Have been doing some coyote hunting this summer with the 204. I have two loads that are shooting very well, one using Berger 35 gr. and the other using the 39 gr. Sierras. Both are working great. I do prefer the Bergers though as they really hit hard and usually pass thru the coyote even when you hit BOTH front shoulder blades destroying both. But even passing thru they dont mess up the hide. Only problem, I did gut shoot one and did not find him till the next day But this can and does happen some times with most any rifle. The Sierras really hit hard as well. But being a varmit load they expand very rapidly but whack a hole in the hide the size of a golf ball. I hit one in the shoulder blade and it not only broke the shoulder it left a hole in the yotes chest the size of a tennis ball. I was impress'd. I also have bagged a couple using factory Remmington 40 gr. Accu-tip ammo. Though varmit tipped bullets both passed clean thru and both taking out a rib or two on exit. Very happy with these as well.
So what bullets do you guys like and why??
fastfossil wrote:
So what bullets do you guys like and why??
The 35 grain Berger MHP. Why? Same reason as you. Just avoid the gut area. Be careful with that SBK, I switched after having shoulder splashes on two different coyotes. I don't save any hides but, I do want them DRT. Easier on my conscience.
Do use both of those, even tho the Sierra 39 opens them up more than the 35 Berger, I use it more often. I do not save the hides, so do not mind a large hole and DOA coyote.. Bill K
I agree about the 175 SMK, but really raises the pressures in the 204!!
The only bullets I've never had a splash with, is the 34gr Varmint Nightmare from Midsouth. No where to sell the Hide's around here anymore, so don't do a ton of inspection. Not sure if they are pass throughs, but never found any holes that would have me reconsider them. I did just buy a box of TNT's, we'll see if they are nasty as their brothers in larger cartridges.
I'm a firm believer in the theory that if it bleeds, I can kill it.
Guess I'll brag on the Sierra 39's a little. Went out hunting yotes yesterday, Fri. the 13th. (Bad day for them) I'm still excited about my hunt. I had always hoped to get a dubble some day, but this day I GOT 4 !!!!!! Ihave been wanting to find an area not far from my house as I know there are lots of yotes close by, but just couldnt find a spot where I wouldnt be bothering any body. Found a strip of BLM land just big enough to get out and away but still very close to rural housing. These coyotes here have been coming into the housing areas and eating the cat food and then they eat the cat for desert. About the time I got to a good elevated set up the yotes started ki yi ing all over the place I was surounded, knew right then this was gonna get exciting fast. No sooner had I called a call or two on the baby cotton tail call and one show'd up about 25 yds. away. He (she) quickly disappear'd behind some juniper trees and I thought I'd never see her again. I knew she wasnt scared so I hit the call again. There she came back out and I got one in her, she took off yapping all the way. This turned out to be good as several others started popping out all over to see what was going on. Shot the second one at 243 yds. Then a big male came in close a started to bark at me from about 50 yds. away. Shot him facing me and barking, There was a little female with him that started to run off but then came back to him, started to run off again and again came back but this time I got her to stop with a moth squeek and that was her last move. So now the bragging on the Sie. 39 BK's each one of these yotes had a whole in them no smaller than a golf ball three out of four fell in their tracks and the one I hit first only ran about 80 yds. How she got that far I'll never know as she also had a big hole in her chest. Still amazes me as to their tenacity to live and just how far they can go till there just aint no more!!! The 204 and my bullets worked as advirtised, so if some one tells you the 39 BK's are not any good I say try them for yourself first. Can't wait to get out again, with these guys you never know what gonna happen next!
Fastfossil, I did try the SBK's first and was a believer, for a while. The third year using them, I started to get bigger entrance wounds and often, huge exit wounds. After getting two bona-fide splashes on shoulders, I said 'no-more'. I have no proof but, I suspect they thinned up the jackets. My next bullet for predators in the 204R was the Berger 35 grain MHP. Going into my 6th Winter with them, I could not be happier with their performance. Dime sized entries, often no exit at all and innards that literally slosh around. Exactly what I want.
