Bullet suggestions .223

S

Saskcoyote78

New member
So I just purchased a Browning Xbolt Stainless Stalker 1 in 12 twist, love the rifle and is a real shooter. For years Ive shot the .204, the .223 is new to me. I loaded up some 52 gr. Speer HP match and lost 1 fox and 2 coyotes after what appeared like solid hits. Today I dropped 1 coyote DRT, the next one I dropped and it looked and acted dead till I grabbed his rear leg and he snapped at me
scared.gif
scared the crap outta me.
So Im looking for a fur friendly bullet that will drop a dog dead. I have some 53 gr. Barnes TSX Im loading for wild boar. I know they would work but what other suggestions.
 
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Any HP Match bullet is a bad choice. All you're doing is punching a .224 caliber hole straight through the animal with little to no expansion. Target bullets are generally a bad choice to hunt with on any game. Hornady VMax in 50, 55, & 60 grain weights are popular and kill well.
 
I have good luck with the 55 grain soft point as an all around bullet.Hornady ,Winchester or the bulk from Midway or Midsouth all work good.I have shot thousands of these on prairie dogs with excellent results as well as deer,anteope,coyotes and feral hogs.They are my go to bullet for general use.I know there are better bullets for specific use but I always keep 800 to 1000 loaded up ready to go,hard to beat.
 
The bergers are hard to beat. And the target bergers are awesome for killing coyotes. Kill over a hundred every year with them. Their mef bullets are very expansive and killem dead as well. Store bought, the winchester whitebox 45 grain is pretty good.
 
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Originally Posted By: HidalgoAny HP Match bullet is a bad choice. All you're doing is punching a .224 caliber hole straight through the animal with little to no expansion. Target bullets are generally a bad choice to hunt with on any game.

+1

Several months ago I was in eastern Wyoming having a great time with buddy Dave on a prairie dog infested ranch. We shot all day long for almost an entire week. As always, I brought along my Krieger barreled .220 Swift and this time I had some Nosler 52 gn HPBT match bullets that just shot super on paper. But sadly wasn't so super on prairie dogs. While I don't think that I lost any I saw several of them trying to run to their holes after a good solid hit. I didn't like that at all. When using Vmax or Ballistic Tips there was no running. Just a flash of colors and that's it he's dead right now.

I think that I still have some of them loaded up that I plan to use on ground squirrels in a few months. But match bullets will not be going out on any prairie dog hunts with me again. They deserve a quick death and therefore they deserve being shot with something better than a bullet that is only made to poke holes in paper.
 
Thanks guys!! I have two boxes of 55 gr. Nosler Varmegeddon that shoot very well in this gun but have never tried them on dogs as I heard to stay away from ballistic tips and use HP's like Speer TnT or Sierra HP's ect...

Cheers!!
 
Use btips which are a different bullet than the varmeggeddons. The varmeggeddons are basically the same build as a vmax. The btips have a solid copper base that is heavier and thicker than any of the the plastic tipped bullets
 
I love 52 gr MHP for coyote, they don't pencil through. On a solid body hit they rarely exit.
Now as for p-dogs as Rusty mentioned, they suck ! they do pass clean in and out with crawl offs.
But we are talking coyotes !
 
Originally Posted By: HidalgoAny HP Match bullet is a bad choice. All you're doing is punching a .224 caliber hole straight through the animal with little to no expansion. Target bullets are generally a bad choice to hunt with on any game. Hornady VMax in 50, 55, & 60 grain weights are popular and kill well.

While I am a big vmax fan, I couldn't disagree more that a HP (yes, even a 'match' HP) is a bad choice.
 
Originally Posted By: RustydustOriginally Posted By: HidalgoAny HP Match bullet is a bad choice. All you're doing is punching a .224 caliber hole straight through the animal with little to no expansion. Target bullets are generally a bad choice to hunt with on any game.

+1

Several months ago I was in eastern Wyoming having a great time with buddy Dave on a prairie dog infested ranch. We shot all day long for almost an entire week. As always, I brought along my Krieger barreled .220 Swift and this time I had some Nosler 52 gn HPBT match bullets that just shot super on paper. But sadly wasn't so super on prairie dogs. While I don't think that I lost any I saw several of them trying to run to their holes after a good solid hit. I didn't like that at all. When using Vmax or Ballistic Tips there was no running. Just a flash of colors and that's it he's dead right now.

I think that I still have some of them loaded up that I plan to use on ground squirrels in a few months. But match bullets will not be going out on any prairie dog hunts with me again. They deserve a quick death and therefore they deserve being shot with something better than a bullet that is only made to poke holes in paper.

-100. A prairie dog? LOL I have killed hundreds of prairie dogs with 22 cal HPs and I have never seen this happen.
 
Originally Posted By: fair_chaseOriginally Posted By: HidalgoAny HP Match bullet is a bad choice. All you're doing is punching a .224 caliber hole straight through the animal with little to no expansion. Target bullets are generally a bad choice to hunt with on any game. Hornady VMax in 50, 55, & 60 grain weights are popular and kill well.

While I am a big vmax fan, I couldn't disagree more that a HP (yes, even a 'match' HP) is a bad choice.

So the HP's are OK in your experience..am I reading this right?

Cheers!!
 
Originally Posted By: fair_chaseOriginally Posted By: Rustydust[

+1

Several months ago I was in eastern Wyoming having a great time with buddy Dave on a prairie dog infested ranch. We shot all day long for almost an entire week. As always, I brought along my Krieger barreled .220 Swift and this time I had some Nosler 52 gn HPBT match bullets that just shot super on paper. But sadly wasn't so super on prairie dogs. While I don't think that I lost any I saw several of them trying to run to their holes after a good solid hit. I didn't like that at all. When using Vmax or Ballistic Tips there was no running. Just a flash of colors and that's it he's dead right now.

I think that I still have some of them loaded up that I plan to use on ground squirrels in a few months. But match bullets will not be going out on any prairie dog hunts with me again. They deserve a quick death and therefore they deserve being shot with something better than a bullet that is only made to poke holes in paper.

-100. A prairie dog? LOL I have killed hundreds of prairie dogs with 22 cal HPs and I have never seen this happen.

Well, if you would have been with us would have. I have shot prairie dogs with Speer Hp,Sierra match and 45 grain WW varmint and they pop really well. Nice sound to when they were hit. Pow!....................Pop! shoot one with a Nosler match bullet and it zipped right though. Pow!........biff! Amimal gives you The Finger and runs down his hold never to be seen again. Bastards. I assure you that I will not use them again. They kill yes they do but dammit I want to see blood and guts and eyeballs going in different directions. THAT, lads is a good hit. When they blow up as if their body was used as a washcloth to clean Charlie Mansons's favorite barbeque hang out. That's what I want to see. Every time too.
 
Don't overlook midway dog towns. Shot a dog with one last week and was surprised to see it drop in its tracks and No exit. Entrance hole and blew up inside. Didn't blow any bad holes in it. It was an unlucky dog I walked up on in the fog checking traps. His buddy was waiting for me wearing an mb 550 a few hundred yards away. Gotta love bonus dogs
 
You might try the non-match Speer 52gr HP flat base. I shot that bullet for years in a 22-250 and my partner was using it in a .223 and a Swift. It gave excellent accuracy in all 3 rifles and terminal performance was very good on coyotes and smaller critters, also.
 
I used the factory loaded 52 gr match HP ultramax ammo on coyotes and never had one exit the coyote and never had to put another round in a coyote (shot 5 with them). Single hole in, dead coyote. Just my experience though, coulda been lucky. Good luck!

Shelton
 
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