Ballistic Tip vs Hollow point vs soft point for fur

IAYoteHunter

New member
It seems to be a big debate which bullet is most fur friendly. I shoot 55 gr Sierra Spitzers out of a 22-250 and it blows a 2.5- 3 inch exit hole on broad side shots on coyotes. I realize that a .22-250 is not the most fur friendly caliber for coyotes, but has anyone else had better luck with a hollow point or a ballistic tip? Thanks
 
I shoot a .223 but have some buddies that shoot the 22-250. I've skinned lots of coyotes that were shot with 55gr. V-Max and haven't seen any that were tore up. I don't like Softpoints for coyotes period. I've seen too many run offs and spinners from them. I shoot Hornady 52gr. BTHP's out of my .223 which are very fur friendly as long as you don't hit them in the guts or hit them on the edges. A hit to the backbone splinters and blows a massive hole in them. A bad hit with any bullet has potential to rip a pelt up badly in my opinion.
 
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All three depend on caliber, speed, distance, and bone.
With my .22-250 & .223 results with certain 50 gr ballistic tip have been good.
In close or brushy work 55 gr soft points have been good and pencil through even with ,22-250 @ 25 ft.
52 gr match are not bad.
Some guys swear by the white box 45 gr hollow point.
Was recently surprised by a broadside .243 70 gr hollow point. 24 cal going in and .30 cal exit with a few pepper holes around it.
 
I've been going through the same thing with my .222 Remington, which is much more forgiving than the .22-250. I have given up completely on ballistic tips. They are great with a shot that is square to the animal, but make it the slightest "graze" upon entry, and it explodes. This season I have gone with soft points, in 55 grain. I have exit wounds, but they're not that bad, which tells me that it is a little more penetration than I need. My next step is to try a 50 soft point that is tough enough to get past the surface, but might expend it's energy in the animal.

Some bullets are harder than others. Last season, I tried Winchester factories in 55 grain, and got NO penetration. Surface bombs! The worst. This tells me that you can't generalize. Even though the two types of ammo were both 55 gr. soft points, the difference was extreme. Incidentally, the comparison is a factory Remington cartridge. So the Rem. goes all the way through, the Win. goes nowhere.

I'm trying for a bullet/load that will keep holes at an inch or less, the majority of the time.

Hope this helps. I'm sure there are members on here who have more experience with this issue than I. Good luck with it.
 
Another bullet you might consider is the 60 grain Nosler Partition. I used them 20+ years ago with pretty good results, although I didn't kill very many with them the ones I did kill died quickly and there wasn't to much pelt damage. Always an exit but nothing that couldn't be fixed fairly easily with a few stitches with a needle and some dental floss. Worst case maybe the size of a quarter. You'd have to try them for accuracy especially if you have a 1-14" twist. Partitions aren't normally the most accurate bullets out there but i could usually get them to shoot about an inch or so which was fine for me. Anyways, something to think about
 
Originally Posted By: DucksoupAnother bullet you might consider is the 60 grain Nosler Partition. I used them 20+ years ago with pretty good results, although I didn't kill very many with them the ones I did kill died quickly and there wasn't to much pelt damage. Always an exit but nothing that couldn't be fixed fairly easily with a few stitches with a needle and some dental floss. Worst case maybe the size of a quarter. You'd have to try them for accuracy especially if you have a 1-14" twist. Partitions aren't normally the most accurate bullets out there but i could usually get them to shoot about an inch or so which was fine for me. Anyways, something to think about I agree. I've skinned quite a few shot with these and they weren't too bad. I've seen pretty much the same results with 55gr. V-Max. About quarter sized exit at the worst. Even out of a .223 I get pass throughs with the the same bullet on a broadside shot. Not every time but most of the time.

The absolute worst penetration I've seen from a bullet was a 36gr. Barnes Varmint Grenade out of a 22-250. Two coyotes were shot with them and only one was recovered. Although the one that was recovered didn't have a big hole in it I recovered the base of the bullet at the entrance of the hole it made. Both coyotes were shot at close range. I just wasn't too impressed with them.
 
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I use a 222 rem and I have been using 55gr soft points this year. I'm getting an exit hole but it's not a huge hole that can't be repaired. I was wanting to try the V-max factory hornandy loads but upon shooting I found that my rifle does not like them at all. I have a Remington Mohawk that is an awesome little gun to carry out calling. It shoots 1 Moa all day long with the 55 soft points but the vmax I've never been able to get under about 4 Moa. I've shot a few coyotes with the Winchester silver tips and really liked the results out of those. I had an entrance wound and no exit with the dog DRT. Haven't been able to find anymore of those rounds locally.
 
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Two more this week with 55 gr Nosler bt, one sleeping at 175 head shot no exit the other sitting facing on at 290 shot in chest between shoulder no exit. 22-250 muzzle velocity 3650.
 
Originally Posted By: wolftrapperI've been going through the same thing with my .222 Remington, which is much more forgiving than the .22-250. I have given up completely on ballistic tips. They are great with a shot that is square to the animal, but make it the slightest "graze" upon entry, and it explodes. This season I have gone with soft points, in 55 grain. I have exit wounds, but they're not that bad, which tells me that it is a little more penetration than I need. My next step is to try a 50 soft point that is tough enough to get past the surface, but might expend it's energy in the animal.

