Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Frangible .257 bullets

What bullet would be least likely to ricochet in a 25-06 for woodchucks? Thinking 90gr blitz king or hollow point, nosler 85, or Speer TNT. Thoughts?

Sierra 90 grain HP will skip I am sure, as it will shoot through deer. Always felt the 85 Ballistic Tip was too tough for my liking as well.

The 90 grain Blitzking, 87 grain TNT or even the 75 grain V-Max or hollow points should work nicely.

Years ago I killed a lot with the old 87 gr. Sierra flat base.. Still have some, but usually shoot 100's at coyotes..

One of my rifles loves 100 gr bullets. Thinking maybe the Speer 100gr varminter.

75gr. v-max comes apart fast and hard , amazing at the explosive damage that bullet does.

Inside 100 yards a coyote can be shot anywhere - gut shot - the butt wherever and it's dead . The v-max explodes praire dogs and Idaho ground squirrels so not much but small bits will exit a groundhog .

I'm with OM on the 75 VMs. They were instantaneous explosive hide-blowing death on anything they touched. I wrecked a really good hide with a 75 high into the shoulder, the others were off-season kills so it didn't matter. But the VMs were overkill, in fact, I went to (I think) 87 grain Noslers until I wore out that barrel. Still haven't put a new tube on, but it will be an Ackley, not an 06.

I like those 75 gr. Vmax also...

Another 75 V-Max vote. They not only expand violently, but have shot extremely well in several rifles from .257 Roberts to .257 Weatherby.

75 grain vax here too.

If you want to blow it up the 75 grain v_max will get it done.

I used to shoot the 75 grain Sierra FB HP in my .257 Roberts. I recovered quite a few in fragments in 6-8 inches of grass. I'm fairly confident in their "come-apart" ability. However, I'd look really hard at the 70 Blitzking .. if it shoots accurately it should be even better.

The 75 grain VMAX comes apart nicely but I never could get accuracy in my .257s or .25-'06s. I guess a plus to the lack of accuracy is since y' gotta get closer to hit anything, you retain more velocity and throw pieces even farther!

Tom

75 Vmax in the Roberts is very accurate and un-knunts rabbits like nothing I've seen before to include 55 vmax in a 22-250

the 90gr Sierra hpbt are rated for deer type game, I shot groundhogs with them and they always exited the groundhog, the first nosler 85gr ballistic trip were great for shooting hogs but I think nosler toughen them up

i run the 85 NBT at about 3500 fps in my ruger number 1 special varmint and i found them to blow up nicely. quarter inch hole going in hole to Detroit going out. I had one make a puff of dirt on impact as it was a head shot on a steep hill so less mass going threw. body shots they blow up and expend all energy and make a nasty exit

I found Sierra 75gr HP’s the most frangible by far, they would ‘blow up’ on grass @ 3700fps out of my 25-06.
Not once did I find anything after hitting rabbits and unlike other bullets, making double hits was virtually impossible. The Speer 87gr TNT was also frangible, but doubles were easy to make if the bunnies were close together.
I missed a fox once, and there was a dam behind it, the mist that came off the water was spectacular, it wasn’t a splash, it was vapour!

Cheers.

Back in the 1980s I hunted woodchucks with my 25-06. I shot them with either the 87 grain Sierra spitzer or the 90 grain Sierra HPBT. I can't recall any problems with either expansion or ricochets. Later, I used Berger 87 grain HPs and Speer 100 grain HPs in my 257 Roberts and 250 AI. These days I load either 75 grain VMAXs or 90 grain Sierras in my 250 Savage or 257 Roberts rifles, both rebarreled Savage Axis rifles with E.R. Shaw barrels. I have yet to shoot any critters with these bullets, but have killed woodchucks with both bullets in other calibers - 22 and 243. As I recall, the 100 grain Speer HP really took a woodchuck or coyote apart. I blew a small coyote in half back in the summer of 1998 with one.

75 V-max will get it done.....

Just got back from Wy. where I used the Sierra tipped 90 gn Blitz on both chucks and P.dogs. Come apart very well and are very accurate in my 250AI.