Sierra 52g HPBT match as coyote killer?

T

TnTnTn

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Is anyone using/used this bullet out of a .223 on coyotes? If so how did it perform? fragmentation, penetration, stayed inside, pass through, richochet, etc? Pelt damage is not an issue for me at this time.

I know they are listed as a target bullet but they are very, very accurate in all my .223s. I expect they would kill coyotes very well also. But just wondering if any of yall actually have experience with them on coyotes. Thanks. TnTnTn
 
Yes, use them. Over the years I've used lots of different 52, 53 and 55 grain hollow points out of several different .223's and 22-250's. Sierra, Speer, Hornady, Berger, all have performed about the same. The older Speers may be an exception to that. They always had a very large hollow point opening and seemed to be a bit more explosive but that may have been because I was shooting them out of a 22-250. It's been close to 25 years ago and I only shot a few coyotes with that particular bullet and they didn't seem to be to fur friendly. Now I use the Berger's in both 52 and 55 grain. The former out of the .223 and the latter out of my 22-250. Also use the Berger 35 and 40 grainers out of my .204's. Berger makes a good bullet, but so does Sierra. If they shoot good, use them. I'm sure they'll do just fine. Sierra puts that disclaimer on all their target bullets because they havn't been designed as a "controlled expansion" bullet. But for coyotes, they work great.
 
There is a world of diffence between a Sierra 52 and a Berger 52.

The Sierra 52 has not performed well for me on ground squirrels and p. dogs while the Berger (j-4 Jacket) does. All custom bullet makers use the J-4 jacket which is much thinner than the Sierra, especially towards the tip.
 
There is a lot of reading on this subject, do a search and you will find it.
They seems to be a conflicting opinion on these bullets for hunting. Some like them some do not. I would say give them a try and come to your own conclusion. Personally I think there are better choices. Lee
 
If ricochets are a risk where you are hunting, I wouldn't use them. I've seen them bounce at 200 yards shot from a .220 Swift, so I think there would be even more likelihood of the same thing happening at .223 Rem. speeds.

Their performance on groundhogs was variable. Most of the time they expanded well, but occasionally one would pass through with little evidence of significant expansion.
 
Why use a bullet designed for target shooting for game. Use a bullet designed for game instead. Results will vary from very bad to OK, but it's on a shot to shot basis. Simply buy and use the correct bullet and don't worry about the variables match target bullets introduce.
 
I have used the Sierra 52 grain HP since the early 1980's on coyotes in 22-250's and 220 Swifts. They have always worked very well when driven to top velocities.

As opposed to some of the more popular poly-tipped bullets, I have never had one blow up on entrance if bone is hit, and they generally don't exit. I do feel that at lower velocities like a 223 or smaller case they may not be the best choice.

As for bullet jackets, I hand swage my own 20 caliber bullets and much prefer Sierra jackets versus J-4 jackets for consistency when drawn down from .224" to .204", and for over-all accuracy. In my opinion, J-4 is still living off the reputation of the old Spiveco built J-4 jackets. Today's version are not the same quality IMO.

JMO - BCB
 
Quote:
I have used the Sierra 52 grain HP since the early 1980's on coyotes in 22-250's and 220 Swifts. They have always worked very well when driven to top velocities.

As opposed to some of the more popular poly-tipped bullets, I have never had one blow up on entrance if bone is hit, and they generally don't exit. I do feel that at lower velocities like a 223 or smaller case they may not be the best choice.





Exactly what I would say. I used Sierra 52 grain BTHP's in my 22-250 and killed a huge number of predators with them. at 3750 fps at the muzzle I never saw a coyote do the spin dance and even a bad hit was a solid kill. I tried them in my 222 and watched squarely hit animals at close range run off.

Last season I tried the 52 grain Berger Match Varmints and while they seemed to do an adequate job I did have to chase one coyote over 1 1/2 miles only to watch him die behind a heavily posted fence on a remote ranch. Exit holes were small even when bone was hit.

If you're looking for an efficient killing bullet for a 223 try the Sierra Blitz (not Blitzking) in either 50 or 55 grain. Hornady SPSX will also do a fine job.
 
Ive killed a ton of coyotes with this bullet in my old .223, as well as many deer and a couple antelope and javelina,just a great bullet in the .223.
 
As I mentioned above, I've never tried them in a 223.

I did shoot 200 of them at PD's a few years ago in a 222 Rem Mag rifle that I own. I didn't notice any difference in red mist or accrobatics using them versus other .224" bullets.

Any bullet jacket in the .224" range is typically going to rupture on impact if you apply enough velocity.

JMO - BCB
 
I've used them on coyotes in .223 and 220 Swift. I think they are as good as a bullet gets. Absolutely satisfied with performance. small entrance mostly no exit with the 223 and small or no exit with 220. Kills graveyard dead.
 
The Beastmaster,aka Gerry Blair preachs them in his book as a great coyote pill. But I agree that in anything less then a 22-250 they might not expand as well and give you so holes. I use V max's in a 50-55 g. range in my AR and they have never givin me bad results.
 
I use the 52 gr. sierra on coyotes in my 22-250 and other target bullets in other cal's. also.. I think they work well on fox and coyotes. For smaller critters i would use something more exsposive like the plastic tips...
 
Thanks for your replies-especially those who have actually used them on coyotes out of a .223. I will load a few and try them if an opportunity arises. TnTnTn
 
Quote:
Why use a bullet designed for target shooting for game. Use a bullet designed for game instead. Results will vary from very bad to OK, but it's on a shot to shot basis. Simply buy and use the correct bullet and don't worry about the variables match target bullets introduce.



My thoughts exactly I learned the hard way. I found some for $11 a box so I bought 300 rounds. They performed terribly on yotes. I had never lost a yote before that and now I have 3 lost yotes on my resume. They are poor poor bullets for yotes in my experience. Vmaxes or Nosler BT's would be a much better coice IMO.
 
When a certain type of bullet has typically killed coyotes with ease like the Sierra 52 grain HP has for me, and then one runs off after being hit, I'm not going to blame the bullet.

The fact that the coyote ran off was probably my fault for not placing the bullet where I wanted it to go, IMO.

-BCB
 
One thing I think should be brought out is that we are all posting what we have seen or believe. One person can't kill enough coyotes in a season to thuraly test a certain bullet, and one person won't live long enough to test all of them.
 
The 52 grain SMKs work fine for me: /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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