For y'all who have used Hornady VMAX'S for a bit got some questions. Good or bad whats your experience with them ? And in that.
What animals
What caliber/cartridge
What gun
What twist rate
What barrel length
What grain
What velocity are you pushing them
Guesstimate on a ratio of DOA to runners
What are you usual shot placements
What is that average range
When where you using them and where these new or old stock?
If bad what type of , damage, where you seeing
If good what where you seeing

Pictures would be appreciated as well.
Thanks

Deer
22-250
Savage Model 12 BSV
1-12 twist
26 inch barrel
55 and 60 grain
3,200 - 3,400 FPS
All DRT
Cranium
50 - 150 yards
New and old stock
I ran a camera on my scope this year and can send you videos
I shoot damage control for a few farms and have the opportunity to harvest more in a year than many will in a lifetime. Like anything else, you will get proficient at something when you do it enough.

deer
300blk AR 1:8 16inch
110gr
2100fps
not sure on new old I bought them a bunch about 2017

the first shot on game was a neck shot about 75 yards no exit on a neck shot and nothing but bullet fragments in the wound channel that I could find

2 more neck shots all drop right there but wouldn't trust another shot placement that might need blood trailing

providence had better results from a 8inch barrel

vmax to me = in not out

Wolfie, why these long drawn out posts?

You don't shoot enuff critters to even think about this topic ??

Had a Rem. 700, 22-250. Could not make the 55 gr V-Max group at all. Tried several powders to no avail. I had great luck with Hornady 60 gr SP.

it's complicated

No not really

110gr v max 300 black out 8.5" barrel liberty mystic suppressor. Probably 5 or 6 deer. Bullet was slow enough it peeled back but I found the core in a few good enough penetration and damage. All chest shots different angles heart and lungs Some dropped some (2)made it maybe 30 yards . 30 to 100 yards. Guessing 2100 fps.

55 gr 556 16" coyote out to 405 yards out to 120 a few bang flop. Lots of spinning and flipping especially the farther you got out and velocity dropped off. Good for up close or longer barrel with more fps.

I prefer bang flop so don't prefer 16" ar15s. 243, 7mm 08 does so much better with deer weight bullets. But bigger holes.

On blackout I would not want them moving any faster and use them on deer. They will come apart to much going faster as green county has experienceed. So short barrel only or only use on small critters.

You make it complicated!

There are many bullets that do SO much better with one game performance unless you wanna see small critters vaporized

Vmaxes tend to be cheap and accurate, hence the following.

A GOOD bullet will be one that is accurate and do a good job at any angle.
Wanna shoot crows pdogs,woodchuck, have at em.

Anything bigger, (.22 cal), better have a good chest shot or you'll be following a trail.
I've spent WAY to many hours chasing wounded coyotes shot by partners. Mostly through deep snow wearing snowshoes shooting vmax bullets.

Ain't fun at all.

Sure would be somewhat refreshing to see you study and at least kinda perfect a project instead of going balls to the walls on so many endeavors

Spinning circles .

I may be wrong but since we're analyzing wolfie....lol. I don't think he particularly likes to kill things. He doesn't really like trapping or hunting... he just likes modifying traps, modifying guns, and modifying bullets. He's not a hunter or a trapper, he's a modifier.

And I guess if that's what he likes to do, I don't really see a problem with it. Lots worse things that young man could be doing.

I shoot Hornady Vmax's in three of my guns.

Tikka .243 - Hornady 95 grain Vmax
Savage .22 mag - Hornady 37 grain Vmax
Model 7 .223 - Hornady 55 grain Vmax

They all kill perfectly for their job. Good penetration, plenty of blood to follow, and KILL! Great bullet, I've killed enough animals to know.

When ballistic tips first came out, they were a varmint bullet. Fast accurate and explode on contact.
They make the Vmaxs way way better now and IMO kill way better than when they first came out. Nearly all my .243 Vmaxs go all the way through on mature deer when shot behind the shoulder. Leave an awesome bloodtrail and all are within 30 yards. That' shooting them head on, broadside, quartered to/away, etc.

