Fox classic hunter on varmints?

[Karhumies]

Hey, i have been putting down alot of racoon dogs lately and i have run out of varmint bullets (no factory options available locally) but i do have some deer loads left, fox 139gr in my 6.5x55.

at 50m or so do these have any chanse of opening up?

 

[KimE]

Do they need to open a fmj work well fox fox.

 

[Karhumies]

Do they need to open a fmj work well fox fox.

they do. Racoondogs are tough as nails, its unethical to me to use FMJ. last time i shot one with my 30-06 with FMJ the dog found it 100m away. they are built tougher than a fox as well.

this time of year i dont use the fur so using FMJ is just not something iam willing to use when the animal goes to the incinerator anyway

 

[Heym SR20]

I can’t speak for Racoon dogs nor the 6.5x55, but have shot several foxes with a 130gn fox bullet out of my 7x57. They all were dead on the spot, or a short run.

 

[Heym SR20]

This was the result of a Fox 130gn 7mm on a crow at about 50 yards



And a head shot Fox with the same bullet at about the same sort of distance

 

[KimE]

The fur looks destroyed

 

[Karhumies]

should work fine for me then. In winter i shoot them with FMJ but against the snow the head is easier to see and i usually have a mutch longer window to shoot. in summer i just want them dead quick and messy.

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

Depends where you shoot them…

A 139gr Brass bullet doing an estimated 2650MV is unlikely to expand to any great degree on such a small framed target at that velocity.
But as the pictures above prove, things still die...

 

[Heym SR20]

Depends where you shoot them…

A 139gr Brass bullet doing an estimated 2650MV is unlikely to expand to any great degree on such a small framed target at that velocity.
But as the pictures above prove, things still die...

Remember back to expansion tests done on ballistic gel those Fox bullets open quickly in the first few inches with a decent wound channel being left behind. The crow I pictured above was pretty much opened up. No vet, or taxidermist would have been able to put it back together.

 

[Karhumies]

Depends where you shoot them…

A 139gr Brass bullet doing an estimated 2650MV is unlikely to expand to any great degree on such a small framed target at that velocity.
But as the pictures above prove, things still die...

when not headshooting i try to get the shoulders. would removing the plastic tips do anything? i have read conflicting things about it.

Iam not really looking to pick them as a varmint bullet normally. Question is more wether they will beat out FMJ in a pinch.

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

Plastic tips do nothing to the performance either balistically or terminally

In fact we sell the .222/.22-250 and 100gr 243 without the tips

They definitely expand better without tips
pull them and see

A solid high shoulder hit with an FMJ will drop most things in their tracks and they will have bled out by the time you get there

 

[Karhumies]

that is true. but a shot slightly lower or further back and the racoondog is gone before you can even confirm the hit (in the dark). expansion gives a bit more peace of mind in case i misjudge distance, angle etc and hit a bit low or get the liver for instance

i have used the 50gr in the 222. wouldnt be surprised if it would drop a young moose...

I do know 150gr from the 30-06 expands.... pops them like a balloon guts everywhere. I sold my 30-06 in favor of the 6.5x55 however.

 

[the_greenman]

Absolutely, pull the tips off. Listen for the whop sound!

 

[WildBoarHunter]

Fox Hunter is a very soft monolithic bullet which opens up fast and works really well even on small game. I shot quite a few foxes with them in 308 and 6.5×55 and would not hesitate to recommend them for small game.
Just a remark though, the 139 gr in 6.5×55 is a bit heavy and slow for small game and is not ideal for this task. But I suspect it would nevertheless do it's job.

 

[Karhumies]

Fox Hunter is a very soft monolithic bullet which opens up fast and works really well even on small game. I shot quite a few foxes with them in 308 and 6.5×55 and would not hesitate to recommend them for small game.
Just a remark though, the 139 gr in 6.5×55 is a bit heavy and slow for small game and is not ideal for this task. But I suspect it would nevertheless do it's job.

Thats just what i have loaded up. in a month il order some more Vmax for my sako vixen. normally targets for that 139gr are deer. I usually only have 1 load per rifle. keeps it simple and reliable, early in my hunting days i had the 30-06 and about 6 different bullets. I kept a note with all the scope adjustments to switch between hunts. Then forgot it once and ran into a massive grouse. Exept i was zeroed for 220gr softpoints and not 100gr fmj wich is what i was shooting.

My 6.5x55 shoots the 139gr fox now. the 222 shoots 35gr Vmax and the 308.... still working on it, AK actions can get very temperamental with the heavier loads.