maximum caliber for fur

[Willoughby]

I know a 223 is ideal for fur damage -or lack therof
but a 243 has some small bullet weights, would they work as well ?
or even fmj's with a reduced charge in a 308 ?

[pa hog]

I've seen a lot of guys on TV using .243's for fur, I seen some guys using .25-06's too. I'd think them with the right bullet would be about as potent as I'd want to go. I like the way the .204's expand and expend all of their energy inside critters with 39gr Sierra Blitzkings, that would be my choice if I was Fur hunting out to 400yds. I'd think with the right bullet about anything short of a Whizzbang Magnum would work.

[ShowMeShooter]

In my opinion it depends on if bobcats are in your future. I shot a cat with a .243 using 87gn Hornady Varmint bullet. This bullet blew a tennis ball sized hole in the back side of the cat. I now shoot a .223
http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/6159

[scope eye]

Hi yes there is a way to minimize fur damage, with the 243 cal and 55 Noslers, or 58 Vmax's and even a 308 cal, with 110 Vmax's, just use H4895 and you can reduce the loads to 60% of max load,and that's not me that's per Hogdon, I have tried it and it works, but it just goes against my whole being, to load this way, here is the load data.

58 Vmax 43 gr max so times 60% = 26 gr's

110 Vmax 50 gr max so times 60% = 30 gr's

Tanks Dean

[Seeking_Coyotes]

I think we may be selling the .243 short in this thread. For some of the big coyotes in the east and north the .223 is marginal imho. Shoot a bullet that will expand but not expolde like a Hornady 87 grain btsp and you have a deer and pelt friendly round in most instances.

[Monkeymaster]

Any caliber with a full metal jacket should put just that caliber size hole into, and out of, the critter you are shooting.
In my experience anyway.
I have shot coyotes with my M1 and surplus lake city full metal jacket ammo, .308 caliber hole in, and out.
Good luck.

[squirrelsniper]

For coyotes, which can get big here in KY, I use a 243 with either 70gr Ballistic Tips or 87gr V-Maxs loaded just below max for the rifle. How much damage you get depends on the range of the shot, angle of the shot, size of the yote, and exactly what you hit.
Best case scenerio: you take a quartering away shot on a big yote at 50yds or less, get heart/lungs, and the high velocity causes the bullet to fully fragment inside the chest cavity. One 243 hole and that's the extent of the damage.
Worst case scenerio: a broadside shot on a small/skinny yote at about 100-150yds and the bullet catches a rib on the off-side. One 243 hole and one hole you can run your fist through.

For fox, 223 is about as big as you can go without risking damage.

For bobcats, anything bigger and/or faster than a 22 Hornet may do serious damage.

In bigger calibers, plain old deer hunting bullets seem to do decent most of the time as they often don't fully expand before exiting. The exception to that would be the deer cailbers that are known for high velocity (25-06, 270, 7mm mag).

I have very limited experience with FMJs but they seem to do okay in bigger calibers. However, I've been told by others with more FMJ experience that they sometimes tumble and cause damage as bad as a HP.

[stomp442]

I always suggest the .22-250 for the answer to this question. It will run a 55 grain bullet at 3700+ which is all I have ever been able to get out of either of my .243s with a 55 grain bullet. Besides that the .22 cal 55-60 grain bullet will have a higher bc than the shorter fatter bullet of the .243. This translates into more punch at extended ranges and less wind drift. The .22-250 also solves the problem of not being enough gun for the larger coyotes or the extremly tough ones like we have here in AZ. As far as pelt dmage goes it really all depends on shot placement. Ive had my .223 blow some pretty big holes in both coyotes and bobcats with 55 grain Vmaxs and I have also had them go in and not come out. I think a .22-250 with a match king would probably be the way I would go if I was in the busines of trying to save pelts and get more punch. Just my .02.

[Uncle Jack]

Way back in the days when I used to hunt dogs and cats for pelts, I shot .308 or 30-06 with 190 grain HARD CAST LEAD bullets at around 2000 fps........no recoil, great knockdown, great penetration, and absolute minimal pelt damage.

uj

[Wino]

+1 to what MonkeyMaster is saying. I've used a .308 fmj surplus ammo and a dozen yotes last year and its small hole in and small hole out. DRT on all of them. I wouldn't use the fmj in my .223 as I've seen my buddy have to track a dog for long way before it dropped using his AR-15 with FMJ.