savage .223 9"twist and coyote pelt damage

M

mohunter55

New member
Hello,

I am looking to get into coyote hunting and I would like to know some opinions on savages. I am interested in either one of the american classic, weather warrior, or sporter savage .223's. I was wandering if anyone knows how much pelt damage one of these rifles will cause with a 1-9" twist on a coyote. I have heard some say use a full metal jacket and others say use the 40 gr. v-max bullets. I am not sure if the savage would accurately shoot that light of grain, the savage sight says 69gr is optimum for the 1-9 twist. Also, I will probably be taking most shots in wooded areas, and less than 100 yards, but will also have the opportunity to hunt in fields with 200 or more yard shots. Thanks for your opinions in advance
 
you can't go wrong with a savage, but as far as pelt damage goes it will depend on if you are going to shoot hollow points, v-max, soft points. Also on the velocity, and where you hit the animal. I use 55 v-max, in both of my 22-250's and my .223, I have a savage in 22-250 and that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. It is a real tack driver. with minimal pelt damage, I was using hollow point but they blew to many dogs up. Also welcome to the board!
 
My Savage 10pf {1 - 9} shoots anything over 50 gr into tiny groups .I would try 60gr.Vmax over 25gr. Varget .Cannot comment on pelt damage.

The search button is my friend lots of info available.
 
Don't use the FMJ's on coyotes.....Jackrabbits, maybe. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
I have a Savage .223 & use ballistic tip 55gr.I get an exit with just about all shots, but not a big one...(quarter size)
The Savage is an accurate rifle for the money. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
A 1:9" twist is very versatile and should shoot 40's just fine. If your rifle doesn't shoot 40's well with a 1:9 it is not the twist.

As far as twist having anything significant to do with pelt damage, probably not...
 
I'm shooting a couple of Savage 223 barrels and they work just fine with 40&50gr NBT's. My goto rig now is a 22 wildcat on a rechamberred 223 Rem Savage 1-9 barrel pushing 40gr NBT's at 3900fps, pure poison on coyotes no exits. 50gr NBT's work just as well for me out of the standard 223 Rem. I'm not a big V-Max fan they seem to come apart too easy.

AWS
 
My 1:9 Savage shoots just about every thing well. The last two coyotes I shot with 50gr V-Max (120 and 50yards) did not have an exit. Here are some groups with light weight bullets.

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I have not shot anything heavier than 50gr as of yet, but would think it will shoot them well. You can't go wrong with the Savage
 
Check your state regs on the fmj's. Many states won't allow their use and rightly so. You'll get lots of runoffs with them.

Most of the guys I know that harvest are using the 17 Remington or 204 Ruger. Savage is making some very accurate rifles, but if your going to shoot standard weight varmint bullets in a 223 I'd opt for a slower twist.

My 2 cents.
 
Worse than a little pelt damage is when the whole pelt bounds away with a little blood trail, never to be seen again. Not to be a smart alleck but I have gravitated towards heavier bullets in the 223(55, maybe 50grn) & a 243 isn't over-kill with a sturdy pass thru bullet.
 
i am also a huge fan of savage rifles, have never seen one that wouldn't shoot. . . my buddy has a savage m11 in .223, shoots great. . . can't comment on coyote pelt damage as of yet, but 90% of the woodchucks he has shot with it (shooting 50 gr sierra b/k's) has not had an exit wound.
 
I have only shot one coyote with my 223 1 in 9 twist using a 60g vmax loaded around 2980fps. I shot it in the chest, the coyote was DRT and I couldnt find the entrance or exit holes untill I skinned it. Great combo!
 
so, for an average 50 yard shot, are you ok with at 1-9 twist using a 55 grain bullet, or will this cause a big exit hole. For that situation, would you say its better for me to use a 1-12 twist with say a 40 gr. v-max.

Dultimatpredator, how far of a shot was yours?
 
i don't think that the twist rate of your barrel will affect the pelt damage as much as the type of bullet, the weight of the bullet, and the velocity of the bullet, as well as shot placement. there are many variables when it comes to how 'fur friendly' a particular bullet is. . .
 
Quote:
so, for an average 50 yard shot, are you ok with at 1-9 twist using a 55 grain bullet, or will this cause a big exit hole. For that situation, would you say its better for me to use a 1-12 twist with say a 40 gr. v-max.

Dultimatpredator, how far of a shot was yours?



It's kind of hard to figure out what your really asking for. The twist rate just determines what range of bullet weights will stabilize in a specific barrel. It has nothing to do with how a bullet behaves in an animal.

Fast twist 223 barrels were designed to stabilize heavy bullets in the 65 grain plus weight range to give better killing power to human sized targets. In the case of your question the 40 grain v-max at high velocity would probably not exit where the 55 grain might, but sometimes funny things happen.

Folks that shoot varmints have been shooting 223's with slower twists in the 12 to 14 twist range with normal weight varmint bullets in the 45 thru 55 weight range with great success and accuracy for years.

Bullet construction and velocity usually determines fur damage. That's why many folks like the 17 Remington and 204 Ruger. Those small bullets usually completely destruct before exiting a coyote which lessens fur damage.
 
You have two choices to minimize fur damage. Use something that will expand violently and not exit or use something that will not expand much and make a small exit. You will have many failures with either. The expand violently bullet/twist will have splash wounds and serious fur damage on fringe shots. The small exit combinations will still cause large exit wounds when you hit large bone.

The faster twist will increase the expansion and decrease the penetration of whatever bullet you are shooting.

Jack
 
so from what jack roberts is saying, if i were to be able to have a 40gr. v-max shoot accurately in a 1-9 twist, i would actually be better with the 1-9 over the 1-12.
 
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