Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints 223 Bullet for coyotes

If you want to kill coyotes with EXTREME results, the 55g Sierra lead tip Blitz will show some massive holes, they NEVER blow up on the surface also.
I am NOT recommending the Sierra 55g Blitz King with the green tip as they are the most explosive 55g on the market, great for squirels, P. dogs, and chucks!

I shot a loads of

26.5g of Win 748
23g of H322
26g of H335
24.5-27g of Benchmark(use lapua brass with cci 450 primer(very important)= 3470 fps @27g)

If you want to kill deer, antelope, Javelina, or Lions, then three 55g bullets are best choices

55g Hornady sp with the cannalure
55g Sierra bthp
55g Speer bonded "gold dot"

The last antelope that I shot was at 470 yards, shot with a remington 788 223 with a lot of 26.5g of Win 748 and a 55g Winchester SP, he hit the dirt right were he was standing! This load of 748 has a muzzle velocity of 3100 approximately out of a 24" barrel.

Good to know...Im about to try the 39 gr. green tipped blitz on coyotes out of a .204...wonder how it is....
Ive shot deer with the 55 grain Horn..I agree.
Gonna shoot a deer with the 55 Speer Gold dot this year...

For coyotes and not much fur damage, i’m a fan of the Nosler 40 gr BT. It kills like a lightening bolt.

This is by far my favorite. Usually just one hole in and within 300 yds coyotes drop in their tracks.

drover

+1

You asked about 50 or 55 gr bullets, and in that range I like the Speer TNT 50 gr. But I load 40 gr V-Max or BT and they work great and do not exit.

I've had about the same results with my 223AI and my 22-250. I think the longest coyote kill was around 450-500 yards and he just dropped in his tracks. However, I've found if they get too close- say under 100 yards- the 40BT"s blow right through and make quite a mess. But then, I'm pushing them pretty fast in both rifles. 4180 in the 22-250 and 3900 in the 223AI. Slowing them down a bit would be helpful, I'm pretty sure....

Bob

For me, I've been using the 40 gr nosler varmageddon. They ar sizzling out at 3900+ fps, (Rem VSSF) enter the dog and explode.

Other than the entry hole the fur is pristine.

Respects,
Richard

The 39 grain Blitzking made me quit the 204 for a spell, lost way too many coyotes. Finally tried the 40 grain Vmax and found it to be about perfect. 35 grain Bergers for bobcats and 40 Vmax's or Noslers for killing coyotes.

REALLY good to know! Thanks! I'll go to the 40 Vmax got lots of them! Only thing Ive shot with 39 Gr Sierras was PDs and it killed them...

I’ve heard great things about the hornady 55gr SPSX

Yes.

speer 50 grain TNT.....great for prairie dogs as well.

I use mostly 50 grain Vmax but I still get quite a few exits. The Vmax lets me extend my range to 300+ yards. That's about as far as I want to shoot a coyote with an 18" barrelled .222.

I think this question gets a wide range of answers because so many variables.. Called in coyotes in Texas compared to guys jumping them with trucks in North Dakota are pretty different performance needs. Size of coyote, average shot distance, speed on impact and shot placement leads to vastly different results. This question is what got me reloading to begin with. People with far more dead coyotes than me steered me towards 60gr vmax , Sierra 55 gr soft point and Speer 1035 52 gr hollow point. None of these bullets have not worked for me on called Midwest/Western coyotes with good killing and generally easy on fur. I also really like that Sierra in.22/250 for when I need more reach. I had from great to horrible results with other weights of vmax , sx and Btips so for my purposes I no longer use really fragile varmit bullets on coyotes. You will find most bullets from 223 will kill coyotes most of the time but everyone’s situations and end results can vary.

My 1-14" twist barrels will not even stabilize the 55 grain Vmax nor the 52 grain Amax. I can't imagine how bad the 60 grain load would be.

I have seen some wonky things with 1 in 14s...

Ive got two that LOVE 52-55 grainers

I have another that HATES them!

And I have no answers!

Mine loves 55 grain SOFTPOINTS. It won't shoot Ballistic tips, Vmaxs etc for crap.

I know it's not in the weight range that you were asking about, but after trying a lot of different bullets in the .223 I've found the Nosler Varmageddon 62 gr. hp to be a great coyote bullet. I'm talking called coyotes from 40 - 200 yds. I've had a number of spinners and runners over the years with different bullet types but so far the Nosler has been a really solid performer. It's also been great on fur, no big holes thus far.

Has anyone tried the 65gr sierra gamekings?