Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

[steeltex]

Hey guys, wondering if some of you could give me your opinions on some bullets. I'm looking to reload for the AR, but not for plinking, or for shooting matches, but mainly for self defence and for hunting smaller game. I'm down to 3 bullets. Sierra 65gr gameking soft point, Sierra 55 gr Gameking hpbt. And nosler 69 gr hpbt.

I'm leaning to the nosler, even though it's a match bullet, it has a thin jacket. Their 77 gr version has been shown to fragment in ballistic gel real nice. And I'm wondering if the 69 gr will do also.

The 55 gr sierra hpbt is from their gameking line and is supposedly a stronger bullet than one from their varmit line. I'm wondering has any one used them say on animals like coyotes or small deer and how would they do against humans.

And with the 65gr Soft point from sierra, I'm wondering what kind of expansion and penetration it gets. Thanks for the help.

 

[gcoulsey]

Re: Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

Are you planning on saving the human pelts?...

A coyote isn't going to like ANY of those bullets any more than I would.

the 55grn weight varmint/soft point hunting bullets are going to stand more of a chance of staying in the 'yote and doing plenty internal damage, whereas the heavier match bullets will be cleaner on the fur but bigger chance of over penetration.
As always, shot placement is the real 'bang-flop' killer.

 

[JDF_GSP]

Re: Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

I use the soft point 55gr gamekings for coyotes and I have been very pleased. I'm using them in an ar15 & get great accuracy and performance. I would assume that the 65 grain version and 55gr hollow point gameking will be awesome as well.

 

[George63]

Re: Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

hornady 55 gr SP is a bargain (as low as .08 each) that could be your everything projectile - since you do not mention any over 400 yd use

 

[MALLARD]

Re: Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

i'd get those varmint grenades if your looking to hunt small game.

 

[rweaver00geo]

Re: Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

for pure economy its hard to beat the plain ole soft point, ive taken many coyotes with a 55gr hornady or sierra and both leave a dime size exit in most cases. Ive used the 55gr vmax and nosler btips but have been getting dogs that go on the spin cycle or run after they are hit. Last winter I switched to the sierrra 55gr bthp and had mostly bang flops with no exit. Ive havent had the chance to shoot a coyote with a sierra 69gr, thats the only other bullet I use but I did shoot a groundhog and the bullet exited. One thing no one mentioned is accuracy, Im getting slightly larger groups with the sp's than the btips or bthps

 

[Temp9]

Re: Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

I've don't varmint hunt, but I've had very good luck with 55gr Nosler Varmageddon Ballistic Tip, as far as accuracy goes. Very consistent bullets. They're also very affordable.

 

[5R Milspec]

Re: Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

if its a 1:9 twist I'd try a 75g A-max.Reason why I say this is that they work just like a NBT.

 

[wrhunter]

Re: Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 5R milspec</div><div class="ubbcode-body">if its a 1:9 twist I'd try a 75g A-max.Reason why I say this is that they work just like a NBT. </div></div>

Great bullet but is not mag friendly in an AR.

 

[dmpowder]

Re: Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

Nosler BT, Hornady Vmax, Nosler Varmageddon in that order for small game. If your hunting smaller animals then coyotes I would stick with the last two. But if it's mostly coyotes hard to beat the Nosler BT's that's all I shoot is the 55grs.

If your wanting the heavys try the 75gr Hornady HPBT as they are shorter then the Amax so they work in mags a little better.

Problem I have with the 55 gr Sierra hpbt is the BC is so freakin low.

 

[mdavlee]

Re: Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

I loaded some 69 sierra matchkings for an ar and they are awesome bucking the wind out to 400 yards. The 55 grain hollow point sierras were hard to keep on target in a breeze at 400. I don't know how either will do for game but hope to see how the 69 grain will put down a coyote and maybe even a deer later this fall.

 

[Unknown]

Re: Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

I usually load up with 68 or 69 grain bullets...whoever is having a sale on bullets. I don't do bench rest, so for me, if the load shoots .65-.85 inch at 100 yards out of a scoped AR15 with tube forend, I'm satisfied. I have found that either the bullets out of the red box, or green box shoot well enough to do that.

Most of the accuracy problems are not the bullet's fault...it is poor powder choice, poor powder charge, bad loading technique or something other than the bullet. Either the 68 or 69 grain bullet is plenty accurate enough for me.

I stay away from any bullets with ferrous content in them as we are not allowed to use them on the steel targets. Even a mild steel jacked under the copper will damage the target plates.

 

[rubicon06on33s]

Re: Help me decide which bullet. fo .223

the new Hornady 53 grain vmax. It has a bc .290 that is almost as high as the 69 smk but you can push it faster. We use these in ar15 platform rifles for prairie dog and coyote hunting. This has been the most accurate bullet in my gun thus far.