Best 5.56 bullet for Coyotes

MAHLMAN

MAHLMAN

Sergeant of the Hide
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Nov 11, 2020
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#1
So I look for this topic in Hunting and Fishing and did not see anything. I have four 223 candidates for this to load. 64gr soft point, 62gr TBBC, 55 and 60gr orange tip. Longest possible shot is 200 yds and likely closer to 100-125 yds. An AR-15 is what I will be using. I have to admit that even though I read about those plastic tip wonders I am concerned about tips breaking off and causing problems.
 
#5
MAHLMAN said:
So I look for this topic in Hunting and Fishing and did not see anything. I have four 223 candidates for this to load. 64gr soft point, 62gr TBBC, 55 and 60gr orange tip. Longest possible shot is 200 yds and likely closer to 100-125 yds. An AR-15 is what I will be using. I have to admit that even though I read about those plastic tip wonders I am concerned about tips breaking off and causing problems.
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Which of those give you the most confidence of being able to hit a target that isn't there for very long? That's the one.
 
#7
Who cares about 12" of penetration? It's a fucking coyote. 3 inches in and you have penetrated the heart. 12" and you are all the way through. Besides, it's a fucking coyote. Put another one in him or not.
 
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#8
Aftermath said:
Who cares about 12" of penetration? It's a fucking coyote. 3 inches in and you have penetrated the heart. 12" and you are all the way through. Besides, it's a fucking coyote. Put another one in him or not.
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OK since I have to spell it out for you I will do so. Obviously I want to know what works best and does the most damage in a short 12" path without leaving the body. I swear you guys who just like to jump on answers with derogatory comments and cussing are pretty darned worthless. If you have nothing of worth to say then just stay away.
 
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#9
MAHLMAN said:
OK since I have to spell it out for you I will do so. Obviously I want to know what works best and does the most damage in a short 12" path without leaving the body. I swear you guys who just like to jump on answers with derogatory comments and cussing are pretty darned worthless. If you have nothing of worth to say then just stay away.
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It's a fucking coyote.
You have obviously never killed even one.
Tell ya what...you go shoot all of your crap at 12" of ballistic gel and come back and tell us all how it worked out for you.
 
#11
MAHLMAN said:
OK genius everybody at some point in time has never shot a Coyote. Except for you. Some of us prefer to do it right the first time and ask those who have actually done it what they had the most success with. So are you just bored tonight or normally this abrasive and useless?
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Are you 12 or 13?
 
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#14
What the heck is an "orange tip"? Hornady V-Max? If so, yes, that's what you want. 50, 53, or 55, pick one. Go buy a new bullet if you have to. The V-max is not expensive. I prefer the 53s, but they all do the same thing: penetrate a few inches and blow up. Most will not exit, but turn innards to soup. Most yotes are DRT. If not, put another one in them, that's what an AR is for.
 
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#15
I'm guessing an orange tip is a Nosler ballistic tip. The bases of same are pretty strong and usually drive all the way through a coyote.

Probably the most explosive bullet I have used is the v-max, as the poster above suggested, but you are likely to have mixed results depending on how hard you push them , and where you hit the coyote. They may blow up on the surface and not penetrate, but as the above poster mentioned if they get to the vitals = money. The 53 grain is a great high BC bullet, but you need at least an 12 ? twist to stabilize them IMHO.

Soft points (50,55) work well, but in most instances you will have a complete pass through. Perfect shot...broadside... vmax. Otherwise I would , and do use out of fast twist bolt actions, 75-80 grain amax and ELD's. I am not calling them close, and these pass through as well in most instances.

I wouldn't be worried so much about a bullet staying in the coyote, find something that shoots accurately and start whackin and stackin.
 
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#17
They're all going to pass all the way through a yote.

Guess, what? It won't matter. It will be dead or it won't and if it won't, shoot it again. You have a 30 round "clip" after all.

Pick one and blast away.
 
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#18
roostercogburn98 said:
@diggler1833 shoots a few nasty critters I believe
Click to expand...

