quote:

R - How did that 85gr TSX work on that cow?
One guy on another board claims that the HP in
smaller calibers will not open up....that the
hole is too small, and one should use a TTSX
with anything under 30 caliber. Where was
your buddy's hit on the cow and how did the
bullet perform (other than DRT)? Did the bullet
open up OK? Just wondering....some hits like
a head shot would be DRT with a FMJ

He was using the 85 gr TSX. He's a huge fan, as I am, of the .243 WSSM. He had the cow tag in Utah. He had a 110 yard shot and purposely shot the cow through the shoulder. It was a complete pass through and DRT! That little bullet is amazing.

Under 300 yards: .223
Over: my Wildcat 257 Banshee. 110gr VLD's at 3800fps

Rich

Now, don't laugh me out but I'm going to propose a cartridge I have yet not shot any predators with, just roe deer and capercaille. I just got it and on the range - it performes like... wow.

The 6x45. Brass is easy to come by, just run a .223 through the sizer and there you are. Bullets - a little heavier than the .224 and better in the wind. Not overly fast so you can still use it as a meat getter, just put a Hornady80gr FMJRN in it or a 85gr Interbond in it.

My rifle stays within 1/2" on a calm day for 60gr Sierra HP. No kidding. Not occasionally but most of the time, and never over 0.75" for that pet load.

The gun is built on an old Rem700 SA, but accurized and with a stainless heavy Lothar Walther barrel. Scope is a Zeiss Victory 6-24x56 with a #63 reticle. If there are stars, I can see what I shoot.

But this was not about guns, it's about the cartridge. The trajectory is really something special... Sighted in at 100 meters - at 200 meters I'm 0.5mil low, at 250 I'm 1 mil low, at 300 it's 1.5 mil, at 350 it's 2 mil.

No need for range card, just laser the fox and shoot. Even a prematurely senile guy like me can remember that range card and use it thorugh a mildot reticle. Ease of use beats velocity every day when it comes to practical hitting ability.

Gedubya, thats a beautiful Cooper. Almost as pretty as mine. To those who say they wouldn't own one, I called Cooper for instructions on adjusting the trigger right after I got mine in 1999. Talked to Cooper himself. He said he didn't make it so he wouldn't claim it. It was while he was out of the company the first time. At the time I thought, what a A-hole but given the recent turn of events its not a bad thing and he has confirmed my first impression. DW

January 1966 vintage Remington 700 in 6MM rem. Topped with a leupold vari-x II 6-18x40.

223AI, 223WSSM, 25-06, 25WSSM, and the bestest of them all:

6.8spc -- damn deadly on yotes, deer, piggies, and it comes with a 25rd magazine for when you just gotta let a few fly from your AR

I kinda have to agree with Dom. Its not so much the calibre but the weapon. I have a 6mm rem that is my go to rifle for coyotes but I have a new gun that is fast becomming my favorite. Its a Brno combination gun in 12 ga x 22 sav HP. There is usually quite a bit of bush where I call coyotes. Many times a coyote has appeared in the end of the low brush only a few yards from me.Its difficult to get a crosshair on an animal that close with a rifle but an oz and 1/2 of BBs does quite a job at 20 yds. Handloaded 22 sav HP is somewhere between a 223 and a 22-250 but that 70 gr Hornady stops them more like 243 or 6mm. Effective little comb gun.

For Coyotes & other varmints; I like using my Kimber .22 Hornet for under 150 yards. For longer shots 200 + yards, I like either my .270 Ruger or my .308 Browning A-bolt.

My Savage 99 in .243 with 75 grain V-Max.

I don't know how many varmint rifles I have owned in the last 65 years since I took up shooting, but I have kept some of the ones I liked best. Have maybe a dozen and a half or more dedicated varmint rigs right now.

Out of all them, if I had to take just one on a field trip where the kind or location of varmints was unkown to me in advance, I'd take one which I would have never even considered 15 years ago. It is a Browning Micro-Medallion with a B.O.S.S., in .223 Remington.

Why? Here's a dozen reasons:

1. It's light and handy.

2. It is definitely a sub-MOA shooter.

3. I can carry a day's worth of ammo in my coat pockets.

4. It has a good trigger.

5. With the B.O.S.S., I can spot my own shots and walk a bullet onto a distant animal, if need be. I've done just that on P-dogs well over 500 yards away in the Montana winds, with witnesses.

6. Both 50 and 55 gr. bullets will definitely lay low varmints as big as coyotes.

7. Barrel heating is minimal compared to bigger rounds, and if I shoot 400 rounds a day, I don't have a gun headache afterward.

8. I can buy at least some ammo almost everywhere I would normally be.

9. Unless I fall and stick the muzzle in the mud or something like that, I don't have to clean that rifle at all during the day's shoot. (And that's less crap I have to carry...)

10. It is quiet enough not to upset most any rancher (or rancher's wife) I've met yet. Real important when he's got a bunch of cows wandering around out there.

11. It was inexpensive to buy and needed no modifications to use well.

12. I don't have to worry about field marks...it's a plain old shooter, not a Custom Queen work of art.

Sure, there are other cartridges and rifles with those characteristics also, but that's the one I'd grab today.

A/C:

I've always kicked myself for not picking up one of those little 223s with a boss on it..

There was a used one at a store in Montana, that was available for $300.00.. synthetic stock Browning with a BOSS on it..

Since I didn't buy it, told my buddy about who lives there and he went out and bought it for his daughter..

she still has it, its a tack driver.. and she won't even let her new husband "borrow" it..

I enjoy a Rem 700 ADL in 223, a Model 70 Featherweight in 223 ( but this one doesn't have the synthetic stock that the ADL has so I have to be more careful in the field with this one..) and then a Model 70 that I put an ER Shaw barrel in 223..

the Model 70/ Shaw barrel gets a diet of Blue Dot 223 loads..so I can see my hits in the scope..

The ADL and the Featherweight get loads with SR 4759 propelling a 55 grain bullet at 2500 fps.. so sort of like a 22 K Hornet..still allows me to see hits in the scope..

nothing more fun that a rifle that will shoot all day long, not give "heating up" problems, and allows plenty of fun with no muss or fuss..

Thanks for your comments Seafire. Yeh, you probably should have grabbed that one at the price. I bought mine from Diamond Dan at his cost, brand new...think I paid either $300 or $330 for it in 1995 when he was still on S.E. Stephens St. Mine is the "lam" stock light varmint model.

Interesting to me are some of my rifles it has caused to become semi-retired. But for an all-around grab when you see a varmint, the .223 is just about as good as any...and as said above, My Micro-Medallion is what I usually fetch for the purpose.

Best wishes...

BTW, I see Mother Nature is trying today to fool the trees into blooming again here, so she can kill the fruit with her March snows...heck it is 61 F in the shade, already.

AC

Nice thread, I love to shoot my 223 Rem 700 sporter at ground squirrels and coyotes. I also tackle the yote s with a 240 wby, and 260 Rem. Occasionally use the 257 wby.