270 bullet choice for coyotes

[rjfunk]

Looking to develop some coyote loads for my 270. Saving pelts is a consideration, but it might be difficult with this caliber. Please give bullet choices.

Do you go fast and light and try to have no exit, or just punch through with a tougher round? The area I hunt is populated, so I can't have any FMJ ricocheting off.

Shot one last year with 130 gr soft point in the guts (200 yds walking in some taller grass so had to take what I could get) and it was a real mess! No fur for that one!

 

[dprice3844444]

military 223 head shots

 

[hardluk1]

Unless you can control your shoots most any 270 will make a mess of your ote.

under 175 yards 17hmr, and up from there. 17 rem, 22 hornet and bigger,

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

Have to agree. The .270 with just about anything, even a 100gr hollow point will still just be too much for pelt hunting. Maybe one of those solid jobs but those would be a bit on the expensive side for yotes Id imagine. I yote hunted with 220swift for a lot of years and that was a pelt saving cartridge. Always used 55gr on them and very rarely did I pass through. Bullets usually blew up in the animal. Dead right there. If you have access to a lighter cartridge such as a .223 with some 55gr Hornady V-Max or even a .243 with some of those new Barnes 62gr Varmint Grenades. I tried some of those in 50gr out of my 220swift and they were accurate enough, just not quite as accurate as my hornady loadings. Not saying that your rifle wouldn't like them. My Hart barrel on that .220swift is about the pickiest damn barrel I own. If your rifle will shoot them Id give them a swing. They have gathered a very respectable following in the varmint hunting circles.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

I agree with the above. A 130 gr load from a 270 will exit an elk, so I don't think you're going to build a load that won't exit a coyote. I use a 25-06 with a 100 gr Ballistic Tip at 3300 fps and it will pretty much turn a coyote inside out, even at 500 yards.

Unless there are some "plinker" type bullets you can load way down, I think your best bet is a smaller caliber. I would echo Harkluk1's choices, except maybe I would add 22WMR on close shots.

 

[spclpatrolgroup]

There really isn't a way to load the .270 to be pelt friendly. Moving down in caliber is the only way you are going to keep teh fur buyer happy. I have a hard time keeping my 22-250 loads pelt friendly, I have found that mild loads with the Berger varmit bullets seem to be my best bet.

 

[rcmodel]

You might try loading something like the Hodgdon Youth Loads.
http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/H4895 Reduced Rifle Loads.pdf

Reduced powder charge of H-4895 with a 110 Sierra soft point at 2500 - 2600 FPS.
About like a fast 30-30 load.

It will probably still blow a hole.
But there should be enough left of the coyote to find something besides a red mist on the grass!

rc

 

[blanket]

I would go the other way and load a heavy bonded core bullet made for deep penetration or go the cast bullet route

 

[rcmodel]

He said in the fiorst post:

The area I hunt is populated, so I can't have any FMJ ricocheting off.

A heavy bonded core or cast bullet would present just as dangerous richocets as FMJ.

A lighter varmint bullet, slowed down so as not to explode violently would be more likely to break up on ground contact.

rc

 

[rjfunk]

Thanks everyone.

RC, I wanted to load up some reduced loads for my daughter anyways for close range deer, so that looks like it's the way to go.

 

[Picher]

If you want some reduced loads for your daughter, try the Sierra 90 grain HP with a mild dose of IMR 4895. The bullet is deadly accurate and shoots to the same POI at 100 yards (in many rifles) as a 130 grain hunting load.

I don't know how they'd perform on a coyote, but shouldn't be as destructive at lower velocities. They should be less ricochet prone than heavier solids.

 

[2ndtimer]

If you want some reduced loads for your daughter, try the Sierra 90 grain HP with a mild dose of IMR 4895. The bullet is deadly accurate and shoots to the same POI at 100 yards (in many rifles) as a 130 grain hunting load.

I don't know how they'd perform on a coyote, but shouldn't be as destructive at lower velocities. They should be less ricochet prone than heavier solids.

while the Sierra 90 gr HP is very accurate, I think the Speer 90 gr TNT is even more frangible and equally accurate in my .270WSM. I haven't shot either at a coyote yet, but if I were to take my .270WSM out for coyotes, I would probably load some of those.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

.270 way, way overkill for coyotes, you are reading too many huntng mags.

 

[41 Mag]

I haven't doen a bunch of looking, but you might look at some of the newer offereings which are tailored towards the 6.8. If memory serves Hornady was touting some of their SST's in around a 100 or 110gr weight. These might just be the ticket for the lighter loads. I know that my grandson used a 125gr Nosler BT loaded with 40gr of H-4895 from my .308 to drop this one at just over 150yds, and it didn't exit, if you look close right below the left ear you can see the entrance,


I know this was a .308 and your looking for a .270 load, but I just thought this might help out with what we had used. The loads are only running about 2550 or so at most from that short 16.5" barrel, just to give an idea of what you might expect.

 

[rjfunk]

Thanks 41Mag. Congrats to your grandson. It's great to see the smile on a young hunter's face.

I know Hornady has the 110 vmax and a 6.8 120 SST. I think the vmax would be better. But I'm going to first try the 90 grain TNT at a moderate load and see what happens.

 

[25cschaefer]

I have used the 110 VMax and they did fine, I've shot 5 feral dogs with them (4 collie/shepard mixes and 1 lab mix) and only had one exit but it did so through 4 holes.

 

[gamestalker]

I use a Sierra 90 gr. HP for .270 coyote loads. I have used this bullet for 30 some years with really good results. However, if your going to consider saving pelts go with a standard PSP. The HP Sierra will absolutely and totally blow the dog to no more than a a blood stain.

 

[sixgunner455]

.270 way, way overkill for coyotes, you are reading too many huntng mags.

.270 works just fine for coyote hunting, but pelts are a different issue. I think he's just using the rifle he has, and trying to find a load that will make it work better for the task.

OP, I would consider getting a .22 WMR rifle, if ranges are close enough. You'll have a dramatic noise reduction, and be able to save any nice pelts.

 

[rjfunk]

sixgunner, you're right, just using what I have. I do have a 22lr, but don't want a 22mag. My father-in-law has a 223 (he doesn't really hunt) that I can probably keep at my house for coyotes.

I'll try some with my low recoil deer rounds and see how much they mangle them. Maybe only head shots. Last year coyote furs were worth a fair bit, but we have too many around now, so the price may drop to nothing. Just thought I could help feed my reloading habit with a little income from fur.