.223 Pick

[GEARHEAD]

Switched from a .243 bolt gun, shooting 58 grn v-max's. devastating results loved it.  now shooting a .223 R-15, with 55grn v-max's.
almost every yote i have shot so far with this .223 round, and i'm talking 50 yard average, has required a second shot, only two have dropped. so i'm gonna try a new .223 round, thinking of a soft point.
anybody using a .223 having good one shot drop results, with their round?, and if so, what ya usin'. Thanks!

[huntnphool]

I have been using the Nosler Ballistic Tips in 40gr with good results. I have a 1/10 twist so you may try the 55gr. version if you have a 1/9.

http://nosler.com/ballistictipvarmint.htm

[jdb]

i shoot 40 grain hornady's and if i do my part they do there's

[Jerry malbeck]

The absolute best bullet for a 223 as far as fur and DRT goes is the speer 52 grain# 1035 hollow point. load with 26 grains of H-335 Ocl 1650 Oal 2200 CCI 400 primers. and you will love the results . B tips and V max are way to explosive and will cause runners unless you slow them down .. now if you want this load in a factory offering buy some black hills blue box 52 grain match hollow points.
  black hills does not use the speer bullet any more , they now use a sierra .
 its not quite as good on fur but darned close . the whole secret is to slow that bullet down.
 if you hot rod it , it get ugly .
with the load i told you about ill quarantee you you will never have a exit .
I have shot hundreds of coyotes with this load after years of experimenting, trust me its the cats a$$.

[WiseOldYote]

+1 on what Jerry said!!

[Oneshot1Kill]

I just got mine a couple weeks ago and have already got 2 yotes. First one i used a Soft point at about 70-80yds. Gut shot kinda thing, and where the bullet exited it took almost the whole side with it. Dropped him like a rock. Next one i shot was at about 200, perfect shot to the heart with some Metal cased, and he ran about 30-40yds, then fell dead. I love my 223, where ya hitting yours at? Head or heart shots or even chest shots for that matter should kill em

[Machias]

I just got back from Cabelas buying some new .223 Hornady rounds and NOW you guys have this discussion.   

[GEARHEAD]

No worries Machias, only had two get away from me after hitting them, both were long shots at night with a spot light from the deck. buddies fat yellow lab actually tracked one down for me, found it a half mile away at 1am, and finished it, the other i did not recover, but on all the called in dogs, they went down within 25 yards, or just stayed there spinning, a quick double tap with the R15 into that spin usually does the trick. i just  don't like watching a thing suffer too long being the bunny hugger i am, actually, it was a bunny that hired me to kill 'em, Lol. so rather than wait  i'll put another 1 in 'em, tell ya what, what a difference it makes having an R15 vs a bolt gun, for these follow up shots.
i just like to see em drop straight down, with the .243 vmax 58 grainers, at 3700 fps, i guess i was a little spoiled.
gonna try that hollow point next, will report if i have a difference, thx all for responding.

[Straight Shooter]

No worries Machias, only had two get away from me after hitting them, both were long shots at night with a spot light from the deck. buddies fat yellow lab actually tracked one down for me, found it a half mile away at 1am, and finished it, the other i did not recover, but on all the called in dogs, they went down within 25 yards, or just stayed there spinning, a quick double tap with the R15 into that spin usually does the trick. i just  don't like watching a thing suffer too long being the bunny hugger i am, actually, it was a bunny that hired me to kill 'em, Lol. so rather than wait  i'll put another 1 in 'em, tell ya what, what a difference it makes having an R15 vs a bolt gun, for these follow up shots.
i just like to see em drop straight down, with the .243 vmax 58 grainers, at 3700 fps, i guess i was a little spoiled.
gonna try that hollow point next, will report if i have a difference, thx all for responding.

GEARHEAD,

Just a little curious as to why you're moving from the .243 to .223?  The reason why I'm asking is because I plan to do the opposite.  Based on ballistics, .223 has less room for error than the .243.  If the .243 rarely requires a follow-up shot, why move to a "lesser" cartridge that would more likely require a follow-up shot.  Is it because of the desire to move from a bolt gun to a semi-auto?  Right now, I predator hunt exclusively with the .223 (in bolt action and AR platforms).  The reason that I considering the "upgrade" from .223 to the .243 is the "dead right there" advantage of the .243... thus, reducing the need for a follow-up shot.  Like I said, I'm just curious because I can see advantages with both the .243 round (better knock-down energy)... and the .223 round in an AR platform (higher capacity & follow-up shots).  Now, if I had an .243 in an AR platform, I'd pretty much have the perfect coyote rig!  

DAMN... NOW, I HAVE TO LOOK INTO AN AR IN .243!!!   

[furbearer365]

Last year i shot a factory round by Black Hills at 32 grn.  Not one yote all year ran.  As a matter of fact i can't recall one even taking a step after the bang.  I worry more about shot placement rather that bullet size.  If you hit them in the neck or high shoulder were you can get some concusion behind it, bullet size doesn't mean much.  I always try for the ball of the shoulder or forward.  This year i had an older guy i know that is obsessed with 223 and long-range shooting load me up a bullet specifically for my gun, 1/2 groups at 300, and he used a 52 grain.  So we shall see what happens at the tournament.

[Jerry malbeck]

Last year i shot a factory round by Black Hills at 32 grn.  

you must have meant a 52 grainer? as black hills does not load a 32 .

