Based on some preliminary experiments I've done with both water jugs and synthetic ballistic gel, it seems that traditional lead-nose soft point varmint bullets will only reliably expand down to 2000 fps. At 1800-1900, they just pencil through, or sometimes tumble. From 2000 to 2800 (max hornet velocity with 50gr bullets), they mushroom like a big game bullet, which is ideal for this purpose. Penetration when the bullets mushroom was about 14-18 inches. Even the claimed "thin jacket" bullets such as Hornady's SPSX 'super explosive' exhibit this trait.
On the other hand, the plastic tipped Hornady VMAX will fragment violently even at hornet velocities. Penetration is only a few inches, with the bullet completely disintegrating! Based on the wound cavity in the gel, the amount of energy released could easily blow a large hole in the offside hide, ruining a mount especially at closer ranges. I have a few brands of plastic bullets yet to test though, maybe some are harder than others.
The other thing I have yet to test is the 55gr Norma Oryx bonded bullet. It does have a blunter nose profile, so that's promising. Supposedly the bigger Oryx bullets expand at low velocities, but it seems 22 caliber is a different beast from my testing so far. Internet searches turned up nothing either way so I ordered some to try.
Another thing I haven't tried is the "hornet" specific offerings from Sierra, Hornady, Nosler, etc. The reason is low BC. Even if they expand at much lower velocity, the range won't be any greater and the wind deflection will be much worse, so there is only downside.
The 22 hornet in my combo gun is very accurate. If it's not too windy, smacking a little 4" plate at 300 yards is easy. However, based on my testing, 200 yards would be the limit of bullet expansion using "hide friendly" designs. I have killed turkey at 220-230 yards and based on ballistics the bullet was definitely in the "no expansion" velocity range, yet the turkeys just flopped a few seconds and died, so that part is a puzzle.
Am I over thinking this? Should I just be satisfied with a 200 yard limit on the 22 Hornet? Perhaps at 200+ I should switch to the 6.5x55 with 140 partitions, which would be down to 2350 fps. Inside of 40 yards I could use #4 TSS from the shotgun barrel.
In this specific scenario I'm thinking of klippy since they seem to have the most delicate hide, and may require longer shots.
On the other hand, the plastic tipped Hornady VMAX will fragment violently even at hornet velocities. Penetration is only a few inches, with the bullet completely disintegrating! Based on the wound cavity in the gel, the amount of energy released could easily blow a large hole in the offside hide, ruining a mount especially at closer ranges. I have a few brands of plastic bullets yet to test though, maybe some are harder than others.
The other thing I have yet to test is the 55gr Norma Oryx bonded bullet. It does have a blunter nose profile, so that's promising. Supposedly the bigger Oryx bullets expand at low velocities, but it seems 22 caliber is a different beast from my testing so far. Internet searches turned up nothing either way so I ordered some to try.
Another thing I haven't tried is the "hornet" specific offerings from Sierra, Hornady, Nosler, etc. The reason is low BC. Even if they expand at much lower velocity, the range won't be any greater and the wind deflection will be much worse, so there is only downside.
The 22 hornet in my combo gun is very accurate. If it's not too windy, smacking a little 4" plate at 300 yards is easy. However, based on my testing, 200 yards would be the limit of bullet expansion using "hide friendly" designs. I have killed turkey at 220-230 yards and based on ballistics the bullet was definitely in the "no expansion" velocity range, yet the turkeys just flopped a few seconds and died, so that part is a puzzle.
Am I over thinking this? Should I just be satisfied with a 200 yard limit on the 22 Hornet? Perhaps at 200+ I should switch to the 6.5x55 with 140 partitions, which would be down to 2350 fps. Inside of 40 yards I could use #4 TSS from the shotgun barrel.
In this specific scenario I'm thinking of klippy since they seem to have the most delicate hide, and may require longer shots.
