Best Prairie Dog or Open Field Bullet

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06-21-21, 08:07
AndyLate

Best Prairie Dog or Open Field Bullet

I am heading back to South Dakota later this summer and plan to set aside a little time to do a bit of shooting with my 18" AR and CZ 527 Varmint in .223.

I would like my bullets to break up on impact with the ground to reduce ricochets as much as practical.

I have a good stock of 55 grain Speer Varmint SPs. If I can find a load that groups well, are they reasonably "fragile"?

Are the tipped bullets like Hornady V-Max better at coming apart?

Conventional wisdom used to say that, in general, hollow point bullets ricocheted more than SPs, is that true?

I know the easy answer is to use a 22-250 or 220 Swift, but I own neither.

Andy
06-21-21, 08:16
gunnerblue

Typically the tipped varmint bullets are more explosive than hollow points and would be less likely to ricochet. Barnes also makes their Varmint Grenade line, but I've never been able to get them to group well. I got nothing as far as soft point vs hollow point ricochet, sorry
06-21-21, 11:23
gaijin

V-Max do fragment explosively and are usually quite accurate to boot.
06-21-21, 12:00
AndyLate

I have a couple hundred (?) 55 gr Z-max bullets so I should be able work up a load that shoots well in both rifles while waiting for stock to come back on the V-Maxes. They are supposed to be the same bullet beside tip color.

Andy
06-22-21, 20:22
s4s4u

Hornady 55 SP for all things. They group well in all my guns.
06-23-21, 07:12
ST911

I'd prioritize accuracy and the ability to manage wind for the distances you're going to be shooting. After that, dogs go down to about anything, it's just a matter of destruction, with expanding lightly jacketed bullets being more dramatic. Not sure why ricochet's would be a factor, if conditions are safe for shooting in general?
06-23-21, 07:48
AndyLate

Quote:

Originally Posted by ST911

I'd prioritize accuracy and the ability to manage wind for the distances you're going to be shooting. After that, dogs go down to about anything, it's just a matter of destruction, with expanding lightly jacketed bullets being more dramatic. Not sure why ricochet's would be a factor, if conditions are safe for shooting in general?

Its "belt and suspenders" - ricochets can travel a long way in different directions. I know its impossible to eliminate ricochets, but it is possible to reduce the likelihood.

I'm not really worried about terminal performance and, as you said, accuracy and drift are important considerations.

EDIT - I was looking for and found some suggestions that will let me focus on a few bullet types to find accurate loads.

Andy