Hello, This is Chuck, I am in the process of beginning fur hunting. I'm in Pennsylvania so I expect to go after coyote, fox, and maybe beaver with coyote my main focus.
I got myself an AR-15 in .223 to snipe these pelts. (Spike's Tactical with a stainless barrel, competition muzzle brake, and 4-16x scope. 2nd focal plane reticle with 10x the best for using the mil dots)
My question is to those more experienced than I am, what kind of range do you end up shooting fur at? What do you think of the .223, did I do well or make a mistake? And finally, do you find yourself making more hits at dawn or sunset? thanks in advance for any and all tips!

I shoot all my fur at approximately 3 feet with a 22 short

not exactly what I was looking for but thanks anyway

It pretty much depends on the type of fur hunting you are conducting. Calling fur can mean ranges from a few feet to a few hundred yards but the majority of called fur is shot under 200 yards. If you are spotting and stalking then terrain and cover is going to dictate the shot distance.

The 223 is a great choice. Factory ammo abounds and reloading expands those options even further. I'd zero whatever load you like at 200 yards.

If reloading I'd look at Sierra's 1365 55 grain BT Game King. It's a fairly tough bullet but will expand on fox and coyotes without going to pieces or splashing on an onside, shoulder shot like the light bullets are prone. They generally exit but from what I've seen the exits are usually 1.5" or less and easily sewable. They act more like a controlled expansion big game bullet than a varmint bullet.

One suggestion I'd make, especially when calling, is to start with your scope set on the lowest power. There is usually time to turn it up if needed. There is never time to turn it down when a coyote is almost in your lap. I've introduced more than one guy to calling and had them muff a very close shot because they had their scope cranked up to the Hubble setting.

Good luck and I'm anxious to see some of your success pics. Fur hunting is an awesome way to extend your hunting seasons.

Thanks mart, much appreciated. I used to live in Alaska also, in Dutch Harbor. Great place, best state I ever lived in.

You're welcome. I've seen a lot of Alaska but never been to Dutch.

I think the 17 Fireball is fantastic on fur preservation. Most of the 17's are really good.

I have been told that the 204 is ok, with hard bullets.

I have seen 223 shot animals that were not worth reparing to sell. Shot a lot of varmints in Namibia with a 223.

223 is a killer for sure. As above, the exit wound is a hard on the pelts. Have some needle and thread handy.

I have to agree the 17's are the best when it comes to taking fur. However, the OP states he already has a 223. The bullet suggestion I made for the 223 was based on handling many hundreds of coyote hides for callers.

I used to put up fur for coyote callers on halves and got to see a good cross section of what worked well for limiting fur damage. Hence, the selection I advised. Are there other good bullets in the 223? Yes, but there are far more that turn it into just what you described. I prefer a heavy tough bullet with moderate expansion to a light fast bullet that works wonderfully when the shot is perfect and horrible when it's not. I'll take a 1-1.5 inch exit that can be closed up with a few stitches to a bullet that leaves one piecing a jigsaw puzzle back together.

Of course the 17's pretty much eliminate the need to sew at all but not everyone has one and has to work with what they have.

quote:

Originally posted by mart:
I have to agree the 17's are the best when it comes to taking fur. However, the OP states he already has a 223.

Of course the 17's pretty much eliminate the need to sew at all but not everyone has one and has to work with what they have.

Yes Sir he does, he also asked what the forum thought of the 223 on fur.

I personally think it is worth getting a 17 of some sort. The fireball is magical, the Remington is great especially when the ranges get stretched, and the hornet is ok for close range.


There are over 40 .17 centerfires on Gunbroker for $500-2800 right now. You could also get a 17 Rem barrel fitted to your AR.

The cost of lost fur by using a bigger round will quickly eat up the advantage of using what he has. Not saying he needs a $5000 custom varmint rifle in 17.

Thanks for the tips guys! I did think about the .17 cal, and decided on the .223 for a number of reasons, range being a big one. I'll start with what I have and see where it goes. Wyoming, I hope I don't destroy too many pelts!

I shot a 18 pound African wildcat with one. It pretty much destroyed him. The next one I shot with a shotgun.

My question is are you after coyotes for fur to sell or coyotes for bounty? As a kid growing up in Missouri, we hunted for bounty. Now I go after fur to sell to fur buyers. I have found the 17 HMR will only leave one hole in the pelt on animals as small as Bobcat and Lynx where as a 22 LR will make two holes. All though the holes are small, one hole is easier to stich up as opposed to two holes. With a 223 you will always have fur damage. If you use a 223 I suggest a FMJ bullet. Best of luck to you.

The 17 Remington gives up nothing in range to the 223. I haven't used any other 17 so cannot speak to that.

Always and Never are pretty broad statements. To say you will always have fur damage with a 223 is not accurate. You may always have fur damage with some bullets. Some bullets will be more gentle on fur than others. I gave one example. The man has a 223 and intends to use it. The 223 can be highly effective as a fur gun with a properly chosen bullet.

