Coyote round for .223???

Logs · July 23, 2008, 10:20 AM

Can anyone recommend a good (coyote) round for .223 out of an AR?

I have two rifles that I could use. One is 1/7 twist and I believe the other 1/9 twist. So I could use either one. Most of my shots would be from 75 - 150 yards, pretty dense woods. Hunting regs say no ball ammo so I was going to burn up a gift cart at either Gander Mt or Sportsman's warehouse on some bullets.

I am using a single stage press and looking to make up about 100 rounds.

THANK YOU.

rg1 · July 23, 2008, 01:22 PM

Nothing fancy but I shoot Hornady 55 SP W/C in 1/7 or 1/9 AR's and they should do well on coyotes. I load 26.4 grains of Win 748 or 24.5 grains of H335 powder with the Horn. 55 SP with cannellure. I use these loads with LC, RP, or WCC brass and RP 7 1/2 primers and a col of 2.200-2.215". Both loads are not max. and are about 3050fps in 20" AR. I bought a 6.5-20 power scope for my 25-06 for long range coyote hunting and found out that my hunting area here in Ky. has at the most 200 yard shots and the 6.5-20 scope was too much. An AR15 with open sights would do fine.

Logs · July 23, 2008, 01:30 PM

Thanks for the note I will look into it. I am heading down to Metcalfe County this weekend for a little fun.

I was thinking of going with my Double Star AR15 with 16 barrel and red dot. My other set up is 20 in barrel with 8x24x40 scope. I have gotten use to shooting with the lead weighted stock, but don't think I want to carry it in the hills.

butta9999 · July 24, 2008, 04:41 AM

i load a 60gr nosler partition in my .223 with great results on feral goats and pigs here in australia. They punch out at around 3150fps. great little load. Penetration is quite good on the larger pigs, with almost all bullets exiting on goats. I use 52gr sierra matchking hollow points on foxes and roos they blow up with great results. We dont have coyotes here but hope this helps.

ForneyRider · July 29, 2008, 09:53 PM

I picked up a 20in DPMS bull (1:9 twist) over the weekend.

Also got brass, dies, and 50gr V-Max. 50gr should work for 1:9. 1:7 twist is tight. Target shooters run 1:7 and 1:6.5 and those long Berger VLD 80-90gr. Target bullets tend to have thin jackets and might double as a varmint bullet.

My Dad uses the same bullet for .22-250. But velocity is much higher. I am hoping for 3100fps. We get 3900fps out of the .22-250 with H-Varget. it shattered when he hit a pig at over 300 yards, and the pig dropped with one well placed shot.

I will experiment between 26.5 and 27.5compressed grains of H-Varget.

Ton of powders for .223. W748, RL15, H335, HVarget, Benchmark, TAC, IMR 4895, IMR 3031.

Loader9 · July 29, 2008, 10:16 PM

I'd suggest looking at the Barnes Varmint Grenades. They are not for taking pelts as the bullet will explode on impact. The 50 gr bullets can only be used in a quick twist barrel. Loading data is at the Barnes website. Otherwise, the Sierra 55 gr HPBT #1390 with 25.0 grs AA2230 is highly accurate out of all of my quick twist DPMS ARs and bolt guns. Bullet performance is excellent up to deer size animals. Another good combo for longer range is the M109 62 gr FMJBT with 27.0 grs Varget. That load and bullet will drop 400 lb hogs like it was a big gun.

butta9999 · July 30, 2008, 01:07 AM

whats the m109. wouldnt mind it for mine.

mikenbarb · July 30, 2008, 09:17 AM

+1 Loader9. I like the varmint grenades and dont have a problem with messing the pelts up. I load a little on the lighter side and they just leave a tiny hole going in and very seldom have exit holes because the bullet explodes in the animal. I had 2 fragment pass thrus last year(and alot of dead yotes) but no fragment holes big enough to worry about. I am going to try the DRT line this year and see how they work. Their supposed to just powder inside the animal with massive energy transfer with no passthru. I saw a show on them(DRT bullets) and they dropped almost every animal on the spot and not one bullet had an exit hole. When they opened the animals up, Everything was destroyed in the chest cavity.

Loader9 · July 30, 2008, 12:33 PM

M109 FMJ bullets have a steel core in a J4 jacket. It's kinda like shooting hogs with armor piercing. The bullet will upset after it sheds the jacket and will shred the internals of a hog. The particular ones I have are made by Sierra for the military. This bullet was made in order to give the M16 a little more penetration over the 55 gr FMJ. Sierra had a large contract to build ammo around this bullet for snipers so the quality is pretty high for military issue. For my quick twist ARs it is the perfect match as they will shoot near one hole groups at 100 yds. If you can find any I'd suggest getting some if you have a quick twist.

butta9999 · July 31, 2008, 01:08 AM

In saying quick twist are they a long projectile that require a fast twist to stabalise the bullet?