Ramos: I agree with you the beregers are very predictable and do a very very good job."My first choice". I made up a couple of pet loads one with 39 SBK's and one with the Bergers. My sbk's are shooting a little faster (3441)with 26.1 gr's IMR 4064. The Bergers are @ (3284) with 26.3 gr's IMR 4064. Both loads I am very happy with all year round. So far the SBK's have been working as advertised but sounds like you have seen that they may change. I also really like the Remmington 40 gr. accu tip, seem to work just like the Bergers, but again with that plastic tip who knows if they may change also. One things for sure I wont hesitate to take any one of them coyote hunting. I really enjoy hunting with my T/C Dimension 204, easy to shoot, hard hitting and just a ton of fun. May think about a supresser for it, think that would be nice. OH I just rememberd another bullet I think would be the cats meyow would be the HDY 45 gr. Shot some of them at some silhouette targetrs 9/16" steel and they went plum through!!!! Only problem I havent found any bullets out there. When I do I'll make a load for them to try.
Fastfossil, in the interest of full disclosure, all of the 'issues' I had with the SBK's were with bullets from the same box of 100. May have been an issue with a particular batch. I sent them an email but did not hear back. Being the impatient guy that I am, I decided to punish Sierra by trying something else, LOL! One thing about this particular Berger bullet, they are not always sitting on the shelf so best to keep plenty in your own locker.
I tried the 40 Grain Hornady bullets and they performed pretty good,the 32 Grain Winchester Bullets did better but the Federal 39 grain Sierra Blitz Kings did the best in Accuracy thru my CZ model 527 "Varmint" .204 Rifle.
So far all the Coyotes I've shot had a very small entrance hole and "No" exit holes!This is with good shot placement just behind the front leg in the chest area,I even shot 1 Big Male Coyote twice when He came in to my Barking and ran up to my H.S. Feather Distractor on the foldable stick.I shot Him 1 time when he first ran up to it to check it out,He turned to run off limping somewhat then I shot him on the other side for good measure and dropped him right there about 20 yards from the first impact area....no gapping holes in him,only tiny entrance holes.I've also learned if You get a shot on a Coyote and think He's finished and didn't take a second shot when You have the opportunity never pass up it up because these are 1 tough Animals!
Shot placement has a lot to do with how a Predator is going to react and the size of the Animal Your shooting.I shot a Coyote a few years back and hit low on Him due to being in a grassy field and the 32 grain Winchester ballistic-tip bullet literally gutted that Coyote on the spot...another Female Coyote ran out seconds later and after shooting it higher up You could only find a small entrance hole in Her!
i load the 40 grain berger for my cz 527 rifle. work amazing on coyotes. havent had a single splash yet or even a exit for that matter. just a tiny hole going in. got this guy right in the heart on the 22nd at 380 yards
and got this one yesterday. hit him 2 out of 5 shots at a retarded gps confirmed 753 yards. furthest coyote to date with any caliber for me. first shot i took with what i thought was a good hold and it was standing broadside to me was over 5 feet low. good thing my scope was only zoomed up half way otherwise my first splash wouldnt have even been visable and i would have never hit it. missed with the second shot but was close but he was running now. 3rd shot got him up the butt. 4th shot i missed, too much lead or i jerked the trigger i was pretty excited that i had actually hit it. and 5th shot got him behind the shoulder. didnt take long to die after that. bullet didnt really even expand but had enough energy to reach the vitals. but thats what you get i guess when your lobing lead in at that range.
and here is one i got at 407 yards. my previously furthest shot on a coyote ever. with my 6.5 creedmoor with 140 grain amax. not a good pelt round thats for sure. bullet went inbetween the back legs broke the back left leg. and split the coyote wide open from the back legs to the front legs. leaving a gaping exit between the front legs. and somehow this coyote made it 30 yards before it died. further than the other two.
Okay, Darkker, let's hear a report on those TNTs! It's back up to a balmy 30-ish degrees in your neck of the woods, so no crying off on account of cold weather!
But this can and does happen some times with most any rifle. The Sierras really hit hard as well. But being a varmit load they expand very rapidly but whack a hole in the hide the size of a golf ball. I hit one in the shoulder blade and it not only broke the shoulder it left a hole in the yotes chest the size of a tennis ball. I was impress'd. I also have bagged a couple using factory Remmington 40 gr. Accu-tip ammo. Though varmit tipped bullets both passed clean thru and both taking out a rib or two on exit. Very happy with these as well.
