On the fence....which way to jump?

[Hooter]

Will be purchasing a new rifle "very" soon with the main purpose being to harvest coyotes and or P. Dogs.
Torn between the .17 Remington and .223. I would like to keep pelt damage to a minimum. Help me decide which side of the fence to jump.

Thanks,
Shooter

[GonHuntin]

223.....it's better in the wind for prairie dogs and hits with more authority on coyotes!

[doorgunner]

I just can't see how you could go wrong with the .223. With the right loads, it's easy on pelts and ammo is cheaper.

[Joe]

.223...the only way to go here...more choices on bullets, cheaper components...more versatile by far...

[Hooter]

What is a good factory bullet in the .223 that will give me the least pelt damage? I have reloading equipment, but I haven't set any of it up since I moved to NM last year. I might have to see if I can find everything and get back into reloading to get the best of both worlds.

Thanks for the replies...........

Shooter

[ICMCumin]

I agree with the other guys - the .223 is a sweet shooting and accurate rifle. My rifle likes the 55 grain Hornady vmax.

[Bobcat]

Ditto to what the gang said about the .223 between your preferences. To minimize pelt damage on coyotes, you might want to give the Sierra #1365 soft point boat tail a try. For PD's the V-Max, BT's, et all will do the job!!

Good Hunting,

Bob

[Joe]

Take a look at the 50 gr TNT...you can buy those bulk and save a lil $$$$....they shoot well, and do their job.
They are not the choice for minimal pelt damage, but I like 'em anyway They do double duty..PDs or Coyotes....I guess, no PD's here, we substitute crows

[1st cav sgt ret]

what everyone else said,the 223 is more versital and hits harder at distance,its hard to beat the 46gr winchester(in the white box)and cheep to other than that a good 50 or 55gr will work

[hunter9850]

i just bought a new .223 barrel for my encore and i have been trying some different factory rounds. for accuracy the winchester (white box) 46 gr hollow pts shoot great but do a lot of pelt damage the win. supreme 50 gr. ballistic st shoots great also but i havent shot anything to find out about pelt damage.when i get my reloader going im wanting to try some of the soft point bullets and see if the pelt damage will go away. i can say one thing the win. hollow pts will put them down for good. i have killed 2 coyotes 1 at 60 yards 1 at almost 200 yards the only movement they made was falling down. HUNTER

[REM223PA]

HI SHOOTER
looking for new gun
I shoot rem223 varmit sp. heavy barrle and love it .

I shoot factory rounds from wall mart and shoot 1 m.o.a
at 1oo yards thay work sweet on all varmit ( but)
I am a gun nut so i have a gun for every thing and only use my 223.
thay are two graet rounds and know thay both will work on varmits. the 17 rem and the 223 will do damage
to your pelt if you hit bone i have a lot of hunter that show up with them both i have seen both in action
i see very little damage from ether on coyote .bigger game such as hogs or thick skin varmits or real fatty ones i seen the 223 is a little better if your going to strickly yous for dogs it will work nice.
may be versatility is what you should think about.
your friend big george

[varmint101]

Definately the 223 for all the reasons everyone said. Unless you like to tinker and reload or like being different the 17rem isn't what you'd want. Good luck on deciding which rifle you want. There are tons of them out there! Good shooting,

Matt

[Hooter]

Wow! Thanks to all that have replied. That pretty much makes up my mind. I was leaning toward the .223 because of the huge supply of good factory ammuntion out on the market these days. I enjoy reloading my own,but haven't taken the time to set everything back up since moving to New Mexico a year ago. I will have to put that on my list of things to do! I will let everyone know when I make the plung.

Shooter

[doorgunner]

There is no way to tell what the best bullet for your gun is, without having the rifle first. Barrel twists vary greatly from 1/7 to 1/14, and about everything in between, depending on your weapon manufacturer and platform. My 1/12 Remington loves the Winchester white box 46 grain Varmint loads. It's hell on pelts when they are coming in close to the caller, but it's super accurate, and consistent from lot to lot. I would suggest getting the gun, then start searching for the perfect load by experimenting with different factory and handloads. That's 80% of the fun of buying a new rifle. Good luck on your quest!

[slammy]

.223.

55gr. soft points. Ballastic tips are OK, but sometimes explode on impact.