ForneyRider · August 5, 2008, 11:34 PM

Got any more info on that M109?

I did a search and came up with Howitzer.

I looked on Sierra website and they don't list a 62gr bullet in .224.

Sounds like a good bullet for 1:9 AR gun.

Loader9 · August 5, 2008, 11:58 PM

I had ordered several thousand M193 55 gr FMJs from Hi-Tech. They apparently didn't have enough to fill the order and sent a few thousand of these with a note that if I didn't want them to send them back. I'm not one to send anything back. That was about a year ago and I've just gotten around to loading the things up and using them. I wished now I had a ton more of them as I haven't seen any available for quite a while. But if you ever see any, buy all you can afford. I know I will.

CPTMurdoc30 · August 6, 2008, 10:01 AM

I would load the 60gr Hornady V-Max of HP. Never hurts to have a little extra weight.

jmorris · August 6, 2008, 10:35 AM

A 55 grain FMJ will kill them just as dead as anything I’ve used.

ForneyRider · August 6, 2008, 12:04 PM

Quote:

M109 FMJ bullets have a steel core in a J4 jacket. It's kinda like shooting hogs with armor piercing. The bullet will upset after it sheds the jacket and will shred the internals of a hog. The particular ones I have are made by Sierra for the military. This bullet was made in order to give the M16 a little more penetration over the 55 gr FMJ. Sierra had a large contract to build ammo around this bullet for snipers so the quality is pretty high for military issue. For my quick twist ARs it is the perfect match as they will shoot near one hole groups at 100 yds. If you can find any I'd suggest getting some if you have a quick twist.

You talking about the SS109?

July 24, 2008, 04:41 AM	#4
butta9999 Senior Member Join Date: June 29, 2008 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Posts: 692	60gr partition i load a 60gr nosler partition in my .223 with great results on feral goats and pigs here in australia. They punch out at around 3150fps. great little load. Penetration is quite good on the larger pigs, with almost all bullets exiting on goats. I use 52gr sierra matchking hollow points on foxes and roos they blow up with great results. We dont have coyotes here but hope this helps.

July 29, 2008, 09:53 PM	#5
ForneyRider Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2007 Location: Forney, TX Posts: 698	I picked up a 20in DPMS bull (1:9 twist) over the weekend. Also got brass, dies, and 50gr V-Max. 50gr should work for 1:9. 1:7 twist is tight. Target shooters run 1:7 and 1:6.5 and those long Berger VLD 80-90gr. Target bullets tend to have thin jackets and might double as a varmint bullet. My Dad uses the same bullet for .22-250. But velocity is much higher. I am hoping for 3100fps. We get 3900fps out of the .22-250 with H-Varget. it shattered when he hit a pig at over 300 yards, and the pig dropped with one well placed shot. I will experiment between 26.5 and 27.5compressed grains of H-Varget. Ton of powders for .223. W748, RL15, H335, HVarget, Benchmark, TAC, IMR 4895, IMR 3031. __________________ When all is said and done, there is a lot more said than done.

July 30, 2008, 09:17 AM	#8
mikenbarb Senior Member Join Date: October 10, 2007 Location: N.J. Posts: 1,111	+1 Loader9. I like the varmint grenades and dont have a problem with messing the pelts up. I load a little on the lighter side and they just leave a tiny hole going in and very seldom have exit holes because the bullet explodes in the animal. I had 2 fragment pass thrus last year(and alot of dead yotes) but no fragment holes big enough to worry about. I am going to try the DRT line this year and see how they work. Their supposed to just powder inside the animal with massive energy transfer with no passthru. I saw a show on them(DRT bullets) and they dropped almost every animal on the spot and not one bullet had an exit hole. When they opened the animals up, Everything was destroyed in the chest cavity. __________________ Mike B. Gun control= Being able to hit your target. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pifinnercircle

August 5, 2008, 11:34 PM	#11
ForneyRider Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2007 Location: Forney, TX Posts: 698	Got any more info on that M109? I did a search and came up with Howitzer. I looked on Sierra website and they don't list a 62gr bullet in .224. Sounds like a good bullet for 1:9 AR gun. __________________ When all is said and done, there is a lot more said than done.

