40 grain VS 55 grain varmint bullets

[Alucard]

Hey guys. What would be more destructive on varmints - mainly gophers and rabbits. A 40gr bullet going 4100-4200 FPS or a 55gr bullet going 3700-3800 FPS?

These will be fired out of a .220 Swift. Doesn't matter the bullet manufacturer or the type - V-Max, Blitz King, Ballistic Tip. Or would one of the 50gr bullets going about 3800-3900 FPS be better? Accuracy would be in the 1" or better mark at 100 yards - just a varmint load. Thanks for the info.

[Ballistic64]

Any of the bullets and speeds you mention should create some good hang time. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
With my Swift I cant get the 40 grainers close enough to the rifling and have had better luck accuracy wise with the 52-55 grain bullets.

[Fiftydriver]

Alucard,

On that size game the 40s will offer a bit more "POP" if you will, especially with a tipped bullet.

The 55s will offer you more ranging ability with less wind drift and still offer dramatic red mists.

I would base it on what range you want to shoot at and which shoots best in your rifle. Some Swifts tend to not like 55 gr tipped bullets if they have a 1-14 factory twist, some do. Nealy all shoot the 50s very well.

You may want to compromise and shoot a 50 gr tipped bullet, get most of the velocity of the 40 gr pills and better ranging and wind drift numbers as well.

Good Shooting!!

Kirby Allen(50)

[remingtonman_25_06]

I also have a .220 Swift and was wanting to find out this very same thing. So what I did when I went to Montana P-doggin was to take some loaded up with the 40 BT at 4200fps and my main load, 55 BT at 3825fps. I very soon found out about the Montana wind. Ha ha ha, and I thought the wind blew where I was from. The 40's were good out to about 250 and when they hit, they flipped them a little higher and ripped them up a little more. The 55's however were superior in bucking the 10-15 MPH wind we had every day we shot. My fartest kill was 452 yards. The 55's at that range are still pretty destructive though. I brought 100 of each. Both loads group in the .3's at 100 yards. However, like Fiftydriver mentioned, You might compromise and go with the 50's afterall, the Hornady 50g V-max moly coat is averaging .25" for me. I have not had a chance to Chrony this load yet, however if it is around the 4000fps mark, I may stick with it.

[Alucard]

Ok guys, thanks for the tips. I was thinking of comprimising and going with the 50's but I just wanted some reassurance on that one. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Also, why go with the tipped bullets over the hollow points? Better accuracy and wind bucking ability? Thanks.

[Fiftydriver]

I like tipped bullets in the varmint calibers for a couple reasons:

-tent to be a bit more consistant in BC value from bullet to bullet.

-They expand much more violently then a HP especially at longer ranges. ACtually, you will find that at the outer reaches of a rounds effective range, even a SP will expand better then a HP. Nothing will compare to a tipped bullet though for expansion when the range gets long and the velocity low.

-They offer higher BC values then a HP.

-They look neet [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]! You can get red, or orange or silver or green!!!

I have been using the 50 gr Blitzkings in my 22-250 AI and the 55 gr Blitzking in my 22-6mm AI. Both have 1-14 twist barrels and I get roughly 4000 and 4150 fps respectively and they have been accurate, explosive and lower priced then some of the other tipped bullets.

No flies on any of them, Nosler, CT, Hornady or Sierra, they all are great performers and it will depend on the rifle which shoots the best.

Good SHooting!!

Kirby Allen(50)

[Alucard]

Ok, thanks for the info on the tipped bullets. I think that I will go with the tipped ones vs the HP design. Thanks again.