[PeterSteele]

Hi, is this considered a target or more of a protection round : Hornady Varmint Express 223 Rem (#8325) 40gr V-max 3800fps . They cost me $1.10per round so i sure HOPE it's considered a protection round !

I'm trying to sort and store my various ammo into cans now, classified as target vs. protection. Thanx !

[racer_x]

The name of it kinda gives it away. Varmint hunting round. My mini shots the vmax the best so it doubles as a target from time to time.

[treehugger49]

No, I would not consider it to be a protection round - except against the four-legged varmint types.

It is a varmint bullet designed for rapid fragmentation, and Hornady recommends they be used for varmints, predators, and small game.

I wouldn't want to be shot with one, though!

[Squawk]

Here's your sign!

[ScottA]

I would suspect that just about any round you fire out of a 223 will leave more energy in an attacker than just about anything else you can get your hands on short of a shotgun.

[robocop10mm]

That will work for a wide variety of varmints, regardless of the number of legs they might have. Penetration will be minimal, expansion will be explosive.

[bamashooter68]

That bullet would be an excellent round for defense. If it hits someone it will dump all its energy into the perp and not go thru and damage something or someone. If you miss its not gonna go thru the wall and hit your neighbor or his house. Vaarmit bullets are great home defense bullets. If I had to use my delton I would be using varmit bullets for self defense. I dont understand why some consider it not a good option. Please enlighten me.

[treehugger49]

Originally Posted by bamashooter68

That bullet would be an excellent round for defense. If it hits someone it will dump all its energy into the perp and not go thru and damage something or someone. If you miss its not gonna go thru the wall and hit your neighbor or his house. Vaarmit bullets are great home defense bullets. If I had to use my delton I would be using varmit bullets for self defense. I dont understand why some consider it not a good option. Please enlighten me.

My concern would be the issue of penetration. Self defense rounds are designed to have certain characteristics to give them adequate penetration to "stop the threat", which, although capable of doing plenty of damage, this round lacks in a human sized target. A bullet that fragments going into a prairie dog, for instance, isn't designed to penetrate 12" of human tissue, which is a common standard for a self-defense round.

[cottontop]

It is a varmint round. Any round you have in your hand at the time is a protection round. Funny, but in all of my 62 years, I have never needed a firearm for protection. It is talked about on this forum like a firearm is needed for protection by everyone everyday.
cottontop

[Sniper03]

Peter,

Truly more of a varmint round than protection as the guys have stated! This is not to say it would not get the job done in a home protection situation however. But that round is also extremely light as far as grain weight and has very minimal penetration and especially through heavy or leather clothing. Then there is another issue! What barrel twist does your rifle have? Ideally for this round being as light as it is would give the maximum performance in the 1:12 twist or slower twist ARs. This is not saying it will not shoot in the 1:9 or 1:8 due to the fact every rifle performs differently. But the 1:9 and 1:8 will not produce peak accuracy. A 1:7 twist is on the extreme for this barrel being a much faster twist. On the other hand the opposite applies with the 1:12 twist. They are designed for 55 gr. and under rounds. 69 gr bullets will normally key hole on the target due to lack of stabilization with the 1:12 twist being to slow of twist for the heavier bullet.
If you need to understand barrel twist and stabilization here is a simple formula you can use to understand the Revolutions per minute and twist produces. The below sample formula represents a 1:12 twist barrel using a round at 3000feet per second
I know the 223/5.56 rounds normally are always faster (fps) but will use 3000 fps for simplicity.

Feet per second X Inches Divided by Barrel Twist X Minutes = Revolution per Minute
3000 fps X *12 = 36000 Divided by 12 = 3000 X *60 = Answer: 180,000 rpm (leaving the muzzle)

Notice that Inches and Minutes are marked with an * that is because they are always used in the formula. The Velocity and Barrel Twist would be change.
For fun to change the formula above you just need to change the Barrel Twist using 12-9-8 or 7. This will show you the difference of twist speed required to stabilize a heavier bullet. The heavier the bullet theoretically the faster the barrel twist is required. Maybe this will help you also understand in the future when selecting the correct ammunition. In your case the V represents varmint bullet. Good luck and happy shooting.

03