target of my photos at that time.

In the future, i'lll make more of an effort to get detailed pics of the damage.

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DirtRacer151</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Nice Turkey!! </div></div>

thanks, it was shot with the tmj (fmj)

the 30 gr hornady in the neck or even base of the neck is a good shot, however as said before as turkeys move around a decent bit with the vmax you will either have:

1. dead turkey
2. dead turkey with too much damage to eat
3. a clean miss
4. wounding loss

end up having more of #4 than anything.

if in doubt, buy a frozen turkey let it thaw, take your shot. hell even use a couple of store bought chickens, they vmax doesn't have the penetration factor. and that's without feathers.

 

[Smallmouth Crazy]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

Wow thats a nice group, I might have to try that loading in my 452 American, I have tied the Remington polymers with pretty good results, rimfires are great guns to practice with nowdays with ammo prices and all.

 

[Longguns]

Re: new favorite ammo - Hornady .22WMR 30gr vmax

Try the Speer TNT for accuracy and Explosive results. For Coyotes,Turkeys I would shoot a heavier bullet. TNT blows the hell out of stuff.