FMJ or HP for minimal fur damage on coyotes (.223)
- Thread starter HCS
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stevecriner
New member
I like a hollow point over your choices you have presented.
Not illegal in Texas as far as I know. Either use soft points or hps. The 55 grain Sierra game king have worked well for me in my AR. I am going to use 60 grain v-maxs this year to see how they do.
furblaster
New member
If you can find or reload some 40 grainers in a ballistic tip they work fantastic. Last Saturday I shot 3 coyotes with a .22-250 loaded with 40 grain Winchester Ballistic Silvertips and only had one pass thru. The pass thru I did have just went thru with no pelt damage. I felt that they exploded after entering because of the light weight size, but the ranges were within 75 yards and the pass thru happened at 130 yards. Sometimes this theory works sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it's the situation that presents itself.
lyotehunter
New member
tyr 30gr. berger bullets.they are hp's and they are great if you do your part.i use bergers for all my varmint guns. i have 17.rem.223 22-250's.very accurate and turn the insides into mush.i have expermented with many bullets over the years.
crapshoot
Well-known member
Quote:
Why are you against hunting with FMJ? What if they are produced by Lake City? There also wasn't much explanation as to what they do to the fur, I want to know which one isnt just going to blow a hole through it.
Thanks
Hunter
No expansion. Most tend to pencil through no causing enough internal damage. This equals alot of runners and unrecovered animals. Sometimes the bullit will yaw as it enteres and comes out sideways causing large holes. No such thing as a magic bullit. If you are that concerned with holes, use traps or a 17 rem or 204. Even with these you will get a gaping hole once in a while.
Why are you against hunting with FMJ? What if they are produced by Lake City? There also wasn't much explanation as to what they do to the fur, I want to know which one isnt just going to blow a hole through it.
Thanks
Hunter
No expansion. Most tend to pencil through no causing enough internal damage. This equals alot of runners and unrecovered animals. Sometimes the bullit will yaw as it enteres and comes out sideways causing large holes. No such thing as a magic bullit. If you are that concerned with holes, use traps or a 17 rem or 204. Even with these you will get a gaping hole once in a while.
If you plan on useing "only" .223 FMJ. Plan on shooting them more then once. Unless of course you get lucky or are very good, & the 1st rd takes them down for good. Coyotes can often take a severe pounding & still regain their footing & get away.
FMJ's can/will pass on through a coyote. Happens often, especially on broadside shots.
Personally, I would use SP or HP's. From those 3 choice's.
FMJ's can/will pass on through a coyote. Happens often, especially on broadside shots.
Personally, I would use SP or HP's. From those 3 choice's.
Quote:
Why are you against hunting with FMJ? What if they are produced by Lake City? There also wasn't much explanation as to what they do to the fur, I want to know which one isnt just going to blow a hole through it.
Thanks
It isnt the damage to the fur you need to worry about. It is the things it kills after it passes throught the coyote and ricochets. There is a reason they are illegal to hunt with in some states. In my opinion they are dangerous. I hate even being in the area when people are shooting them. You can always tell when they are. You can hear the ricochets. Do you think they have any idea where them bullets are going??
Hunter
Why are you against hunting with FMJ? What if they are produced by Lake City? There also wasn't much explanation as to what they do to the fur, I want to know which one isnt just going to blow a hole through it.
Thanks
It isnt the damage to the fur you need to worry about. It is the things it kills after it passes throught the coyote and ricochets. There is a reason they are illegal to hunt with in some states. In my opinion they are dangerous. I hate even being in the area when people are shooting them. You can always tell when they are. You can hear the ricochets. Do you think they have any idea where them bullets are going??
Hunter
GC
Well-known member
As the other posters said, first it is often illegal. Then if it isn't illegal to use FMJ's, they may be dangerous to use. Ever hear one whine across a frozen field? An expanding bullet would break up and disintegrate on hard frozen ground causing less danger to others. The FMJ can richochet and go a long way.
Additionally, they just don't offer quick enough kills. Most often coyotes will run after receiving a FMJ bullet. Coyotes are tough little critters and just don't lay down and give up after taking a bullet. Unless it is a bullet that scrambles the innards and causes severe internal damage and transfers enough energy to anchor them. Coyotes are soft footed and don't leave much in the way of tracks to help recover them. Especially in forest clutter like leaves, on grassy fields, or on hard frozen ground. No tracks makes it nearly impossible to track them to aid in recovery. That thick fur you are concerned with soaks up blood, especially from little pin holes such as a .22 caliber FMJ leaves in the hide. So you often won't have a blood trail. All that adds up to a lost animal.
