Projectile performance lately

[CNY Yote Hunter]

So I have finally got some free time to get away from the job and enjoy some much needed field time. Never as much as I would like but this season I have managed to take quite a few dogs.I am seeing a trend lately that I don't like and am curious if others have as well. I posted or added comments to another post prior about Berger performance not being what it used to be as I had hit a yote with a 22-250 at, don't remember the exact yardage cause it was last year, but we will say 190 yards. Berger 55 grain, don't have my load sheet in front of me but it was pushing 3800 fps or in the ball park out of the muzzle, 26" barrel. Anyways perfect shot on the dog, have a video but not sure how to post that on here. Dog was shot quartering away right behind the shoulder, projectile came out the opposite side by the guts which means it did a v inside the body. Baseball size hole out the other side, dog managed to run almost 300 yards before dropping. When I went to the impact site we found the projectile fragmented on impact, literally found a big piece at the impact site. So in my opinion that projectile did not perform as expected, it acted like a fmj and not a hp at all. Move onto another bad example with this projectile, same load, same gun, another coyote at 100 yards shot head on in the brisket. Projectile exited right side of animal by the guts and took the back leg off upon exit. This animal ran a few hundred yards before dropping and required another shot. Move onto this year, 4 dogs in and to add to the list trying a 204 this time around. 1st dog was a fox, 150 yard shot, 32 grain vmax pushing 4000 out the muzzle. Shot fox head on in the brisket and same as the Berger it went through the fox and took off a rear leg, never got up but took another shot to down it. Next shot was broadside, right into the boiler room. Projectile never exited. Fox number 2, 120 yards, same load same gun. Shot broadside and got a huge mist of blood spray in the thermal on impact. Dog took off and managed to run a unreal 400 yards before dropping, no blood trail at all, projectile never exited. Splashed on impact and left a massive softball size hole in pelt, can't believe there wasn't a blood trail but it all stayed inside. Dog 3, same load same gun, 400 yards on a coyote. Hit broadside in the boiler room, drt. Buddy says I'd load another one just in case, no sooner does he say that the dog ran off! Never recovered, no blood trail. Watched shot in video slow mo and it was a perfect shot. Found bone in the field and minor blood at impact site and that was it. Dog 4 was a drt, same load same gun, 250 yards in the boiler room, massive exit hole, baseball size at least. They are so inconsistent on results it's crazy! Used to be if you shot an animal with a large for animal caliber you would always have a massive blood trail and a pass through wasn't even a talked about subject. Now it seems like even some of the better names projectiles are intermittent on performance. Vmax has been a great choice for me up until recently and so has Berger. Can hardly find any Nosler's anymore and Barnes I have been playing with but just starting. I will say the Barnes 80 grain ttsx held perfectly on a whitetail last year out of a 6mm but other than that I haven't had field results to post with that brand. I'd like to hear what everyone is using now adays and results you are finding. Seems I'm hearing more and more about good hits with no pass through and no blood trails…

 

[AZShooter]

Switch to a designated varmint bullet. I have found that a 6mm does a better job at killing coyotes. I don't bother with the pelts, which are usually poor, just want the coyotes eliminated.

 

[CNY Yote Hunter]

Switch to a designated varmint bullet. I have found that a 6mm does a better job at killing coyotes. I don't bother with the pelts, which are usually poor, just want the coyotes eliminated.

I applaud your taking of the coyotes. However, regarding the fisher, everywhere I looked online NYS does not allow the shooting of a fisher. There is limited trapping and any animal taken has to have its pelt sealed by a DEC officer. T

From NY DEC What animals can be killed by hunters:

More than 40 animals that hunters can legally kill in New York (photos)

And what game are off limits?

www.newyorkupstate.com

There are 10 species of furbearers that may be hunted: coyote, bobcat, raccoon, red fox, gray fox, opossum, skunk, weasel, mink, and muskrat. Mink and muskrat may only be hunted under special conditions. to hunt fur bearers, one needs to possess a hunting license. A trapping license is not enough.
FISHER IS NOT MENTIONED

From another source:

Fishers, the newest predator in the CNY wildlife scene (see video)

Associated Press photoIt’s an animal few Central New Yorkers have seen, but that may soon change. It’s a fisher, a large, usually all-black member of the weasel family that feeds voraciously on rabbits, squirrels, porcupines and other small game. Established...

www.syracuse.com

It is illegal to hunt or trap them in Central New York, but they can be trapped in the Northern Zone (Adirondacks)/Eastern/and downstate areas. See the DEC hunter's manual.
— Source: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.

IMO, you might want to remove this post before you are cited.

You are correct and to keep from any more confusion I have removed that part of the post…. However that was taken in PA with a landowner whose property we frequently hunt who had the proper items to do so and within the season. Thank you for pointing this out, I follow all rules and regulations and hope others do as well. Respectfully

 

[AZShooter]

Glad to hear it wasn't in NY.

FYI I saw a fisher in the Adirondack mts on the Van Hoevenberg trail on the way back from climbing Mt Marcy in the fall of 1972. No one believed me. It was one of the most remarkable animal sightings of my life and I have seen quite a few. IMO the only thing that would top it would be seeing a jaguar or perhaps an Ocelot.

 

[Gary in MD]

I've killed a metric ton of foxes and large eastern ground hogs over the last 40 years.
I've never been impressed with any of the hollow pointed bullets (other than accuracy on paper). Performance is just too erratic. Launched out of a 22-250 or 220 Swift, the 55 grain plastic tipped bullets have performed the best with the edge going to the Sierra Blitz Kings. Before the plastic tipped bullets appeared then it was the Sierra 55 grain soft points, still tough to beat. By performance, I mean that they always expand and do a lot of damage.
Haven't lost anything that I can remember that I've fairly hit….
Now missing altogether is a entirely different story… but that's on me! LOL
Gary

 

[CNY Yote Hunter]

I've killed a metric ton of foxes and large eastern ground hogs over the last 40 years.
I've never been impressed with any of the hollow pointed bullets (other than accuracy on paper). Performance is just too erratic. Launched out of a 22-250 or 220 Swift, the 55 grain plastic tipped bullets have performed the best with the edge going to the Sierra Blitz Kings. Before the plastic tipped bullets appeared then it was the Sierra 55 grain soft points, still tough to beat. By performance, I mean that they always expand and do a lot of damage.
Haven't lost anything that I can remember that I've fairly hit….
Now missing altogether is a entirely different story… but that's on me! LOL
Gary

Lord knows I still miss as well lol!!!! Hate watching the recordings in slow motion and seeing it was me when it happened. Watch it again and again in disbelief! It happens to the best of us, in our defense dogs usually never stop moving for long so it can be tricky and I consider a yote or fox at 300 plus a long distance shot because of the size of the target. Thank you for the input on the sierras, I can definitely load some and give them a go.