Bullet choice for fox and coyote.

jsinon · January 12, 2006, 08:50 PM

I'm looking for a bullet that will "put em down" but I don't want to put a fist sized hole in them. I'm shooting a Bushmaster Varminter and I have a few very accurate loads worked up but I don't know about the bullet performance. I've had great luck with the v-max's and am currently working up a load with the 65grn sierra game king. Any suggestions from other predator/fur hunters would be great.

rapier144 · January 12, 2006, 08:58 PM

Get rid of that baby caliber and get a .50 bmg it will put them down and keep them down, and won't leave a fisted sized hole either. More like a volleyball sized hole!

somerled · January 12, 2006, 10:51 PM

You might try the 45 or 50-grain Sierra BlitzKing bullets on coyotes. They are fragile and break up without exiting. Foxes are are smaller, so it might not work. I've never hunted them. Most people set out traps for them around here.

I don't know how those bullets will work in faster-twist barrels. I've used them in 1-12 and 1-14 twist bolt-action rifles.

The only other thing is to use a bullet that punches all the way through without expanding. There's just two holes in the pelt, but coyotes will run off sometimes before dropping.

jsinon · January 13, 2006, 10:15 PM

I have been working up a load with a hornady 68grn BTHP match bullet put holes in paper but I don't want to wound and animal with a shot that's less than perfect with a bullet that is disigned for accuracy and not terminal perfmance in mind.

I'm mostly going after coyotes, but if a nice red fox comes to the call I don't want to pass up the shot but I also don't want to waste an animal with an overly destructive bullet. I'm leaning towards the 65grn GameKings at a slower speed for both. Unfortunately, I won't really know how anything I load up will perform until I shoot a fox or coyote with a given load.

rogn · January 14, 2006, 11:27 AM

Dont know if this will help but long ago and far away I shot groundhogs and finally wound up with the Hornady(1960s) 55gr SX bullets in a hot loaded 222 and never did I find and exit wound and you had to look forever to find the entrance wound. The pasture pigs grew to good proportions and may have touched 20# late in summer usually never ever movedwhen shot- instant demise. There are many bullet from many manufactureres like those available now and might be the best bet to avoid exit damage--even fmjs can give a big exit hole.

Bob - S.C. · January 14, 2006, 09:49 PM

If memory serves me, your Bushy has a 1 in 9 twist barrel. All three of my AR's have the same twist and I have found that a Nosler 55 Grain Ballistic Tip is absolutely devastating on small game the size of fox, etc. I have found with my AR's, all three seem to prefer H322 powder, and I have found I can get groups of less than 1/4" at 125 meters with 21.5 grains from my Olympic Arms 16" bull barrel. Admitedly, a light load, but it sure seems to preform very well in my rifles. I have tried heaver bullets, but have not gotten very good results even using a variety of other powders. Good Luck!

joecad · January 16, 2006, 07:58 PM

do you want to shoot them or just be gone...without the hassel of traps?.
we have used a product called shake away.....the fox for mice and the wolf for foxes and coyotes. the stuff seems to work....no problems in the chicken house. before i used a 9mm carbine also very effective

Dave Haven · January 16, 2006, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Get rid of that baby caliber and get a .50 bmg it will put them down and keep them down, and won't leave a fisted sized hole either. More like a volleyball sized hole!

A .50 BMG will just leave a 1/2" hole. There's not enough animal there to make a .50 BMG bullet expand.
A friend of mine uses a .17 Rem. for coyotes (for the pelts). It causes massive internal damage, and rarely creates an exit wound.

jsinon · January 16, 2006, 10:13 PM

I want to find a trophy to have mounted, both a coyote and fox as well as maybe have a hide or two tanned for decoration in my den. I have no personal vendetta against either one and have no intention of shooting them just because I can. As far as coyote go, New Hampshire has no closed season and no bag limit and the season for fox is very liberal as well, Oct 1- Mar 31, with no bag limit. But just because I can shoot as many as I want doesn't mean I intend to do so. I don't have any livestock to protect and I'm not overly concerned about the impact they have on the deer herd(it's minimal at best from my understanding, at least in my neck of the woods). So basically I'm looking for a bullet that will drop them dead in their tracks, as long as I do my part, without blowing the things up. That I save for the woodchucks.

T. O'Heir · January 17, 2006, 02:49 AM

Commercial FMJ's(not military ball) are designed for hide hunting. Mind you, I've only used 'em in my .243. A 90 grain bullet makes a puncture wound in a ground hog. My load moves 'em at over 3,000fps, so they'd do for heart/lung area shot fox or coyotes too.

yorec · January 17, 2006, 09:34 AM

Ditto, T. O'Heir. 'Tis what I've always used. Better two tiny holes than one small and maybe one extra large...

