[QuarterBore700]

Im looking for some experience shooting foxes or coyotes with two bullets, the sierra 60grain varminter HP and a common 69 grain BTHP. Im looking to keep the hids but i have to keeps my bullets on the heavier side becuase of my 1-9 twist. Thanks guys

 

[flashhole]

You might also give some consideration to the Speer 70 grain Round Nose. I found it to be quite accurate in my 1:9 twist Kimber.

 

[unclenick]

Varminter will tend to be explosive. The 69 grain bullet is a match bullet that has a thin jacket that can come apart. It won't expand like the Varminter, but if it sheds its jacket, the core can expand. I like the Flashman's idea of the round nose for pelt conservation.

The 9" twist does not force you to use heavier bullets. So-called overstabilization is a myth. What actually happens when you spin a bullet faster than necessary is cheap bullets will wobble due to mass asymmetry, so they shoot less accurately, but high quality bullets don't normally have that problem. At very high velocities a very fast twist can cause bullet core stripping where the lead slips against the jacket inside the bore, or it can spin a bullet so fast it flies apart in mid air. The .223 isn't fast enough to be likely to do either of those things to .224 diameter bullets. Larger calibers are more sensitive to this because their greater radius makes centrifugal effects stronger.

Note that our military fires ammo as light as 55 grains in barrels with 7" twists. Their not top accuracy guns or loads, but for practical purposes, they're fine.

 

[243dave]

My savage 1-9 twist will shoot winchester white-box ammo with 45gr bullets into half inch groups at 100yds. The 1-9 twist is very flexible IMO. Dave

 

[purpledragon]

Keep um straight Unclenick, what a great explanation!!! That's why when I have something I want to know and to get it the right way,I ask you. Quarterbore,Berger makes a 66gr. MLD match low drag that has a very thick jacket that may be what you are looking for...........

 

[QuarterBore700]

thanks guys for the replies, i was hoping the varminter would explode inside the chest cavity without an exit. Im glad you cleared up the bullet weight dilema too, maybe ill load up somed 50 grain V-Max and see how they shoot.

 

[QuarterBore700]

anyone else want to chime in with a good .223 round for foxes and 'yotes??

 

[flashhole]

The V-Maxes will shoot fine but they are highly frangible bullets designed to explode on impact. When I shoot critters with the Nosler and Sierra equivalents I find they make a big mess of Mr. Woodchuck and Mrs. Crow. I've not yet shoot at a coyote but if pelts were of interest I wouldn't be using a bullet like a V-Max.

 

[QuarterBore700]

my theroy is thatr a highly frangible bullet will make a .224 dia entrance and explode in the body cavity leaving no exit

 

[Big Bore]

You may want to try the Barnes X bullet. Not the Barnes Grenade, but the actual TSX bullet. They expand but do not come apart like the varmint bullets and due to them being long for their weight, you can get away with shooting a bullet that is not normally ideal for the 1:9 twist, such as a 45 or 50 gr. bullet
A 1:9 twist is for light to mid weight bullets, not heavy bullets. The faster the twist, like the 1:7, is best for the heavyweight 72-80 gr. bullets. 1:8 and 1:9 twists are excellent for the mid weight bullets from roughly 55 to 75 gr, while the old Colt SP-1 1:12 were ideal for the 40-55 gr. weights.
My 1:7 twist rifles do not like 55 gr. or lighter bullets at all with groups being about double the size as in the 1:12 or 1:9 twist rifles. The 1:12 Colt does not like the 72-79 gr. bullets at all either. The 1:8s and 1:9s seem to like everything except the really light 40-45 gr. bullets or the heavy 79s.
The groups are not terrible, just larger when the rifling twist is mismatched to the bullet, such as the 1:12 being a sub MOA shooter with 50 gr. bullets while the 1:7 is a 1.5 -1.750 MOA shooter.
My 1:8 bench rifle loves 69, 75, and 79 gr. bullets but for some odd reason will not shoot a 72 gr. bullet of any make, so that just proves that there are always exceptions to the general rule.

 

[ah-ha]

The Hornady 50 gr SX is designed to not exit, but I've heard that your 1 in 9" twist might not go with it so well. Dunno about that personally. The speer 70gr rn will probably exit, expanded. There used to be (is?) a jacketed "solid" (Hornady, I think) intended for pelt-taking. It was a bit flat pointed, IIRC.

 

[jswbga]

I've been working a similar struggle. I bought an AR-15 about 2 years ago, and have used it primarily for hogs and coyotes.

I wanted to pick a single bullet to handle all purposes, from plinking on one end (leaning towards cheap) and hogs on the other end (wanting something tough that would get good penetration).

So far, I havent found the perfect balance. Thus far, I've been loading 63 and 65 gr Sierras. Both shoot well in my DPMS Sportical, but neither gets great penetration on piggies. So long as I hit them in the earhole, they fall DRT, but a shoulder shot is not a good one on a 250# hog.

I've considered the BArnes, etc... but just cant imagine shooting those things for plinking for what they cost...

shane

 

[TMan]

anyone else want to chime in with a good .223 round for foxes and 'yotes??

The 60gr Hornady SP works fine for fur shooters, my favorite for foxes and coyotes with a .223 is the Sierra 63gr Semi SP. I use BL-C2 and W748 myself, there are quite a few others that also work fine, depending on what's on the bench at your house. The Sierra is a bit tougher than the Hornady, neither is explosive, even a close ranges.

This winter I have a spot that's crawling with foxes, in an area where full power .223 loads are less than welcome. Instead of a .22LR or .22Mag, I'm going to try a Hornady 45gr Bee over 8.5gr of Trail Boss. Noise and velocity are in the .22Mag range, much less than full power .223 stuff. The same combo was very effective on groundhogs, leaving a small .22 exit hole, but deadly. The load shoots dime size groups at 100yds.

 

[QuarterBore700]

oh i forgot to mention this will be for my Colt A2 AR-15.

 

[QuarterBore700]

ttt any more opinions?

 

[QuarterBore700]

ttt any more opinions?

just found a good deal on 50 grain V-Max. Sounds like they'll shoot in a 1/9 twist and they're coyote poison

 

[Savage Hunter]

Les Johnson of Predator Quest TV uses the V-Max, 55 gr. I believe, .22-250.

 

[byrl]

I have a 1 in 9 twist Savage and it shoots anything from 55 to 69 very well. Quarter inch groups with any of those weights are not uncommon for developed loads. However, I tried a box of Speer 70 grain bullets and couldn't get them to shoot well at all. Probably just never hit on the right load. But I gave up since I had good loads for 55, 60, and 69 grain bullets. Also tried some Sierra 80 grains once and didn't get decent accuracy either. Bullets probably just too long for the twist.

 

[Savage Hunter]

Byrl, which Savage rifle do you have, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[byrl]

My .223 is a Savage model 11, left handed. It has a standard profile free floated barrel and wood (birch?) stock. Last Saturday I was checking some loads with some 60 grain flat base hollow points and 69 grain boat tail hollow points. I tried 18 different loads and only got one group over an inch. But seven were consistently a half inch or under and I got one group (3 shots) of .2 inches. BL(C)-2 did great with both bullets and H4895 and Varget also did well with the 69 grain bullets. I didn't have a real problem with stringing as the barrel heated up, but it was just 60 degrees and I took my time in between groups. When the barrel got too hot hold for a few seconds, I let it cool down.

I attribute the accuracy of me and the rifle to being left handed. I figure that statement will really rile up somebody.