FMJ's are generally abysmal failures as fur bullets. I went through the FMJ stage 30 years ago and got tired of chasing down lung shot coyotes. Some for a few hundred yards and some for a couple thousand yards. Great if you can always hit the heart or CNS, lousy if they just hit lungs.

In a .223, I'd use a controlled-expansion bullet. One of the various ones designed for shooting medium game would be a good choice. I'm considering using 50 grain TSX's in my .223 for coyotes.

Right now I mostly use a .22 Hornet.

Most of my friends who call switched to 10 Ga shotguns.

The few who use rifles are mostly shooting AR .223s with 40gr V-Max loads or .204 Rugers but I don’t know what bullets they’re using.

My experience with the 223 mirrors what mart wrote. I use the same 55gr Sierra Game King he advocates and have had good luck with it. I wouldn't call it a tough bullet though. My experience shows that it breaks up pretty quickly on impact. It is also a much more destructive bullet if it is sped up to 22-250 speeds.

First of all, I doubt that Pa coyotes will be worth a lot of money, compared to th mountain coyotes out west. But maybe you know something I don’t.
To your .223 question, I would use 40 v max bullets. Often times they will blow up inside the coyote, no exit hole.
I have shot and seen shot many coyote, the vast majority, with a 223. I agree that the 17 rem is a very good coyote round and have shot some with it and the smaller 17 fireball. Both of those 17 s work, but I prefer the bigger case of the 17 rem.
Good luck.

I have to come down hard against FMJ's. They'll kill a coyote but he can run a long, long ways before he realizes he's dead.

I don't know if you're reloading or not but if you are you could look into the Barnes Varmint Grenade or MPG type bullets. There will only be one hole in and zero exits. You do have to make sure to stay away from shoulders otherwise there will be nasty splash wounds. If you're not reloading then I would go with the 40 or 45gr offerings.

I have had mixed results using various bullets. On one hunt I wouldn't have an exit and the next time they would blow big holes through the offside. A lot of it has to do with the size of the coyote. For Fox and .223 you will have an exit regardless of what bullet you use with the exception maybe being the Barnes fragmenting bullets. I say maybe because i've never used one on fox.

Before I went and started saving all my pelts I would locate a fur buyer and find out what they are offering for fur. You may find that it's not worth your time. I know the quality of fur where i'm currently at is lacking and now I don't bother to try and save coyote. It's why i've been using larger calibers to call with.

In general, using a 223, I agree with Mart. A soft-point frequently exits, but with smaller exits.

I've also used Barnes 45gr X, XLC, and TSX on coyotes out of my 22 Hornet and my 222RemMag. They almost always exit, and leave a small exit hole. The Barnes are prone to richochet upon exit though.

A V-max, in any weight in .224, has given more splash wounds than any other, and also very few exits.

In the 243, though, I have had great success with the 75gr V-max. Out of about 34-36 coyotes, I had only one exit (about 180yds), and the pelt damage was, shall we say, severe. All other shots, from 20yds to 450yds, did not exit, nor did I get any splashes.

df06:
Right on bud!
I haven't been out in 6 years now.

Used to call lots of coyotes. Some within 10-15 feet, most we'd stop by barking at 'em when 50yds or so out.

I had a sako .222mag, used 55gr C/L's, they'd blow big holes out the far side. I got to trying the .40gr V'max. Never had one run, never had an exit, never had a splash either. Just one hole in, might be a few drops of blood IF we laid 'em hole side down.

The barrel gave out in the middle of fur season. took about 2 weeks to get it going again as .223 due to brass availability. Same bullets and load.

While the gun was being rebuilt I tried 60gr in .243. Huge holes out the far side on rib shots. Hit one at the base of the neck about 40yds off. Blew the head clear off except 2" of hide on the top. Head landed over on her back. Those two ruined me on using a .243 for fur. IF I was just killing them, fine, don't matter much the damage.

Same deal with '06 and hot 110s. Not much fur left and none worth saving. Lotta fun though.

Hunted with a guy that used and preached .17 rem's. I shot a fox at 30 yards with it. Just about blew his whole insides out the other side. yeah, I know, too close. Take the shot you're presented, right?

Been 1 1/2 yr since Chuck posted on here. Maybe he's given up.

George

Back when fur was bringing high prices, I used my Rem 5MM and my 222...but even the 222 can be destructive with the wrong bullet and/or poor shot placement..Furs are no longer a good business in the US so I can use any caliber..If I hunt wolves in Idaho I'll use my 222 or 250-3000 and a harder bullet. I ran my traps early morning, used a 22 short..then hunted at night with a call, most shots were under 100 yards, and mostly under 50 yards..Don't use solids. use the 60 gr. Hornady HP or SP in the 223 etc.

Best advise is learn to sew up those holes, its easy just be careful..