I personally will not use anything less then a 50 grain bullet on coyotes .  the load i mentioned allows even not so perfect placement with a dead coyote as the results . coyotes dont always allow us to make perfect shot placement , thats why i searched so hard for a bullet load como that would give me the results we all strive for .Its still not the perfect load ( i dont think there is such a thing) I dont like tracking wounded dogs , i would much rather be spending my time heading to my next stand.

[GEARHEAD]

No worries shooter, stick with that .243, it is absolutely the best yote round, in my opinion, i have been shooting yotes with it for almost 15 years, and it makes for a great back up deer gun and youth gun. i highly recommend the hornady 58gr vmax, by the way, devastating, but forget the pelt, entry hole is 6 inches, Lol.
my reason for .223, is simply that i am shooting an AR gun, and want the .223 for its availability and economy. a third the cost. i usually only have two vmax's in the mag followed by a bunch of fmj. i would prefer a .243  R-25, but i like to rock and roll a little bit from time to time, and thats way too expensive in .243.
Lol did i just jack my own thread?

[demontang]

Man ive had great luck with my 223 if i do my part and dont hit an edge Ive never had a runner. I shoot a wide range of bullets/grains. I love the 40gr vmax, 45gr rem hp and the 55gr tnt. The 45gr rem has been the best so far but I need to handload them for a accurate round. All the yotes I have shot with them only had an entrance wound no exit and they are cheap to buy loaded but I can only get 1moa with them. I need to shot something with my 40gr sierras, they are very accurate.

If you are looking at a 243 in an AR platform Id look long and hard at the 243/25wssm It works with the smaller lighter ar15 frame and is just as fast or faster then the 243 win. It will be my next gun im sure of that. Im buying a 243 bolt or single for my girl friend next.

[Straight Shooter]

No worries shooter, stick with that .243, it is absolutely the best yote round, in my opinion, i have been shooting yotes with it for almost 15 years, and it makes for a great back up deer gun and youth gun. i highly recommend the hornady 58gr vmax, by the way, devastating, but forget the pelt, entry hole is 6 inches, Lol.
my reason for .223, is simply that i am shooting an AR gun, and want the .223 for its availability and economy. a third the cost. i usually only have two vmax's in the mag followed by a bunch of fmj. i would prefer a .243  R-25, but i like to rock and roll a little bit from time to time, and thats way too expensive in .243.
Lol did i just jack my own thread?

I hear ya... you can't beat the economy of the .223 round.  I've been grabbing ammo when it's available... and cheap.  Doing this, I've been able to accumulate quite a bit of V-Max and hollowpoint.  I also love the "rock and roll" factor of the AR platform.    Looking forward to trying the 55-75 gr loads in the .243.

[Straight Shooter]

Man ive had great luck with my 223 if i do my part and dont hit an edge Ive never had a runner. I shoot a wide range of bullets/grains. I love the 40gr vmax, 45gr rem hp and the 55gr tnt. The 45gr rem has been the best so far but I need to handload them for a accurate round. All the yotes I have shot with them only had an entrance wound no exit and they are cheap to buy loaded but I can only get 1moa with them. I need to shot something with my 40gr sierras, they are very accurate.

If you are looking at a 243 in an AR platform Id look long and hard at the 243/25wssm It works with the smaller lighter ar15 frame and is just as fast or faster then the 243 win. It will be my next gun im sure of that. Im buying a 243 bolt or single for my girl friend next.

A .243 WSSM upper has possibilities.  Is Olympic Arms the only maker?  They don't have the best rep, so I wanted some options.

[Hillbilly270]

would it be difficult to convert a .223 AR15 to a .243?   Can u just buy a new upper?

[Straight Shooter]

would it be difficult to convert a .223 AR15 to a .243?   Can u just buy a new upper?

Not .223 to .243, because the .243 Win is nothing more than a necked-down .308... that would require an AR10 platform.  With that being said, based on demontang's info a .243 WSSM upper will work with AR15 lower.

[KillBilly]

Rainshadow1 has an AR in .223WSSM. he shot his latest cougar with it. You can ask him first hand questions about it.

[demontang]

Oly had a bad rep along time ago. They make some of the most accurate barrels now. They are the ones that started the multiple cal stuff for the ar15. The wssm uppers are made by oly and dtech does custom upper, there is someone else doing wssm uppers to but can't remember who. The wssm upper will go onto any ar 15 lower.

[furbearer365]

jerry, we were both wrong, i need to proof my posts, I was shooting a 36 grain.  I had a "two" on the brain because like i said, I now have hand loaded 52.  I apologize for the misprint.

[Rob]

Im buying a 243 bolt or single for my girl friend next.

I've been married for 18 years as of today so I have not been on the dating scene for some time now, but it must be getting pretty tough out there to resort to this!

[TeacherMan]

I plan on getting the new Remington 700 vtr in desert digital camo next month in 223

[Bigbuckhunter_1996]

try the 40 grain v-max hornady

  http://www.hornady.com/store/223-Rem-40-gr-V-MAX/

[Straight Shooter]

try the 40 grain v-max hornady

  http://www.hornady.com/store/223-Rem-40-gr-V-MAX/

Also, check out the Fiocchi (American made) 40 grain V-Max load (3650 fps).  I got them on sale (about $23.00 for a box of 50) from Cabelas.  In my bull-barreled AR... 1/4 moa.  In my Stevens 200 and AP4... 1/2 moa.  From my experience, they shoot just as good as Black Hills blue box... at about half the price.

[demontang]

I've been married for 18 years as of today so I have not been on the dating scene for some time now, but it must be getting pretty tough out there to resort to this!
[/quote]

Lol well she said that she would go shot coyotes with me and I need a new gun so.

[Rob]

she sounds like a keeper.