Coy. Bolt or AR?

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MaineGlock

MaineGlock

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Hey everyone. I just recently started to gain an interest in predator hunting. I've been doing quite a bit of research and realize that the tactics, location, and skill play a far bigger part than what weapon system you imploy. However, seeing as coyotes are so wily, i'm looking for any advantage i can get. Any suggestions as to rifle, type of rifle, or cartridge?
 
I like my Swede in 6.5x55 (129 gr) when shots are longer range as the wind effect is limited and love my 222 Rem (52grs) when wind isn't a big deal. I have never hunted them super close range where folks might use a 12 ga. It's not hard to kill doggies, especially our little western fellows. Getting sights on them, as you note, is the harder part :)

Any rifle you feel comfortable with in terms of accuracy will do for coyote. So the questions are really about the prevailing hunting conditions. 243 Win, 257 Roberts, and 25-06 are all great double duty rounds for doggies and deer. 222/223 will work on doggies of the coyote and prairie variety.

But I've hunted those monsters you've got up in Aroostock county! 60-70 lbs and wiley indeed - virtually nocturnal, and invisible during the day. If you're hunting farm and timber in Maine, you're probably not looking at anything much beyond 150 yards. Unless I've got your conditions wrong, I'd say something from 25 cal - 30 cal and a very, very good low-light or thermal optic to go with it. If you can suppress, a 300 Blackout would, for example, be very handy. Unless you're hunting for pelts, then 223 FMJ makes good sense.
 
I have a Stag model 6,its a taxckdriver. You can get the upper only for around $550. With bullet technology as it is today,choose the right projectile and happy hunting.
 
You have my conditions nearly perfect. The pelts arent a giant concern considering it will be nuisance hunting, although I would enjoy giving my very liberal girlfriend a coy-skin coat:rofl:. Do you have any general optic suggestions for low light shots under 150 yards?
 
AR-15 for me. I started with bolt guns, eventually came to semi-autos, and for the semiauto coyote killing club, the AR is king. In my hay day, I'd kill 100-150 a season, but having a kid put a damper on that the last few years. I had never taken a solo triple until I started with a semiauto rifle, but had many opportunities on 3+ coyotes over the years before that. It's not common even with a semi-auto, nor is taking solo doubles even, but it never happened before, and did happen after I switched - which is why I switched.

If I only had ONE AR for coyote hunting, it would be a 6-6.8 with a free floating 20" barrel and UBR stock and a Geiselle NM 2stage trigger under a NXS 5.5-22x56mm.
 
MaineGlock said:
You have my conditions nearly perfect. The pelts arent a giant concern considering it will be nuisance hunting, although I would enjoy giving my very liberal girlfriend a coy-skin coat:rofl:. Do you have any general optic suggestions for low light shots under 150 yards?
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Well, I'm frugal, so I would look at a Leupold or Vortex with a 30mm tube and relatively low power 2 - 7 range. If you are able to get sub 100 yard shots, I believe you are allowed lights for night hunting? If so, maybe a high end 24mm that you can fit a good green light on would give you both good daytime optics and night stand ability. As I said, I'm frugal and these are scopes in the $400 - $600 range that I would be comfortable spending money on. Zeiss, Swarovski etc., may well offer even better low light performance for substantially more money.

Make head shots and the GF gets a Coycoat with a custom pocket for the Dr. McGillicudy's ;)
 
I was going to say grab a medium to fast 6mm or 6.5mm but if that's all the farther you're shooting, .223 6.5 grendel 6.8 spc .204 ruger etc etc etc, you're going FAST stay small caliber midweight, if you're running that Grendel or blk etc it won't matter as much at that distance, they shouldn't expand too terrible unless you're hotrodding a light ballistic tip. The platform depends on your ability/discipline/circumstances I guess. I'm good with bolt guns and single shots most days I can get a double if they show up. Are you looking at multiple targets? Rapid follow ups? If not and you only need 2 or 3 rds 5 seconds apart, a low magnification scoped bolt gun would be quite suitable. How you hunt and shoot would also help with platform, I don't like the way I handle an ar when hiking or in several shooting positions but a mini 14 works just fine. If you're looking at 75yds or less, my 9mm carbine is just fun. So really the more important question is, how many rounds do you wanna put downrange in 20 seconds and do you have support or are you shooting in various field positions and how much oomph do you want both for recoil and knockdown?
 
