bullet types

[south_river_redneck]

This is, as you can tell, a beginner's question.

What is the difference in function of the several types of bullets on the market?  By types I mean full metal jacket, hollow point, soft point, moly coated, and so on.  What would be your choice for coyotes? 

Also, have any of you tried the bulk Cabela's .223 ammo?  Are you getting what you are paying for? 

I'm just a kid with a million questions and a small pocket book.  This is now my favorite website, I can find out almost anything I want to know.

One more thing before I go.  My dad claims that all the old timers he ever knew swore that a hollow point bullet shot in his .22 would be hard on the barrel.  Is there any truth to that?

[mookster79]

I am by no means an expert, but the bullets you use depend on what you are looking to do.  You do not want to use fmj rounds for hunting in my opinion because they will overpenetrate and often will not put a good instant kill on what you are shooting.  Hollow points will expand when they hit something which causes a quicker kill by increasing internal damage.  Soft points also deform on impact to reduce overpenetration and cause faster kills.  I don't care for moly bullets and I am sure the guys around here will throw all possible definitions at you.  If you are going to shoot moly then you only shoot moly, they basically are a cleaner round and won't foul the barrel as quick.  Some guys swear by them and then there are guys like me that don't think it matters. 

As for coyotes or other varmint for that matter.  My .223 handi likes either the hornaday vmax or nosler ballistic tips in about a 50 gr. bullet. If you can find them the best bullet for great results and cheap on the pocket would be the winchester white box hollow points in 45 gr.

The cabela's ammo is good for my AR15 and just plinking around or cutting paper in the fmj rounds.  You have to try several things with a handi I found very quickly that a lot of bulk ammo and especially miilitary surplus ammo did not work well for accuracy in my handi.

I have never heard of hollow points being hard on a barrel, in my experience any .22lr ammo is terribly dirty but not because it was a hollow point.

Last but not least, Welcom to the sight.  There is a ton of info available on this sight and some really good people. Good luck.

[joshco84]

different bullets do different things, hollow points and ballistic tips usually have greater expansion and less penetration.  Others are made to penetrate deep, and retain lots of weight.  Full metal jackets are made to puch a hole the same size as the bullet, or penetrate something really tough (say an elephant or something with really thick skin.  Just look at the boxes of ammo at the store and read what the bullets are made to do, this is the best way to learn what different types of bullets do.  Handi's are not made to shoot milsurp ammo, and i have never used the cabela's bulk, but have not heard of anyone who liked it in a handi.  I shoot coated bullets in a 7 rem mag and have never got a blue patch out of the barrel (blue means copper when cleaning) and it doesnt have to be cleaned as often.  However you have to shoot slightly reduced loads with a moly bullet due to extra pressure.  Also about 50% of what has been shot out of my 22 long has been hollowpoints and i have never had a problem, so sounds like an old wives tale to me!!

josh

[Mac11700]

I heard the same thing when I was a kid...many..many..many moons ago...Along with hearing some of the faster ammo would burn out the 22LR throats and such...I never ran across it...what I did find was some of the ammo stripped enough lead in that little bore to foul it so bad it wouldn't shoot worth a durn though...If I remember right...it was some of the old Winchester Super Speed hollow points that did this...maybe that was the basis of those stories...

S.S.R..
The difference in the bullet types you've ask for can be found by searching most manufactures web sites..As what has already been told you...they all have different purposes...There are various coatings used...Barnes uses their trademarked blue coating...Winchester uses their TM Lubalox..and also regular moly...Hornady offers moly coated bullets as well...These coatings are designed to reduce pressure..and aid in not allowing the bore to become copper fouled...They will become fouled with what is being used on them at some point...but usually no where as quickly with out using it...The thing to remember when using any coated bullet...is to stick to using them...and not mix shooting non-coated bullets in the bore adding copper on top of the coating...This can lead to higher pressures...

Hollow pointed rifle bullets can be had in a couple of varieties...Hunting style...and Match style...Normally one doesn't use the match hollow points for hunting..do to the unreliability of them expanding correctly on game...but some of the long range guys do this with them and have had fair results..

Controlled expansion bullets..( CE)..are bullets designed to expand at a certain velocity and resistance with in the game..and usually are a bonded type which hold together better than standard cup & core bullets...

Partition bullets are designed to readily expand at lower velocities up to the partition built within the bullet normally about 1/2 the length.. and then continue thru the animal

There are also new style bullets that are made entirely from copper (Barnes)..that can be true solids...or like their others that are scored thru,,,and expand at normal velocities...As well as their monolithic solids used for African game which as you know doesn't expand at all.......Some of the newest bullets out there...have tungsten cores...and all other kinds of technological advances that supposedly make them better than everyone else's...

There is a multitude of bullets...on the market...some old designs have been killing game for many years...so...deciding on which to use will be a matter of how much your willing to spend...to get the desired effect your wanting in what ever it is your hunting...Some folks here will try to tell you such & such bullet is all you need...namely because they have good luck with it...This may be true...but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll have the same luck as they do ...The thing to remember is getting the best accuracy from you rifle...no matter if brand X is supposed to be better than brand Z while matching the bullet type to the game your hunting... While the old argument that Dead is Dead ...meaning if it kills the animal it's good enough may seem logical...you have to take into account all aspects of using it and this includes if you ever take less than desirable shots on animals...if you don't always get a perfect shot...then stepping up to a premium bullet is the most logical thing you can do...and they no longer have to cost a fortune to get them...least while Federal is making it's Fusion ammo ( CE-Bonded type) competitively priced with some of the standard offering s of Remington & Winchester now...

Military FMJ jacketed ammo isn't supposed to be used for hunting purposes...and their jackets can be made of copper..or the can be copper clad steel or some other type of homogeneous metal that doesn't expand...So if you find yourself looking thru a catalog and see some real good buys because they are cheap..don't even consider using this type for hunting...and it isn't recommended to be shot out of you Handi's anyways...

Mac

[joshco84]

sorry mac, you are right i was backwards on the pressure.  I confused myself thinking about using the same load for coated and uncoated.  I was thinking about building too much pressure with an uncoated on a coated load.  clear as mud?

josh