110gr 308 tap rounds for anti-varmint use?

[Pony Express]

i also have chickens and i use a remington 870 with a 26" barrel and full choke. right now if i saw a coyote or coon on my property i would use some 2-3/4" #7.5 birdshot...but thats only because thats all i have (except some brenneke's and buckshot, which would travel a little too far for my tastes. the coop is no 30 yds from my back porch

 

[HorseSoldier]

Have you ever shot hornady Tap from your M1A? The bullet is extremely light and my m1a will not reliably cycle them.

[off topic mode]

Wait, that doesn't make any sense at all. You can't swing a dead cat on this board without hitting a half dozen "M14 vs FAL" threads where happy M1A owners talk about how that adjustable gas system on the FAL is a pure waste of time . . .

[/off topic mode]

 

[LoneStarWings]

No one is preventing anyone from buying a FAL, if someone wants a fal, get a fal. I don't know why you FAL fanbois need to have small penis syndrome just because most people on here prefer the m14/m1a. Try some enzyte and quit whining. Besides, 110gr TAP cycles fine in my M1A.

 

[Bigfoot]

Wow.

Posters here are worried that a .308 loaded with the 110 TAP will overpenetrate? The 110 TAP uses the Hornady V-MAX, a varmint bullet. Although it's a bit spendy it'll work very well and it will double as a defense load just in case that disturbance in the night turns out to be two legged.

Link to Hornadys TAP page:

http://www.hornadyle.com/products/index.php?sID=72

Click on .308 and then the 110 TAP to see how it fragments and penetrates in gelatin.

Note this sentance there:

"An excellent choice for the M14 and its variants."

Since defence is also a worry I'd use the 155 TAP myself. It's THE best defense load for the .308 and it'll do great on smaller critters as well. It uses the 155 A-MAX bullet.

 

[Girodin]

When my dogs bark, they run off the foxes and put the coons up a tree.

 

[lobo9er]

no doubt 7.62 will kill a racoon. little over kill isn't it??

 

[kimberfan]

i live between a lake and mountains (like smack dab between the two) there for bear and large cats ARE common at least twice a year and live on an apple orchard which makes bear much more common as they love my apples this time of year.

and the cats love fish at the lake + coyotes run there.

so i need something thats decent for all the above but wont pack much punch after going thru the target.

now i could always load 1 mag with some 110gr taps and have a spare mag i can switch out with 150gr SP's for bear.

as for dogs running stuff off i dont trust my dog with my chickens there for he doest run free all the time.


i really like bigfoots idea of using 155gr amax loads too.

 

[Maverick223]

As far as bear and cougar, you do what you need to do...and for me that would include something larger than .308, either a .45-70 or a shotgun with Brenneke slugs. As far as varmints, why not position yourself where any potential ricochet is greatly reduced (towards the mountains?) and use a varmint round?

 

[Girodin]

I wouldn't want to shoot a bear with a v max bullet, just something to consider. There are trade offs to everything. Trying to use something for two very different tasks simultaneously means you will simply have to decide where to draw the line. Which objectives are the most important and are your proximate concerns. Typically when you try to make something do two somewhat mutually exclusive tasks at the same time the result is it will not be great for either.

It really comes down to where you are willing to make the trade off. I personally think its a job for two guns. I understand that is not a possibility. Thus I would triage my needs/desires, versus the realistic threats.

Threats

I see two possible ways to ranking them. You are more familiar with your property and what is found on it and thus you can choose which best fits it.

1) Being mauled by large predator > Being sued and/or prosecuted for a round going where it shouldn't > Losing a chicken

2) Being sued and/or prosecuted for a round going where it shouldn't > Being mauled by large predator > Losing a chicken

If you take an extra moment on shooting the chicken stealing varmint the worst that happens is he runs away to potentially come back later. A fairly livable consequence. If you need to shoot a bear or large cat, one can safely assume that it needs to happen immediately, if not you didn't need to shoot. Same for the need to shoot a person. To me this means I have a moment to make a decision or prep to shoot a raccoon that I don't have to shoot a BG, a bear or similar threat. To me that means you need to have your first chambered round ready to take on a bear or bad guy. Barring a two gun solution I would chamber the Mossberg with a slug and if I saw a raccoon or fox that I could legally shoot I would cycle a round of bird shot in its place. The potential to make an error in what is loaded, particularly when rushing to shoot a fleeing fox or the like, is something worth considering

Option two is to load the M1 with 110 grain TAP rounds. If you genuinely are so worried about a bear you cannot go out side without a large caliber rifle then a 110 grain TAP round starts to look like a silly thing to have it loaded with.

You must choose your trade offs.

 

[Bigfoot]

Heck of a post Girodin.

One option might be to load a mag with a fragging bullet (110 or 155 TAP) or two on top followed by bear stoppers like Ballistic Tips for example. In a bear or defence situation unload on him.

I have heard of hunters having success with the 165 TAP on deer so it might be a compromise bullet, but on black bear I don't know.

I alternate brutally fragging rounds (123 V-MAX) with rounds that frag a bit but penetrate better for barriers and larger critters (Wolf MC HP) in my Mini-30 and SKS. If I'm shooting varmints only a shot or two is necessary but in a defense situation I'm going to use controlled pairs giving him at least one of each.

 

[Girodin]

One option might be to load a mag with a fragging bullet (110 or 155 TAP) or two on top followed by bear stoppers like Ballistic Tips for example. In a bear or defence situation unload on him.

This too is a possibility, but a animal like a bear or cat can close the distance in an instant. Getting off multiple aimed shots is not something that can be assumed.

 

[Rollis R. Karvellis]

The 110gn VMax is a nasty varmint round. I have not tried the TAP but the number's do look good. As far as the nabors go, my situation is that I, can't shoot a varmint on the east, south, or north side, but on the west side it is preaty much open country, and if in the situation you describe I would not heasitat to shoot somthing in that direction.

 

[WVMountainBoy]

I think I would go shotgun, first round in it is a slug, that round is a cure ALL, sure its a waste of expensive ammo to shoot a coon with a slug, but its cheapre than your chicken. If its bigger than a coon, then you're also ready. If you miss, I assure you the raccoon still got the msg and left the area, follow that slug up with your 00. Cougers and bear aren't going to be fan of 00 either. This eliminates your dilemma of ammo selection, just means you'll have to aim. A coon shot with a slug is just deader than a coon shot with #6