#1
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Fur Friendly .172 bullets?
Since it loooks like Berger will be discontinuing their 30gr LTB among other weights I was wondering what other 25-30gr bullets are out there that offer good BC (above .220) and excellent fur friendly performance at the 4000 fps plus range.
I can get Hornady bullets here in Canada but would like to know of others so that when I file paperwork to get bullets from the States I can get a couple of different brands to try out. I am aware of TK's Golds but that is about it. What happened to the gentleman who was planning to make heavy .17 bullets in weights above 30 grains? Still in the RD stage? What about the Nagel bullets? |
#2
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I have no personal experience with it, but the guys on coyotegods.com have repeatedly recommended the Berger 25gr match bullet for fur friendliness on coyote-sized game. This is not the varmint match or formerly MEF bullet.
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#3
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troy,
blaine eddy has killed over 3000 song dogs and 90% were shot with the Berger 25 gr Match bullet. if you're serious about putting up fur, the Berger 17/25 will suit your needs. cb <*)))>{
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Small Caliber Reloading - So easy a Caveman can do it ! www.raginblaze.com .... Cajun Seasoning with a SouthWest Flare |
#4
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I have used mostly the 28 gr. calhoon and the 30 gr berger and the 30 gr. Gold on coyotes and all three are excellant fur bullets for coyotes. At the moument the 28 gr calhoons and the 30 gr bergers are not availiable, i still have some left but today i tried some of the 25 gr golds and the 28 gr Genco's to see if my guns like them. the Genco and the gold's work pretty well in my rifles, so i will be switching over to them. The 25 gr. bullets are ok but i feel that the 30 gr. is a much better bullet to use on coyotes. I wellbe getting some nagel bullets later this spring to test in my rifles.....
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#5
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Troy G-- I have never used the 25 gr. Berger Match bullets, so I cannot attest to their usefulness and fur friendliness. However, there are a lot of shooters that swear they are the fur friendliest, coyote killingest (is there such a word as "killingest"?) bullets on the planet.
I have killed a number of coyotes with the 25 gr. Hornady hollowpoint, but I have to agree with Tim Anderson about the heavier 30 gr. bullets probably being a better choice for coyotes. I currently use the 30 gr. Starke Red Prairie Varmint bullet in my Lilja barreled .17 Remington for coyotes. This, I believe, is the same 30 gr. bullet that C.E. Nagel makes because I believe he purchased Clint Starke's dies. It is very fur friendly and knocks the coyotes dead. I have a Pac-Nor barreled .17 Remington and am using the 27.8 gr. Hammett BT HP bullets in that. I have only shot one coyote with it. The coyote was shot at a distance of 228 yards and passed through the coyote's lungs. The coyote stumbled but did not fall and ran about 175 yards before keeling over dead. I will try these 27.8 gr. Hammetts on a few more coyotes before I decide if they are my coyote bullet for that rifle.
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Catch ya L8R--Silverfox NRA Life Member Last edited by Silverfox; 01-15-2007 at 05:32 AM. |
#6
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Fur Friendly Bullets means less speed...
I am a big predator hunter, and I have taken alot of fur using many calibers. In the 17M4 and 17 Rem. I use Hornady 25g, Berger 25g and 30g match bullets, and Red Prairie 25g bullets. I also use Hornady 20g vmax. My key to not tearing the hill out of fox is throttle back the speed. I either reduce my H414 and H4198 loads, or I use 7,8,9,10g of Bluedot exclusively. I find that 3,000 fps gets the job done without tearing bazooka holes in the pelt. Now on coyotes you can go 3,500 fps with no problems, but the 3,000 fps loads do just fine. So, I have found all the 17 bullets work fine, but just slow down the speed and go get them. Thanks.
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#7
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Slower is better
Quote:
I shoot a 204 Ruger and use the heavier Berger 40 gn bullet at about 3750 fps. I found shooting this was pretty effective at close ranges but did exit. It was not a hand grenade sized hole though. At further ranges, though I only had one dog at this range of over 400 yds, it was still very effective but did not exit that dog. The deal was though, for me to get that gun to shoot as flat as his, I needed to push it at 4000 fps or more! Just didn't want to do that. Steven
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StevenD |
#8
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I love 30GR Bergers
Its the bullet these rifles were built for! once my supply of 30gr bergers is gone, I'll try the others listed here, but I'll probably lean twards the 25gr Bergers. I'll just try to back off the loads safely to save on fur.
Redfeather, are these safe loads backing the .17Rem off to 3000fps? I'm not being a smart @$$ just overly cautious about "Hot" loads and "reduced" loads. If I can find this listed it may save me some $ from building a .17 AH for a fur friendly fox rifle. For a little while anyways.... I'm gonna have to have one someday, but If I can Use my .17Rem for both fox and coyotes that would be outstanding!
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-Semper Fi- |
#9
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Slow . . . No Go!
Call me ignorant but slow is just not an option. With the 30gr Berger LTBs I had my cake and was able to eat it. I had a taste of the good life and liked what I tasted . . . you get the picture.
I am shooting the .172 Bergers at 4100 with my .17 Wildcat which is just about a spitting image of the .17 Predator and at ranges from 50 to 250 it is bangflop and no exits on well placed shots. At longer ranges the bullet slows down and then I get exits that are about the size of a Twoonie, EH! I have not shot anything that was as lethal, flat shooting, and fur friendly as this combination. WHY BERGER? WHY, did you have to take my precious bullets away? |
#10
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Check out James Calhoon's website...
James has alot of reduced load info on his site dealing with Unique and Bluedot powders. I am going to test some of the Solo 1000 and 700X because they are very clean burning powders. These will be the 7,8 grain kinda loads to start. Thanks.
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