Bullet for low velocity bobcat load?

johral

New member
I am going to put together a reduced velocity load for my 223 in case I see a bobcat while calling coyotes. There are lots of cats in the area, so I want to be ready and not blow one apart and I would prefer not to haul in a shotgun too.

I have Blue Dot and H4895 for powders. I have the following bullets - 55 Hornady SPs and SXSPs, Remington 50 SPSs and 50 PLHPs, Speer 50 TNTs, and Speer 52 HPs (ash trays). I am loading the ash trays for the full power stuff but not sure which of them would best in the reduced velocity stuff. Shots will be close.

Thanks
 
Imo, you would want it fast, not reduced and slower. Slower is going to keep the bullets from fragmenting as well and more likely to punch a bigger hole while exiting. Personally I would go with the sxsp and run them fast
 
Originally Posted By: Catdog1Imo, you would want it fast, not reduced and slower. Slower is going to keep the bullets from fragmenting as well and more likely to punch a bigger hole while exiting. Personally I would go with the sxsp and run them fast

Maybe.....a few thoughts:

Blue dot, Trail Boss and H4895 can get you there on reduced loads, and the old Speer manuals had tested reduced loads for many calibers.

AWS will tell you that the 52 gr Speer ashtrays are all that in the 222 - depending where you are thinking of running the 223 velocities handloaded, that may work for you.

Catshooter used to say that the Hornady 45 gr SP .224 was the same as the 50/55 gr SPSX in construction, just lighter in weight. Lighter construction can blow up w/ higher velocities on entry with a bone hit, etc., but should penetrate moreso with lesser velocities than the heavier versions. All of these SXSP's are known as hide savers.

There are discussions on here regarding the use of the Sierra and Speer 40 gr SP's for hide saving. A search will turn up some info.

Just thoughts.....
 
Originally Posted By: Mike BOriginally Posted By: Catdog1Imo, you would want it fast, not reduced and slower. Slower is going to keep the bullets from fragmenting as well and more likely to punch a bigger hole while exiting. Personally I would go with the sxsp and run them fast

Maybe.....a few thoughts:

Blue dot, Trail Boss and H4895 can get you there on reduced loads, and the old Speer manuals had tested reduced loads for many calibers.

AWS will tell you that the 52 gr Speer ashtrays are all that in the 222 - depending where you are thinking of running the 223 velocities handloaded, that may work for you.

Catshooter used to say that the Hornady 45 gr SP .224 was the same as the 50/55 gr SPSX in construction, just lighter in weight. Lighter construction can blow up w/ higher velocities on entry with a bone hit, etc., but should penetrate moreso with lesser velocities than the heavier versions. All of these SXSP's are known as hide savers.

There are discussions on here regarding the use of the Sierra and Speer 40 gr SP's for hide saving. A search will turn up some info.

Just thoughts.....



Thanks for the info...I'll do some more searching.
 
I was shooting a reduced load for red fox that was absolutely incredible for saving pelts. I was a blue dot load using Nosler 40 grain varmageddon hollow points running around 2800FPS. Never had an exit and stoned them dead. The POI was not far off my normal loads and was easy to hold for. I would think that that load at 2900-3000 would be absolutely ideal for cats and closer calling ranges
 
I'll do some checking at my local store and see what bullets they have on the shelf. 50 is as low as I currently have in my stash.

I did forget to mention that my little CZ has the current 1:9 twist. This may be an issue for the SPSX and the TNT bullets. According to some Quickload info on another forum, I can get down to about 2500 fps with 20.5 grains of H4895, but that might still be too fast for them with a 1:9.

Thanks

ETA: According to the bullet spin formula, if I can keep it below 2500fps the bullet spin will be less than a 1:12 at 3400fps, so I will give them a try.
 
Last edited:
12.0g of blue dot= 3000 fps in my rifle

40g V max or nosler ballistic tip, use the load on cats and coyotes

Cats and foxes are very easy to tear up.

You need to go light on your bullet weight to not allow complete penetration.
 
Originally Posted By: ackleyman12.0g of blue dot= 3000 fps in my rifle

40g V max or nosler ballistic tip, use the load on cats and coyotes

Cats and foxes are very easy to tear up.

You need to go light on your bullet weight to not allow complete penetration.

Thanks
 
Back
Top