In my opinion, you can get the job done with either platform, but you can get far more follow up shots with an ar than a bolt gun. I'm assuming you would want to use factory ammo, I'd look at .223, 6.5grendel (great), or a 6.8 spc. But if you reload and don't mind a wildcat, look at the 6mm woa. If you want a one hole capable upper, check out white oak armament.
 
@RPRNY out in aroostook they take kindly to allens coffee brandy. @horsey300 I'm more than willing to take multiple shots if they present themselves. I dont mind recoil much. Probably shouldve mentioned that i'd set my budget limit at 1000$.:thumbdown:
 
Get a white oak upper and rock river lower with the national match trigger and you will have a damn accurate rifle with a great trigger. I shoot mine out to 800yds with 77gr pills.
 
6.8spc ar15. A bit overkill on coyotes but will also fit well with deer, pronghorn, etc. 6.8 also gives a touch more power to plant a coyote rather than have one run off and die in the brush the next county over.
 
MaineGlock said:
@RPRNY out in aroostook they take kindly to allens coffee brandy. @horsey300 I'm more than willing to take multiple shots if they present themselves. I dont mind recoil much. Probably shouldve mentioned that i'd set my budget limit at 1000$.:thumbdown:
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Well then there's two other options to look at that haven't been mentioned, a ruger mini 30 and a benelli R1 in 30-06 synthetic would be fun for purposes mentioned, the more I think about it, the R1 mini 30 6.8 and Grendel might be your best friends
 
I've got a 6.5 Grendel set up for varmint shooting, 24" barrel and a 5-15 scope, but for short range I would just use the 18" .223 upper with a 2.5-10 and 60 gr. SP load.
 
My woa rifle is 1-8" twist wylde sdm barrel upper with the deep flutes. I bought an a2 complete lower with the nm trigger. I believe it was $279 for the lower and I paid $800 for the upper, but it would be $650ish without the flutes. Look up reviews, you won't find any bad ones.
 
The old saying "You don't know what you don't know" is really hitting home for me here. Thanks everybody for the help, will update with pictures and hopefully a 'yote or two!
 
MaineGlock said:
Do you have any general optic suggestions for low light shots under 150 yards?
Click to expand...

RPRNY said:
Well, I'm frugal, so I would look at a Leupold or Vortex with a 30mm tube and relatively low power 2 - 7 range...
Click to expand...

Depending on your eyesight, I agree, something in the 6x to 7x is sufficient for coyote at 150 yards. I disagree that 30mm tube is a requirement. Optically, 30mm tube doesn't provide any advantage. Since you are talking about low light you probably want to get a scope with at least a 4-5 mm exit pupil at your highest magnification, to get maximum light transmission. You will probably want to learn about exit pupil, if you aren't familiar with it, since it will be the single most important factor when it comes to light transmission. Something like a Leupold VX-2 2-7x33mm would probably be a great option.
 
16" .223 Stag AR15 w 2-7X. Good in the thicker stuff, out to 200 yds.
700 ADL .243 w 4-12XAO for longer.
Honestly, for the close stuff (0-200) the last couple of times I went, I took a .35 remington Contender carbine (my deer gun). Man that thing was a joy to carry, esp when we hoofed it a ways in deep snow.
 
I have a DPMS A3 Classic in .223 that I hunt coyotes with. It has an A2 stock, 20" barrel and 3lb. Timney trigger. For optics it wears a Leupold VX-R 2-7x33. The other rifle I use is a Vanguard S2 .243 with a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40. I use both rifles interchangeably and use whichever I'm in the mood to use. I don't think it matters whether you use a bolt gun or an AR, it is nothing more than personal preference.
 
MaineGlock said:
Hey everyone. I just recently started to gain an interest in predator hunting. I've been doing quite a bit of research and realize that the tactics, location, and skill play a far bigger part than what weapon system you imploy. However, seeing as coyotes are so wily, i'm looking for any advantage i can get. Any suggestions as to rifle, type of rifle, or cartridge?
Click to expand...
AR with 1/7 twist barrel. Use .68 grain ammo.
 
Since not shooting them past 200 yards I would go with an ar15 too. A simple S&W ar15 Sport II or Ruger or similar will do. A large Objective lens will let the light in better as far as glass goes. Vortex has some nice scopes at great prices if your not looking to break the bank.
 
We're limited to 22 caliber center fire or smaller for night time hunting in WV, so the AR semi-auto or a 22-250 bolt are the no-brainers for us.
 
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