Author Topic: Pelt friendly (Read 787 times)

tipiguy · « **on:** September 06, 2004, 10:56:09 AM »

I have a .223 TC contender. I was wondering what it may do to a fox/coon hide here in SW PA. I was planning on loading 40 grain nosler balistic tips. Will this destroy the hide? Is there a better bullet?

I also thought about getting a chamber adapter to shoot either 22 mags or 22 hornets. Would these rounds do less damage to the hide? Would you reccommend nosler 40 grains in the hornet? Remmington premium balitic tips in the 22 mag rounds?

Thanks for the help.

tipiguy

Thebear_78 · « **Reply #1 on:** September 06, 2004, 12:06:46 PM »

I used to use downloaded 223 rounds in my 14" contender for fox and coon. I used bluedot powder and either a 40gr Sierra HP or a bulk pack 50gr SP. I ran the 40gr loads at 2700fps and the 50gr loads at 2550. They were really accurate and did a good job on fox and coon. I used the 50gr load on a few coyotes as well. Very mild report, almost no muzle blast and little pelt damage. I shot a lot of coons with the 50gr @ 2550 that had little more damage than if shot by a 22lr. I also used bluedot loads in a remington 600 222 rem for coons and sick barn cats around the barns. Loaded with a 45gr SP @ 1900fps they were extremely quiet and accurate.

Weatherby223 · « **Reply #2 on:** September 06, 2004, 02:21:12 PM »

I would go with the Sierra 40gn Hollow Points.. I shot these 4 Foxes at different ranges and had no exit holes at all. Sorry about the quality of the pic! I now have a digital camera so next photo's will be better.Happy Hunting..
Mick.

Jerry Lester · « **Reply #3 on:** September 06, 2004, 04:55:38 PM »

I lean more towards the "tough bullet" school of thought when it comes to fur hunting.

I usually use 55g Sierra PSPs loaded up to 2600-2800fps in the 223 for fur. They nearly always exit(even on big bobcats), but the exit is usually no bigger than a nickel. I get similar results with 50g Sierra SMPs loaded to around 2400-2500fps in my Hornets.

The Balistic-tips, and other polymer tipped bullets usually blow a fox apart in a 223 at nearly any velocity. Foxes have very thin hides, and if you don't hit solid bone Balistic-tips can make a bad mess out of a good hide.

Lawdog · « **Reply #4 on:** September 07, 2004, 10:49:07 AM »

tipiguy,

A bullet that I find that is fur friendly out of my .224 calibers is the Barnes X. Not the varmint models like the VLC, etc.. Out of my .223 WSSM or my .22 Hornet the exit wound isn't much bigger than the entrance wound. Lawdog

Glanceblamm · « **Reply #5 on:** September 07, 2004, 04:36:07 PM »

I am with Jerry on this one and use the really tough 55gr Hornady #2267
This fmjbt does great on coming out like it went in.

BillP · « **Reply #6 on:** September 22, 2004, 06:19:40 PM »

I don't really have any experience with this but if a minimum exit hole is the desired result, why not use the CHEEP alternative and go with the most available 223 rounds the lowly MIL. 55gr FMJ. I expect that they would do a job on a critter as small as a fox at any reasonable range. The only problem being that they tend to be a ricochet problem, if that is a particular concern you may want to stick with the more fragile bullets. I just can't see paying a premium price for bullets that I don't want to expand. If match accuracy is desired, any number of match HPs are available and these HPs are not intended to expand.

Glanceblamm · « **Reply #7 on:** September 23, 2004, 07:08:45 PM »

I do like to pay a bit more for the quality. If the finished jacket is not uniform & varies by as litle as .0005 the resulting bullet will be unbalanced sufficiently to veer from it's intended line of flight.

As long as the bullet is in the barrel it rotates around it's center of form. But when it leaves the barrel it spins around it's center of gravity. The quality control at Hornady is a continuous test program. Doesnt take but a few thous play in the cup feeding mechanism of the press to throw the concentricity off. You can bet that these people will find this out before the bullet ends up in your gun.

I have seen the price of my bullet go up app $3.02 in the last 18yr but the cost per 100 is still easily covered by 1 hide!.

Ricochett is not to be taken lightly but I worry about this more with my .22LR than the centerfire bullet moving along at 3 to 4 thousand fps.
I think that tiny .55gr is pretty much done for when it touches down at reasonable shooting ranges.
Extra precautions are taken via a ridge, ravine, drainage, hillside or levy usually being present as backstop at my calling sites.