fortunately coyotes are bigger than that

whats a plain Jane Savage 25itty.

25itty is a poor mans windy pelt wrecker ,back in the fox days they ruined a lot of fox

I mentioned the BARNS TSX 53gr. above. It has no lead so to get the weight it is longer. Long like heavier bullets. Seems to do.well with.average twist and also faster twists. Has the grooves which decreases friction which lowers pressures and increases speed. Expands fast, does not blow up so penetrates deep if needed. Passes through on a coyote with no weight loss. I like. Have heard of complaints of copper fouling. Not sure on this.
Boon mentioned the Sierra 53 gr. HP. Very accurate reasonable priced. I find they come apart at a deeper depth than the Noslers, therefore more chance of back side.damage. I have probably shot.more of the Sierra's than any other bullet but have stopped using them for fur. Barnes and Nosler for me.
Haven't used the Hornady ones. If Less Johnson uses them, they are probably good.
I strongly agree with Boon on V-max, Blitz king and varmint grenades. They lack either on accuracy or damage.

Just some of my thoughts.

Since the OP asked specifically about heavier .22 cal bullet (personally I wouldn’t but hey)…..


IF I were to be looking to develop a coyote load using heavy .22s, I’d be looking VERY closely at the 73 and 75 grain Hornady ELD-Match bullets.

I’ve got to be close to 300 coyotes with my 6 Creedmoor now, shooting the 108 ELD-Ms, and I’m just ecstatic with the performance. I’ve only had five “issues”, and two of those would have been issues no matter what, just poor hits.

And while I wouldn’t call them “fur friendly” (but again, $20 coyotes so who cares), they are surprisingly not that bad when it comes to damage for the most part.

They also make a 62 grain ELD-VT which is new which might be worth a try.

I used to get coyotes from some guys who hunt them hard with hounds. I told them I didn't want any that were shot with 22-250s; huge holes in most of them. Maybe use FMJ bullets, not soft nosed ones?The ones shot with 223s were OK most of the time.

You’re spot on Boone, the ELD replaced the AMAX in most calibers. Something with the tip heating up?? But performance wise I agree. I bought a couple cases of the Amax’s when I learned they were being replaced. I am good til I can’t see them anymore…. Lol. It must be a blast living in a target rich environment.. Keep up the good work and thanks for you our insight. I will be interested in seeing how the 62 ELD-VT pans out myself, may have to play around and see first hand. Regarding the heavies, I’d go with something with minimal expansion and hope the pass thru doesn’t find bone, it’s about all you can do really.

Boone, what kind of rifle is your 6mm? I love mine. Ive shot a pile of coyotes with the 87 grain vmax and some with the 103 grain eldx. No issues with either. The vmax are far from fur friendly.

It’s a custom built off a 700 action.

20” bartlein barrel in an 8 twist.

Sure is odd how different folks using the same bullet get different results. Most of the time nosler ballistic tip 55 grains make a pencil hole entry and no exit for me in 22-250.

Why my posts regarding bullets where asked in the way they are.

Speed of the bullet has a lot to do with damage. Match the hatch!

I see different results with the same load/bullet based on the time of the year. Hide thickness, fur density plays a factor as well. Those vmax behave a lot different when they punch through a July coyote vs a December coyote. And that’s a fact.

I've been shooting the 45 grain Barnes TSX-very fast-4100 f.p.s. plus.( 22-250) Haven't had any runners yet out of about 30 plus coyotes-stones them pretty hard. Solid copper that expands to their patented x SHAPE. Did some Texas heart shots and had exits out the front of the chest-perfect little X shape-pretty impressed so far. Broadside shoulder punches-no bone blow-ups etc yet.

No bullet is perfect for what we are all wanting-perfect fur bullet etc..I do know a guy that has shot literally thousands of coyotes and all he ever used was a 220 swift with FMJ's for like 40 years-and yes he has shot thousands-no B.S.-HE NOW SHOOTS A .204 and absolutely loves it.

he's a fur guy

I shoot 2 loads in mine.
#1 .40 grain Hornady vmax over 38 grains of H380. This blows up on the fur if the coyote is closer than 70 yards. Past 400 yards it does not expand well and is inconsistent.
#2 .50 grain Barnes Blue Bullet over 38 grains of H380. great penetration and does not blow them up. I had shot a lot of them closer than 50 yards and it just passes through but kills them with the shock wave. The furthest I shot one is 497 yards and it killed it dead and did not expand. I hit it twice. Second shot through the neck while he was setting looking at me after I burned him behind the ribs.

I picked these for accuracy. My .22-250 is an old Parker Hale 110 bolt action. It has a 1 in 12 twist rate so it likes the lighter bullets. It will not shoot a 55 grain bullet accurately and the heavier ones key hole. When this barrel finally goes bad I'll get a faster one. This gun doesn't like A-max, Berger VLD, anything with a plastic tip accept those .40 grain Hornady ballistic tips. It does ok with old style Speer TNT .53 grain hollow points but the two mentioned for me are the most accurate in this gun. I like the smack down affect when things work the way they should. Never had one get up from it.

My other .22-250 is a .19 Badger but it is only good at the smack down to about 300 yards.

Thanks gents! Being that it is a 1:9 twist the reloading books say start at the upper 60 gr bullets. I guess he will try the lighter bullets most recommend to see if they will shoot! Definitely going to be handloads and I’m sure he wants the hides. I’ll tell him to start with the hornady eld. Again thanks fellas!

I have an 8 twist that shoots 50 grainers really really well.

So don’t be afraid to try the mid weight bullets.