75gr Vmax Tikka .243 for yotes.

40gr out of a Savage 24F
50gr out of 3 Remington .222’s 700, 722, 788
Zero complaints body shots on coyotes 95% dead right there or within 10 yards
Most 50-150 yards, but several out to 250-300

Ok you know what bucks I gotta say ,I don't get you. You ran though so many of my post harping about how I need to get serious and get a good gun ect when I just just think to enjoy myself and have some fun. And I tried to just be respectful ,I tried really hard to explain that stuff made me happy . but when I actually get a lil serious it's a problem. When I ask super indepth questions really trying to dissect what when and why or something then I'm over complicating something. When I'm up for hours testing loads ,tracking leads and tweaking stuff then I'm obsessed. When I go on stand after stand and not kill anything but I still go and try again and again and not just get discouraged and give up because I don't get a coyote in my lap after a few squeaks something is wrong with me, it's all consuming me I need to take a break . And study and perfect a project? Lol what would be your criteria for that because honestly it seems if I don't just do what you say to the letter it won't be good enough.

But hay never mind all that . Heres the purpose of this over complicated post.

I've been reading watching losing and talking to people like crazy over the last few months regarding VMAX bullets . Id say it's about 50/50 people think their amazing vs people think there the worst thing ever and they never work. And hers the deal these arnt guys like me . These are tournament guys ,control guys , serious callers who've been doing it for a long time people to kill more in a weekend then most do in a year . And again half like the VMAX half hate them . Half report mainly DOA no damage the other its polar opposite. My question is WHY ? how does it work so well with one group and not with the others ? There has to be something so here I am running down the rabbit hole of learning more about velocity thresholds, sectional density the different construction of one Vmax vs the other Vmax ,how they respond at different velocities at different shot placements, how northern guys seem to having certain problems and so on .... so what the thing what makes it work for some and no for others ? And I'm sorry just saying " their not good I don't like them I get too many runners " isn't good enough for me.

And since the VMAX is about all you have for current production bullets for a lot of stuff it's just makes sense to try and understand what makes them work for some and not for others because trying to scrounge up old bullets that arnt in production any more is ...... Yeah no .....

So that being said I have alllll these really experienced people here it's a good chance to do some data collecting...you know studying

I told you a while ago when you where telling me to get serious about my guns and reloading you probably weren't going to like it when I started to get a lil serious.

Very interesting

I'm not out...thats useful for a few things

when I say neck shot , neck point of shoulder people call it lots of things , it breaks he spine just in front of the shoulder
here is a hide off picture of a 2017 buck shot with the 110gr vmax

just on my dads experience he would tell you it is a great bullet

my looking at the damage and lack of exit don't think it is idea because 6 inches further back it would have been a hard to blood trial.

shot placement I feel is why some say great others say stay away

one more thing to chew on some people call all ballistic tip bullets vmax
some call all red plastic tipped bullets Vmax

Hornady doesn't make a 95gr Vmax in .243 they do make a red tipped 95gr SST that looks identical to a Vmax

58, 65, 75 , 87 gr vmax in .243 that are varmint bullets and a 95gr SST that looks identical on the outside but is a purpose built medium game bullet.

Coyotes
Remington .222. Savage 340 .222
40 grain 50 grain
3425. 3200
H-322. H-4198
With 40 grain v-max it’s all about shot placement about 60-40 bang flops to spinners out to 150-175 . Shoulder bone or quartering shots you’ll probably be sewing. If the area has longer shots say to 300 I use the Remington with 50 grain , pretty much most of my calling is with 50 grain but I get nostalgic and take the old savage out occasionally. Way better anchoring with the 50 grain but still more spinners with v max. Both loads are best with nosler ballistic tips.Way less spinners on both bullet weights.