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Best 5.56 bullet for Coyotes

MAHLMAN

MAHLMAN

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 11, 2020
170
74
Tennessee
machinedaudiohornlens.com
#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.
 
#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.
 
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#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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#18
roostercogburn98 said:
@diggler1833 shoots a few nasty critters I believe
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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.
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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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#26
Working on a light weight AR for this. Complete Aero Enhanced upper 14.5" free float barrel with MBT trigger and Holosun 2moa green dot. I will see what it does this weekend and go hunting from there. Lots of pests moving into this area all of a sudden. Lots of Raccoons since no one hunts them anymore. A bear has been spotted on trailcams along with Mountain Lions in the general area and Armadillos digging cow and horse leg breaking burrows everywhere plus river otters which are destroying fish populations in creeks and ponds now too. Went for a lot of years here with no trouble and the flood gates seem to have been opened for some reason.

It is a return to what used to be around here I guess. There is a little unincorporated spot on a road nearby known as Screamer. It got that name in the early 1800's because of all the screaming Mountian Lions around there. Elk river just south of here and the Elk are being reintroduced in areas again too.
 
#30
gopherslayer said:
Probably but he asked about what he had on hand. In a rare feat for me I stuck to the question asked. Time for a beer!
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Correct, and answering the question as asked seems to be a scarce commodity around here at times. I appreciate those who limit themselves to the question asked with relevant comments. Can't give anyone a beer but I can thank those who did answer the question.
 
#31
MAHLMAN said:
Working on a light weight AR for this. Complete Aero Enhanced upper 14.5" free float barrel with MBT trigger and Holosun 2moa green dot. I will see what it does this weekend and go hunting from there. Lots of pests moving into this area all of a sudden. Lots of Raccoons since no one hunts them anymore. A bear has been spotted on trailcams along with Mountain Lions in the general area and Armadillos digging cow and horse leg breaking burrows everywhere plus river otters which are destroying fish populations in creeks and ponds now too. Went for a lot of years here with no trouble and the flood gates seem to have been opened for some reason.

It is a return to what used to be around here I guess. There is a little unincorporated spot on a road nearby known as Screamer. It got that name in the early 1800's because of all the screaming Mountian Lions around there. Elk river just south of here and the Elk are being reintroduced in areas again too.
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Are you planning to hunt raccoons, armadillos and river otters with a 14.5" barreled AR and 2MOA dot sight?
 
#33
MAHLMAN said:
The AR is mainly for the Coyotes. Just mentioning the other critters in passing though I would not hesitate to shoot any of them if it was all I had with me. A scoped 22LR works fine otherwise.
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I agree with the effectiveness of a 22LR. Even on Coyotes within range but most certainly the critters listed.
How many River Otters have you shot using a 22LR?
 
#35
Turned cold overnight here but looking to try bagging some next week. Thanks for those who had constructive answers. Re-reading this and had to laugh at Orange Tipped bullets as a description but they were pulls with no manufacturing data though I guess a picture would have helped.
 
#39
If we're going to be snippy... what's your goal? You didn't state it in the original post. Are you hide hunting? (so you want a small entrance and no exit?) Are your just shooting them to kill them? Do you need them to be "DRT" or is "as long as they die" good enough? That would have helped with answers.

" I read about those plastic tip wonders I am concerned about tips breaking off and causing problems"
Wow, okay. If you grab them with a pair of pliers and give it a crank, you can break them off. Shy of throwing them really hard into a brick wall you're not going to break them off.
 
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#40
cas6969 said:
If we're going to be snippy... what's your goal? You didn't state it in the original post. Are you hide hunting? (so you want a small entrance and no exit?) Are your just shooting them to kill them? Do you need them to be "DRT" or is "as long as they die" good enough? That would have helped with answers.

" I read about those plastic tip wonders I am concerned about tips breaking off and causing problems"
Wow, okay. If you grab them with a pair of pliers and put give it a crank, you can break them off. Shy of throwing them really hard into a brick wall you're not going to break them off.
Click to expand...
It's not a real deal. It's a what if I could, maybe, someday sort of thing.
 
#41
Aftermath said:
It's not a real deal. It's a what if I could, maybe, someday sort of thing.
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Exactly, it is not a real deal yet but will be and with a variety of bullets here to load up why not ask which is best. On the other hand sometimes drive by verbal shooting can be as much fun to read as real answers are. Kinda lets you know how bored some people are at times.
 
#42
Don't overthink it. Virtually any .223/5,56 is good for yotes. Killed plenty with .22 and .17 rimfire. At the ranges you are talking about bullet will not matter and for the most part won't matter at long ranges for yotes. I use SMK's exclusively because thats what I use in all my 5.56 rigs. I hunt yotes for fun and eradication.....hits are hits.
 
#43
Any of the bullets you listed will work that you listed. Rarely do plastic tips break off. I've had it on some seconds, but only if the tip looked degraded. Nosler Ballistic Tips work really well on coyotes but the base consistently exits leaving a silver dollar hole or greater depending on the distance. VMAX's and ELDM's are what I rely on right now.
 
#44
53 gr VMAX out of an AR. On the coyotes, no obvious entrance nor exit wound. Dogs dropped instantly. One at 250 yards, one at 140ish yards, one at 25 yards.
Armadillo head shot, facing me at 185 yards. The bullet did not exit.
Armadillo side shot at 100 yards. That's the entrance wound, no exit wound.

WAAY too much overthinking going on and not enough action. Do more than talk.
 

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#45
Aftermath said:
53 gr VMAX out of an AR. On the coyotes, no obvious entrance nor exit wound. Dogs dropped instantly. One at 250 yards, one at 140ish yards, one at 25 yards.
Armadillo head shot, facing me at 185 yards. The bullet did not exit.
Armadillo side shot at 100 yards. That's the entrance wound, no exit wound.

WAAY too much overthinking going on and not enough action. Do more than talk.
Click to expand...
I'm in no hurry. The Armadillos seem to have gone away for now and cold enough I don't care to sit and wait for Coyotes. The guy I let Deer hunt every year is taking decent care of critters and like sitting up there in the cold to do so.
 
#47
cas6969 said:
Wow, okay. If you grab them with a pair of pliers and give it a crank, you can break them off. Shy of throwing them really hard into a brick wall you're not going to break them off.
Click to expand...
I suppose this is kind of what happens when a round is fed into the chamber of an AR. I’ve had more than one broken ELD-M tip break off and cause a malfunction “on the clock.” I had 3 on one stage, but only those 3 for the whole 8 stages.
 
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#49
hlee said:
I’ve had more than one broken ELD-M tip break off and cause a malfunction “on the clock.” I had 3 on one stage, but only those 3 for the whole 8 stages.
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That for sure sounds like an anomaly, I've shot thousands of plastic tipped bullets from most manufacturers through a huge variety of guns. I cant think of a time where one broke off while in the gun.
 
#50
coldboremiracle said:
That for sure sounds like an anomaly, I've shot thousands of plastic tipped bullets from most manufacturers through a huge variety of guns. I cant think of a time where one broke off while in the gun.
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But, an anomaly that doesn’t occur with bthps or Fmjs…

I think it’s a function of the different feed angles between a 223/5.56 cases and Grendel cases. In addition to some broken tips, I’ve ejected a few that were badly bent. Interestingly, they hit their target without issue.

I don’t know how many I’ve shot, but I’d place the incidence of gun-induced bullet tip damage at less than 1%. Enough to note, but not enough to get in a big twist over.
 
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