55 or 70 gr ballistic tips for coyotes with 243?

Hi,
Just decided to start seriously hunting coyotes this year. I have gone out maybe a dozen times in the past and have called in a few, and missed one, but have never been able to close the deal yet. I recently got a savage 243 for the purpose, and its very accurate with the 70 grain balistic tips from federal, (I dont reload yet) I'm getting groups right around an inch at 150 yards, and I'm sure it can do better than I can. But i'm wondering if these loads are going to tear up the fur too bad, should I switch to the 55 grainers if they shoot well too, or will the 70's be okay? Thanks for any advise.
 
243 is not really gonna be a very fur friendly round for the most part. You will have some coyotes that aren't torn up much at all on occasion, but generally you have some hide damage, some times pretty dramatic damage. The shots that I have the most damage with tend to be the quartering/angled shots, while the full frontal are the least damaged. Broadsides haven't been to bad generally; 1" exits for the most part. I have used 55's, 65 vmax, 80 soft points, and 100 soft points. My experiences/opinions, and worth just what you paid for 'em. Good luck.
 
I use the 55 grain ballistic tips. Sometimes I cant even find where I hit them at. Other times it is very obvious. Rarely an exit wound.
 
Personally, bullet construction is much more important than bullet weight when it comes to pelt damage.

The real trick, is that there are TWO ends of the spectrum that will give either really GOOD, or really BAD results.

Specifically, lightly constructed "frangible" ballistic tip bullets SHOULDN'T produce exit wounds, but if you connect with an animal too close (velocity too high), and the bullet DOES exit, you'll be looking at a soupy mess and a cantelope sized exit wound (think prairie dog "pink mist"). When they work properly, the entire "temporary cavity" wound channel is completely contained in the animal, and all that you get is a DRT coyote with a pencil sized entry wound.

Or you can try your hand at the OTHER end of the spectrum, and use harder bullets like SST's or Interbonds, A frames, etc (something that would be considered a hard-construction deer bullet or a reasonable elk/blackbear bullet). A harder bullet WILL exit, but if you use a controlled expansion round, you'll get a pencil sized entry wound and a quarter to golfball sized exit wound. The bad news is, if you don't hit something important, the dog will be more apt to run, and won't bleed as much.

What you want to avoid is everything in between. Bullets that make good long range deer hunting bullets in general are NOT good for coyotes. They'll give large temporary cavity wounds, but they'll have enough penetration to exit, meaning you end up with fist to softball sized exit wounds.

In general, the 55grn and the 70grn are going to have close to the same energy inside 100yrds, and even though the 55grn will be lighter constructed (debatable), it still could end up doing just as much damage.

The 55grn bullets SHOULD do less damage, but whether or not you ever notice the difference, I'd be surprised. You definitely wouldn't see as much difference in 55grn and 70grn .243win as you would in a 55grn .243win vs a 55grn .223rem.

In my experience, my wife and I use Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertips in a .243WSSM with 55grn for coyotes and 95grn for whitetails. Very effective round, and a great alternative for guys that don't handload (I haven't started handloading .243WSSM, but it is HIGH on my priority list, ammo prices for WSSM's are crazy!). I'm ok with the fact that if I get a dog inside of 50yrds, I'm about 50/50 on whether I can use the hide or not.
 
Originally Posted By: VarminterrorPersonally, bullet construction is much more important than bullet weight when it comes to pelt damage.

The real trick, is that there are TWO ends of the spectrum that will give either really GOOD, or really BAD results.

Specifically, lightly constructed "frangible" ballistic tip bullets SHOULDN'T produce exit wounds, but if you connect with an animal too close (velocity too high), and the bullet DOES exit, you'll be looking at a soupy mess and a cantelope sized exit wound (think prairie dog "pink mist"). When they work properly, the entire "temporary cavity" wound channel is completely contained in the animal, and all that you get is a DRT coyote with a pencil sized entry wound.

Or you can try your hand at the OTHER end of the spectrum, and use harder bullets like SST's or Interbonds, A frames, etc (something that would be considered a hard-construction deer bullet or a reasonable elk/blackbear bullet). A harder bullet WILL exit, but if you use a controlled expansion round, you'll get a pencil sized entry wound and a quarter to golfball sized exit wound. The bad news is, if you don't hit something important, the dog will be more apt to run, and won't bleed as much.

What you want to avoid is everything in between. Bullets that make good long range deer hunting bullets in general are NOT good for coyotes. They'll give large temporary cavity wounds, but they'll have enough penetration to exit, meaning you end up with fist to softball sized exit wounds.

In general, the 55grn and the 70grn are going to have close to the same energy inside 100yrds, and even though the 55grn will be lighter constructed (debatable), it still could end up doing just as much damage.

The 55grn bullets SHOULD do less damage, but whether or not you ever notice the difference, I'd be surprised. You definitely wouldn't see as much difference in 55grn and 70grn .243win as you would in a 55grn .243win vs a 55grn .223rem.

In my experience, my wife and I use Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertips in a .243WSSM with 55grn for coyotes and 95grn for whitetails. Very effective round, and a great alternative for guys that don't handload (I haven't started handloading .243WSSM, but it is HIGH on my priority list, ammo prices for WSSM's are crazy!). I'm ok with the fact that if I get a dog inside of 50yrds, I'm about 50/50 on whether I can use the hide or not.

Great post! Very well thought out and composed and true to boot. I use the 70gr SBK'S from a 6x45 and I find it about 50/50 on shots that are close-ish.