Then there is the other side of the FMJ, the tumbling issue. Often the FMJ will yaw or tumble in flesh causing more damage than a hollowpoint/plastic tip/soft point bullet. Or, hit bone, such as the shoulder at an angle and you'll tear a gaping hole in the hide.
You are much better to choose a conventional hunting bullet and there is plenty of info in the archives here about .223 bullets to help you make an informed decision. Does that help explain it?
Additionally, they just don't offer quick enough kills. Most often coyotes will run after receiving a FMJ bullet. Coyotes are tough little critters and just don't lay down and give up after taking a bullet. Unless it is a bullet that scrambles the innards and causes severe internal damage and transfers enough energy to anchor them. Coyotes are soft footed and don't leave much in the way of tracks to help recover them. Especially in forest clutter like leaves, on grassy fields, or on hard frozen ground. No tracks makes it nearly impossible to track them to aid in recovery. That thick fur you are concerned with soaks up blood, especially from little pin holes such as a .22 caliber FMJ leaves in the hide. So you often won't have a blood trail. All that adds up to a lost animal.
Then there is the other side of the FMJ, the tumbling issue. Often the FMJ will yaw or tumble in flesh causing more damage than a hollowpoint/plastic tip/soft point bullet. Or, hit bone, such as the shoulder at an angle and you'll tear a gaping hole in the hide.
You are much better to choose a conventional hunting bullet and there is plenty of info in the archives here about .223 bullets to help you make an informed decision. Does that help explain it?
predatorsniper1
New member
My Dad uses a .22-250 Remington 50gr. Ballistic tip bullet traveling close to 3900 fps and has shot a coyote at 40 yards with no exit wound. One entry hole and a dead coyote instantly. Just hit em in the sweet spot....
I have just started with the .223. I am currently using a Black Hill 52 gr. HP. It seems to work excellently with one .22 cal enterenc hole. The closest was 150 and grave yard dead. In my older 6mm v-max and bistllic tips were good and bad. I think the splatter wound was the hardest to cover up while skinning and stretching.
Dogboy
New member
I'm sure you have seen plenty of film footage of night time engagements in Iraq.
You see how those tracers bounce around and fly in all directions. Well between each tracer you see, are 4 bullets that are not tracers. All are FMJ. One of the biggest reason not to shoot them in your rifle.
FMJ's will bore a hole strait through the coyote and in most cases allow the coyote to run off. Boring a hole strait through your target still allows that FMJ to bounce around like you might have seen in the war footage, NOT GOOD.
Using a hollow point would be much better, soft point or semi pointed bullet would also work. I believe anything other than an FMJ would work.
Safety first, then humane taking of the coyote second. Ammo from Lake City arsenal is no better or worse than any other FMJ ammo. Lake City is just a major producer of ammo for the military.
Any other ammo mentioned by other members will work far better than FMJ ammo..... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
You see how those tracers bounce around and fly in all directions. Well between each tracer you see, are 4 bullets that are not tracers. All are FMJ. One of the biggest reason not to shoot them in your rifle.
FMJ's will bore a hole strait through the coyote and in most cases allow the coyote to run off. Boring a hole strait through your target still allows that FMJ to bounce around like you might have seen in the war footage, NOT GOOD.
Using a hollow point would be much better, soft point or semi pointed bullet would also work. I believe anything other than an FMJ would work.
Safety first, then humane taking of the coyote second. Ammo from Lake City arsenal is no better or worse than any other FMJ ammo. Lake City is just a major producer of ammo for the military.
Any other ammo mentioned by other members will work far better than FMJ ammo..... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
I have just started with the .223. I am currently using a Black Hill 52 gr. HP. It seems to work excellently with one .22 cal enterenc hole. The closest was 150 and grave yard dead. In my older 6mm v-max and bistllic tips were good and bad. I think the splatter wound was the hardest to cover up while skinning and stretching
Loops from western UP of Michigan
Loops from western UP of Michigan
I tried the FMJ in 223 years ago. I grabbed the wrong magazine for my AR-15 and shot a coyote with the FMJ load. Needless to say, I had a tracking job on my hands after I had shot the coyote from a distance of approximately 10 yards. Well, I found the coyote and finished him off. After examining the carcass, I dropped my magazine and saw that it was a FMJ load, not a soft point. That was the first, and last, time that I used a FMJ on any game for any reason. They just do not perform well on game. MI VHNTR