[imknadian]

Could anyone give me their input on what they would use in a .22-250 for a bullet that won't damage hides on coyotes or foxes?

I have tried Sierra BTHP 52gr, Sierra GameKings 55gr, Sierra SPBT 55gr, and also Sierra FMJBT 55 gr.

Also, out of the two powders for 22-250, which is more accurate....Varget or Benchmark? Or should I be looking to start with a different powder.

I have got decent groups with Varget and haven't tried Benchmark yet.

Like I said, I just want a bullet and powder combination that isn't going to damage too many pelts. I'm from Manitoba by the way.

 

[UMB]

Try Berger MEF

I've blasted ground hogs sguare in the chest at 40 yards with the Berger Maximum Expansion Factor bullets and the bullet never came out the other side. Just turned him to Jello on the inside.

 

[keithcandler]

That's a tough one.......

I used most of the bullets that you mentioned and did not see real big holes in the yotes that I shot. If you do not want to put big holes in them, then you need to slow the bullet down.

Problem bullets that I shot:
*60g [email protected] shot holes straight through yotes with them running off
*52g Speer HP at 3550, blew holes on the surface as the bullet hit a rib or
shoulder

You may want to try a box of the Sierra 55g BTHP, they are tougher than the 55g spt bt and are very accurate.

I tried varget in two 22/250 700 sporters, one inch was as good as I could get, but for yote hunting, one inch groups are great...don't worry.

The most fur friendly load that I shot was with 17 Rem, 17M4, and a 223 loaded with a 55g Winchester at 3050 fps.

60g Bergers shot big hole in yotes, and I mean huge. I nick named the 60g Bergers the dragon slayers. The yotes in S. Arizona seemed particularly hard to kill and we liked to use a cannon on them.

If you can slow your Muzzle Velocity down to 3450 and shoot a 55g BTHP, I think that you would be very happy.

It would be very expensive to shoot them, but the 53g Barnes Tripple shock bullet would be an excellent bullet for saving hides.

I shot the 40g Sierra HP on squirrels at 3900 fps in a 22/250. It shot holes through the squirrels so I did not try it on yotes. The bullets were developed for Sniper use in Los Angles to limit over penetration on head shots. It may work on yotes, but I would sure jack up the speed as much as possible.

Good luck and let us know what your experiments produce! If you happen to shoot a mangy yote, then hang it up in a tree to test your bullets on.

Please report back to the board what you find out.

 

[Bear57]

Full Metal Jacket bullet

A FMJ bullet does not leave an appreciable amount of damage--one small hole in and one small hole out. The only coyotte I have shot with a FMJ bullet was with a 223 and the hide was in great shape with minimal damage. Good luck.

 

[Sonny Pruitt]

Good luck

That last predator you named, "The fox" and a 22-250 just don't go together anyway you cut it. Maybe if you're selective and only take shots at 250-300yds and beyond, you will find a bullet for fox out of the 22-250.

Good luck, let's us know.

 

[John in CA.]

speed may be as important as bullet choice

KeithC already covered this better than I can, but consider lowering your load down into the 3600 and less fps range.

I believe by doing this, you will find a whole lot of different bullets may work for you. And you will still be shooting just as flat a trajectory out to 300 or 325 yards.

Good luck, and welcome to the board. Keep us posted.

 

[26mag]

Hide damage

I started this once, but my fumbling fingers deleted everything. Back in the 70's when fur prices were high, my brother and I did lots of fox hunting in North Dakota, we shot mainly 22-250 and 220S. We did a lot of expiermenting with bullets. We found that the Remington 55gr FMJ worked the best, it was the most accurate in our guns, it's not a boattail. We did find that even though it's a FMJ, it still opened up at times. I know people say that FMJ's can ricochet and be dangerous, but we knew the country well and took that into consideration when shooting. Fox are pretty thin skinned, but they can take a pretty good hit at times and be lost from the FMJ's. When I tried fox hunting again about ten years ago, I tried the 243 and used Hornady 80gr FMJ's and found them to be accurate and killed better than the 22's with less fur damage and more consistent. Maybe some of the newer bullets are better, I don't know. Good luck.