January 12, 2006, 08:50 PM	#1
jsinon Member Join Date: September 15, 2004 Location: Farmington,NH Posts: 18	Bullet choice for fox and coyote. I'm looking for a bullet that will "put em down" but I don't want to put a fist sized hole in them. I'm shooting a Bushmaster Varminter and I have a few very accurate loads worked up but I don't know about the bullet performance. I've had great luck with the v-max's and am currently working up a load with the 65grn sierra game king. Any suggestions from other predator/fur hunters would be great.

January 12, 2006, 08:58 PM	#2
rapier144 Senior Member Join Date: October 2, 2005 Location: tennessee Posts: 686	Get rid of that baby caliber and get a .50 bmg it will put them down and keep them down, and won't leave a fisted sized hole either. More like a volleyball sized hole! __________________ Scan and Breathe Scan and Breathe Stupidity should hurt

January 14, 2006, 11:27 AM	#5
rogn Senior Member Join Date: December 25, 2005 Posts: 203	bullet Dont know if this will help but long ago and far away I shot groundhogs and finally wound up with the Hornady(1960s) 55gr SX bullets in a hot loaded 222 and never did I find and exit wound and you had to look forever to find the entrance wound. The pasture pigs grew to good proportions and may have touched 20# late in summer usually never ever movedwhen shot- instant demise. There are many bullet from many manufactureres like those available now and might be the best bet to avoid exit damage--even fmjs can give a big exit hole.

January 16, 2006, 07:58 PM	#7
joecad Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2005 Location: nky Posts: 263	do you want to shoot them or just be gone...without do you want to shoot them or just be gone...without the hassel of traps?. we have used a product called shake away.....the fox for mice and the wolf for foxes and coyotes. the stuff seems to work....no problems in the chicken house. before i used a 9mm carbine also very effective __________________ I'ld rather die standing than live kneeling

January 17, 2006, 09:34 AM	#11
yorec Senior Member Join Date: February 2, 2000 Location: Wyoming Posts: 2,328	Ditto, T. O'Heir. 'Tis what I've always used. Better two tiny holes than one small and maybe one extra large... __________________ What part of "... shall not be infringed..." don't you understand?

January 12, 2006, 10:51 PM	#3
somerled Senior Member Join Date: June 11, 2005 Location: eastern Kansas Posts: 603	You might try the 45 or 50-grain Sierra BlitzKing bullets on coyotes. They are fragile and break up without exiting. Foxes are are smaller, so it might not work. I've never hunted them. Most people set out traps for them around here. I don't know how those bullets will work in faster-twist barrels. I've used them in 1-12 and 1-14 twist bolt-action rifles. The only other thing is to use a bullet that punches all the way through without expanding. There's just two holes in the pelt, but coyotes will run off sometimes before dropping.

January 13, 2006, 10:15 PM	#4
jsinon Member Join Date: September 15, 2004 Location: Farmington,NH Posts: 18	I have been working up a load with a hornady 68grn BTHP match bullet put holes in paper but I don't want to wound and animal with a shot that's less than perfect with a bullet that is disigned for accuracy and not terminal perfmance in mind. I'm mostly going after coyotes, but if a nice red fox comes to the call I don't want to pass up the shot but I also don't want to waste an animal with an overly destructive bullet. I'm leaning towards the 65grn GameKings at a slower speed for both. Unfortunately, I won't really know how anything I load up will perform until I shoot a fox or coyote with a given load.

January 14, 2006, 09:49 PM	#6
Bob - S.C. Member Join Date: March 13, 2005 Location: South Carolina Posts: 19	If memory serves me, your Bushy has a 1 in 9 twist barrel. All three of my AR's have the same twist and I have found that a Nosler 55 Grain Ballistic Tip is absolutely devastating on small game the size of fox, etc. I have found with my AR's, all three seem to prefer H322 powder, and I have found I can get groups of less than 1/4" at 125 meters with 21.5 grains from my Olympic Arms 16" bull barrel. Admitedly, a light load, but it sure seems to preform very well in my rifles. I have tried heaver bullets, but have not gotten very good results even using a variety of other powders. Good Luck!

January 16, 2006, 10:13 PM	#9
jsinon Member Join Date: September 15, 2004 Location: Farmington,NH Posts: 18	I want to find a trophy to have mounted, both a coyote and fox as well as maybe have a hide or two tanned for decoration in my den. I have no personal vendetta against either one and have no intention of shooting them just because I can. As far as coyote go, New Hampshire has no closed season and no bag limit and the season for fox is very liberal as well, Oct 1- Mar 31, with no bag limit. But just because I can shoot as many as I want doesn't mean I intend to do so. I don't have any livestock to protect and I'm not overly concerned about the impact they have on the deer herd(it's minimal at best from my understanding, at least in my neck of the woods). So basically I'm looking for a bullet that will drop them dead in their tracks, as long as I do my part, without blowing the things up. That I save for the woodchucks.

January 17, 2006, 02:49 AM	#10
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	Commercial FMJ's(not military ball) are designed for hide hunting. Mind you, I've only used 'em in my .243. A 90 grain bullet makes a puncture wound in a ground hog. My load moves 'em at over 3,000fps, so they'd do for heart/lung area shot fox or coyotes too.