Barnes 223 Rem 55gr JHP BT – Reliable Varmint and Predator Load

Description

Barnes 223 Rem 55gr JHP BT is the varmint counterpart to the match load in the same weight, and the difference is entirely in the bullet. Where an open tip match projectile is built for uniformity and behaves unpredictably on impact, a jacketed hollow point is built to open, and that is precisely what you want on a coyote at 150 yards.

Expansion Is the Whole Design Brief

A jacketed hollow point boat tail has a genuine cavity in the nose, sized and shaped to force the jacket outward on impact. That is a deliberate expansion feature rather than a manufacturing artifact, and it is why terminal behavior is consistent from one shot to the next.

Rapid expansion from Barnes 223 Rem 55gr JHP BT serves two purposes on varmints. It puts energy into the animal quickly rather than passing through, and it reduces the risk of a ricochet or an over-penetrating bullet carrying across a field. On prairie dog towns and coyote stands where you may be shooting toward a rise, that second consideration is not academic.

The boat tail base on Barnes 223 Rem 55gr JHP BT reduces drag and helps the bullet hold velocity, which matters because expansion needs speed. A .223 bullet slowing below roughly 2000 fps opens far less reliably, and the boat tail pushes that threshold further out. In practical terms it extends the range at which the bullet still does its job.

Barnes 223 Rem 55gr JHP BT Specifications

Barnes 223 Rem 55gr JHP BT is a 55 grain 223 Remington load with a jacketed hollow point boat tail bullet, packed 20 rounds to the box and 200 to the case, from Barnes Bullets. It sits in the Barnes centerfire rifle ammunition range rather than in the copper VOR-TX hunting line or the Precision Match target line.

Fifty-five grains is the most common .223 bullet weight for a reason. It stabilizes in every twist rate the cartridge has ever been chambered in, from old 1 in 14 and 1 in 12 varmint barrels through the 1 in 7 twists standard on modern AR uppers. If you own more than one .223 and want one load that works in all of them, this weight is the answer.

Note that Barnes 223 Rem 55gr JHP BT uses a lead-core bullet, not one of the monolithic copper designs Barnes is better known for. That is appropriate here. Varmint work rewards rapid expansion and energy transfer, which is exactly what a lead core does well and what a solid copper bullet is specifically engineered to avoid.

• Caliber: .223 Remington
• Bullet weight: 55 grain
• Bullet type: jacketed hollow point boat tail
• Construction: lead core, copper jacket
• Intended use: varmints and predators
• Rounds per box: 20
• Rounds per case: 200
• Manufacturer: Barnes Bullets
• Catalog number: 32002

Range, Pelts and What It Is Not For

Expansion of Barnes 223 Rem 55gr JHP BT depends on impact velocity, and impact velocity falls off fast with a 55 grain bullet. Inside 250 yards from a 20 inch barrel you can count on it opening properly. Past 300 the bullet is slowing toward the edge of its window and results get less consistent. Know your muzzle velocity and do the arithmetic rather than guessing.

If you sell or keep coyote pelts, be aware this is not a fur-friendly load. A rapidly expanding hollow point at .223 velocity frequently produces a large exit wound, and some shooters deliberately choose non-expanding or heavier controlled-expansion bullets for that reason. If pelt damage matters to you, this is not the right choice.

This is also not deer ammunition, and in most states a .223 is not legal for deer regardless of bullet. Where it is legal, a varmint hollow point is the wrong projectile for the job because it is designed to come apart rather than penetrate. Use a controlled expansion or monolithic bullet for any game larger than a coyote.

Varmint and predator hunters who want Barnes 223 Rem 55gr JHP BT for coyotes, prairie dogs, groundhogs and similar game inside 250 yards who want dependable rapid expansion from a standard 55 grain .223.

For paper and steel where terminal behavior does not matter, the Precision Match 223 Rem 55gr is the match load in the same weight, and a CVA Cascade Varmint Hunter in .223 is the kind of accurate bolt rifle built for exactly this work.

Buy Barnes 223 Rem 55gr JHP BT by the 200 round case if you shoot a prairie dog town or run coyote stands through a season, and store it indoors and dry. Keeping one lot together also keeps your zero honest, which matters more at small-target distances than most shooters allow for.