Foxing advice request.

[Mac7117 1]

Hi, new on this site and to foxing. Ive been shooting many years, rabbits and paper.

 

I own rifles from 22lr to 8mm Mauser. When i was asked to take care of a fox problem, I decided to request permission to use my Remington 700 police (.223, 20" heavy barrel, 1 in 9 twist), I load my own ammo and would be grateful to know from people experienced, whats the more effective bullet at 200 yards max, soft point or ballistic tipped. Because of the short fast barrel, ive had excellent results with 69gr hpbt on paper but my bullet weight choice seems more limited for hunting bullets (60gr vmax or 63gr sierra soft point from to name a couple).

 

Im looking forward to developing an accurate load however not wanting to get it wrong, i'd really appreciate peoples opinion on the business end of frangible bullets.

 

Apologies if this topic has been covered before but as I said, I'm new on here.

[richmcgin 32]

Hi Mac I would say the ballistic tip or soft point will do the job nicely and in what ever weight your rifle shoots best. I shoot a 55g Hornady soft point they are cheap and do the job very well, loaded with 24g of H335 and a Federal 205 primer, but i have a 1:12 twist so your load will prob be different. I would like to use the ballistic tip ammo but my rifle doesnt like them at all.

[gav243 1]

hi i would use a 55grn v max works every time

[coldweld 65]

The most effective bullet is the one you can put on target. Your 69gr hpbt will be more than enough.

Why work up a new load when you are happy with what you have ?

Edited April 9, 2012 by coldweld

[SNAP SHOT 194]

NO such thing as a stupid question mate, only a stupid answer,

 

any bullet thats put in the kill area of an animal at 200 yards out of a .223 will kill it stone dead,

 

i'd suggest you take the bullets you mention work up a load for both and see which is the most accurate at 200,

 

if you can put the rounds into a tight group at that range then you are good to go,

 

both bullets you mention are from quality manufacture's so its all down to how you can make them work for you,

 

Snap.

[Mac7117 1]

Thanks for the prompt advice fellas. I guess I need to try soft points and ballistics tips to find what my rifle likes (should have figured that one out myself ). Good to know both are just as effective.

 

My RFD carries a very limited selection, none of which are suitable for me so I have to order, which is why I thought of asking first.

 

Thanks again guys.

[remi700 99]

No doubt if you put a hp in the right spot it will kill a fox but id stick with the v-max everytime, so much safer because they stop in the fox. You will also get better kills. I shoot 50 and 55gr hornaday tips and they work great for me. Used to shoot Soft points and they done the job for a good while but i had a few foxes walk on with the guts out so i changed to v-max.Atb Mark

Edited April 9, 2012 by remi700

[Mac7117 1]

No doubt if you put a hp in the right spot it will kill a fox but id stick with the v-max everytime, so much safer because they stop in the fox. You will also get better kills. I shoot 50 and 55gr hornaday tips and they work great for me. Used to shoot Soft points and they done the job for a good while but i had a few foxes walk on with the guts out so i changed to v-max.Atb Mark

 

Thanks Mark, appreciate your input. Im off to my RFD tomorrow to order a box of 60gr v-max.

 

Atb, Mac

[foxdropper 17,092]

No doubt if you put a hp in the right spot it will kill a fox but id stick with the v-max everytime, so much safer because they stop in the fox. You will also get better kills. I shoot 50 and 55gr hornaday tips and they work great for me. Used to shoot Soft points and they done the job for a good while but i had a few foxes walk on with the guts out so i changed to v-max.Atb Mark

Good to see a reply from a doer not a talker ,lol

Had same in the past but not seen one run with the BT

[richmcgin 32]

Its a horrible thing when a fox runs on i hate that, had one 2 weeks ago i followed a real heavy blood trail till i could go no deeper in to the bushes, i know it dropped but i hate that feeling of failure to get a clean kill.Shot this boy from just over 200yrds and he ran on another 150 before he dropped, you can see i hit him a bit far down the body, poor shot placement on my part.

[charlie caller 3,654]

Its a horrible thing when a fox runs on i hate that, had one 2 weeks ago i followed a real heavy blood trail till i could go no deeper in to the bushes, i know it dropped but i hate that feeling of failure to get a clean kill.Shot this boy from just over 200yrds and he ran on another 150 before he dropped, you can see i hit him a bit far down the body, poor shot placement on my part.

Im suprised at that mate looks like it would have touched the spine,but of course I was not there,just out of intrest mate ,what cal did you shoot him with?

[derek.snr 7]

used the vmax 55grn but in a 243 they have always dropped on the spot even if hit a bit far back,much better than a sp but if your rifle will not group with them stick to something that will and go for placement .i only body shoot at the chest its 100% dead if hit.

[derek.snr 7]

Its a horrible thing when a fox runs on i hate that, had one 2 weeks ago i followed a real heavy blood trail till i could go no deeper in to the bushes, i know it dropped but i hate that feeling of failure to get a clean kill.Shot this boy from just over 200yrds and he ran on another 150 before he dropped, you can see i hit him a bit far down the body, poor shot placement on my part.

cannot believe it ran 150yrds bullet placement is ok

[Mr_Logic 5]

If you need to order in, worth a box of 52 a-max. Work nicely on fox and can be mail-ordered. Failing that, v-max, Nosler ballistic tip or Sierra blitzking all work well.

 

Don't discount lighter bullets in the 1:9 twist, I had an SPS Tactical for a bit, shot everything.

[richmcgin 32]

i can honestly say it was 150yrds or more i thought i had missed it, the bullet past right through and hit a fence post behind him taking a fair chunck out of it, there was no blood at or near the area so i just put it down to a miss. that was at 19.30, i left the field for a while and came back in at 21.30 from a gate on the other side and when i stopped to shut the gate there he was laid out ten feet from the gate. I have never had a soft point make it out the other side in one bit,

the calibre was 223 a 55g hornady soft point with 24g of H335, my normal load is 23g of the same powder but i have found the 24g load to be just that bit tighter on the grouping, my first though was that the load was a bit hot but even if it was it should still have done the job at 200 yrds, maybe it just didnt hit anything hard enough to make it expand till it hit the post, who knows.