Seems every year we get a post about the 223. A 17 HMR will kill a coyote but the 223 isn't enough. I wonder how many coyotes have been killed though the years with the under powered 223? I wonder what the coyotes would have to say.

If I were to guess and judging by how hard .223 ammo is to come by I'd say the .223 probably kills more coyotes than just about any other cartridge. That's strictly a guess of course. There's no way to know for certain but if I had to bet money on which kills the most every year I'd put my money on it.

Way back when I hunted for pelts, I took a fair amount of fur with the 223. While it worked fine in most cases, it would do strange things every once in a while. A broadside shoulder shot would become an intestinal unzip. I would blame these anomalies as a bullet failure of some sort, which it may have been.
My favorite dog caliber however was the 22-250. Instant death with a rip in the hide to prove it. Oddly, my 17 remmy was nearly the equal of the 22-250 without the damage. Only had one runner and that was a 400+ yard yard shot in a fairly stiff wind but the dog was recovered.

I shot Vmaxes for 2 years in my 16" AR 223. I constantly had runners and spinners. This year I switched to soft points and they are hammers. Most are now DRT. You hit them in the chest or front shoulder and they don't go anywhere.

jskinn22,
What weight of Vmaxes did you shoot?

I tried the 55's and the 53's. I just didn't have any luck with them. Don't get me wrong they would kill coyotes but I almost always had to use follow up shots or track them down 50 to 100 yards after the shot.

I have killed a TON of coyotes with the 50gr Vmax, but they like a little bit of speed. I am running them at 3500fps from a 20" 223 Ackley. They perform quite well with very few runners as long as I keep my distances under 300yd.

That being said, having more bullet and more speed sure is nice.

I agree, I will never shoot a vmax at another animal again. I switched to 65gr SGK and they hit like a supersonic brick.

Killed my first coyote as a kid with a 22lr, and seen many fall with 22lr and 22mag, I love this thread.

I've seen deer killed with 22lr, doesnt make it a very good choice.

This does not add up

That's what my wife said when I told her I actually save money by reloading my own ammo.

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I have only lost one with a 223 and it was a bad shoulder shot with a vmax. This year I’m going to try a 6mm arc upper I just put together. I’m hoping to extend my range some and have better bc for the wind.