Nosler BT or ELD-M

R

Ryanjac23

New member
For nighttime hunting coyotes out of a 16” AR (5.56) and shots inside 250 yards. The rifle is a 7 twist

-Hornady factory 73 grain ELD-Ms…they are slower however with a 7 twist my thought is they would be a better fit

-Nosler factory 55BTs. These are faster but is the 7 twist too tight where ripping jackets off would be an issue?

Thoughts?
 
I would look at cost, local availability, and accuracy.

The BT's are much tougher than the V-Max. Nosler makes the Varmageddon bullet to compete with the V-Max.

The 55 grain BT is the most accurate bullet i have ever shot.
 
As flat of trajectory as you can get, shoot your setup every 25 yards. Starting at 25 yards. Tweak the zero range to minimize adjustment in reticle position on coyote at YOUR most likely shooting distances, this will reduce edge hits.
 
In 22cal I'd look at the 53Vmax first, odds are it will shoot outstanding and it kills as well as anything in that range. From my experience the 53s don't splash like the 50 or 55s do, it's a much different animal, higher BC and longer surface area.

If that doesn't work then my next choice would definitely be the 55NBT
 
I wanted to shoot the 53’s but with the superformance ammo at 3400+ fps and a 7 twist barrel the RPMs are around 350,000 which seems very high to shoot through a can with such a thin jacket.
 
Ryanjac23 said:
I wanted to shoot the 53’s but with the superformance ammo at 3400+ fps and a 7 twist barrel the RPMs are around 350,000 which seems very high to shoot through a can with such a thin jacket.
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1/7tw is all I run in several 223 Wylde chambered White Oaks and they hammer!

I've killed a TON of coyotes with the 53 from my WOAs and is my first choice.
 
Ballistic tips are hard to beat! I got turned onto the 60 grain Vmax here probably a decade and a half ago and never turned back. They drop coyotes in their tracks with little fur damage so far to date. They also are about half the price of any ballistic tip It seems like now Not to mention way easier to get since they seem like they’re on every shelf. I’ve seen locally for the last year or two. Ballistic tips if I want them I need to order them online normally up until the last month that I saw at the local shop had a few options finally. At twice the price of vmax though. The 60 grain vmax were $19 to $22 a box vs almost double for ballistic tips. Used to buy ballistic tips nonstop because they were available and cheap. It doesn’t bother me. They’re more money as much as I can never find them so switching to something that’s readily available on the shelves intrigues me more. Not as big of a fan with Hornaday versus the Nosler, but I’m made the switch because they’re always available.

I haven’t got my hands on the new 62 grain Hornady VT Boolits. I’m sure they could be loaded short in a 223. They were designed to be explosive, and for night hunting, to “anchor” coyotes according to their marketing department.

I can tell you the 60 grain Vmax drop them like a hammer of Thor, unless you get too close to an edge. I remember hitting one a little high and taking a chunk out of its back. I saw the next day and finished it off. Apparently it didn’t get too far Because it was about 150 yards away from where I originally shot at it. Hit it above the backbone and took a huge chunk of meat and fur off of it. So my fault. I thought it was a lot further out than it was and hit it high the day before.
 
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The 53 grain V-Max was designed for the AR-15.

The 55 grain version was made to stabilize in earlier, slower twist 250's and such.

There are so many good bullets for Coyotes.

Cost/Availability rules out for me.
 
arlaunch said:
I would look at cost, local availability, and accuracy.

The BT's are much tougher than the V-Max. Nosler makes the Varmageddon bullet to compete with the V-Max.

The 55 grain BT is the most accurate bullet i have ever shot.
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Agreed! 55gr out of a Nosler Varmageddon in .233 is darn accurate!
 
I've ladder tested the 55 grainers in my LTR and POF. Both prefer the 40' and 60's over the 50's and 55's. I'm sure if I kept at it with other powders I'd eventually find a better grouping loads. Both 50's and 55's will shoot under MOA but the other weights will shoot with all touching in one big hole. Not that the groups weren't acceptable but thr other weights shot tighter with less effort.
 
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