Small game bullet and shot placement

[ryno111]

Hi All,

I’m preparing for an August night hunt in South Africa targeting small to medium game (smaller cats, porcupine, hyena, badger) and also planning to hunt coyotes here in Mississippi. Since I have limited experience hunting game of this size, I’d really appreciate your advice.

I have a .223 and plenty of full metal jacket (FMJ) ammo. I believe this caliber should work, but I’m unsure if the FMJ ammo is suitable. I'm looking for ethical kills with minimal hide damage. Would Hornady varmint bullets be a better option for this?

Additionally, what about shot placement on these animals?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I typically use a 300Gr solid fired from a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum. I’ve also used a .22 Hornet & a .243 Winchester with great success on African small game.


Your .223 Remington will also be just fine. I highly recommend you to employ the 40Gr Nosler Ballistic tips for the kind of game which you intend to hunt. Hide damage is not extensive, at all.

A few Hyenas I have shot (so far) over the years.

.30-06 Springfield with 220Gr Remington Core Lokt

7x57mm Mauser with 173Gr Prvi Partizan soft point

12 gauge with Hullmax 32 Gram 40 Pellet AAA

 

[DG870]

I’ve shot lots of coyotes, calling them in using a predator call. Any good soft point bullet pleased in the chest cavity will put them down. If you hit them farther back they can run a long way. My favorite bullet has been the Hornady 55 grain soft point with a cannelure but I’ve used the old Nosler Solid base and Speer soft points with good results. I’ve also used Speer’s 70 grain round nose. It hits hard and because it’s a round nose, the shorter bullet will stabilize in slower twist barrels. Lots of good choices available. I load these into mostly military brass but if you’re going overseas you may need to use .223 head stamped brass to avoid any problems.

 

[375Fox]

A hyena is a big and solidly built animal. A 223 is not appropriate for one for a trophy hunt to me. This was a really big female I’d think over 200 lbs. The males are smaller.

 

[Ross Reamy]

We used a .223 Rem to take several of the small nocturnal critters (civet, genet, honey badger, springhare, etc) all the way up to springbok using a 55gr soft point, and have little to no hide damage.

A 55gr Barnes TSX would probably be an even better choice.

 

[sureshot375]

Speed is not your friend. If I was targeting small stuff I would take a .22mag.

I have also used a .375 with solids without issues.

Hyenas are large tough animals and not really in the same category as the small night critters or a coyote. They should be shot with a reasonable size rifle with regular expanding bullets.

Also, honey badgers are tough. Last one I shot at 10 yards with a .500/.416 soft. No major hide damage. Not the caliber I would recommend, but it’s not like shooting a raccoon. Shot placement is important. Some of these things happen at close range. Make sure you know how to aim in situations under 20yrds. I’ve made the mistake before of putting the crosshairs dead on at short distance and hit low because the bullet is below the line of sight at that distance.