fur friendly 204 load

[GlennGTR]

I need to find a fur friendly load for some of the critters i shoot.Somthing that doesnt blow em to smithereeens. Should i maybe just drop down to my 221fireball

[Glen]

Fur hunters swear by the 35gr Bergers on coyotes. HTH

[Silverfox]

I have used the 35 gr. FBHP Bergers in my Savage 12VLP since the fall of 2004 with great success. I do load mine VERY HOT with a muzzle velocity of 4,225 fps, but a couple of other fellows who use the same bullet are using about 28.0 gr. of H4895 and getting right around 3,900 fps and are having great success on coyotes with that load.

You will get some hide damage if you hit them on the edges, but that's true with just about any bullet. My load, much higher ft/lbs of energy than the 3,900 fps loads knocks them down pretty good, without much fur damage.

I tried the 39 gr. Sierra BiltzKing bullets on a couple of coyotes last spring and had great results with them. One was shot broadside at 100 yards--tiny entrance hole and tiny exit hole. The other was shot broadside at 40 yards--tiny entrance hole and tiny exit hole. I'm going to go with that bullet to start the fur season. If it works, GREAT!!! If not, I have a couple of boxes of 35 gr. FBHP Bergers still loaded and ready to go from las fur season.

I think there may be a couple fellows on here who have had great success with the 45 gr. SP bullet from Hornady. Heck, there are several fellows who use the 32 gr. Hornady V-Max and some use the 40 gr. Berger.

[Ryan S Albright]

Silver fox said it right just don't hit them around the edges and it works out pretty good.