Fur saver Bullets for 5.56

Elkeater

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So I've gotten into using my AR for yote hunting since it's nice and light and accurate. I've got a 16" 1-8 twist Wilson Combat barrel on it and I've been running Barnes vortex ammo with 70gr tsx bullets. They are pretty accurate like .75 MOA but they are far from a fur saver bullet. Also they are slow. I've been zeroing for 100 yards and killing dogs between 50 and 300 yards. Yesterday morning I shot one at about 175 and i but the crosshairs on its back and shot it through the heart.

I'm thinking something speedier for ranges out to 300 maybe 400 yards. And hopefully something that doesn't leave the big exit hole of the Barnes. I'm open to factory or handload options. Maybe 40gr bullets or is that to light?
 
So I've gotten into using my AR for yote hunting since it's nice and light and accurate. I've got a 16" 1-8 twist Wilson Combat barrel on it and I've been running Barnes vortex ammo with 70gr tsx bullets. They are pretty accurate like .75 MOA but they are far from a fur saver bullet. Also they are slow. I've been zeroing for 100 yards and killing dogs between 50 and 300 yards. Yesterday morning I shot one at about 175 and i but the crosshairs on its back and shot it through the heart.

I'm thinking something speedier for ranges out to 300 maybe 400 yards. And hopefully something that doesn't leave the big exit hole of the Barnes. I'm open to factory or handload options. Maybe 40gr bullets or is that to light?

The 40 and 50gr vmax has always worked really well for me. Rarely see an exit hole, they enter and blow up inside the coyote. Thats what they were made to do...
 
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I don't reload for my AR. I use Black Hills Ammo factory reman 52 gr. hp. Does have an exit hole but not huge. They are fairly cheap $25-$30 for a box of 50. Since I don't reload them I don't have to worry about looking for cases in the snow. They work well on coyotes.
 
I should add to that if I hit them in the shoulder they do some spinning but always die. If I hit them behind the shoulder or chest they go right down and rarely have blood. I'm thinking about trying the 52gr Berger varmint to see if it will put down the shoulder shot dogs a little quicker
 
One other bullet to try is the NATO green Tip M855 or the black Tip (Armor piercing). These are about the only thing that work on hogs because they will penetrate the armor of a big pig.

I would think they would completely pass through a coyote or a fox without expanding allowing heart shots without damage to the fur.

J E CUSTOM
 
I went on the same search recently and settled on the Speer 55 grain TNT bullets after reading a bunch of positive reviews about accuracy and terminal performance. I too will be using then in a 16" 1:8 twist barrel, going to be reloading them on top of Tac, 8208, or Benchmark

My brother shoots the Sierra 55 BlitzKing out of his Tikka 22-250 with no exits. Bone hits will sometimes blow up the near side but never any problem putting them down
 
If you want to do some testing, the Fiocchi 40gr VMax and 50gr VMax are great performers in nearly everyone's AR. (not very costly either, available in boxes of 50, usually for under $20. Check current availability on AmmoSeek.com)
 
Has anyone tried Nosler Varmagedin 55g? Just wondering what they would do to fur. I bought a few boxes on sale and they're real accurate. I'm shooting out to 400 yds but haven't shot a coyote with them yet.
 
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