Chupa
 
While I can't even begin to compete with the knowledge that has already been posted...
Back when I used a .243 for coyotes, (for about 10 years), I and my gun preferred the 58gr Hornady V-Max.
Most of the time, I could hardly tell where the entry was, and very rarely had exits.
The only trouble I had with them, was if I hit bone. Then it would get kind of nasty.
 
I've had good luck with the Hornady 58 gr VMax (and ZMax). Hornady does load these in their factory stuff. I have awesome accuracy with them I'm the factory loads, I I started making my own.
 
I have considered the superformance round with the 58 vmax too, but most of what I've been able to find says that the vmaxes are more explosive then the btips and more likely to make a mess of things. But thats why I wanted you get you guys oppinions that have experience with each. I think unless there is a definite advantage to the 55 or 58 grainers, I'll just stick with the 70s for their accuracy. I'm assuming the 70s will be better at longer groundhog ranges too???
 
Like the others have posted. I use the 70gr NBT out of the my r-25 in 243 and have mixed results. Most of the time not an exit. But if you hit it wrong you can shove a watermelon in and not touch the sides. I tried the 55gr and could not get them to group both guns did not like them. Stuck with the 70gr. The nice thing about the 243 is when you pull the trigger and hit the yote it won't move from where it was but straight down.
 
Originally Posted By: deaddogwalkin...I tried the 55gr and could not get them to group both guns did not like them....

Have to admit, I took this issue for granted in my previous post. If your rifle doesn't like a given bullet weight, it won't matter how bad you want to shoot it. Poor performance is poor performance. Gotta try them out and make sure they group well before you commit to sending one after a game animal... True for any bullet, brand, load...
 
Couple of guys I hunt with use factory 55g winchester ballistic tip loading with great results. I have yet to see them blow a hole out the other side from 50 yards to 200 yards. Every coyote has dropped on the spot also.
 
Originally Posted By: 5spdCouple of guys I hunt with use factory 55g winchester ballistic tip loading with great results. I have yet to see them blow a hole out the other side from 50 yards to 200 yards. Every coyote has dropped on the spot also.


That's been my experience with them as well. The problem is inside 50yrds. It's the same experience I have had with the BST's in .270win and .30-06 and .300WSM for deer as well. Under 50yrds, stuff gets gooey. Grabbing coyotes at 20yrds doesn't usually happen when you're hunting over open pasture, so I don't really plan my ammo choice around that, but for guys where 50yrds might be their max visibility, it's something to keep in mind.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone, I think I'll try some of the 55s to see if they shoot as well as the 70s, if not I'll just stick with what works. Has anyone tried both btips and vmaxs to compare performance between the two? If so, which did less damage on average?
 
Ive used both. If you want to kill the coyote then use the BT's. If you like looking in draws and what not for a wounded coyote with perfect fur, then use the Vmax.
 
Okay thanks.
Have you ever tried the 70's, or just always used the 55s?


Originally Posted By: btech29Ive used both. If you want to kill the coyote then use the BT's. If you like looking in draws and what not for a wounded coyote with perfect fur, then use the Vmax.
 
Ive only used the 70gr in hollow points. Ive never used anything bigger than 55 in the BT's. Im a bit of a speed freak.
 

Jason,

For what it's worth, I'll share a bit of information that I found rather amazing. I have no experience with the the 70 gr. Ballistic Tips and am only speaking to what I witnessed on a couple of hunts.

In the filming of Shenandoah Groundhogs, I witnessed ARCOREY putting his .243 through it's paces. He was shooting 70 Ballistic Tips at groundhogs from distances as close as 40 yards to as far as 500.

Roughly 90% of the groundhogs he shot had no exit, and that was from a variety of ranges. There was an occasional exit, but it didn't blow them to pieces as I recall. You might consider dropping ARCOREY a note and see what he has to say. He shoots a .243 a lot.

I know that groundhogs are not coyotes, and groundhogs can be stocky and tuff, so I don't know how the comparison might be between the two.

My thoughts are that if the 70 gr. Ballistic Tips shoot well in your rifle, and apparently they do, then you won't know until you try them in the field.

Good luck with whatever load you choose, and please keep us posted.

 
I currently shoot the .70g Sierra Blitzking out of my .243. I tried the TNT's and didn't care for the blowouts that I was having. I am not a fur hunter so much as a contest hunter so when I shoot a yote I want it staying put, even when the shot may not have been a great one. I have had really good luck with the Blitzkings with the only blowouts as a result of poor shot placement on my part. I did try the .58g's and found that the .70g's performed better in my rifle. The other thing I considered is the ability of the .70g to buck the wind better than the .58g and the wind blows often and hard up here.
 
I too vote for 55gr, I used them in .223 99% dropped like hit with lightning, with a head, neck, or chest hit. I think 40gr Noslers made bigger holes under 200yds, with my Tactical.20, than with .223 and 55gr Nosler. I really like the solid copper base on the bt, it keeps going, I found many on the skin on the other side,or they went through, thus ensuring a quick kill! One 180 yd hit with 40gr Tactical .20, 12-14" exit slit! Never had that with 55gr Nosler in .223!
 
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Originally Posted By: Tactical .20I too vote for 55gr, I used them in .223 99% dropped like hit with lightning, with a head, neck, or chest hit. I think 40gr Noslers made bigger holes under 200yds, with my Tactical.20, than with .223 and 55gr Nosler. I really like the solid copper base on the bt, it keeps going, I found many on the skin on the other side,or they went through, thus ensuring a quick kill! One 180 yd hit with 40gr Tactical .20, 12-14" exit slit! Never had that with 55gr Nosler in .223!

Only one problem! He is shooting a 243.

I use the 65 vmax in my 243 and like the results I get. The 70bt's are nice too and shoot about the same but vmax won due to cost.
 
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