 

[BAM]

try the Hornady spsx

in a 50 or 55 grainer with a little varget

 

[Darrel in Minn]

I have had good luck with 55g

Power Lock Hollow Points in my .220 Swift. I use Varget powder just under Max loads. Most of the time I just get little hole where the bullet enters and no exit on coyotes. Keith C. had some very good comments. The Speer 52g were harder on hides. I would reduce the loads down a lot if used on fox, too much velocity. Try the Remington 55g PLHP and I don't think you will be disappointed. Darrel

 

[26mag]

55gr Rem. Power Lokt HP

Darrel, have you shot any fox with these bullets? I haven't, but have shot a quite a few jackrabbits with them out of a 22-250 and they just about cut them in half. Just wondering if they are any different on a fox?

 

[EricinKY]

65grain winchester super x

i recently shot a coyote with a 65 grain winchester super x for a 22-250. it took it down hard but did almost no damage to the hide. they are very accurate in my rifle and have never had a misfire.
Eric

 

[Oleman]

*52g Speer HP at 3550, blew holes on the surface as the bullet hit a rib or
shoulder.

Please report back to the board what you find out.

Keith that's the bullet I've wanted to use for a long time. I just worked up a load with it in my .222 at 3000 fps. Taking it out Wednesday morning hope to have some good data and pictures to share with you. I live on the rainy side of Washington State and so the shots aren't going to be to long.

 

[Darrel in Minn]

In a .223 they were not to bad on grey fox. I think anything in a 22/250 will be tough on fox. My fox load was a Hornady 50g SXSP. Not to bad with a .222 on red or grey fox. We are just starting to see a few more red fox around again.

 

[WDSWIFT]

I gotta agree with Sonny Pruit on this one

I've used a 220 Swift on quite a few fox and yotes over the years and what works wonders on a yote will normally splat a fox.

I use a 50gr NBT or Vmax on yotes and it works great with rarely a pass through on them. But the last couple fox I've shot with it were just not fit to take to the furrier.

I tried a few FMJ's a while back and on fox they worked ok, but with a yote you better be willing and able to blood trail it in my limited experience with them.

Finding them just where you shot 'em is a good thing IMHO. Ya can't even get 50 cents out of em if you can't find them. WD

 

[crowbuster]

55fmj

Working up a load for a friends new swift to save hides------the 55 fmj in HIS GUN with 7 different powders would save the hides alright because you probably would miss him anyway.Shot 3 inch groups at 100 yards.Switched to 53gr sierra hp match,now shoots around 3/4 inch. He hasnt got to hunt yet so well see how the hide does.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

There is no "magic" bullet for fur. As Keith Candler, and John Mckinley have pointed out, there are just too many variables. To determine the best bullet you must state the cartridge, as you did, and the distances you will be shooting. That narrows down the velocities at which a bullet will impact the animal. You also have to decide which "camp" you are in about bullet performance. Do you want to try and completely avoid any exit wounds, or do you want a controlled-expansion bullet that will usually go clear through, with a fairly small exit wound? The bullet must also expand fast enough to drop them on the spot. A wounded coyote that travels even 200 yards in dry sagebrush probably won't be recovered. Most fur hunters go through this whole process, hoping to find the perfect bullet. IMHO, it doesn't exist. Lately, my preference is for a bullet that gets complete penetration, but doesn't make big exit wounds. For my 22-250, and .223AI, I use the Sierra 40HP. If you drop down to the .222, and smaller cartridges, you have to use very frangible bullets to anchor the animal....the impact velocity is just too slow to do the job with the tougher bullets. They will kill them, but they may run some distance before dying. Just some things to think about when selecting bullets for fur.