July 23, 2008, 10:20 AM	#1
Logs Senior Member Join Date: November 26, 1999 Location: BLUEGRASS STATE KY USA Posts: 1,551	Coyote round for .223??? Can anyone recommend a good (coyote) round for .223 out of an AR? I have two rifles that I could use. One is 1/7 twist and I believe the other 1/9 twist. So I could use either one. Most of my shots would be from 75 - 150 yards, pretty dense woods. Hunting regs say no ball ammo so I was going to burn up a gift cart at either Gander Mt or Sportsman's warehouse on some bullets. I am using a single stage press and looking to make up about 100 rounds. THANK YOU.

July 23, 2008, 01:22 PM	#2
rg1 Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2001 Posts: 641	Nothing fancy but I shoot Hornady 55 SP W/C in 1/7 or 1/9 AR's and they should do well on coyotes. I load 26.4 grains of Win 748 or 24.5 grains of H335 powder with the Horn. 55 SP with cannellure. I use these loads with LC, RP, or WCC brass and RP 7 1/2 primers and a col of 2.200-2.215". Both loads are not max. and are about 3050fps in 20" AR. I bought a 6.5-20 power scope for my 25-06 for long range coyote hunting and found out that my hunting area here in Ky. has at the most 200 yard shots and the 6.5-20 scope was too much. An AR15 with open sights would do fine.

July 23, 2008, 01:30 PM	#3
Logs Senior Member Join Date: November 26, 1999 Location: BLUEGRASS STATE KY USA Posts: 1,551	Thanks for the note I will look into it. I am heading down to Metcalfe County this weekend for a little fun. I was thinking of going with my Double Star AR15 with 16 barrel and red dot. My other set up is 20 in barrel with 8x24x40 scope. I have gotten use to shooting with the lead weighted stock, but don't think I want to carry it in the hills.

July 29, 2008, 10:16 PM	#6
Loader9 Senior Member Join Date: July 29, 2008 Posts: 949	I'd suggest looking at the Barnes Varmint Grenades. They are not for taking pelts as the bullet will explode on impact. The 50 gr bullets can only be used in a quick twist barrel. Loading data is at the Barnes website. Otherwise, the Sierra 55 gr HPBT #1390 with 25.0 grs AA2230 is highly accurate out of all of my quick twist DPMS ARs and bolt guns. Bullet performance is excellent up to deer size animals. Another good combo for longer range is the M109 62 gr FMJBT with 27.0 grs Varget. That load and bullet will drop 400 lb hogs like it was a big gun.

July 30, 2008, 01:07 AM	#7
butta9999 Senior Member Join Date: June 29, 2008 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Posts: 692	whats the m109. wouldnt mind it for mine.

July 30, 2008, 12:33 PM	#9
Loader9 Senior Member Join Date: July 29, 2008 Posts: 949	M109 FMJ bullets have a steel core in a J4 jacket. It's kinda like shooting hogs with armor piercing. The bullet will upset after it sheds the jacket and will shred the internals of a hog. The particular ones I have are made by Sierra for the military. This bullet was made in order to give the M16 a little more penetration over the 55 gr FMJ. Sierra had a large contract to build ammo around this bullet for snipers so the quality is pretty high for military issue. For my quick twist ARs it is the perfect match as they will shoot near one hole groups at 100 yds. If you can find any I'd suggest getting some if you have a quick twist.

July 31, 2008, 01:08 AM	#10
butta9999 Senior Member Join Date: June 29, 2008 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Posts: 692	In saying quick twist are they a long projectile that require a fast twist to stabalise the bullet?

August 5, 2008, 11:58 PM	#12
Loader9 Senior Member Join Date: July 29, 2008 Posts: 949	I had ordered several thousand M193 55 gr FMJs from Hi-Tech. They apparently didn't have enough to fill the order and sent a few thousand of these with a note that if I didn't want them to send them back. I'm not one to send anything back. That was about a year ago and I've just gotten around to loading the things up and using them. I wished now I had a ton more of them as I haven't seen any available for quite a while. But if you ever see any, buy all you can afford. I know I will.

August 6, 2008, 10:01 AM	#13
CPTMurdoc30 Senior Member Join Date: February 27, 2008 Location: Stafford VA Posts: 969	I would load the 60gr Hornady V-Max of HP. Never hurts to have a little extra weight. __________________ Solving Virginia's Ground Hog problems 50gr at a time.....

August 6, 2008, 10:35 AM	#14
jmorris Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2006 Posts: 1,342	A 55 grain FMJ will kill them just as dead as anything I’ve used.