.223 Rem. bullet recommendations

[Rocky7]

Santa brought me a new .223. I've never owned that calibre before. It has a 22" barrel and 9" twist. What would experienced owners recommend for a coyote/wolf bullet?

I was in the store yesterday and sales guy suggested their fmj. It's hard for me to see the sense in that, although they were less expensive. I want to drop 'em, not wound 'em.

Haven't decided yet whether I'll reload for it. If I can find good factory ammo for a decent price and it shoots right, probably won't bother.

I think this information might've been posted before, but I can't find it.....

Thx.

[Lefty-Canuck]

For factory give the Winchester "White Box" a try...45gr hollow point. For reloading I would go with a 52gr A-Max....or a 50-55gr V-Max without hesitation. The Blitz-King bullets from Sierra have proven to be very accurate and effective also.

LC

[bearblaster]

Hornaday v-max. I always shot the 40 grain.

[bulletman]

I really don't like the FMJ idea at all for wolves especially! I use a Hornady 55 grain V-MAX in the .222. I used to have good luck with the 55 grain SP Hornady for coyotes. Lefty is on the right track.

[220swifty]

My savage (1-9") loves 50gr ballistic tips on top of varget. Kills coyotes cleanly too.

[FCLightning]

40 grain, vmax or blitz king.

[Rocky7]

Thanks, guys. I was thinking I would not be loading for it since it's semi-auto....maybe have to rethink that.

Lefty, etc: Do you think a 45gr. is enuf for a wolf? The mv would certainly be nice, but it seems a tad light to this .223 newbie.

[bearblaster]

FWIW last year i shot may wolf with at 40 grain vmax.he never made 2 steps.when we skinned him there was 1 entry hole and no exit.his boiler room was completly distroyed.40 grain is quite enough bullet if you place it properly,same as every caliber and every grain size.The reason i push the 40 grain so much is in MY gun it seemed to shoot the 40 grain way better than the 55,but each gun is different.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Thanks, guys. I was thinking I would not be loading for it since it's semi-auto....maybe have to rethink that.

Lefty, etc: Do you think a 45gr. is enuf for a wolf? The mv would certainly be nice, but it seems a tad light to this .223 newbie.

Same old addage about placement....but personally I would go with a spire point bullet (if going factory) or a reload of 52gr V-max or higher specifically for wolf....I stay away from FMJ's completely....never bought a box of them.

The .223 doesn't push the envelope speed wise so the 45gr bullet shouldn't splash on a wolf IMHO...that being said I have never shot a wolf with a 45gr bullet and my .223.

LC

[FCLightning]

Thanks, guys. I was thinking I would not be loading for it since it's semi-auto....maybe have to rethink that.

Lefty, etc: Do you think a 45gr. is enuf for a wolf? The mv would certainly be nice, but it seems a tad light to this .223 newbie.

40 gr. muzzle energy - 1150
50 gr. muzzle energy - 1200
55 gr. muzzle energy - 1175

My idea is that the lighter faster bullet gives less chance of the bullet carrying through and creating an exit wound damaging the pelt.

[normanrd]

If I'm using my 223 to go after wolves or pigs, I use a 53 grain ttsx. If I'm going after coyotes I shoot a 55 grain vmax. The vmax bullets tend not to work that great on heavier game, and I have lost a few pigs and a wolf, even with well placed shots with the vmax bullet. It just doesnt penetrate well enough imo. I have not lost a wolf nor pig that I have shot with the x bullet though. The vmax bullet does work like lightning on the smaller and more lightly built coyotes though I have shot many hundreds of coyotes with a 55 grain vmax, and very seldom does it pass through. Every now and then one will splash and cause some pretty bad damage, but that is not a common occurence. Just what I have seen though... I shoot the 55 grain at 3000fps on the nose, and the 53 grainer at 3150, for info purposes.

[Rocky7]

Thank you all for the input.

I'm a big accuracy/bullet placement preacher myself - that's a given IMO.

Excuse the ignorance, but do any of you know of a good factory load around 50 gr., then?

ps: A semi-auto that shoots bugholes is just plain sinful.:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z89nJ5zA4bI

[Lefty-Canuck]

Thank you all for the input.

I'm a big accuracy/bullet placement preacher myself - that's a given IMO.

Excuse the ignorance, but do any of you know of a good factory load around 50 gr., then?

ps: A semi-auto that shoots bugholes is just plain sinful.:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z89nJ5zA4bI

^^^^^

Listen to Normanrd above....he knows what he speaks of and has first hand experience.

