.223 Coyote Ammo Suggestion

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Once again, I am new to the board and coyote hunting. I pick up my new heavy barrel AR tommorow and I have no clue what to try for ammunition.

The rifle is 1:8 twist, 20". I plan on hunting coyote in Iowa mostly. Most shots will be 300 yards or less. Most of the areas that I will be hunting will be open farm land or CRP fields.

I am looking for factory ammo for now. Suggestions on brand, bullet type, and bullet weight.

Thanks in advance.
 
grousesetter,

Welcome to the board. With that twist, I recommend something in the 50 - 55 grain loads. BUT, be sure to test a variety of loads. I'm not sure how well the 40 - 45 grain bullets will group for you, but you never know until you try. I'm quite positive your rifle will do well with the heavy stuff, I just probably wouldn't use it for coyotes at the distances you mentioned. Good luck.

Blake
 
I love the Hornady VMax in 58 grain with Molly Coat. Has been very accurate (consistant 1/4 inch group on the range at 100 yards) and few exit holes on the songdogs. Highly recommend! Good Luck!
 
my AR (Rock River) also has a 1-8 twist and shoots 60-gr v max's very well. These are handloads, if you could find a factory offering with a 60 I'd try em. Mine also shoots the 55's well but it thrives on the 60's and I'd try something heavier if I could find a dedicted varmint bullet that weighed more but have not seen them. The 1-8 should handle the heaviest varmint bullets you can find.

What kind of AR did you buy?
 
Before you buy a whole bunch of ammo, find about 4 or 5 boxes of different brands to try. I take it you are not reloading so 55 grain bullets are the easiest to find. I did find some 62's and tried them. So far my AR (has a different twist than yours- 1-9) shoots the best groups with american eagle (by federal) in the 55gr FMJBT. My AR just won't shoot a group with flat base bullets. When you find the shells your gun shoots best do a search for 223 ammunition. You will find lots of places to buy bulk 223 ammo at a decent price shipped right to your door.
 
I was real happy with the 55 gr Nosler Ballistic tip. Almost every yote hit in the head, neck or lung was dropped in their tracks and not a twitch out of them. I had one take it on the shoulder at 70 yards, he made it 30 yards, it may have hit the shoulder blade? I hit one low in the chest, half inch from not hitting skin and it killed her, she ran 30-40 yards. T.20
 
To answer the question of which AR I bought; a Rock River 20" Varmint with EOP. In fact I just picked it up 2 hours ago. My scope should arrive next week; a Sprinfield Armory 4-16x42mm, with the 223 rangefinding reticle. I can't wait to play.

I head to Wyoming the first week in June to shot some prairie dogs. I bought the rifle however, to be my coyote gun.

Are ballistic tips good for coyote or are standard hollow points better? What puts them down best? What saves the pelpt best? Is there a best of both worlds bullet?

Once again, thanks for everyones help.
 
Im no ballistic tip fan,They are accurate,great for prairie dogs but coyote and fox not for me.We did big #s this season and started out with ballistic tip reloads some would splash on the coyotes that were around the 100YD line .Even on some at 50 they were hell. Fox were just a waste to use em on at any practical range. Over 200 they were great peformers and fur friendy. Also when they splash it makes a crater and usually dosnt kill.I guess that there are Two types from hornady and we did not use the A-MAX This info comes from 60+ coyotes killed using these bullets so when you start squeeling at me for telling him this know up front I like the accuracy and the design.
 
Sorry, I will have to respectfully disagree with Willy on the ballitic tips. Our group has killed just way too many coyotes with them and have never experienced any (bad) results...ever!

The ballistic tips I am talking about are the 50gr "Nosler", not Hornady, and there is a HUGE difference. Nosler has a heavy solid base, where the Hornadys do not. At least their V-max anyway.

We have killed yotes anywhere from 10yds(in our lap) to over 200 yards, with 100% exceptional performance. Not marginal, fair, good or inconsistent, but "exceptional" performance, 100% of the time.

We have killed them with that bullet in both 223 & 22-250's and dropped every yote in their tracks. Some bullets exited, some did not. The exit wounds were nasty, I'll give you that. But they all went down as if hit by a safe dropped on their head.

Also, since you asked about the hollow points, I believe they work well, however probably not as consistently over a wide range of distances as spitzer bullets.
 
Disagree!Thats what were here for. Wish I had your luck with that bullet sure like the accuracy Dont use many Nosler bullets as they are expensive I shoot 2500-3000 rounds here in the season sometimes more .
 
Hi my coyote hunting buddy shot a coyote at 365 yrds with a Savage model 11 with a 50gr BT with 37.5 grs of varget pushing it and it drop it in it tack and it made a hole But you could see the bigger hole until you got the fur down pass the bullet hole that is the only bullet i wil shoot out of my 22 250 is a 55gr BT for coyote hunting and if i have a deer doe tag i will use it i killed a 7 point buck with the 55gr BT 208yrds it knok a good size hole VM
 
Be sure to try Winchester 45 grain jhp`s. They are cheap, well constructed, and accurate in my NEF which reccomends 55 grains max.
 
Am surprised nobody recommended the 52-gr Black Hills HP (blue box) I have essentially the same AR in a Bushmaster and it likes those the best by far. They can be had for about $13.50 per 50, if you look around, which isn't bad.
 
Keep in mind with the Springfield optics you bought, that the BDC is designed for a specific weight bullet, also shold see what barrel length it was fired out of. Generally, the bullet weight they're designed for is a 69gr HPBT Match bullets, but I may be wrong.
 
I will agree that Black Hills ammo is good, but-- at $270.00 per 1000 rounds it's way over priced. My gun won't group the 55 soft points. I used to shoot Black Hills all the time but now there are to many others that make quality ammo for me to even consider buying it. Some of the really cheap ammo doesn't shoot very good but mess around and you can save yourself a bunch of cash and get good groups.
 
Grousesetter,
I use this in my AR...
Berger 60 grain with 24.5 of H335, shoots one hole groups all day. But believe it or not, Mine will shoot the 40 grainers for some reason, I shoot 40gr. V-Max with 27.0 grains of H335 and F205M primers. Shoots under 1/2'' always. Just try different things and find what your gun loves, oh yes, the larger bullets are Coyote freindly.
Have fun.
 
With a 1:8 twist, your AR wil probably like the heavier bullets (50grn+). 20" 1:8 barrel plus 60-62-64grn bullet won't have any problems performing out to 300 yards.
 
I hunted a varmint hunt this year with my AR , 8 twist , Black Hills 50Vmax . I will never use them again for coyote hunting . Just about ever coyote I shot got up and ran off with a big surface wound . It took 2 to 3 shots more just to kill them . It worked fine on bobcats but not so good on Coyotes . I am not nocking the Vmax bullets , but they all have there place in varmint hunting . I think that the heavier V maxs might work but have not tried them . I also think that the 8 twist might be making the 50Vmaxs explode on impact . Thanks! Mark.
 
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