The .172 25gr Berger that are good for coyote?
 

Hi guys. When I bought my rem700 in .17rem i bought it used in a package deal a few years back. It came with about a thousand of the .172 25 varmint match grade bullets. Lot#1504
Are these the ones with the thicker more desirable jacket?
I only killed 1 coyote with them and the 1st bullet splashed (it may have been due to placement) the second that went into neck did the pin prick/no pass through deal.
Just want to be clear if it's the bullets that were discontinued or not.
Thanks
Rob

17 Bergers
 

The ones they discontinued are the .172 match target, #17007.

Tom

Thank you sir!

It is the match target but I thought the part number was 17407.
Aaron

That's the # on the ones I have. They came out of that group buy awhile back, may very well be different on the older ones.

Tom

Make throat or rib shots and you shouldn't have any
spash problems. I never have, even with 20gr V'max

I have 3 different boxes of the 25 grain target match bullets. One box is PN: 17007 that's described as 17 cal 25 grain match grade. One box is PN: 17407 described as Target 17 cal 25 grain match. And one box is old enough to not list a part number or lot#, it just says 17 cal 25 grain Berger Bullets.

I believe for all practical purposes, they are the same bullet.

I've never shot the 25 grain match varmint bullets but I'd agree with prior post and put shot placement on fur like you'd archery shoot deer; stay off the shoulder and no fringe hits. Basically, put it in the boiler room, I'd stay off the neck too. Not opposed to frontals but put it in the base of neck and between the shoulders.

Good luck,

Chris

Berger is currently only producing the #17308 in .17 caliber according to their web site, it is 25 grains and by the picture has a fairly large hollow point.
At one time to another they have made (correct me if I'm wrong), 15's, 18's, 20's, .22's, .25's, 30's and 37's. The .25's I have are around 2000 vintage if memory serves and are the ones that are model number 17007 and read "17 CAL 25 GRAIN MATCH GRADE" They are lot number "0003687".
I talked to Walt once right after the "MEF's" came out (Maximum Expansion Factor) and I asked him about the comparison of the two. He said that at 200ish and closer the MEF's would be more explosive but over 200 yards and a guy was better off with the Match bullets. He was right of course but it doesn't matter now cause it looks like to me the new owners kinda combined the two, that's all they produce and only in the one weight.
Sad for us guys but business decisions seldom make everyone happy but it is a business.
The 17007 bullet in most rifles I've run em in is the most accurate .17 bullet I've used to date.
As to the coyote question I can't speak from coyote experience but I have shot 8 or 9 Badgers with the 25's I have now and it worked wonderful, "Tiny hole in, no exit, dead badger". Frequently I couldn't even find blood. I'd see if the ones ya have make acceptable groups for ya and then try em on a Cantaloupe or Honey Dew melon at 100 yards and see what happens. I do know that something like the 20 grain V-Max'd even will kill a coyote like crazy IMO but shot placement as mentioned is everything.
This is a fair sized rockchuck that had his head up over a rock about 185 yards out when I shot him in the throat with a 20 V-Max that has a muzzle velocity of close to 4,100 FPS. That's an entrance wound, on a coyote rib it'd be the size of a baseball I'd guess. Rockchucks are fairly dense too.

https://i.imgur.com/u5RHMzWl.jpg

If I could lay my hands on the Berger .172's I'd prefer on coyotes it'd be the 30 grain Match or Match Boat Tail, real accurate even at distance, unfortunately that was another one they discontinued :(.

Some of you guys must have excellent eye sight. I haven't figured out how to see where to place a bullet in a coyote's chest to insure that I won't hit a rib. Especially on a moving coyote, even a slow moving one..........

Being handicapped with that deficiency, I prefer to stick with a good HP bullet that will have a much better chance of breaking and penetrating an occasional rib in the wrong place and leave the V-Max type bullets for prairie dogs and such that they were designed for where you want immediate at impact expansion.

With coyotes, point of impact penetration trumps rapid expansion every time, IMO......... Nothing ruins a nice fur more than a premature bullet blow-up, even on the chest area. If you do hit a heavy bone such as a shoulder joint, chances are good that you're going to get splash with whatever bullet you might try in 17 caliber.

-BCB

Rob I got to thinking and I don't believe the lot number would tell much except to the Berger folks. Model number is more explanatory but again the Berger folks would know most, I'd call em, here's their link.

http://www.bergerbullets.com/products/all-bullets/

The older match bullets don't come unwrapped so fast they hydraulic on entry like the V-Max on that rockchuck. They do however penetrate a lot better and have done a good job for me on heavier stuff. No drama, just dead.
All that is presupposing your point is to keep the fur, if not the more frangible bullets are probably a bit more forgiving as to shot placement cause they blow big holes.
Let us know what ya come up with :).