.204 Grenade...??

[Bushmaster]

I gave a guy some .204 brass, so in return, he gave me a box of reloads...26 gr. varmint grenades. What kind of difference can I expect between the grenades and my factory VMax bullets? I haven't had a chance to try the grenades yet....

[timsesink]

let's just say instant explosion. I've seen a guy use them in his 204 and one end of the gopher probably fleww 20 feet.

[Roughneck12]

That would be pretty cool.

[shooter55]

watch the Barnes video, it is very cool.
However, for ballistics, I have found the 22 calibre varmint grenades shoot or destroy no better than the Hornady SPX, which are way cheaper.

[DennyV]

Stick with 40gr VMAX's I hoped for dramatic differences but its all hype. The hornady's are more dramatic with a little better wind bucking ability.

[Faststeel]

Originally Posted by DennyV

Stick with 40gr VMAX's I hoped for dramatic differences but its all hype. The hornady's are more dramatic with a little better wind bucking ability.

These bullets group nicely in my CZ with Win 748 powder, but the explosiveness is over rated. FS

[Bushmaster]

I've definitely had some pretty dramatic results with the VMax's on gophers....

[gunner72]

X2 the hornadys are way cheaper. I shoot a 22 hornet at gophers with 40gr V Max at about 2700fps and barns same grs, same speed. Me and Sureshot73 were out yesterday and the V Maxes were launching gophers! Barnes not so much.This cal being the lower end for speed in center fire 22 cal i think it would show the diference the best maybe. I also had some 52gr speer hp that were realy messing things up. Carnage and gophers I love it.Sureshot was shooting 32gr speer hp I think whith the same horific results. Not a big fan of the granades. JMO!

[lclund1946]

I didn't find the Barnes VG's to be nearly as explosive on gophers as the Sierra BK's and the V-maxes. I had them running at 4250fps and grouping 1/2" in my 20 EXTREME but only made a big hole through a big gopher at 50 yards. The Ballistic Coefficient is so much lower than the 40 grain bullets that it really isn't a long range bullet. I won't even bother loading the rest of the bullets that I have.

The most explosive bullets are the 32 & 40 Blitz Kings due to a 0.009" thick jacket compared to 0.014" on the V-maxes. I have read reports that the BK's blow up before penetration on coyotes while the 32 V-Max seems to penetrate, blow up and not exit. I will continue to load all of the above as I have compatible loads for all four bullets.

[Dean2]

Barnes VG. My experience, they are expensive, hard to get to shoot well in most rifles, and their explosivenes is way over rated. I agree with the Horn SP or SPSX, V-max and Blitkings as being far better for accurracy, wind bucking and explosivenes, as well as being less expensive choices. For explosive I would rate SPSX, SP, BlitzKing then VMax. Price is just about the same order as well.

Shooot the ones you have but if you are going to get more done up I would choose the other bullets.

[ruger300]

My experience with the grenades is ya got to push them very fast to get the same results as the poly tipped bullets. My buddy gopher shooter loaded his 204 past the 4400 fps!! His savage shoots that load accurately somehow and yes, hits on the target are dramatic even nearing the 300yd mark. What that kind of speed is doing to the life of that barrel???

ruger300

[junkdude]

I tried some 40gr VGs in a hornet with 1:16 twist and had trouble even hitting the paper. Moved them into a 223 with a 1:9 twist and got fairly decent accuracy... but they are expensive. Have yet to explode a rodent with one.

[Dean2]

Try the Blitzkings in your hornet. I have 5 Hornets, all with 1:16 barrels and they all shoot exactly the same load. WW brass, neck sized only, 12.6 of Lil'Gun, Fed Small Pistol Primer and a 40 Grain Blitzking at 1.810 L.O.A, Does about 3050 FPS out of a 22" barrel. Really makes reloading easier, just have to keep track of which brass went through which gun.

The worst of the 5 groups them under .6 at 100. The others will one hole them and those BKs definitely mistify the gophers.

[junkdude]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Try the Blitzkings in your hornet. I have 5 Hornets, all with 1:16 barrels and they all shoot exactly the same load. WW brass, neck sized only, 12.6 of Lil'Gun, Fed Small Pistol Primer and a 40 Grain Blitzking at 1.810 L.O.A, Does about 3050 FPS out of a 22" barrel. Really makes reloading easier, just have to keep track of which brass went through which gun.

The worst of the 5 groups them under .6 at 100. The others will one hole them and those BKs definitely mistify the gophers.

I've tried the 35gr Vmax and they seem to group pretty good. Was previously using Speer 40gr Spire SP which shot incredible (think it was 10.7gr of 4227). Didn't chrony any of these, but I'll have to. I've got some Lil'Gun and will have to give it a try.

Ever tried the 30gr Barnes "Hornet" varmint grenades in the hornet? I discovered I had a box of these the other day and would be interested if others have tried these and what load shoots best.

[sureshot73]

Originally Posted by junkdude

I've tried the 35gr Vmax and they seem to group pretty good. Was previously using Speer 40gr Spire SP which shot incredible (think it was 10.7gr of 4227). Didn't chrony any of these, but I'll have to. I've got some Lil'Gun and will have to give it a try.

Ever tried the 30gr Barnes "Hornet" varmint grenades in the hornet? I discovered I had a box of these the other day and would be interested if others have tried these and what load shoots best.

I havn't tried the 30gr. VG, but the 36gr. in my Ruger hornet were very disappointing, i will never buy them again, i do like the 35gr v-max & 33gr speers, good accuracy & very destructive, i have some 40gr. Nos BT that i havnt tried yet, does anyone know how they compare to the V-max & BK's?