Coyote Cartridge?

[Froggy]

I'm in the market for a rifle that will be used only for coyote calling -- doesn't need to be a general purpose, one size fits all rifle. I've pretty much decided on the rifle & scope combo I want, but am looking for help in choosing the chambering.

It is high desert country with typical shot ranges varying from about 75 yards to 200 yards, but 300 yards would not be unheard of. I'm not a fur hunter so won't suffer if the fur is ruined but it would be nicer if they're worth keeping after the shot. I am not (yet) a handloader / reloader so will be limited to commercial loadings.

Which cartridge?

 

[chris allen]

coyote rifle

If you are saving the fur absolutely nothing beats the 17 Remington.My passion is calling coyotes and I have tried many calibers and the 17 Remington shines.Drops them and there is no exit hole.

Calibers I have used;
222 rem
223 rem
243 win
6mm rem
270 win.
I have also built many wildcat cartidges that fill in arond all the factory calibers, from 17 ackley hornet to 6mm/ 264 mag.Used them all don't let anybody talk you out of 17 rem.If the say it is no good ask them how many coyotes they have shot with one ..I have shot hundreds!All big Canadian coyotes.

 

[Browning]

Personally, I like both of them, but if I was pressed to choose just one, it would be the .223, just because of bullet (weight) selection and the wide availability of ammo. The .22-250 is a fine cartridge. IMO it out performs the .223 Rem and as far as performance goes (IMO) is the better cartridge. But the .223 is more widely available and has a wider selection of bullet weights. I'm not saying that the 22-250 isn't widely available as well, it's a very common round, it's just that the .223 Rem is a little more common and a little more widely available.

I guess that's due to the fact that there's all kinds of surplus and overrun military 5.56 ammo that people use in sporting rifles (like the Mini-14) and in military style semi-autos. Plus on top of those, there are the civilian tactical type rounds that are out there (Black Hills Match, Horandy TAP and Federal TRU), then there's the widely available plinking ammo (Winchester white box, Remington yellow box and Wolf FMJ and HP's) and then lastly the very common varmint loads make a variety of ammo that's hard for any cartridge that has a completely civilian background to beat.

There's a bullet selection for the .223 Rem in factory ammo that goes from 40 grains all the way up to 77 grains. Maybe there's an even better selection if you hand load, but I don't. In contrast, most loads for the 22-250 go from 40 grain bullets to 60 grains if I remember correctly, not alot of choice in bullet weights from factory ammo. You might be able to find a better bullet selection for the 22-250 if you hand load, but that isn't my field, I've got more money than time right now. I'd like to get into it eventually, but it's (handloading) not in the cards for me right now.

Out of the two, I'd pick the .223 Rem if you're looking for a great varmint rifle for shooting at varmints at less than 200 to 300 yards. If you need a little more range than that, I'd go with the 22-250, that's my thinking behind it anyway. 350 to 375 yards is about my limit with the .223 I've got and that's my level of accuracy (maybe some people could do better, but that's what I can do consistently right now), it's what I can hit regularly with at those ranges with and it's my minute of pie plate rifle for smaller game.

 

[koja48]

Used a .17 Rem for years, until it started losing accuracy, but it was a 200 yard round for coyotes at best. Can't beat a .223 & I use one a lot, but my hands-down favorite is the .204 Ruger in a TC G-2 carbine . . . easy to carry & unGodly accurate, as well as devastating on 'yotes. I've had clean kills out past 400 yards & zero pelt damage shooting 32 grain Hornadies.

 

[Froggy]

.

 

[Lambo119]

.204 Ruger

I voted other. I purchased a .204 Ruger early last year and have since about hung up both my .22-250 and .223. I found this round to be really impressive for varmints. It shoots flatter than my .223 and will not over penetrate like my 22-250. The .22-250 is still my choice for long distance (400+ yards) though.

 

[Froggy]

In hindsight, I probably should have listed .204 Ruger as one of the options as I'm reading elsewhere it is growing in popularity as a coyote cartridge. Still new enough that there is not yet a lot of variety in the commericial loadings though.

Lambo, what bullet are you using in your .204?

 

[Lambo119]

Currently shooting factory loaded Hornady 40 gr. V-Max. My gun really seemed to like it alittle better than the 32 gr. The 45 gr. V-Max shot very well also but not as flat. Down side is thats currently about your choice for factory loads.

 

[one-shot-one]

do you re load?
if yes i'd go with the .22-250, just cause i've always wanted one.
if no or you don't want to go .223
bullet selection will mean more to how much hide is saved than how big the brass is.

 

[marksman13]

I usea .243 with Remington Accu-tip 75 grain bullets. I don't reload and this is the most accurate factory load I have found that I can afford to shoot. IF you are pelt hunting, and I'm not, I don't recomend the .243 Win. It does knock a yodel dog flat on his arse though, and three hundred yards would be an easy enough shot with the .243.

 

[JesseL]

For a handloader I'd say 6mm Remington, otherwise 22-250.

