Which rifle to use for coyotes.

How about a 22-250? I'd just use my .308, target rifle, should put down a dog pretty easily

I missunderstood your gun choice, shoot them, and see which one shoots best for you. I thought you needed to get a rifle.

of those 3 the .243 is the most practical, however nothing like a 7 mag making a mess of a yote

They will all definately kill a coyote, but as Chaser stated the .243 is the most practical and probably the lightest for carrying it around on the hunt.

Whatever rifle you can fire accurately is what you want. At what range will you be shooting?

Geno

The 7mm is overkill and ammo is very expensive. The .243 is in the right size range for coyotes. Anything .223 or better is plenty sufficient.

There is no such thing as "over-kill" when the intent is varmint eradication. Only if you plan to keep the pelts, does "over-kill" belong in a sentence. Regarding the three you listed, .243 Win, .270 Win and 7mm Rem Mag, all three are effective and efficient.

The .243 Win is a perfectly suited round, loaded with 75, 87, 90, 95 or even 100 grain loads. However, I assure you, that if you load a .270 Win with either Speer 90 grain HPs, or Speer 100 grain Hot Core, there won't be much coyote left for postmortem examination. Load them to 3,800 FPS and it's like a nuke hitting the poor critter. If I were deploying my 7mm Rem Mag, I would handload with 120 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips. Take your last look at the sorry critter before you pull the trigger, 'cuz they ain't a gonna be time to visual, nor much substance remaining for evaluation after the shot! Either the .270 Win or the 7mm Rem Mag, when loaded as described, will literally create "red-mist" upon impact. There will be left behind the coyote, about an 8' to 10' radius of former coyote.

For me, if I were going tomorrow, I'd gin-up some 100 grains for my .270 Win and never look back.

Geno

The 243.

I'd use a 20mm Vulcan if I could! I hate 'yotes with a passion. Almost rolled a truck trying to hit one once...I'm not sure that it would have been a loss!

I agree with using the 7mm Rem Mag with 120gr Ballistic Tips. Should end thing's quickly.

There is no such thing as "over-kill" when the intent is varmint eradication.

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Well, I would argue that the rather ambiguous term can encompass tolerating an unnecessary amount of recoil due to a cartridge that is far more powerful than necessary for the intended target.

Given your criteria, i.e. Not your gun, helping out a farmer, lots of coyotes, etc., I would take the 243. The ammo is cheaper ($14 for a box at walmart--get the Federal), and it will be easier on you shoulder if you have to do a lot of shooting.

243. That is what I use. Shoot either 55 grain Noslers or 80 grain Federals.

I use 204 Ruger. 223 works well as well. Thefore ANY of your choices will work just fine.

If the gun is going to be devoted soley to coyote hunting, then I'd go with .243. The 7mm ammo is way too expensive and the recoil will be harsher. Also, the .270 has harsher recoil than the .243. With a .243, you can comfotably and very accuractly zip pills down range. You wont break the bank either.

Well, I would argue that the rather ambiguous term can encompass tolerating an unnecessary amount of recoil due to a cartridge that is far more powerful than necessary for the intended target.

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If what you're trying to do is to become intimately familiar and proficient with your big game rifle, then it is a wonderful idea. You'll do a hell of a lot more shooting at flesh hunting coyotes for a year or two than most will do in a lifetime of deer hunting. Like JD Jones said, "killing" is the best teacher. A foreign concept to the masses of hunters who fire no more than a box or two of "shells" out of their favorite deer rifle over a lifetime.

CraigC:

Well said, Sir. As I reflect on my decades of shooting and hunting, the point in time where I was the best shot of my lifetime was when I had 1 centerfire rifle, 1 single shot .22LR, 1 single-shot 12 gauge and a solitary 1911 .45 ACP. I never even blinked of hesitation to shoot at deer at 525 yards. I knew precisely what the trajectory and drift of my rifle was. That one rifle was my "target" rifle, plinking rifle, varmint rifle and my big game rifle. What's the old sayin', "Fear the man who has only one rifle; he likely knows how to use it."

Geno

AR15

Between your choices listed, I would go with the .243.

If it was me who had to pick from one of the three cartridges listed, I would go with the .243 only because it will be more pleasant to shoot, due to less recoil. Also, as others have said, it's not so overkill.

.243

The idea with coyotes (or pretty much all varmints for that matter,) is a swift, flat-shooting bullet. All three of the ones you have named are just that. However, If all three of them will work just fine, why use one bigger than you need to? Your shoulder will hurt a lot less at the end of a day of shooting .243.

I am currently building varmint guns in .223 and .243. I would prefer 22-250, but they don't make an AR platform for them. My dad has a Remington 700 VSSF in 22-250, which is probably perfect, but I am trying to move to EBRs for all of my hunting.

My own varmint/target rifles are chambered in .223 Rem and .308 Win. For the smaller critters and within 300 yards, I prefer the .223 in 45 grain HPs. For the larger critters, and beyond 300 yards, I prefer the .308 Win with 150 HPs. Neither is as-glamorous-as the .270 Win, but their barrels will last considerably longer. The following pictures are of my preferred method is dispatch varmints. As pictured, it tips the scales at about 17 pounds.

M700 Police .308 Win
Timney 1.5 pound trigger
Bell & Carlson Tactical Medalist A5 Fully Adjustable stock
Ken Ferrell G-force picatinny rail with 20 MOA off-set (secured via epoxy and TocTite)
Nightforce NXS 5.5-22X56
Leupold Mark 4 30mm rings
Harris bi-pod

Geno <<Evil Geno, very evil Geno>>

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idunit:

Not a dummy; a beginner. No shame in that at all. I still have a lot to learn about shooting. I hope to start some informal target shooting at 1,000 yards. I've shot to 525 yards, but never 1,000. There, I am a beginner.

At 400ish yards, the mild recoil of the .243 Win will really help you out a lot! At those distances, I would opt for the 95 grain projectile. It will have less drift than say a 75 grain, and still good down-ranger energy. Set the zero at dead-on for 300 yards. At 400 yards, your point of impact will be about 10" to 12" low. Hold the crosshair about the coyote's ear height, over the shoulders. You should nail it. If you have 5 to 10 MPH crosswinds, a point of aim off the coyote's nose or off the rear should nail the chest at 400 yards.

I really like to practice with 2-liter pop bottles filled with water to develop drift and trajectory estimations. That pop bottle is about the size of a coyote's chest. Good luck and post how it goes for you. I'll be up north tomorrow trying my hand at some distance shots on steel targets.

Geno

PS: If you do not handload, or they don't, I suggest getting some 95 grain, Federal Premium, spire point, boattails. It's great ammo for factory loads!