223 shells for coyotes

[harvey lee]

I rcieved a 223 this past winter and was wondering what type shell might be the best as far as the tip. Would the steel jacket shells leave a smaller hole?

[BudMan]

Yes they will leave a small hole , but they don't put em down very well and they ricochet around the countryside a lot. If you are in any populated area at all , I would not advise their use. Only for target practice with a good backstop . Use the ballistic tips, and experiment to see which one groups best in your rifle .

[looneyducer]

Ballistic tips are a good idea, as are hollow points. The hole going in isn't the problem. The problem is avoiding the hole going out.

[Dave S]

ballistic tips are a bad idea if you're looking to keep pelts. Speaking from experience. The entrance hole is like a pencil. The exit is like a basketball.

pickbigwagon is more of a ballistics guru. He could point you to the right .223 round.

[sparcebag]

I've got yotes with the 22 rimfire,The energy of the 223 any tip will work.The FMJ is fine as long as its not in the city.You arent downtown are you?

[picksbigwagon]

Harvey, I have not had a splash entry with vamx bullets, but others have. I have had a couple good sized exit holes. If you are looking to save pelts, Look at a hollow point or a soft point bullet. What twist rate is your 223? Velocity plays a big part in how the bullet disintegrates too.

I love Vmax, but others have had bad experiences with them. 55 gr. softpt's would be a better option than FMJ's in my opinion. Black hills makes some accurate bluebox reloads....

not much help I am sure, but the more negative things I read about Vmax and exit wounds, the more I start leaning towards shooting something else at coyotes. Of course I have 150 unloaded vmax in the basement and about 100 loaded vmax's..... Barnes is goming out with a 55 gr TSX soon, I will have to try those

[harvey lee]

12" picks.

[picksbigwagon]

so you could and should shoot the heavier bullets, say the 68 and 75 grainers....or my brain is fried from a 3 hour drive home with 3 sick kids and one sick wife. I know it is either slower twist or faster twist that stabilizes the heavier bullets better. Not sure who loads a heavier bullet, I have not read good things about match bullets on coyotes though......let me poke around a little tomorrow and let you know what I find out...

what have you been shooting out of it?

[picksbigwagon]

Oops, I lied, it is the other way around, slower twist lighter bullets, which is better, since that opens up a lot more opportunity for you...........

[reddog]

I dont think you can go wrong on a coyote with a 55 grn soft point. Quarter inch in and quarter sized out and a bang flop, dead dog. If you drag bone out the exit, it doesnt matter which bullet you use.

[harvey lee]

This will be the first year I use this for coyotes as I just got the gun.

I zero'd the gun with Black Hills ammo.

52 GR Match HP

She shots tight groups at 100 yards about 1.5 inches high.

[looneyducer]

Then it's a good year not to be a coyote!

[picksbigwagon]

Pop zip bang, sounds like you have a winner already1.5" high at 100 yards puts inside a coyote at 300

[jiggin' fool]

Reddog has the skinny on exit wounds. It doesn't matter what you shoot.., if you hit a large bone, (shoulder, leg-bone).., you are very likely to get a nasty, nasty exit-hole!!!

I have shot the plain old 55-grain soft-tips with great results, but I now shoot Black Hills 52-grain boattail hollow-point. Often, not even an exit.

But again, as reddog shared, you really can't go wrong with the good old 55-grain soft-point. The hotter you go, especially with the lighter bullets, the nastier things get if you hit bone. In fact, I used to shoot the 40-grainers at nearly 4000-fps, until I clipped the back of a shoulder-blade on a smaller-female 'yote, quartering towards me as she was trying to circle to get downwind (calling).., and without getting graphic.., let's just say "it wasn't pretty"!

[olddeerhunter]

How about a 243. Good and fast soft point head shots 87 grain should do the trick and it will buck the wind pretty good.

Olddeerhunter