Lightest bullet in .224 cal?

[okrattler]

What is the lightest weight you can get to reload in a .224 diameter bullet? For some reason I was thinking Hornady had a 32 or 35 grain bullet but I could be mistaken. I know Barnes came out with that 32 grain Varmint Grenade but I think it may be a little too frangible for what I'm wanting to shoot with them. Does anyone know of any other bullets below 40 grains?

[fish4food]

There’s a Hornet 35 gr V-Max

[okrattler]

I think I was thinking of that Hornady 35 grain NTX bullet. I think I'm gonna order some and try them out on a few coyotes and see how they perform. They still might fragment just a little too fast but it's worth a try. If nothing else I'll shoot prairie dogs and skunks with em.

I was wrong about the Barnes bullets. Those are actually 36 grain bullets not 32 grain.

[LWD]

What do you want to do with it? The lightest bullets are varmint bullets. Maybe you want the 45 grain tsx or 50 grain ttsx from Barnes.

[Tejas Wildlife]

What do you want to do with it? The lightest bullets are varmint bullets. Maybe you want the 45 grain tsx or 50 grain ttsx from Barnes.

Shooting a Barnes 50 gr TTSX in a 22-250 should generate amazing impact on a coyote!

[Txarrowhunter]

I have used it but the factory loaded tsx fb and it will blow their guts out.

[okrattler]

What do you want to do with it? The lightest bullets are varmint bullets. Maybe you want the 45 grain tsx or 50 grain ttsx from Barnes.

Well I have kind of a confusing thing going on. I have an AR-15 that has a 1:9 twist barrel. The crazy thing is the heavier the bullet, the worse it shoots. The lighter the bullet is it'll shoot those better. I want to try those lighter bullets to see what the groups look like. I've never tested bullets below 40 grains in a .223 or 22-250 either one so I'm kind of curious to see how they'll do. Especially out of that AR is really the main reason I want some to try out.

Not sure how fast they'd be zippin out of a 22-250 but I figure 4,000+ fps.

[TacticalCowboy]

Well I have kind of a confusing thing going on. I have an AR-15 that has a 1:9 twist barrel. The crazy thing is the heavier the bullet, the worse it shoots. The lighter the bullet is it'll shoot those better. I want to try those lighter bullets to see what the groups look like. I've never tested bullets below 40 grains in a .223 or 22-250 either one so I'm kind of curious to see how they'll do. Especially out of that AR is really the main reason I want some to try out.

Not sure how fast they'd be zippin out of a 22-250 but I figure 4,000+ fps.

that kinda makes sense. I’d assume a bullet that was overspun would behave better than one that’s underspun.

[okrattler]

that kinda makes sense. I’d assume a bullet that was overspun would behave better than one that’s underspun.

I haven't tried any of the real heavy stuff but it'll keyhole with anything above 55 grain bullets. 55 grain bullets won't group worth a dang it'll just look like I shotgunned the target with #4 buck from 100 yards. 50's will stabilize but not group very well, 45's are a little better and 40's are better yet.

[TacticalCowboy]

I haven't tried any of the real heavy stuff but it'll keyhole with anything above 55 grain bullets. 55 grain bullets won't group worth a dang it'll just look like I shotgunned the target with #4 buck from 100 yards. 50's will stabilize but not group very well, 45's are a little better and 40's are better yet.

I think I probably just made a lucky pick out of the gate, but my Walmart special 700 in 223 really likes the 40 grain varmageddon. It’s a 12 twist.

[okrattler]

I think I probably just made a lucky pick out of the gate, but my Walmart special 700 in 223 really likes the 40 grain varmageddon. It’s a 12 twist.

My Remington 700 ADL has been super accurate with every bullet I've tried in it so far. For no more than it costed I'm really impressed with the accuracy of that rifle. It's still got the scope that came on it mounted on it and it's killed a ton of stuff. I can't remember what twist it is I'm wanting to say 1:9 is what's on mine but I'm not positive.

[imyomama]

barnes makes a 30 grain varmint grenade .. I have 8 r 9 boxes of it .. originally designed for 22 hornet , you can use it in a 223/556 .. but be careful of tight twist barrels .. push them too fast in a tight twist gun and they can come apart .. and never hit the target or worse (if you run a can ).. with that said based on your info , i would not be surprised if your gun somehow prefers flat base bullets over boat tails .. another side effect of light .224 projectiles is the bc sucks ... so they slow down really fast .. for example the 30gr varmint grenades are leaving at 3000 ft/s and only go 2000ft/s at 100 yards ... personally i'd chunk your barrel , spend a couple hundred bucks and in 10 minutes you'll have a gun that shoots the bullets that will do the job on what you're trying to shoot at... takes 15 minutes to do if you know how or have a buddy that does.

[okrattler]

barnes makes a 30 grain varmint grenade .. I have 8 r 9 boxes of it .. originally designed for 22 hornet , you can use it in a 223/556 .. but be careful of tight twist barrels .. push them too fast in a tight twist gun and they can come apart .. and never hit the target or worse (if you run a can ).. with that said based on your info , i would not be surprised if your gun somehow prefers flat base bullets over boat tails .. another side effect of light .224 projectiles is the bc sucks ... so they slow down really fast .. for example the 30gr varmint grenades are leaving at 3000 ft/s and only go 2000ft/s at 100 yards ... personally i'd chunk your barrel , spend a couple hundred bucks and in 10 minutes you'll have a gun that shoots the bullets that will do the job on what you're trying to shoot at... takes 15 minutes to do if you know how or have a buddy that does.

A new barrel will probably be what's next if I can't get these light bullets to group. I wouldn't mind having a gun that's chambered in .223 that'll shoot really light bullets. I'd have to test them out on a few furbearers to really know if I like them but if they'll be good to fur and potent enough to drop them on the spot that would be ideal.

I'm hoping at some point the fur market will get better and I wouldn't mind having another gun around that won't blow stuff up. If it won't shoot the way I think it should I'll convert it to another caliber most likely.