• Mossberg Owners is in the process of upgrading the software. Please bear with us while we transition to the new look and new upgraded software.

Recommended .223/5.56 round for coyote?

Rossignol

The Original Sheriff
Global Moderator
Sponsor
Moderator
With the AR coming, we're hoping to get out for some coyote hunting. We have slugs for the shotguns, but I'm not sure what to go with in .223 Remington or 5.56.

I have FMJ, but I'm thinkin an SP, or JHP or something like that would be better. Maybe even the offerings from Hornady or Nossler with balistic tips?

Anyone have a favorite here?
 
'Yotes weigh so little that a good 55-gr FMJ w/ cannelure will devastate them internally. Hit in the widest part they may not exit.

Are you wishing to save pelts for sale or anything in the fur market?

A 62-gr Pointed Soft Point (PSP) will leave an exit hole about the size of a nickel. Every time.

A Ballistic Silvertip or Hornady SST is accurate at long range and will also likely leave an exit hole.

JHPs are really not "expanding" hollow points like normally encountered in handgun ammo. The hole in the tip is really tiny, and the hollow space in the nose is just to move the lead core mass rearward to enhance long range accuracy. They don't expand worth a crap, don't break apart like a FMJ w/ cannelure; they just punch a very small wound channel thru yotes. You'll likely lose one or to if they run off and die later.

What's your desired effect?
 
Good insight!

I will likely try and save pelts. I have no desire to have to track a wounded coyote and I especially dislike leaving an animal greivously wounded.

Any brands recommended with the cannelure?
 
Hornady 55gr Vmax

OR

if you can find any of the old 45 gr Winchester white box varmint bullets. They're very accurate and do really good for preserving pelts. The tips kind of look like a star and fragment almost immediately.
 
Thanks John!

Whaddyall think about something like the Hornady TAPFPD 55 gr ballistic tip @ $17 per 20?
 
oli700 said:
Z MAX Bro !

:lol: I actually considered it, and I think theyre the same price as the TAP! Only in a brass case. I figured the nickel will hold up better if I leave rounds loaded in a magazine, especially goin in and out of the cold...

OH! The Hornady TAP 55 gr in .223 Remington is cannelured!
 
Hi again.

The TAP For Personal Defense is just a Hornady V-max bullet in fancier packaging and nickel or brass cases, and maybe a flash suppressed powder. Some of it is even downloaded to a lower velocity than their regular hunting line of ammo. A lot of it is marketing. So, other than the Barrier or BTHP law enforcement stuff, you can get the same or better ballistic performance from Hornady's regular line of V-Max ammunition or their Light Magnum/Superperformance line. There might be a little savings at the cash register with their tan box traditional ammo over the TAP.

I'm of the belief that 'yotes aren't that hard to kill.

Have a great time and enjoy hunting!
 
You know... There are a ton of nuances in the realm of .223/5.56 ammo.

The sometimes very small differences totally repurpose the round, as you touched on NiteSite, it can be the difference of barrier penatration and a varmint load.

Do we have a thread dedicated to .223/5.56 and all it can do? Maybe we need one, kinda like a quick reference list of compiled data to choose a load from manufacturers to suit ones needs and desired affects?
 
That would be a difficult undertaking. Entire books have been written on less.

If I run across a question that I'm unsure about, I usually reference http://ammo.ar15.com/

I don't really like linking to that site, but they do have some good stuff hidden in the bowels of the site.
 
LOL I just recently signed up there John, and I can already tell what you mean. Lots of great info, but you better pull your waders up high to get through all the bs
 
Sn3aKyGuY said:
LOL I just recently signed up there John, and I can already tell what you mean. Lots of great info, but you better pull your waders up high to get through all the bs

YES! I've been registered there over a year and rarely get on there... You hit right on the head Sneaky!
 
Clark Custom Cartridge .223/5.56 F.U.B.A.R. Incendiary Rounds
223fb.jpg
 
:shock: Those look sweet... but I dont know about using those on coyotes! :lol:
 
U scured brah!? :lol: Yea, but they would be fun to plink with on the 4th or other special occasion. $50 for 20 rounds though.
 
John A. said:
Hornady 55gr Vmax

OR

if you can find any of the old 45 gr Winchester white box varmint bullets. They're very accurate and do really good for preserving pelts. The tips kind of look like a star and fragment almost immediately.


+1 on the Winchester White Box 45gr. I pick up a box whenever I see them @ Wal-Mart. Usually around $30 for a 40 rd box. My .223 H&R loves them.
I can also vouch for the Hornady loads. I had them in .222 Rem. out of a Remington Model 700 and they would flat turn a groundhog inside out!
 
tcecil88 said:
+1 on the Winchester White Box 45gr. I pick up a box whenever I see them @ Wal-Mart. Usually around $30 for a 40 rd box.

:shock: Are you serious?

I remember when they were $8 per 40.
 
No, this was only just maybe 6, or 8 years ago when walmart was selling them for that.
 
Back
Top