The Perfect 6 mm Coyote Bullet??

[blancoman]

Re: Blancoman, I could not get Varget to group with several bullets......

I totally agree with you about the Varget powder in small caliber rifles. This guy however is looking to save the hides. Every time I use a polimer tip bullet it blows big exit holes. I have a lot of axis deer on my place and I tan the hides. SMK's produce an exit hole of about a half inch. For long range when I want something to fall down immediately I use the hornady A-Max. Please remember that average whitetail deer in this part of Texas weigh in under a hundred pounds. Big Bucks top out around 160. I have seen larger but that is not the norm. Soft skined coyote should be about the same as our average deer as far as exit wound and hide damage.

 

[Jason D. R.]

I have a good load with 70 sierra hpbt, which does do a good job preserving hides, but is still a little too much drop at 300 and 400 yards.

I was running the numbers on flat shooting bullets in .243, at appropriate velocities at my shooting conditions the top 5 flattest at 400 yards were as follows:

55 gr Nosler BT 10.5"
70 gr Nosler BT 13.1"
75 gr Barnes solid 13.4"
95 gr Berger VLD 14.9"
85 gr Barnes X 16.7"
w/ a whole bucnch of bullets in the 18-20" range.

Has anyone had much experience with these top five bullets on coyotes?

I am leaning towards the 95 gr berger VLD. Have people shot coyotes with this bullet, and if so what velocities are you shooting?

Thanks for the help, man I really like this site, if you have a question you can get some great help.

 

[keithcandler]

Yote hunter.......

We have a rifle range that is 400 yards. We shoot the 243's with the 100g Hornady BTSP with half the group size that you are getting with these other bullets. Of course, wind is a factor. Our two loads are 42.3g of IMR or H 4350 with a Win Primer, bullets seated .030 off the lands and 45.0g of IMR 7828 with the bullet seated touching the lands in a different rifle.

My step brother killed two yotes with this bullet recently and they looked as if they had been shot with a 17, but were instantly stone dead when hit.

Back in 1980 when pelts were sky high, I tried some speer 90g full metal jacket. I lost every coyote that I shot with them.

I don't know what the 95g Ballistic tip would do, they would be worth a try, but the Hornady 100g SPBT is a very accurate and much cheaper bullet.

In the early 80's, I tried the 75g Hornady Hp and lost several yotes on one hunting trip due to bullet failure. I had the same experience with the 87g BTHP. I think that the lead tip will give you some expansion, but not too much on the 100g...a ballistic tip may blow off the entire shoulder on the off side. You will just have to try some of the bullets and see.

The Sierra 60g HP is a great bullet for yotes, also. It is a tough bullet and will not explode on the surface. I shot them at 4000 fps out of a custom 26" 6mm Rem and they still did not blow up hides, and they did not have the usual, "PLOP" that you associate with a bullet hit due to their speed.

If I were hide hunting again with a 243, I would go with a 60g HP and a 100g Hornady. The after shooting some yotes with both, make my mind then. I'm not stuck on a ballistic tip bullet at all when it comes to yotes.

I did shoot some yotes with a 70g Ballistic tip, and the holes were a little bigger than the 60's.

Remember when you are shooting any gun, that when you hit a rib on the off side, there is going to be a big tear.

Good luck!

 

[coupalr]

Re: Yote hunter.......

I shoot the 95gr bergers out of my 243 and I would not use it if you want to save hides. The first one I shot was about 100 yards running away. I hit him high in the back and it split him open. The only other one was at 542 yards and it went in his chest and out his *** with only a 1/2 exit hole. I shot a few deer broad side with them, closest being about 200 and furthest being just under 400, and the bullet passed through with about a 2 inch hole on the exit. Exactly what I wanted in those cases.

 

[Jason D. R.]

Re: Yote hunter.......

I guess I should have been more clear. Those numbers are not group size, but rather the amount of DROP for the different bullets. I am interested in bullet performance, then I will get them to shoot tiny little groups.

thanks for the info.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Re: Yote hunter.......

