Best fur friendly .223 bullet (small entry no exit)

[223dog]

I Would like to know what is the best Fur friendly bullet?  I shoot a .223 and I am shooting factory loaded 68 grain bthp.  Yesterday I shot a coyote and the bullet just caused a large surface wound the first shot.  About 6" of hide and hair was ripped off.  Second shot did what I wanted the first shot to do; small entry no exit.  The hide was so badly shot that I Just left the coyote.  I have had this happen this year twice with coyotes and once with a prairie dog.  The prairie dog was shot square in the chest and ran about 60 yards before dieing; I was expecting him to explode.  This is not what happens always just some of the time, most shots do what I want it to do.  It seems that if the bullet gets past the hide and enters the animal it is dead right there.  If the bullet just goes under the hide and expands it causes a nasty surface wound and the animal suffers.  What bullet will ENTER and animal and not exit?  Hollow points have been letting me down.  My rifle likes the heavier bullets, 60 grains and up.  I was told that heavy bullets would penetrate better and not cause surface wounds and that lighter bullets would cause surface wounds.  I don't want a big game bullet just something to quickly kill the animal and not leave a exit.  What do you suggest? 

[stimpylu32]

You may have to look at the Hornady A-Max or one of the other Poly-tipped bullets that are designed to penatrate then expand , not just expand on contact like most HP's do .

stimpy

[Dand]

I'm betting those 68 gr bullets are more target bullets than hunting/ varmint bullets and that may be your issue.  I think you are putting in a very tall order for the 223 and such heavy bullets. What twist rate do you have? What distance have your animals been? For the first time ever, I shot some Pdogs in Montana this spring w a Ruger #1, 1/10 twist, 55 gr Speer spitzers. Out to 250 yds I had good splat factor but farther than that, if I didn't get a solid chest hit the dogs might stagger around a little. It was cold and windy and I didn't do much hitting past 250 yds but a lot of trying. I've only shot 1 fox with this gun and don't recall the load. First hit was at close to 250-300yds and only wounded him in back leg. Had to chase him up a mountain and finish him at about 100yds. Got full penetration on the first shot, I think second shot went in and stopped. I think the higher velocity at shorter range made the difference.  I'd be surprised if you could find a heavy 60gr+ bullet that will do what you want, especially at longer ranges unless there is a polymer tipped bullet available that shoots well for you. In my gun I haven't found an accurate load for the Hornadys or Noslers compared to 55 Speers or older 60 gr Nos, 63 gr Sierras. Heck look into those 63 gr Sierras they shoot real well for me.

Surely there are much more experienced folk on here who could help out.

[223dog]

The twist rate is 1 in 9.  Most shots are between 80 and 150 yards.  Like i said this doesn't happen all the time just once in a while.  I was also thinking that the polymer tipped bullets might work better.  I have only shot hollow points out of this gun and most of the time they work just fine.  When you hit a coyote in the front shoulder you expect to see to drop; not just rip the hide off and not even enter the rib cage.   

[OLDHandgunner]

Over the years I have had the best luck in my 222's, 223's & 22-250's with Hornady 50gr SX & 55gr SX bullets.

[LaOtto222]

Those are very good bullets. They used to be cheap, but not so much any more. You just have to be careful not to run the velocities up too high or too fast. They were designed to give 22-250 like blow up in a 1-14" twist barrel at 222 velocities. If you run them up to 3400 fps and with a 1-9" twist rate, they will probably blow up coming out of the barrel. Even if they hold up to make it to the target, they may blow up on the surface if they are on the ragged edge of blowing up to start with. I know at around 3000 fps muzzle velocity in a 1-14" twist they go into a wood chuck and do not come out the other side from 10 feet to out past 250 yards on body shots. I red misted a woodchuck at 100 yards with a head shot, not body shot. At 100 yards they will make a pile of feathers out of a crow.

It is very hard to get a bullet that will perform just the way you want over an extended range. Get it too soft and it will blow up on the surface, but penetrate well and not go through at 200 yards. If the jacket is a little too tough, it will whistle through at extended ranges, but perform OK at closer ranges. The key is bullet rotation and velocity. Bullet are designed to work with a certain velocity range. Much lower or much higher, then they will not perform as wanted.

BTW - the 50 grain SPSX were very accurate out of my Remington 700 in 222.

[OLDHandgunner]

BTW - the 50 grain SPSX were very accurate out of my Remington 700 in 222.
[/quote]

LaOtto222,
I have used these Hornady SX bullets for many, many years and they have always shot very accurate in all my small caliber rifles and done a great job on putting down all kinds of varmints.
I never push the velocities in my 22-250's. I have seen the warning tag inside the SX boxes about extreme velocities and blow up's. 
I'm now using the 35gr V-Max in my T/C Custom 22k Hornet rifle barrel. They shoot fantastic. Haven't had a chance to shoot anything bigger than a chuck yet.

[Larry Gibson]

The twist rate is 1 in 9.  Most shots are between 80 and 150 yards.  Like i said this doesn't happen all the time just once in a while.  I was also thinking that the polymer tipped bullets might work better.  I have only shot hollow points out of this gun and most of the time they work just fine.  When you hit a coyote in the front shoulder you expect to see to drop; not just rip the hide off and not even enter the rib cage.   

I've been shooting Coyotes, PD, rockchucks, J rabbits, crows, magpies, ground squirrels and a few other critters since '68 with the .223.  The best bullet bar none to do what you asked is the Hornady 50 or 55 gr SX.  Some 9" twists are to fast for them though.  Only way to know is to try.  I use H335 for 3200 fps out of my 12" twist Remigton. My Savage Comp with 9" twist shoots them well as long as I don't push them over 3150 fps. My second choice and the #1 choice for gas guns (except 7" twists) is the Speer 52 gr HP.  This is every bit as explosive as the SX and they shoot in the .5"s out of the 9" twist at 3225 fps.  I've killed a lot of coyotes with both and the only exit wound I got were those past 250 yards on rib cage shots where a bone wasn't hit going in.  Coyotes never traveled more than 10-15 yards and most dies in their tracks.  Called one in to 5 yards and shot him with the 55 SX out of the M700V. Couldn't see nothing but a blur in the 10X scope.  just pointed and shot.  He died instantly and there was no exit.

Larry Gibson