Thanks.

OP: There are definitely dudes who kill more yotes than me, but I find myself having to dispatch 25-50 per year here on the ranch just to keep their numbers in check.

My backdoor AR is an 18", 5.56, shooting the now obsolete 64gr Speer Gold Dot. It punches nice big holes in coyotes. I've never lost one, or had it make more than a 25-30 yard journey after a good hit. If you already have 64gr soft points or the 62gr TBBC, either will make for an excellent dog-killing load...albeit NOT fur friendly.

I've also killed ~20 hogs with the same bullet and it works great there too (even passing through >75% of the time). Rarely do you get much crossover (expansion vs penetration in thin vs thick skinned game), but those LEO specific, bonded bullets in .223/5.56 seem to wear both hats well.
 
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#19
50 gn Vmax dumps energy and blows up sometimes with no exit. Obviously depends, but DRT for the most part. Pretty much any bullet will dump them quick with good shot placement . If you're after hide preservation the lighter varmint bullets should definitely be a consideration.
 
#21
SupressYourself said:
What the heck is an "orange tip"? Hornady V-Max? If so, yes, that's what you want. 50, 53, or 55, pick one. Go buy a new bullet if you have to. The V-max is not expensive. I prefer the 53s, but they all do the same thing: penetrate a few inches and blow up. Most will not exit, but turn innards to soup. Most yotes are DRT. If not, put another one in them, that's what an AR is for.
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I think they are VMax bought as pulls so not sure. Had a string of four cross in front of me the other day so maybe I will load a few different ones you guys like and see what they do.
 
#22
diggler1833 said:
Thanks.

OP: There are definitely dudes who kill more yotes than me, but I find myself having to dispatch 25-50 per year here on the ranch just to keep their numbers in check.

My backdoor AR is an 18", 5.56, shooting the now obsolete 64gr Speer Gold Dot. It punches nice big holes in coyotes. I've never lost one, or had it make more than a 25-30 yard journey after a good hit. If you already have 64gr soft points or the 62gr TBBC, either will make for an excellent dog-killing load...albeit NOT fur friendly.

I've also killed ~20 hogs with the same bullet and it works great there too (even passing through >75% of the time). Rarely do you get much crossover (expansion vs penetration in thin vs thick skinned game), but those LEO specific, bonded bullets in .223/5.56 seem to wear both hats well.
Click to expand...
I will try the TBBC first as I have a lot of those. I don't know why but there seem to be a lot of Coyotes around here all of a sudden I see them on walks in the daytime now and my friend who hunts my ridgetop sees more now. Fur is not a concern but pets and neighbors calves are.
 
#23
SupressYourself said:
What the heck is an "orange tip"? Hornady V-Max? If so, yes, that's what you want. 50, 53, or 55, pick one. Go buy a new bullet if you have to. The V-max is not expensive. I prefer the 53s, but they all do the same thing: penetrate a few inches and blow up. Most will not exit, but turn innards to soup. Most yotes are DRT. If not, put another one in them, that's what an AR is for.
Click to expand...
Looking in my bullet selection, Orange are/were Nosler Ballistic Tips. I hav them in 40 and 55 grain 224 dia. Any of the tipped cup and core have done the job for me in 221 Fireball, 222 Remington, or 223/5.56, and 22-250 if kept in the appropriate range for the cartridge.
 
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#24
MAHLMAN said:
I will try the TBBC first as I have a lot of those. I don't know why but there seem to be a lot of Coyotes around here all of a sudden I see them on walks in the daytime now and my friend who hunts my ridgetop sees more now. Fur is not a concern but pets and neighbors calves are.
Click to expand...

I think that even though the TBBC isn't designed for this, you'll get some fantastic results. Bonus that you'll be able to 'Texas heart shoot' one and still reach the vitals.

I'm loaded with coyotes again, and they're in packs. I'm just trying to fill my last buck tag before I declare war on the yotes again because all the noise is going to drive the big boys away (does don't care).
 
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