For a load in my .223 i like 26-28gr of Varget under a bullet 55gr or less....seems like you just can't get enough varget in there :)

LC

[demolition101]

For factory give the Winchester "White Box" a try...45gr hollow point. For reloading I would go with a 52gr A-Max....or a 50-55gr V-Max without hesitation. The Blitz-King bullets from Sierra have proven to be very accurate and effective also.

LC

X 2

Exactly what I would have said!

[Dadirk]

In the 22 cal vmax are a big seller 40 grain for the 22-250 crowd and 50 grain for the 223 crowd and if you want a cheaper version the boxed zmax bullets that the loaded the short lived zombie max are vmax bullets with green tips and are made in 40 gr and 55gr wc and at 85.00 for a box of 500 you cant go wrong

[Bigmountainrider]

My thoughts are to use something with a soft tip or expandable tip, I had a few hollw points scatter on impact to shoulder blades and not penetrate

[Strange]

I haven't read the hunting regs this year (except for the "changes" section). Pardon me if I'm wrong, but isn't it illegal to shoot any animal with a non expanding bullet? FMJs aren't built to expand, that's why they generally will go right through and not cause much damage. If not placed exactly right, you will only wound an animal and likely lose it, hence, the rule. For a sporting-goods store clerk to recommend FMJs for hunting, seems to me, to be irresponsible at best. Nobody else seemed to notice this. Hmmm...strange

[Lefty-Canuck]

I haven't read the hunting regs this year (except for the "changes" section). Pardon me if I'm wrong, but isn't it illegal to shoot any animal with a non expanding bullet? FMJs aren't built to expand, that's why they generally will go right through and not cause much damage. If not placed exactly right, you will only wound an animal an likely lose it, hence, the rule. For a sporting-goods store clerk to recommend FMJs for hunting seems to me, to be irresponsible at best. Nobody else seemed to notice this. Hmmm...strange

Only on game animals....coyotes are not considered game animals. I hear what you are saying about using FMJ on live targets though.

LC

[Strange]

I'll have to read that part over a little more carefully then. That might be the answer to the "fur-friendly" issue, if you're right.

[ishootbambi]

I'll have to read that part over a little more carefully then. That might be the answer to the "fur-friendly" issue, if you're right.

he is right.....otherwise a 223 wouldnt be legal either as its less tha 23 cal.

to the op...i like nosler ballistic tips at 55 grain. they have a decent BC, so i have no issue out to 300 yards. i havent had one exit a coyote yet....badger either. did blow a pretty mighty hole in a fox though when i missed the shoulder and went throgh just ribs....but you wont shoot them so it should be good. i reload though....dont know if that an option for you.

[Strange]

I am familiar with the 23 cal rule for big game but never really thought much about how the FMJ rule applies to varmints. I use a 22-250 for coyotes, and prefer the Hornady 55gr Ballistic tips, but right now I am using 50gr because the last time I went to stock up, there was no 55gr available. On shots over about 175yds, they are very fur-friendly. On close shots, they can do a lot of damage. I prefer straight-on frontal shots because it's usually difficult to even find the entrance hole, but most of the time, coyotes present a side-shot.

[Dog hunter]

Hornady superformance 53 grain 3465 fps now u see em now you don't can be hard on fur on a bad shot

[korie83]

My Savage 223 with 1-9 twist did not like the winchester 45gr JHP value box ammo. Accuracy was very poor, with shots going all over the place. Those were the only < 55gr bullets I've tried, but I've heard of others having problems with light 223 bullets with faster twist barrels.

Also I picked up some Hornady Steel Match 55gr JHP ammo from Bass Pro, they aren't designated as a varmint or hunting round, but they shot very accurately, I suspect they may be a good option for Coyote/Wolf hunting.

Hornady 55gr Vmax also shot excellently, but are quite a bit more expensive than the others listed.

[Running Bear]

I tried 8 brands of factory .223 ammo with 1:8 twist and the most accurate in my gun was the 55 grain hornady zombie max. I shot lots of coyotes with them and they worked well.

[Rocky7]

I picked up a couple boxes of Superformance, just to see how it goes. Friggin' expensive, though.

I appreciate the input, guys, and will come back to this thread as I try to develop the mythical load that punches one hole, shoots two feet of flame out the end of the barrel and is as flat as a laser beam.:)

Has anybody tried the Nosler C.T. bullets? I've had mixed results with the Lubalox coating, but this size might like it.

[bigd]

x 3 on the 45gr Win white box. Used them a fair bit on coyotes and a badger. Deadly accurate in my fast twist Tikka. They seem a tad 'harder' than your average 40 or 50gr .224 bullet. I've seen the 40 pk boxes for well under $30. Nice WW brass too for when you start to load for them.