hollow-point average about 50 cents less per 100-bullet box. The very first Varmageddon bullets
were 55-grain 224s, since that’s the most popular diameter and weight of all var- mint bullets. (Similarly, when any bullet company introduces a new big game bul- let, the first model is usually a 180-grain 30 caliber.) I received a very early sample box in the fall of 2011, and tried them in my old Ruger 77 220 Swift, a tang-safety sporter-weight that with 42.5 grains of Ramshot Hunter just about any good 55-grain bullet will group five shots into around 0.6" to 0.7" at 100 yards. Instead of trying several powders, I
just loaded up some Varmageddons with the same powder charge, seated just off the lands, and went to the range. The very first five-shot group at 100 measured 0.43", which ain’t too shabby for a thin-barreled factory rifle and a 3-9x scope. I almost never shoot the Swift on
prairie dogs anymore, since it kicks too much to see the bullet hit and burns out barrels too darned fast. Instead, I use it only on larger varmints, whether rockchucks or coyotes, along with an oc- casional pronghorn or deer – the reason for the 3-9x scope. Last fall this was a brand-new Le-
upold VX-2 that also needed testing. In this particular instance, however, I made an exception and shot a few October prairie dogs. The limited shooting indi- cated the new bullet expanded at least as violently as the Ballistic Tip and perhaps even more. In the winter of 2012 Nosler got
production cranked up for most of the other Varmageddons, so sent some along, including both versions of the (Hooray!) 17 caliber. Both the tipped and hollow-point weigh 20 grains, so I loaded a bunch of
From left, the rifles tested with Varmageddons: Remington 700 synthetic BDL 17 Fireball; Remington 700 BDL 17 Remington; Remington 700 VTR 204 Ruger; Ruger No. 1B 22 Hornet; Nosler Varmageddon Signature AR 223 Remington; Ruger 77 220 Swift.
both for my 17 Fireball and 17 Reming- ton, using the same powder charges that shoot accurately with 20-grain Hornady V-Maxes. Both Varmageddon 17s shot just as accurately in both rifles, though in the 17 Remington the tipped and hollow- point bullets shot about 1¹⁄₂" apart at 100 yards. In the Fireball both bullets shot to the same place. The same basic experiment was
then done in three more rifles, a 204 Ruger Remington 700 VTR, a 22 Hornet Ruger No. 1B, and a 221 Fireball Remington 700 Classic. In the 204 both Varmageddons shot almost as well as 32-grain Ballistic Tips, but in the Hornet the Varmaged- don outshot the Ballistic Tip. With the 221 Fireball the comparison was made between the 40-grain Varmageddon and the 40-grain Berger Varmint Target, the most accurate 40-grain bullet in my 700 Classic. Once again, the Varmageddons grouped just as well as the Bergers. The next question, of course, was
how well the new 17 bullets performed in the field. The first trial came in May south
of Broadus, Montana, during a turkey hunt. After my wife, Eileen, took a nice gobbler one evening, we spent the next morning shooting a medium-sized prai- rie dog town, Eileen with my synthetic- stocked Remington 700 BDL in 17 Fireball, me with my 1973-vintage walnut-stocked 700 BDL in 17 Remington. The year’s crop of new spring prairie dogs was up and about, which made the 17s seem appropri- ate. As expected, the plastic-tipped version expanded more violently than the hollow- points, but the hollow-points still worked, particularly when started at about 4,400 fps from the 17 Remington. The next field test took place in early
June, when Nosler threw a prairie dog shoot near Miles City, Montana, partly to unveil their new Varmageddon rifle, a high-grade AR-15 with a 1:8" twist barrel. Accompanying the new rifle were Varma- geddon 223 Remington 55-grain factory loads and a Varmageddon Leupold scope, with an elevation turret regulated to the trajectory of the bullet. With the advent of the new rifle I didn’t bother to bring
Comparison of established handloads and the same load with Varmageddons: Group average, 100 yards
Rifl e 17 Fireball Rem. 700 BDL
Powder Charge 19.5 TAC
20-grain Hornady V-Max 20-grain Varmageddon
The only caliber of Varmageddon not tested in the spring shooting was the 55-grain 6mm – which should work great in the 243 Winchester.
Nosler finally is making 17 caliber bullets! Both the hollow-point and tipped version weigh 20 grains.
17 Remington Rem. 700 BDL 23.5 Benchmark 20-grain Hornady V-Max 20-grain Varmageddon 32-grain Ballistic Tip 32-grain Varmageddon 40-grain Ballistic Tip 40-grain Varmageddon 40-grain Berger Varmint 40-grain Varmageddon 55-grain Win. PSP
204 Ruger Rem. 700 VTR 22 Hornet Ruger No. 1B 29.0 TAC 13.0 Li’l Gun 221 Fireball Rem. 700 Classic 15.5 Li’l Gun 220 Swift Ruger 77 42.5 Hunter 55-grain Varmageddon
0.64" 0.65" 0.69" 0.66" 0.73" 0.86" 0.72" 0.58" 0.69" 0.69" 0.69" 0.61"
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