Some bullets are harder than others. Last season, I tried Winchester factories in 55 grain, and got NO penetration. Surface bombs! The worst. This tells me that you can't generalize. Even though the two types of ammo were both 55 gr. soft points, the difference was extreme. Incidentally, the comparison is a factory Remington cartridge. So the Rem. goes all the way through, the Win. goes nowhere.

I'm trying for a bullet/load that will keep holes at an inch or less, the majority of the time.

Hope this helps. I'm sure there are members on here who have more experience with this issue than I. Good luck with it.

My grandfather, my dad and I shoot and have shot the speer 50 gr soft point with 4320. This has literally been going on for decades. I can't recall it tearing up a hide. It might exit 10% of the time, about nickle size. This includes cats and coyotes, and a lot of them. Surprisingly, they shoot extremely well from 2 700s and my favorite, the 722.
 
I used to use 53 vmax in my 223. A gentlemen from N.D. told me about 52 gr Speer H.P. varmiter they worked very good unless I hit one in the behind on a running shot. The Speer rep. told me the TNT 55 gr. H.P. should work very good on coyotes. I haven't gotten a coyote with one yet, but I believe they will work good on a coyote using a 223. The hollow point go in and haven't had an exit yet. They are pushing about 3200 fps in my 223. They sure make a loud whop sound when they hit and coyote doesn't go anywhere. Rudy
 
Thanks for the replies. Seems like hollow points and V-max seem to be a favorite. I had tried Sierra 53 hpbt but they didn't group near as well as the 55gr SP. V-max seems to be one of the favorite bullets on the market. Would you chose the 50 or 55gr V-max, does it just depend on which the rifle likes more? Thanks.
 
I haven't had very good luck with the 50gr. V-Max. I lost a coyote using American Eagle 50gr. Varmint tipped bullets which is what they call a V-Max I guess. I shot it a few times and it still managed to get away. I switched to Fiocchi 50gr. V-Max and had to shoot a coyote 3 times to kill it. I know that's not very many but I don't keep using a bullet if I get a repeat in bad performance. I've had a pretty good track record with the 55's. Out of a 22-250 the 50's might do fine though.
 
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Have shot hundreds and hundreds of coyotes using all types of bullets with 22 250's...day in and day out a 52 grain hollow point at about 3650 ish fps is about the most fur friendly setup out of a 250 overall Specificly, the Speer 52 grain hollowpoint (not the match).Classic fur bullet for 22 250...for a reason. Best balance between killing power and fur friendlyness.
Mark
 
I also like the 52 gr. HP in the 22-250 for coyote. The T-3 loves Sierra HPBT match #1410. Shot broadside through the ribs leaves a managable 1" exit hole. Enough penetration to anchor if shot through leg bones and never a splash like some ballistic tip bullets. I try to hit them below the midline so the hole (that l sew) is on the belly side of pelt.
 
55 gr soft point made a nickel size hole through a small bobcat..with 22-250..I normally use 223 loaders with Barnes 52 gr tax...best results so far for coyotes but have shot a few whit that same 55 gr sp out of 223 without any fur damage
 
Originally Posted By: IAYoteHunterIt seems to be a big debate which bullet is most fur friendly. I shoot 55 gr Sierra Spitzers out of a 22-250 and it blows a 2.5- 3 inch exit hole on broad side shots on coyotes. I realize that a .22-250 is not the most fur friendly caliber for coyotes, but has anyone else had better luck with a hollow point or a ballistic tip? Thanks if your looking to keep the pelt, obviously lower grain round works best, but if your using the correct tactics, ie....calling, posting, calls, try a 17 HMR, bolt or semi. 17-20 gr round. Intrance and if you do have an exit? Keeps the fur nice. I've dropped hundreds of yotes with that round. But usually won't put a yote down past 100 yds? Maybe try a 45 gr. .223 if you don't have a rim fire? Good luck, wish you the best! Like ballistic tip.
 
I have yet to shoot a coyote with my new 22-250, but asking around and doing months worth of research on Predator Masters before buying led me to believe that a heavier stronger bullet going slower is friendlier on fur than a weak fast lightweight bullet fired from the same gun. 52-55gr bullets seem to be everyone's go to for "Fur Friendly". I had the unfortunate experience of not being able to purchase 2 of the same box of ammo for my rig, so I ended up with a box of Hornady 55gr V-Max and a box of Federal 55gr Fusions.

Now, the ole' boys that sold me the ammo told me that if I was interested in keeping the furs that the Hornady is the wrong choice, too weak, will splash, but instead to zero my scope in (since I hadn't ever fired a shot from my rig yet) with that round as they are exceptionally accurate.

I was instructed to use the Federal Fusions for hunting purposes and to fine tune my scope with those. This is because the Fusions jackets are electrochemically bonded to their core, which helps keep the bullet intact and prevent splashing and grenading = better for saving furs (Cheaper too!).

I PERSONALLY have not hunted with these fusion bullets but this is some wisdom passed onto me while I was searching.

If anyone has any personal experience with the Federal Fusion 55gr I would love to hear it!

PS. The Fusions are SP while the Hornady's are BT.
 
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