I've used the 55g's at 4100fps out of a .243. It kills them quite well, but leaves entry holes sometimes pretty nasty if you hit bone. They usually dont exit because there to light/fast of a bullet. They dont penetrate to far at all. Its a toss up, but I'd use the 70g BT. It would hold up a tad better incase you get a runner or two from lack of penetration.

 

[keithcandler]

Robbie Severance.......

I shoot the 70g Blitz King with amazing accuracy in a 700 sporter with Win Brass, Fed 210, bullet touching lands, 42.0g of IMR 4064. Actually, 39.5-42 shoots real well, but at 300 the 42.0g shoots the best.

Good luck!

 

[FRANK21]

Re: Robbie Severance.......

The 87grn Hornady Vmax has no peer as a long range varmint bullet in 6mm IMHO. They flat out are the Hammer of Thor on those pesky yotes.

 

[Goofycat]

Funny that nobody has mentioned the rate of twist required to stabilize 55 grainers vs. bullet weights that are far higher. Check your twist rate first to decide the best bullet weights. Remember that shorter bullets don't stabilize as well as longer (and thus heavier) bullets do. Unless I am wrong, short and fat may be where it's at for cases, but not for bullets. If I were shooting coyotes, I would opt for 80-grain bullets for a .243 (6mm), but only if the rifle had the correct twist rate and could properly accomodate that size bullet. I haven't bought the rifle yet, but this is what I would find out first....

 

[roninflag]

i have shot over 250 coyotes. most i sold to fur buyers from 1977 to 1982. i have seen many others taken. most of mine were with a 243. the two bullets i used the most was the 85 sierra bthp and the 60 sierra hp. but i used a lot of different ones. you can't sell any coyotes you don't kill. now i would use and do use the 70 baltip. my brother uses 55 baltip. there are plenty of others an 87 v-max, 88 berger ect; more important is getting a good hit a VERY high per centage of the time. i have found a krieger barrel helps me with that.

 

[Goofycat]

I have used 55 grain ballistic tips in my .22-250, and the bullet puts a hole about 2-3" in diameter in the animal. Not too good for saving the pelt. The ballistic tip blows up ground squirrels into red mist and body parts, but I think a bullet with less fragmentation and just a bit more penetration might be better. I don't stand firm here, because I haven't talked to other hunters who use different bullets. I load the cases with 32-33 grains of H4895, CCI bench rest primers, with bullets seated about .010" off the lands. 26" Hart heavy SS barrel with 1:14 twist, massaged stock trigger set at 1 1/2#, Remington blueprinted 40X action by Darrell Holland. McMillan camo stock. I love this rifle (built in 1996), even though it is heavy, but it does the job.....always. It works for squirrels and coyotes as well.

If I were to build a rifle for coyotes only, and if I shot at longer ranges, I would have gone with a 6mmBR or .243. It is really splitting hairs; either way the animal ends up dead, but then again, I don't save pelts, so it really doesn't matter what I use. The above reload results in a 7" bullet drop at 300 yards with 100 yard zero. Is this considered a flat trajectory for the .22-250? I have no idea, but it is flat enough for me to use Kentucky windage. Since the rifle is a single-shot, I have to wait for the coyote to stop, since it takes too long to rack in another cartridge for a second shot at a running animal.

 

[6MMWASP]

I'm with roninflag. I have had very good luck wit the Sierra 60 Gr. in a 243 AI. and a 6MM AI. I think if you shoot a 243 or 6 MM you are just going to have to sew! Another bullet that worked ( Sometimes ) is the old Hornady 70 SX.
6MMWASP

 

[Varminator 911]

Has anyone tried the Barnes 80 grain TTSX? Also Nosler has a new 90 grain Etip. These shouldn't punch too big a hole up close. They have a decent BC and will expand down to 1800 fps. But neither is cheap.

 

[Goofycat]

Yes, but how many rounds does one fire off at coyotes in a given year....with a single-shot? Hang the cost!