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Does anyone have a fairly recent Barnes reloading manual and would be willing to share some load data for the 40 gr Varminator in 22-250? I have H380, RL15 and Varget as potentially suitable propellants. Mostly interested in min and max loads. An estimation on the muzzle velocity is more than welcome too.

If you'll pm your email address I will save them as a pdf file from loaddata.com and email them to you tomorrow. It has nearly every recipe that's in print .

PM sent. Thank you.

Afraid I have some bad news. I have the Barnes #3 manual, and nowhere in there does it refer to Varminator or Varmint Grenade bullets. Their website says it's been re-introduced, so the only manual that will have load data for it is the current Barnes manual #4, which is relatively new. The bottom line is GO BUY THE #4 MANUAL!! Some Barnes bullets have coatings so their velocity and loads are way different, their solids don't compress like lead cores, so the pressure is higher, and that data is also way different.

So quit asking for load data because the bullets are burning a hole in your pants, BACK AWAY from the reloading bench, and go to your nearest FF. They DO carry the Barnes #4 manual, so it's not like you have to go to Gunstop or Cabela's to get a copy. With other bullets you can use Hornady data for Sierra bullets and get close provided you start low and work up, but you can wind up Schitt's Creek without a paddle by trying to use the wrong data (even if it's older Barnes data...) loading some Barnes bullets, so go buy the EFFEN manual already!! And let's be real here: I'm pretty sure that box of bullets cost MORE than the manual does these days, so you really got NO excuse as far as spending the money...

Seismic Sam wrote:Afraid I have some bad news. I have the Barnes #3 manual, and nowhere in there does it refer to Varminator or Varmint Grenade bullets. Their website says it's been re-introduced, so the only manual that will have load data for it is the current Barnes manual #4, which is relatively new. The bottom line is GO BUY THE #4 MANUAL!! Some Barnes bullets have coatings so their velocity and loads are way different, their solids don't compress like lead cores, so the pressure is higher, and that data is also way different.

So quit asking for load data because the bullets are burning a hole in your pants, BACK AWAY from the reloading bench, and go to your nearest FF. They DO carry the Barnes #4 manual, so it's not like you have to go to Gunstop or Cabela's to get a copy. With other bullets you can use Hornady data for Sierra bullets and get close provided you start low and work up, but you can wind up Schitt's Creek without a paddle by trying to use the wrong data (even if it's older Barnes data...) loading some Barnes bullets, so go buy the EFFEN manual already!! And let's be real here: I'm pretty sure that box of bullets cost MORE than the manual does these days, so you really got NO excuse as far as spending the money...

Thanks Sunshine! I live a mile from from the Gunstop and my pants are just fine thanks for asking. They are lead core but I got it... Effin Barnes #4 manual, roger roger!

You have earned my sympathy for living that close to John Boy's rude pet elephant. Does the smell sometimes drift over towards your house??

John doesn't smell. I sniffed out the place today and checked the store copy of Barnes #4 manual. Hold on to your suspenders... There is no mention of the 40 gr Varminator in that snotrag either! I have 100 ct box of them because they were cheap at about $16 compared to my old standby (50 gr V-max). But rest assured, I haven't opened the box yet. I guess I'm gonna contact Barnes customer service and see what they will give me. I did pick up some Nosler Ballistic tip 40 grainers for which I have a current manual.

Well, hang on and let me go down to my reloading room and check Barnes #2. Maybe the bullets are so cheap because they're obsolete and left over from 5 or more years ago.

Barnes website said they were introduced in 2007, and are referred to as Type VG bullets. Barnes #2 is from 1997. No mention in Barnes #3, and now you say nothing is in Barnes #4.

The Barnes website also lists a Varminator bullet, which is supposedly lower in price. I have no idea why there is no data in the #4 manual, unless there is some fine print somewhere that the VG and VM bullets are the same as another lead core they have.

I got no idea WTF is up with these bullets, Barnes, or the manual(s).

I sent you what loaddata.com had. The only Barnes they currently have available is #3 . There are numerous other recipes but none explicitly mention the specific bullet you are asking about.

If you want to start with a low load and work your way up, you are welcome to borrow my chronograph for testing. The only rule I have is "you shoot it you bought it".

The 40 gr Varminator is an great bullet. The have worked better than Ballistic tips and V max's in my bolt guns and my AR15's They really make the PD's turn inside out.

BigDog58 wrote:
If you want to start with a low load and work your way up, you are welcome to borrow my chronograph for testing. The only rule I have is "you shoot it you bought it".

A bit premature but much appreciated since I don't actually own a 22-250 rifle yet. I just bought a pile of virgin Winchester brass which I'm prepping right now. I'm still debating which rifle (Ruger MII target, Ruger Hawkeye Predator, Savage BVSS/VLP, Tikka T3 Varmint, Remington 700 VLS, save money for Cooper...)to buy. Twist rate is a big consideration too and so is barrel length... I'm not in a hurry so I can wait for the right deal to come along, same thing for the scope. I just had to pass on a really awesome custom Mauser with a new McGowen barrel in 220 Swift because there is simply no brass around. That hurt. Goal is to have it ready with a load worked up by next summer for prairie dogs.

Great!! Barnes has TWO whole line of bullets and no data for them. WTF!! The one thing I can tell you about these kind of bullets is that they really do explode into small pieces, and that leaves you with one very serious thing to consider:

What twist is your 22-250 rifle barrel?? If the twist is too fast, bullets like this will spontaneously disintegrate once they get out of the barrel, and you will wind up with a target with no holes in it, even if the gun is perfectly sighted in. If this happens, you have to reduce your FPS on the bullet until they hold together and hit the target. Sometimes the bullet box has a warning about twist rate on the box, sometimes they don't. For a .223 there simply isn't enough case capacity to overdrive the bullets unless you have a long range 1:7 twist barrel, but the 22-250 is on the top end of speed and thus spin in RPM, so it's entirely possible that you could overdrive these, especially the 40 grainers.

1:14 and 1:12 twists are the most common for these rifles. A 1:12 twist should be enough to stabilize a 50 grainer. My Remington 700 VS in .223 has that slow of a twist and shoots 50 gr v-maxes very very well. But the goal is light bullets at very high speeds for maximum splat up to 400 yards away

Answer from Barnes to my inquiry about the Varminator bullets:

Hi Steven,

The 40gr Varminator is a simple lead core jacketed bullet and we are suggesting load data from your favorite manual with equal weight jacketed bullets - starting low and working the charge up as is customary in the reloading process. See attached.

Thanks, Ty

Ty Herring | Consumer Service
Barnes Bullets disclaims all possible liability for damages including actual, incidental and consequential, resulting from usage of the information or advice contained in this message.
Use the data and advice at your own risk, and with extreme caution.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Always begin loading from the minimum "START" charge and carefully develop loads by increasing in small increments of 2% towards the Maximum load.

Barnes Bullets, LLC

Okay, now I have seen everything. Barnes makes not one but TWO lines of explosive varmint bullets, charges premium prices for them like the rest of their bullets, and when it come time to load up some Barnes Varmint Grenade bullets there isn't a whisper about THE ENTIRE BULLET LINE in the manual!! They don't even advertise it, much less offer reloading data for it!!! And when somebody asks about the bullets, the tech service people tell you to go to the Speer or Hornady manual???

What the everloving EFF are these people thinking about???