# Help with a .223 load



## sdbaydogs (Jun 11, 2004)

I noticed a box of Hornaday 35 V-max bullets at Cabelas in .224 diameter. I have never seen any factory offered 35 grain V-max shells. My Cooper has a 1 in 14" twist and I figured this little 35 grain pill might work very well and might be able to be loaded fairly hot. Any ideas, suggestion.


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## neb_bo (Feb 3, 2007)

that bullet only has a .165 bc, and i think 1/14" is still to fast, but i may be wrong. my hornet loved them, but i think it had a 1/16" twist. i have the hornady handbook in front of me, but they only list loads for a 40 gr. bullet. i have talked to others who wanted to try this, and i think they used the 40 gr data, but i would give hornady a call. i guarantee they will help you out. ok, now i cant find the #, but you can get it from information, they are located in grand island nebraska. good luck.


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## Gohon (Feb 14, 2005)

> that bullet only has a .165 bc


Wish it was that high. Closer to .109 and about as long as it is in diameter. This list matches other data I have..... http://www.varminthunters.com/tech/vmax.html ...... Performs very good out to about 100 yards in my Hornet at 2900-3000 fps but runs out of steam real fast after that.


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## neb_bo (Feb 3, 2007)

your right, i dont know where i got .165 from, but it is .109. i didnt like the longer range ballistics in my hornet either, thats why i went to the 40 gr bullets, the bc is .200 on them, and the boattail realy improves downrange ballistics. the hornady handbook lists several loads for the 40 grainers, up to 3800 fps. one thing i did like about the 35's in my hornet was with the limited length of the ruger magazine, i could seat them out where they needed to be, which didnt turn out to be a problem with the 40 gr accuracy, but i could see this coming into play for others.


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

My Grandpa used a box of them and went back to the 40gr. He hardly ever tries to shoot his 223 farther than 200yds. That is 22-250 range. I do know when you connect it really makes a mess of a PD. They are kind of like a little hand grenade. If you are only going to shoot very close range then you will be fine. I can only imagine what the wind would do to those little guys.
I shoot 50gr out of my 223 and I get about 3,150fps out of my gun. I can get more but it shoots great.


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## saskcoyote (Dec 30, 2006)

I reload 35-grain V-Maxs a couple ways. First is with 24.5 grains of 3031 IMR. Second is using 14.5 grains of Blue Dot. This load chronos over 3400 fps. Visit James Calhoon's website at jamescalhoon.com for more info on this load. He devised it, called it the "gopher load". Both are very accurate.


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