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I have been given most of a box of 50 grain Barnes Varmint Grenade's - Does anyone have any thoughts on them, are they as good as the internet claims?

No, not used them, but have heard that these are not regarded as "s5 expanding" but s1/unrestricted as they do not "expand" predictably as they tend to disintegrate....

I tried the 36 grains ones a few years ago when I visiting a friend in Fife when we went out after foxes they did the job all right

They are deemed to be expanding at a fairly local Gunshop, personally I have no experience of them, in fact I am not even sure who brings then into the country. I will load a few up and see how they go.

As I understand it the copper/tin bullet construction means for a longer bullet than a lead one, if your .22/250 is 1:14 then results may not be optimal.

They do seem to have a reasonably long bearing surface from a visual inspection and a quick Google does suggest a 1:9 twist is necessary. Time for the calculator to confirm things...

Just checked, Millers shows the stability factor (SG) as around 0.645 so they are going to be unstable with a 1:14 even at 3,925fps. one minor plus side is they are flat based and Millers does not really take this into account however I doubt the flat base will pull the SG to anything reasonable. Thanks for pointing that out DL.

Sim G wrote:No, not used them, but have heard that these are not regarded as "s5 expanding" but s1/unrestricted as they do not "expand" predictably as they tend to disintegrate....

You have been misinformed there Sim G as they are a varmint bullet and super "explosive" originaly intended for ground squirrels or so I understand.
Perhaps because of their extensive expansion someone though they should be regarded as frangible? They are however definitely section 5 not section 1.

Chapuis wrote:

Sim G wrote:No, not used them, but have heard that these are not regarded as "s5 expanding" but s1/unrestricted as they do not "expand" predictably as they tend to disintegrate....

You have been misinformed there Sim G as they are a varmint bullet and super "explosive" originaly intended for ground squirrels or so I understand.
Perhaps because of their extensive expansion someone though they should be regarded as frangible? They are however definitely section 5 not section 1.

It's a tricky one the HO Guidance states -

4.3 The words ‘designed or adapted’ are important. Any bullet will deform on impact with a
sufficiently hard surface, but only bullets, and ammunition containing bullets, which were
designed or have been adapted to do so in a controlled manner are actually controlled by
the legislation (see Chapter 3). If in doubt as to the design intention of a bullet, reference
to the maker’s design specification should be made. Frangible bullets do not fall under
section 5(1A)(f) of the 1968 Act.

The question do VG bullets expand in a controlled manner? IMO I would say no, especially from the description from Barnes themselves - http://www.barnesbullets.com/bullets/varmint-grenade/

The bullet remains intact at ultra-high velocities in fast twist barrels, while its highly frangible core fragments violently on impact. Produces instant fragmentation, virtually vaporizing ground squirrels and prairie dogs, even at long range. Varmint Grenades instantly expend their energy, seldom exiting large predators like bobcats and coyotes, leaving valuable pelts virtually undamaged.

The trick would be finding a RFD willing to agree to sell them as section 1...

Ovenpaa wrote:Just checked, Millers shows the stability factor (SG) as around 0.645 so they are going to be unstable with a 1:14 even at 3,925fps. one minor plus side is they are flat based and Millers does not really take this into account however I doubt the flat base will pull the SG to anything reasonable. Thanks for pointing that out DL.

Barnes recommends 1:10 for the 50gn VG. The 36gn bullets according to their load data can be pushed from between 3900-4400fps in a 1:14 22-250!