Can you make a 223 Fur Friendly for Cats and Fox? Yet still do the trick for a Coyote

champ198

champ198

Active member
Just acquired a 223 AR recently that I would like to make my main calling rifle.
It's nothing fancy at all which is fine.
I was courioous though if you all have found a bullet possibly that works well for Cats and Fox that doesn't destroy the hide. Yet also is enough to put a Coyote down.
Would like to have one rifle for all if possible.
 
Hornady 55gr Vmax, never had a runner/spinner. Never had an exit hole. I have picked up a few and they sound kinda slushy inside!
The 223 was built around 55gr ammo, some like the 53gr. Try both and see which shoots best in your rifle.
 
Hornady 50 SX has been very good for me out of AR's coon,fox and coyote. Plus for me is no tip to take up mag room, actually can play with seating depth for better accuracy. And they are cheap,easy to find in stores.
 
I shot this huge guy with a 55gr Vmax @ approx 10yds.
I couldn’t find the entrance hole, not a drop of blood and zero exit hole.
That rifle had a 24” barrel, idk what velocity was. But I couldn’t believe the lack of damage.
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dont try the 53 grain federal v-max loads on fox if you want the fur. i have had few, very few, that had little damage. the rest looked like they blew up.

i dont use it for fox anymore.
 
All those bullets above can have great results.... they can also easily blow them up ifyou hit them high in back or a bone near the surface. If anyone tells you a vmax, blitzking, or varmageddon, ballistic tip wont cause damage they havent killed very many with it. Sometimes it looks like they die of a heart attack, sometimes it looks like they were hit by a cluster bomb . It's a fine line, your better off thinking "kill coyote" hope for the best on bobs and fox. A fmj type bullet in 22 cal in lighter weights wont anchor them, you will loose a lot of hit animals. If you use a heavy target bullet you will cause less damage passing through with a large wound channel but the bullet wont usually come apart in the animal. , the weight will up the kenetic energy on impact and anchor them better. There is no perfect answer. A fox's skin is like paper and they are low mass. Coyotes are tough and more robust.
 
I just loaded up sierra 69g boat tail hollow points @ 2750fps they shoot like darts. Going next week for a 5 day calling and pheasant hunt will let you how much damage they do.
 
bohunr said:
dont try the 53 grain federal v-max loads on fox if you want the fur. i have had few, very few, that had little damage. the rest looked like they blew up.

i dont use it for fox anymore.
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I shot a fox earlier in the year with my .204 and Vmax, tore him up SO bad I didn't post a pic
 
I currently shoot 40gr Nosler BT out of my 223 AI over 4k. No problems at all with cats, fox, or coyote and blowing holes. I’m a fur hunter myself. You’ll get the occasional hole but that’s just part of the game.
 
Hornady 52 grain BTHP's don't tear cats up bad. At least not out of a 16 1/2" barrel. I've shot quite a few with that bullet over the years and have never blown one up.

The only fox I shot with a .223 was using the 55 grain Nosler E-Tip. It didn't tear it up at all just left a hole in and one coming out of it about the same size. Shot a bobcat with the bullet that was the same way. But of course that's not a very big sample of what to expect from that bullet but if I had to choose one for fox using a .223 that's what I'd use.
 
@OKRattler is right with that 52gr. I shot the 52gr BTHP Match and the 52gr Amax both for a long time, you need speed to really reap benefits of those bullets (tiny entrance, no exit and full expansion) but they definitely do the trick of being fur friendly. Match type bullets like those don’t have the rapid expansion on impact, saves you from blowing huge holes too. It’s a finicky game to play.
 
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DoubleLungRage said:
IMO shot placement has a lot more to do with fur damage than most people really think. Behind the shoulder usually just a pin hole in, if you get a pass through it's not going to be that big of an exit. Hit the spine or shoulder then you blow the animal in half.
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I think shot placement is also why some bullets get a bad name. You’re going to blow holes in them eventually no matter what bullet you shoot. But people make a running shot or just a bad shot in general, and blow a basketball sized hole in them and blame the bullet. Seen that a lot.
 
I’d go with the hp bullet also ,preferably not super fast. When I shot crows hp’s would fold them while sp’s and bt’s would make parts fly.And there isn’t much to a crow.
 
65 Sierra GameKing! That fox was hit by 3 because I shot like poo. Spine, rear leg(covered), and head.

Top coyote was straight to the chest DRT, bottom was first hit quartered toward me where you can see about 2 inch lower than intended, broke the leg and dropped it what I thought was dead and suprised when i got to it had to finish it to the head. Ive had that same shot with Vmax to the front shoulder quartered a few times and the coyotes run away.

65 SGK My favorite hunting bullet so far, Ive shot several other fox and coyote and love the consistancy, even my poor shots anchor the animals and I finish it quick and no pelt damage. When i was using 52 HP varmint and 53 Vmax the dang coyotes would run away if shot in the shoulder and the fox would blow up if hit broadside. Ive never had SGK fail. I was shooting them with CFE223 which has bad temperature stability and i needed two loads for Minnesota summer and winter so Im shooting 53gr TSX with Benchmark now. 65SGK has been pin hole entrance and quarter exit all shots except straight on to the chest, same on fox, pin hole in, quarter out. And I had them at a MAX load with a BHW barrel at considerable higher velocities than a loading manual would suggest, I made the load for hog hunting and ended up needing them one night for coyotes and never went hunting with Vmax again. I would shoots cats, have shot fox and coyote, and i would shoot deer and hogs. A shot on a fox or coyote quartering away and the exit hitting the front shoulder could be bad news with SGK, certainly fox i imagine, but those quartering away shots have been the coyotes running away and I miss all those so terminal ballistics be darned, fox arent as smart, they are never running away.
 
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