Bobcat bullet

[sportsmans challenge]

Who here is consistently shooting bobcats?

Have a shot a few and not had any real issues, but have been playing with other rifles and playing with bullets a little. Was watching a Johnny's reloading bench video about 40 grain nosler ballistic tips in an ar with great accuracy, would be interesting to try in my ar, just not sure the 40 grain may have the authority to take cats up to 200 yards out.

Recently a friend and I went out and were using some off the shelf 77 grain ammo and at 75 yards on a big Tom they were amazing, but on a cat at 35 yards they tore that one up. In the past I have taken a cat at about 175 with 64 tipped game king which I wasn't a big fan of, did get the cat, but took two shots.

Would like to see about a lighter weight bullet going faster/ flatter for night, but also have knock down with minimal fur damage. I do run 69 tmks a lot and like them, in in a 223 case what are you running?

 

[Skerhunter]

I would think the 40s would do well to 200 - you should definitely test it out!

I have never shot or seen one shot in .223 below 50gr or above 60gr. Nothing shot with 204/223 has been torn up. 22-250 and up things get messy.

Runners could be an issue on dogs would be my only concern.

 

[huntsman22]

20 gr vmax outta the 17 hornet is your huckleberry,,,,,

 

[sportsmans challenge]

I would think the 40s would do well to 200 - you should definitely test it out!

I have never shot or seen one shot in .223 below 50gr or above 60gr. Nothing shot with 204/223 has been torn up. 22-250 and up things get messy.

Runners could be an issue on dogs would be my only concern.

Same concern, day may not be as bad for trailing, but night it is not fun especially in cat country.

 

[sportsmans challenge]

20 gr vmax outta the 17 hornet is your huckleberry,,,,,

I could see how that maybe good for day time calling or short distance night time, but out to 200 yards at night when you need it down quickly I don't think it is the huckleberry.

Looking specifically at 223 cause I have an ar I have been playing with as well as a tikka 223 showing up any day. The tikka will get 69 or heavier bullets.

 

[huntsman22]

Says the guy that never used the Hornet.....

 

[dirtytough]

The 52 grain Berger Match out of a 22-250 was great on fur. Mainly coyotes but also a cat was thrown in. I did get a box that seemed like they penciled through. So I would clean the hollow point if you try them.

After shooting a ton of coyotes, I believe it's more about shot placement. A fringe hit causes unbelievable damage vs a center hit. I've shot bobcats with a 30-378 Weatherby. An edge hit took out 11" of his backbone. Another had about a nickle sized hole in it.

I would contact Jon Collins and Corey Groff. They kill a lot of bobcats.

 

[Skerhunter]

Same concern, day may not be as bad for trailing, but night it is not fun especially in cat country.

Daytime would be fine for sure!

 

[sportsmans challenge]

Says the guy that never used the Hornet.....

Thanks for sticking to the 223 topic

The 52 grain Berger Match out of a 22-250 was great on fur. Mainly coyotes but also a cat was thrown in. I did get a box that seemed like they penciled through. So I would clean the hollow point if you try them.

After shooting a ton of coyotes, I believe it's more about shot placement. A fringe hit causes unbelievable damage vs a center hit. I've shot bobcats with a 30-378 Weatherby. An edge hit took out 11" of his backbone. Another had about a nickle sized hole in it.

I would contact Jon Collins and Corey Groff. They kill a lot of bobcats.

Pretty sure Jon is running a 22 creed last I watched some of his videos.

I would also agree with solid hits with placement being optimal. Haven't played with 50-52 grain hp's recently used to run them in a 22 250 years ago bergers and the tnt's and they did well. I had used the 40 grn b.t. in a 222 for a while and it left no holes on dogs, never had an opportunity on a cat with that, but also never shot that over 150 yards or maybe 200 all day time.

I do have a couple boxes of old 55 and 60 grain v Max's i found in my reloading desk, but haven't played with them yet.

 

[dirtytough]

Vmax's do more damage out of a 22-250 than the Bergers 52's do from my experience. I believe the Nosler ballistic tip is also a better bullet damage wise than the Vmax from what I've read.

 

[sportsmans challenge]

Vmax's do more damage out of a 22-250 than the Bergers 52's do from my experience. I believe the Nosler ballistic tip is also a better bullet damage wise than the Vmax from what I've read.

Yeah that's one reason I haven't played with them really is cause most of what I heard is unless a great shot there can be lots of blow up.

I just had a couple boxes of each probably from a gun trade or something sitting around.

Also the 223 will have much less velocity than the 22 250 making them less explosive, may make the h.p. a little better.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

32 Grain VMAX head shots out of .204 Ruger and 20 practical are the way.

 

[sportsmans challenge]

32 Grain VMAX head shots out of .204 Ruger and 20 practical are the way.

I have almost entertained the idea of a 20 practical, just haven't yet gone through with it. In the past I had a bad experience with a 204 that made me sour to that caliber. Practical looks like it could be fun to play with, but also I believe in wide open west areas the .224 bullet selection weigh more heavily and yes I know about 55 grain bullets in the 20 cal, just availability sucks.

Are you running the 20 practical? Send me a message about it if so

 

[satchamo]

I don’t get to shoot bobcats unless I draw a tag which I did do a few years ago and of course they never cooperated. But regardless when I did hunt them I was carrying a 17 hmr. Ended up killing a coyote with it one day at 20ish yards. He was facing me so I just squared up on his chest and that coyote flopped and was dead FAST. I was very surprised how lethal it was but those little vmaxs are mean and in my opinion a perfect bobcat round because they don’t damage the fur hardly at all and most if not all of my bobcat call ins are close. I can’t say I’ve ever had one not commit right to the call…

Sorry I know you’re not asking about this but throwing it out as an option

 

[Erict]

I have taken a fair share of yotes out beyond 200 with a .223 using 40 gr VMAX at 3300 fps. If I was hunting strictly for cats I'd download them quite a bit. All the cats I've seen left plenty of time to wait for a good shot that avoided bone. It's a real shame to ruin a nice cat pelt.

 

[sportsmans challenge]

I have taken a fair share of yotes out beyond 200 with a .223 using 40 gr VMAX at 3300 fps. If I was hunting strictly for cats I'd download them quite a bit. All the cats I've seen left plenty of time to wait for a good shot that avoided bone. It's a real shame to ruin a nice cat pelt.

Could be interesting to see how that 40 does in a 16" 1:8 twist.
I believe the nosler has just a slightly thicker jacket or make up than the v max

 

[justin davis]

Taken a few bobcats with 22-250 and 50 grain Sierra bullets. Going around 3650. Can’t find a hole usually.

 

[Skerhunter]

I have almost entertained the idea of a 20 practical, just haven't yet gone through with it. In the past I had a bad experience with a 204 that made me sour to that caliber. Practical looks like it could be fun to play with, but also I believe in wide open west areas the .224 bullet selection weigh more heavily and yes I know about 55 grain bullets in the 20 cal, just availability sucks.

Are you running the 20 practical? Send me a message about it if so

20 dasher is an option as well! Some ppl around here are testing them right now.

 

[sportsmans challenge]

20 dasher is an option as well! Some ppl around here are testing them right now.

I have seen some of the 20 developments, 20 grendel, dasher and heard of others as well. A fast 20 could be fun running 39, 40 or heavier if found.