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Any thoughts out there regarding less damage to yote hides from bullets in the 6.5 Creed or the 243 win? Just got the Creed and was wondering if it might be needed to go smaller. Any thoughts appreciated.

stevek

For the 243, shoot 60 grain Sierra hp. Shoot them pretty fast. They will go in and blow up leaving no exit hole most of the time. If you are not saving fur,shoot a ballistic tip that your gun shoots well.

I haven't killed as many coyotes as a lot of guys here, but I've only really been serious about it for the last two years. In my experience calling coyotes, all of my shots have been inside 200 yards with most being less than 100 yards. If you're going to save fur, I would think something around a 223 would be way better than a 6.5 CM or 243. If you find yourself shooting far enough that you need the higher velocity and better BCs you'd be better off working on your calling.

I have been using an old Sako Riihimaki in 222 Rem with a 50 gr Vmax. It seems to work well without a lot of damage. When I use up the last of the 50 grainers I plan on trying the 40 gr Vmax. Unless I can find a prefit savage barrel in 17 Rem to put on my 223. Overall it seems that when calling you don't need or want a whole lot extra rifle. Just my opinion, of course.

I used to run the 70 grain Balistic Tip.

One old timer I know said a BT or Vmax or tipped bullet was more predictable than a hollow point. He claimed HPs were to erratic.

30+ years of coyote hunting and I have settled on the .221 Fireball as the ideal CALLING rifle cartridge. 40 grain ballistic tips and 19 grains of Reloader 7. I've killed coyotes to 450 yards with mine, although that is VERY LONG for a Fireball! Never an exit hole with this combo.

Noise has been a big factor in me continuing to prefer the little Fireball. For killing, the 22-250 is awesome, but the noise is too great for sweeping an area and calling from stand to stand. The .243 and 6.5 would suffer the same problem. Coyotes aren't stupid!

The very best for noise and coyote hunting was a custom .17 Ackley Hornet I had built on an Anschutz action 20 or so years ago. You could shoot coyote after coyote with that thing an they never seemed to equate the "crack" with a rifle shot. It lacked power and range, so it went away.

I use 3 rifle/cartridges for coyotes, a Ruger M77 22Hornet, a Sako L461 in 222remmagnum, and a T-C Icon in 243. My son uses a Browning in 223WSSM.

In the 243, I've had great success regarding pelt damage with the 75gr Vmax,and went about 33-34 coyotes straight without any pelt damage, with shots from 20yds to over 400. The one that had pelt damage was, shall we say, 'messy'.

I've had more runners and floppers using the 6mm 55gr Btip pushed to about 4,000fps, than I like, so this year I am going to try the 70gr Btip.

In general though, I've had more pelt damage with the Vmax, and the least with a Barnes X,XLC, or TTSX, regardless of which rifle is being used. I now only use Barnes in the Hornet, due to ricochet issues on pass throughs.

any 130 grain 270 bullet will do.

.460 Wby and 500 gr solids.

Believe it or not, the few yotes I have seen shot while deer hunting with TSXs had very little pelt damage. Pencil hole sized entrance and exits. Some do not like 2 holes in the pelt, but they were very small......

308 suppressed ammo with night vision scope. I hunt over gut pile. I have knocked out as many as 6 before scaring them I off. Fun as hell too. They get to making so much noise they don't hear you shooting

What velocity are you getting out of the fireball and the 40gr ballistic tips?

6.5mm 123 Amax..... NOT fur friendly....

Thats about my favorite load for my .221's too.

Been all over the map with powders, but always come back to R-7. Works in my AR too.

Very little pelt damage.

Maybe a tougher bullet with an exit hole might work with the 6.5.

Thanks for all the comments. Although I think the 460 and solids might be just tad overkill. There was a 222 rem in a 788 Remington that looked as if it had not been shot in the local Pawn Shop, Put $100 down on it and will try and sneak it into the house sometime after Christmas. Looking forward to it. Thanks again.

One problem with an exit wound is they tend to leak more than an entrance ....I prefer to have as little blood on the pelt as possible but a second hole isn't that big of a deal as long as it's small....especially at today's prices....
Once a hides stretched and dried even the best fur buyer is hard pressed to find a bullet hole anyway....nor do they care...

Should be a dandy with 40 grain Ballistic Tips.

You know far more about that stuff than I or most here ever will, Charlie. That is a fact.

Here is one I took with a 70 TSX. Pretty clean. You can see the bit of blood on the ground where my buddy Troy picked it up after I took the pick. Other pics were as I found it. Huge coyote.....

I've gone to the 221 Fireball for most of my coyote hunting as well. Most of my shots are inside 200 yards and it works. I prefer the 40gr BT or Varmageddon and get little hide damage although I get plenty of exits on the small southern dogs.

For areas I expect shots over 300yds or on very windy days, I use 70gr BT in a .243. Hide damage varies from little to massive.

Next winter the fireball will use a suppressor which will be nice shooting in more urban areas.

In 22 caliber, the 40 Ballistic Tip kills the best with the least damage.

In 243, the Sierra 60HP and Hornady 70SX run calmly, or the 65VMax run hotly, won't ruin hides usually.

If you just want to kill them with a 243, then Hornady 87VMax and Sierra 80Blitz are really awesome.