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williamd · March 14, 2007, 05:11 PM

When a dedicated varmint hunter, and knowing no better, I tried lots of loads and rifles ... 222 to 375H&H (yes). Found least damage to varmints was with hi-velocity loads using Hornady SX or Sierra Blitz bullets - fortunately I have a lifetime supply! These little pills loaded on H110 as fast as possible w/o disintegation upon bbl exit stopped coyotes in their tracks and LEFT NO EXIT HOLE. The energy was expended in the body when the thin shell bullet literally came apart in the animal. The SX is my first choice. A tag in the box says not to load over 3500fps .. I had a few fail at that so dropped speed to around 3250 on my Chrony. Coyotes did not seem to notice the slowness! Ground squirrels explode in technicolor. And, no ricochet, important with a Liberal living behind every hill! Heavy rifles/bullets (243, 257, 308, 375) trucked on through with exit holes of various size/mess. Often a coyote would run for hundreds of yards with entrails dragging. Not so with the 22s whether 222, 222M, 223, 22-250 (the best) or 22 Swift (over rated). For some reason I seem to take my ugly Rem M722 in 222 along! By teh way, wrapping in camo tape protects the finish of wood and metal.

March 14, 2007, 05:11 PM	#6
williamd Senior Member Join Date: March 13, 2007 Location: SoCal Posts: 801	When a dedicated varmint hunter, and knowing no better, I tried lots of loads and rifles ... 222 to 375H&H (yes). Found least damage to varmints was with hi-velocity loads using Hornady SX or Sierra Blitz bullets - fortunately I have a lifetime supply! These little pills loaded on H110 as fast as possible w/o disintegation upon bbl exit stopped coyotes in their tracks and LEFT NO EXIT HOLE. The energy was expended in the body when the thin shell bullet literally came apart in the animal. The SX is my first choice. A tag in the box says not to load over 3500fps .. I had a few fail at that so dropped speed to around 3250 on my Chrony. Coyotes did not seem to notice the slowness! Ground squirrels explode in technicolor. And, no ricochet, important with a Liberal living behind every hill! Heavy rifles/bullets (243, 257, 308, 375) trucked on through with exit holes of various size/mess. Often a coyote would run for hundreds of yards with entrails dragging. Not so with the 22s whether 222, 222M, 223, 22-250 (the best) or 22 Swift (over rated). For some reason I seem to take my ugly Rem M722 in 222 along! By teh way, wrapping in camo tape protects the finish of wood and metal.