22-250 heavy bullets for coyote hunting.
- Thread starter BigTy313
- Start date
Ive chosen the 77 tmk as my 22 creed coyote rifle bullet. Seems to have the best bc of those bullets that have a reputation for not penciling through like a typical match bullet.
Is something wrong with a 40gr NBT at 3900fps?
or a 50gr Vmax/NBT/SBK at 3750?
or a 55gr Vmax?
or a 60gr Tipped Match King?
or 64 Tipped Game King?
or 65 Game King?
or 69 TMK?
or 73 ELD?
or 75 ELD?
or 77 TMK?
or 80 ELD?
or 88 ELD?
I think you're spoiled for options in .22-250. "Best" is such a subjective term. I think Sierra's in your neighborhood.
or a 50gr Vmax/NBT/SBK at 3750?
or a 55gr Vmax?
or a 60gr Tipped Match King?
or 64 Tipped Game King?
or 65 Game King?
or 69 TMK?
or 73 ELD?
or 75 ELD?
or 77 TMK?
or 80 ELD?
or 88 ELD?
I think you're spoiled for options in .22-250. "Best" is such a subjective term. I think Sierra's in your neighborhood.
Im curious on velocity numbers out of an 18" 22-250. Also curious on percentage of unburned powder.
Only 3900 from the 40g? My 26" with 3031 would get them going around 4200fps. I always liked the the 50 and 55 v max better. Now I use the 53 v max, but I don't hunt coyotes much anymore. I shoot a lot of them in my 223 though. Nosler has 55 ballistic tip with a decent B.C too, I have a 250 box to test, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
Yep, he said "18 inch barrel," so I was being conservative. I don't have any barrels in .224" that short. I guessed a practical 3900 instead of an optimised max quickload calc of 4500fps with a 30" Palma barrel and some new-fangled wonder powder. I haven't shot coyote with 40s, but I know what they do to milk jugs of water inside 400yds, same with 88 ELDs at 3300fps (not a .22-250). Do people just shoot coyote for fun, mitigating threat to livestock, or are we trying to keep pelts? Do we care about barrel life? Lots of things OP didn't put in context, so lots of ways to go.
Really hoping to try out 60gr TMKs on a coyote this spring. Will likely be out of my 22" 224 Valkyrie AR, but I suppose I could drag my 26" 223AI bolt gun out as well. My AI load had them going about 3425 fps.
Your main limiting factor is what you can find in stock.
The old blitzking should work just fine as well as the varmegeddon.
You're trying to kill a small dog, it doesn't take that much.
The old blitzking should work just fine as well as the varmegeddon.
You're trying to kill a small dog, it doesn't take that much.
It depends on what kind of coyote hunting you’re doing. If you’re glassing dogs up and trying to blast them from a distance, then sure by all means go heavy. If you’re calling them in, then lite and fast is the way to go.
I'll disagree strongly with this. The wind still blows when you're calling. A 52gr SMK at 4100fps is 0.8 mils of hold in a 10mph full value at 300yds. An 80gr berger is literally half that... and where I hunt, the wind is almost never as calm as 10mph. First half of my life was spent with light bullets in everything from .223rem all the way to 22-243AI. I switched to heavies about 7-8 years ago and you couldn't pay me to go back. My hit percentage went way up, and the dogs get anchored WAY more reliably.
If I'm just playing around... I'll take whatever I want, including little toy cartridges and their respective tiny bullets. If I'm setting out to really kill, I'll never take anything less than a heavy 22 cal again.
If you can’t call them in under 300, then you aren’t calling right.
Do me a favor, and look at my post. Longs shots, I agree heavy is the way to go. Short shots, fast and flat is the way to go. Not brain surgery. Heavy bucks the wind better, which is a good thing. Fast and flat takes the thinking out of it. If they’re moving there is no need to lead them. Point and shoot. Both have their advantages. That’s why I literally said it depends on what type of coyote hunting you’re doing.
That's right. You're either taking it seriously and using heavies... or you're just playing around.
Run the numbers on a 50gr class bullet in a 25mph wind at 150yds. You know how many guys I've seen miss coyotes due to wind call in those conditions even at 150yds? You don't always get a pretty full broadside. Headshots over a rock or something? Yup, been there and seen guys miss shots due to light bullets in the wind almost my entire career. I used to be one of them.
Heavies work up close, and far, in the wind, and calm. Light weight bullets don't. So, as I said, you either are taking it seriously... or you're not. If you're not... then you can advocate for literally anything. 17HMR? I mean hey, you shoot them in the head, and call them into 50yds right?
Guess what, I'm not dying on this hill. I've had people pay me for advice on what to do hunting coyotes for nearly 20 years... and the internet is FULL of coyote killing experts that will advocate for anything to anyone. I have no intentions of winning this argument, this thread, or the internet. So take it, or leave it. My experience stands on its own. I remember killing over 600 coyotes in one year with lightweight bullets. Then I got sick of missing so much past 300yds.
If I were shooting heavies, it would have been over 800. Well over.
Good luck to you all.
You act like you’re the only one that takes it seriously. More than one way to skin a cat.
Ballistics are what they are friend. If you don't think people are going to kill more coyotes with twice the BC... then I guess we aren't going to have much to talk about... are we? You don't see people showing up to a rifle match with tiny bullets. Better ballistics = more hits. (all other things being equal) It's quite basic and not in dispute.
FYI, I’m not trying to win a battle either. But there really is more than one correct way. What would you say, if I said that using a truck to get to your coyote spots was all wrong?
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When it comes to ballistics and hit probability in real world conditions... no there is not "more than one correct way." There is what provides higher probability, and what provides lower probability. It's simple, and anyone with a ballistic calculator of any kind can see the fact of that for themselves. If we were talking about a 75gr vs 80gr... then they are close enough to swing either way and close enough to really be up to the specific situation.FYI, I’m not trying to win a battle either. But there really is more than one correct way. What would you say, if I said that using a truck to get to your coyote spots was all wrong?
For some, shooting and hunting is a hobby... I get it. I understand, and I mean I truly do. However, it would be important for you to understand that for some of us it's our profession. In my case, its my profession AND my hobby. It's essentially all I do.
Regarding the truck being the wrong way... I'd agree! A side by side is best... All I see in that boat, is several rifles, or a bunch of components. I'm glad you enjoy what you do. Yet, there is a pretty large difference between what you do and enjoy versus having your business and reputation on the line if people don't have success with your advice... wouldn't you say?
I see a grown man who has a childish can’t lose attitude, is what I see. I never once called you out and said your way was wrong. In fact I agreed with you, without being a d!ck. I offered a simple alternative, that also has its advantages. With your logic we should all be using 50 bmg’s! There’s nothing positive to be discussed here. You keep up the good work “best coyote hunter that ever lived”!
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