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  #1  
Old 07-18-2021, 06:55 PM
218bee 218bee is offline
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Default Has anyone used the 50 grain Vmax in a 221 Fireball?

I went groundhog hunting this am and I had some erratic results with the 50 grain Remington factory ammo I was using. I shot three groundhogs and only anchored one. The other two made it to their holes. The first was about 100 yards and I hit him in the head neck junction. He went down and by the time I got the hole he was down in the ground looking back at me. I was 12 feet away. He was looking at me with blood around his face. I shot 3 more times as he slowly moved or was pushed back by the impact. It looked like it wasn’t doing much too him.

The second one was along a fence row maybe 20 feet way. He was sitting up and I put it right on his shoulder. He jumped in his hole and I saw nothing to indicate a hit. I know I hit him, but I thought he should have been done that close.

The third was about 100 yards and I hit him quartering away through the shoulder. It went down and stayed right there. The bullet made a dime sized entrance and never exited.

What are your experiences and what do you think?

Here is a pic of the one we recovered:

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  #2  
Old 07-18-2021, 08:21 PM
Rick in Oregon Rick in Oregon is offline
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Default Chucks and Furballs

218, good to see you out there with your son; good dad.

In both my Furballs, I've settled on both the Nosler 40gr BT and their 40gr Varmegeddon. Both shoot at or under 1/4", my Cooper M38 does a bit better than my CZ 527. Over RL-7, it's a smile on my face every time, and no chuck has escaped a hit from either bullet (yet).

For comparison, two chucks taken with the Cooper Phoenix, both shot at just over 200 yards in a rock pile:



And the "terminal performance shot" showing the expansion both bullets have on head shots:



I'd suggest going to a 40gr bullet in the FB, get more velocity, less chance for crawl-off's.
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  #3  
Old 07-18-2021, 08:22 PM
varmintshooter varmintshooter is offline
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I don't know what velocity you are getting but the ghogs I have shot with my 221 have all been pretty dead. 40 or 50 vmax it didn't seem to matter. I know I killed 1 @ 380 yds but not sure if it was with a 40 or 50gr vmax
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Old 07-18-2021, 08:28 PM
218bee 218bee is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick in Oregon View Post
218, good to see you out there with your son; good dad.

In both my Furballs, I've settled on both the Nosler 40gr BT and their 40gr Varmegeddon. Both shoot at or under 1/4", my Cooper M38 does a bit better than my CZ 527. Over RL-7, it's a smile on my face every time, and no chuck has escaped a hit from either bullet (yet).

For comparison, two chucks taken with the Cooper Phoenix, both shot at just over 200 yards in a rock pile:



And the "terminal performance shot" showing the expansion both bullets have on head shots:



I'd suggest going to a 40gr bullet in the FB, get more velocity, less chance for crawl-off's.
I agree with you. I am thinking the 50's may not open up enough to get the impact I want.

My son had fun too. It's hard to keep him on task at times. He sees a butterfly and then wants to chase after it. Lol.
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Old 07-18-2021, 08:29 PM
218bee 218bee is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by varmintshooter View Post
I don't know what velocity you are getting but the ghogs I have shot with my 221 have all been pretty dead. 40 or 50 vmax it didn't seem to matter. I know I killed 1 @ 380 yds but not sure if it was with a 40 or 50gr vmax
My chronograph averaged them at 2996 fps, if I remember correctly.
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Old 07-18-2021, 09:52 PM
foxhunter foxhunter is offline
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no ground hogs in this old desert but i will relate a 221 fb failure. don't shoot the 40 gr sierra hp's. they will not expand for a clean kill. they will punch a pencil sized hole all the way thru a jack rabbit. i would use 40 balistictips or 40 vmax pushed by a stiff load of aa1680, you can get 3600 fps from them. if they expand on our jack rabbits they will expand on g-hogs.
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Old 07-18-2021, 10:26 PM
TinMan TinMan is offline
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I have had similar results to those from Rick in Oregon, but my use is for PD's not rock chucks. My Cooper M21 and CZ527 in 221FB prefer 40gr VMAX or NBT and sometimes 40gr or 45gr Hornet specific bullets from Hornady or Sierra. They both also like RL-7 or AA-2200 for powders. I think you need a more explosive bullets, and the higher velocities of the 40gr bullets give you that better terminal effects.
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  #8  
Old 07-18-2021, 10:55 PM
218bee 218bee is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by foxhunter View Post
no ground hogs in this old desert but i will relate a 221 fb failure. don't shoot the 40 gr sierra hp's. they will not expand for a clean kill. they will punch a pencil sized hole all the way thru a jack rabbit. i would use 40 balistictips or 40 vmax pushed by a stiff load of aa1680, you can get 3600 fps from them. if they expand on our jack rabbits they will expand on g-hogs.
Ok. I have that 40 grain Sierra bullet too, and I will stay away from it. I have some 40 grain Ballistic tips, Vmaxes, and Varmageddon that I will try. I have aa1680, CFE Black, and some others to try. I don't have much RL 7 left as Rick suggested, any others to consider?
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Old 07-18-2021, 10:55 PM
218bee 218bee is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TinMan View Post
I have had similar results to those from Rick in Oregon, but my use is for PD's not rock chucks. My Cooper M21 and CZ527 in 221FB prefer 40gr VMAX or NBT and sometimes 40gr or 45gr Hornet specific bullets from Hornady or Sierra. They both also like RL-7 or AA-2200 for powders. I think you need a more explosive bullets, and the higher velocities of the 40gr bullets give you that better terminal effects.
I will try the 40's in it going forward.
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  #10  
Old 07-18-2021, 11:42 PM
df06 df06 is offline
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Default 221 fb

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Originally Posted by 218bee View Post
I will try the 40's in it going forward.
I also have had good results in my 221 fb with 40 grain BT, VMAX and BK.
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