 

[Art Eatman]

Good hold, good hasty rest, a .223 is plenty good on a 300-yard coyote. The odds are that if you're calling, and have or will develop good skill at calling, that the shots would be well inside of 300 yards.

Within 300 yards, it seems to me it's more the skill in hitting rather than the power of the cartridge.

Art

 

[H&Hhunter]

I like the the .223 on yotes simple because it is as common and as cheap as dirt.

Plus they fit real well in my new Bushmaster predator.

 

[hagar]

If you reload, 204 Ruger, else 223. I have killed a lot of coyotes in AZ with the 22/250, 223 and 243. I finally settled on my 223 Remington VS with 26 inch barrel using the cheap American Eagle 50 gr hollow points. It killed them deader than anything, coming, going, sideways, running, standing, you get the picture. The biggest factor however was that it allowed me to call in a lot more doubles, it was a lot quieter than the 22/250, and did not seem to spook "fresh" coyotes as much. I'd shoot one, and make a little bit of a racket on my rabbit call, and keep calling, and more often than not, about 3-5 minutes later another one would come in.

I shot a few with a T/C carbine with 21 inch barrel in 17Remington, and while they drop faster than the 223, sometimes they also get up and run away. With the American Eagle ammo, I killed almost 30 coyotes in a row that did not move more than 3 or 4 yards, and never lost a wounded one. I never used the 204, but from all the data I have seen about it, it probably is the best choice. less energy than a 22/250 at short range, but more at long range.

 

[MrDig]

.243 win. you get a little better ballistic coefficients with the .243 as opposed to .223 or 22-250. That being said all three are good flat shooters for the distances that Wiley C. can offer you.

 

[bigcim]

#4 's always worked great

 

[ReadyontheRight]

.243

Also works for whitetails.

 

[LeonCarr]

Mr. Froggy,

I would suggest, if you own a deer rifle, to use the deer rifle and the deer ammo for coyotes. That way you only have one set of trajectory tables to memorize, and most deer rifles will absolutely flatten a coyote, which IMO is what they deserve .

Every coyote I have shot (about 20 or so) has been killed with a 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip from a .308. I honestly have missed a few, but the ones I hit went about one foot...straight down.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[koja48]

it allowed me to call in a lot more doubles

Hence the reason I use nothing but a .223 Bushmaster Varmint model during certain times of the early fall/late winter . . . ye olde "quick second shot." Next season, I'll have a .204 Ruger upper on the venerable AR, at which time the TC may well see less use unless I'm planning to cover a lot of territory hiking . . . (actually, in WA State, the season is year-'round, but I refrain from dispatching next season's targets in this year's pregnant females, or young, gullible dogs in the summer, so I quit in late February, and resume in November. If I get antsy, I take a camera; keeps the calling technique in top form & offers ample opportunity to learn even though I've admired & pursued these canny critters for 40+ years. They are an amazing, resilient, and most adaptable creature & a most worthy challenge.). I LIKE the .204!

 

[Waddison]

I voted "something else".
I much prefer the .243 Win. for coyotes. Bucks the wind better and flattens a 'yote like Thor's hammer out to 350+ yards with a good, high powered scope.
Just my 2 cents.

Waddison

 

[S&WKING]

.204 also
I say go with the hornady 32 or 40 i havent shot my 45 yet whats that like

 

[waynedm]

I don't personally have any experience but most people seem to swear by the .223.

What do you guys that hunt coyote do with all of these pelts?

 

[dfaugh]

I plan on (finances allowing) to buy a coyote gun for next winters season. I don't have a suitable small caliber rifle (other than a .22). Around here shots could be quite close, to W-A-Y out there.

After MUCH consideration I've settled on a .22-250.

I don't reload yet (although my buddy does, so I easily could, with the purchase of dies and components), and think that the .22-250 gives me a few more options(at the high end) than others. But I'm also considering making it into a .22-250 AI which gives you another 200 fps (the AI conversions work better on smaller cartridges).

Mostly comes down to the fact that I know I'll probably be taking long shots across open fields, as coyote around here are really spooky, hard to get them in close (although maybe this will change with improved calling technique).

 

[utgrad72]

coyote

If you're considering the weight of your wallet, I would suggest the 243 win.
Probably not the best varmint cart. but it works well enough on groundhogs and coyotes and you can up the bullet weight and use it on deer. It's also a great cart. to start a kid off with if he wants to bag a whitetail.

 

[koja48]

After MUCH consideration I've settled on a .22-250.

Great choice, but if you entertain any ideas about doing anything with the pelts, be willing to accept gaping holes on the off-side. I own one, but don't use it for 'yotes.

What do you guys that hunt coyote do with all of these pelts?

When fur prices were up, I sold them. Now I keep the exceptional pelts & tan them myself. I find a variety of uses: gifts, wall hangings, custom back-quiver covers, etc . . . and I've made 2 comforters so far. Thinning coyotes opens the door with landowners to other hunting opportunities. I'm a confirmed bachelor, so my house is furnished in "Early Critter/Gun Vault " motif . . .