Anyone used Calhoon bullets?

arthurrh · July 28, 2005, 03:50 PM

Still on my eternal quest for the ultimate varmint bullet for a .223 with a 1-9" twist. I see the Calhoons are reasonably priced and with the double-hollow point are supposed to be pretty impressive on the terminal end. (no pun intended)

I guess I should define ultimate. For my purposes it means it will consistently shoot 5-shot .5" groups or less at 100 yards in my barrel, and will make impressive wounds on the little critters.

So has anyone used the Calhoons? Are they accurate? Do the make things go pop?

Gun is a Savage .223 heavy barrel rechambered for .223 Improved.

===== bullets tested so far =====
Sierra 69gr MK - very accurate, bad terminal performance
Berger 73gr LTB - accurate, inconsistent expansion on small critters, IE squirrels.
Berger 70 - accurate, no field tests yet
Hornady 75gr A-Max - very accurate. Ok a target bullet but pretty impressive on small critters anyway. But length is a pain in the rear to use. Too long for the Savage magazine.
Hornady 60 gr V-max - very accurate, no field test yet
Berger 64gr MEF - accurate, some field tests but inconclusive
Barnes 70gr TSX - avg accuracy but needs more tests, decent terminal performance, but not enough to justify the cost, at least not on the small critters.
Hornady 55gr V-Max - not accurate in my gun, tried several loads.
Hornady 50 gr V-Max - not accurate in my gun
Hornady 40gr V-Max - ok accuracy with limited tests, need more. no field test yet
Nosler 60 gr partition - not accurate in my gun
Nosler 40 gr ballistic tip - not accurate in my gun

July 28, 2005, 03:50 PM	#1
arthurrh Senior Member Join Date: December 2, 2004 Posts: 189	Anyone used Calhoon bullets? Still on my eternal quest for the ultimate varmint bullet for a .223 with a 1-9" twist. I see the Calhoons are reasonably priced and with the double-hollow point are supposed to be pretty impressive on the terminal end. (no pun intended) I guess I should define ultimate. For my purposes it means it will consistently shoot 5-shot .5" groups or less at 100 yards in my barrel, and will make impressive wounds on the little critters. So has anyone used the Calhoons? Are they accurate? Do the make things go pop? Gun is a Savage .223 heavy barrel rechambered for .223 Improved. ===== bullets tested so far ===== Sierra 69gr MK - very accurate, bad terminal performance Berger 73gr LTB - accurate, inconsistent expansion on small critters, IE squirrels. Berger 70 - accurate, no field tests yet Hornady 75gr A-Max - very accurate. Ok a target bullet but pretty impressive on small critters anyway. But length is a pain in the rear to use. Too long for the Savage magazine. Hornady 60 gr V-max - very accurate, no field test yet Berger 64gr MEF - accurate, some field tests but inconclusive Barnes 70gr TSX - avg accuracy but needs more tests, decent terminal performance, but not enough to justify the cost, at least not on the small critters. Hornady 55gr V-Max - not accurate in my gun, tried several loads. Hornady 50 gr V-Max - not accurate in my gun Hornady 40gr V-Max - ok accuracy with limited tests, need more. no field test yet Nosler 60 gr partition - not accurate in my gun Nosler 40 gr ballistic tip - not accurate in my gun