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22-250 For Bobcat & Coyotoe

Bowhunter60

Bowhunter60

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Mar 26, 2016
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244
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Northern Arizona
Getting ready to hit the hills for some Bobcat and Coyote hunting. I'll be using my 22-250 for both, loaded up with 62gr Nosler Varminters, pushed by 36.5gr of H380 for about 3400fps.

I've taken a few Coyotes and think this load is more than adequate. But, I have hunted Bobcat before and am curious what you all think about this load up. Is it a bit on the heavy side for them? Will there be too much coat damage at ranges of 150-200 yards?

My set up will be using the Primos electronic caller. I can set it up at about 50-75yds from me with no difficulty in activating it.

What's you guys opinion?
 
You won't have much of a hide to sew up.California cats might not be worth much anyway. Not sure you'd want to shoot a Montana dog with those bullets either. I admit have not shot those bullets, but manufacturers usually make there "Varminter" bullet in one that blows things up.
 
Those bullets are thin skinned and takes very little (i.e. skin, bone) to make them "explode". They are fun to use on stuff that you do not plan to keep.

For bobcats I would use something like a 40gr (e.g. vmax) and run them very slow. Speed is what causes the most damage with these small bullets. Even better for bobcats (and fox) is to use a 22WMR or 17HMR.

I have shot many coyotes over the years with the vmax and most of the time I get a small entrance hole and usually no exit hole (depends on distance). The vmax usually comes apart on the inside resulting in a quick kill. If a small gr vmax hits a shoulder for example it will cause a big hole meaning shot placement is key.
 
FAIR CHASE said:
Those bullets are thin skinned and takes very little (i.e. skin, bone) to make them "explode". They are fun to use on stuff that you do not plan to keep.

For bobcats I would use something like a 40gr (e.g. vmax) and run them very slow. Speed is what causes the most damage with these small bullets. Even better for bobcats (and fox) is to use a 22WMR or 17HMR.

I have shot many coyotes over the years with the vmax and most of the time I get a small entrance hole and usually no exit hole (depends on distance). The vmax usually comes apart on the inside resulting in a quick kill. If a small gr vmax hits a shoulder for example it will cause a big hole meaning shot placement is key.
Click to expand...
Vmax are what I was talking about. The same basically.

After getting really good at sewing hides ripped lenghtwise, I've wised up and shoot a well built bullet in my swift and .223WSSM for predators. I use Barnes in both. It's also a possibilty to call in lions or wolves here, So I'm ready when that happens too. You don't want a fragile bullet in your gun when that happens.
 
Has anyone tried the Barnes Grenades bullet for this application. They are supposed to fragment rapidly resulting in no exit hole in bobcat and coyote sized game? It might be worth a try.
 
Personally I would just use a standard soft point if you want to save hides.
 
You must not of read my reply's.

A perfect broadside shot on a coyote maybe, and most of the time. A shoulder shot can cause the bullet to blow up prematurely and blow a big hole going in. Shots that aren't perfect you will need to be good a sewing up holes, or throw the pelt away. Things are rarely perfect and things happen you don't count on. I would bet a broadside bobcat shot with those bullets would be a mess. They are made for blowing up prairie dogs, and other rodents.
 
JLS said:
Personally I would just use a standard soft point if you want to save hides.
Click to expand...

You know, from a practical perspective. I'm not sure how many guys save Coyote hides. I've never saved any of them. Bobcat, that's a possibility for a nice wall mounted rug. Bottom line, I get 5 Bobcat tags out here in California and they are plentiful in the Mohave. So, to add to the wall mounts, I would like the Bobcat hide intact.
 
Sawtooth said:
Has anyone tried the Barnes Grenades bullet for this application. They are supposed to fragment rapidly resulting in no exit hole in bobcat and coyote sized game? It might be worth a try.
Click to expand...

I just bought 250 Nosler 40g BTV's. I'm going to tone down the load a bit and give them a shot.
 
Just for what it's worth, do a 10 round test batch before you load a bunch of the 40 gr. my 22-250 doesn't like anything under 55 grains. 55 grain vmax with 36 grains of H380 works great in mine, and doesn't tear up the yotes. Granted the Montana ones are probably a bit bigger than the ones down south.
 
Good point! I wonder if loading it down a bit might help with the lighter bullet. I've notice my 22-250 really seems to like the 60+ gr bullets with H380 on the low to mid-range charge level. Any thoughts on just lightening up the powder charge on the lighter bullets?
 
I have not tried lighter charge/lighter bullet combos, I found that one that works well so I didn't tinker with it anymore. I can go to a heavier bullet and the point of impact remains almost the same.
 
I believe i was loading 63 grain sierra with 32 grains of 4895 powder, as I had run out of H380. the POI with that load was 1.5" high at 100 yards Vs. 2" high with the 55 grain vmax. first 3 shot group was measured at 3/4" if I remember correctly.
 
Lots of good advice above. When I was fur hunting I ended up using a 17 Remington with 25 grain Hornady hollow points loaded way down to what now would be .17 Hornet velocities (3000-3300 fps). Those still exited bobcat and gray fox but it was usually a coffee-stirrer size entrance with a nickle size exit rather than the softball size splash wounds I was getting with a .22-250 and 50 grain Ballistic Tips. About all you can do is experiment and see. The one thing I'd be interested in trying if I ever got back into it would be a Barnes 62 grain TTSX at moderate velocity.
 
I am calling a lot with a 204 shooting 45gr Hornady SP loads at 3325fps. I haven't got to try them on a cat yet but they don't tear up a yote. A few feral tomcats that showed up on the ranch with distemper give me hope for this load. They normally exit, but with a very small exit wound. I will trade the consistent performance like that for a bullet that blows up inside most of the time, but wrecks the pelt or "splashes" some of the time. Coyote pelts aren't worth a lot so I'm more worried about wrecking a cat where I live. I've shot a bunch of yotes with a 243 and 75gr V max bullets and kept them inside when I took frontal shots as they came to a call, the one time I tried that on a cat I took out everything from the spine to belly.

I agree that speed is the major issue with explosive bullets. My bolt 204 loves the 40gr V max at 4kfps. It splashes on yotes sometimes if I aim for the shoulder, splashes on grass sometimes on the way to the yote, and makes a fist size wound on yotes at close range coming to the call. It's a wicked bullet for varmints but not great for yotes at that speed. If things work perfect and I slip one between the ribs broadside it does a perfect job, but it has limitations. The 55gr V max at 2962fps from the 223 doesn't expand nearly as violently.

There will never be a perfect answer to the perfect yote bullet, depends to much on what you expect from one. The predator forums I follow seem to like the Sierra 52gr Matchking or 55gr Gameking best for all around yote bullets from the 22-250
 
That load on a bobcat would be like a popping a grapefruit...

Cat's are a little thin skinned. A 22 Hornet seems plenty, or a 22 WRM.

'Yotes ? You're good.
 
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