David Sours
Member
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2009
- Messages
- 67
.243 Win. I have been very pleased with mine!
David
David
deer and coyote rifle
- Thread starter demonseed34
- Start date
- Status
hogshead
Member
Do you really need a rpg for beers . I just use a bottle opener.
NCsmitty
Member
25-06 or 270 will take care of business. Flat shooting and potent, without the magnum stigma.
NCsmitty
NCsmitty
rangerruck
Member
anything between 6 and 7 milly would be good, make it fast and flat, a 243, 270, anything 6.5 or a 280 would all be good, so would a 7.08.
wankerjake
Member
I use and love my .243 for both.
Rob96
Member
I just bought a rifle for this very purpose. I bought a Remington 700ADL Varmint in 308.
627PCFan
Member
.243 or a .220 Swift with the right bullet selection (for Deer)
Yellowtail3
Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2005
- Messages
- 51
since 'demonseed' - ??? - asks, I'm presuming he's a new shooter.
If that is the case... a 300 WinMag would be a very bad choice. Expensive to shoot, hurts to shoot, very loud - the last two will impede you developing good shooting habit. Heck, all three would be discouraging. And you will gain NOTHING in terms of ability to take deer or coyote.
Selecting a rifle based on a ballistics chart is a dubious way to go.
Others have said it - a 30-06 or .270 is a much better way to go - very available ammo, manageable recoil (though 30-06 is a bit stout for me, being a recoil weenie) and sufficent for anything you're ever likely to see in the woods. Both cartridges will kill effectively to well beyond the distance the substantial majority of folks on this board (me included) have any business shooting at game, or at least any need. The same could prob be said of a scoped, properly sighted in 30-30, but that's because 200 yards at a deer's lungs is further than most think it is in the woods.
Someone mentioned getting a 30-30. A lot to be said for that: enough range for most hunting, easy on the ears, shoulder, and wallet, while... deadly on game, far more so than comparing cartridges on paper will lead you to believe. Plus, it comes in very pretty rifles at modest cost. If you later decide you need more range - then get a .270!
If that is the case... a 300 WinMag would be a very bad choice. Expensive to shoot, hurts to shoot, very loud - the last two will impede you developing good shooting habit. Heck, all three would be discouraging. And you will gain NOTHING in terms of ability to take deer or coyote.
Selecting a rifle based on a ballistics chart is a dubious way to go.
Others have said it - a 30-06 or .270 is a much better way to go - very available ammo, manageable recoil (though 30-06 is a bit stout for me, being a recoil weenie) and sufficent for anything you're ever likely to see in the woods. Both cartridges will kill effectively to well beyond the distance the substantial majority of folks on this board (me included) have any business shooting at game, or at least any need. The same could prob be said of a scoped, properly sighted in 30-30, but that's because 200 yards at a deer's lungs is further than most think it is in the woods.
Someone mentioned getting a 30-30. A lot to be said for that: enough range for most hunting, easy on the ears, shoulder, and wallet, while... deadly on game, far more so than comparing cartridges on paper will lead you to believe. Plus, it comes in very pretty rifles at modest cost. If you later decide you need more range - then get a .270!
I used a 300 win mag on a coyote ONCE!!!!!! It actually cut him in half!!!!! Or maybe the correct statement would be blew him in half. Hit him just foreward of the last rib and there were oregon grapes sprayed all over the place. His hind end lay on the ground and he crawled about 20 feet with just the front half. Way too much gun for coyote. I used it on a deer ONCE and it actually caused less tissue damage than my normal deer gun a 270 win. If your just going to hunt deer and coyote why not a .243? FRJ
TAA_Model70
Member
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2010
- Messages
- 3
Go with the 25/06 with 100gr well constructe bullets and look back. You couldn't put all the deer and coyotes I've taken with a pre-64 70 rebarreled with a Kreiger barrel into the bed of a dual axle dump truck. This rifle not only kills them, it puts fear into their grandkids. The range capabilities are awsome and very easy to reloa for. I use the Barnes 100gr bullets and have never had anything need a second shot.
tcsnake
Member
6.8 SPC in a good bolt action is very under-rated. I have taken everything from deer to woodchucks to hogs with it, I have not yet had a runner on any animals I have taken either! Hows that for a slice of fried gold?
You’re trying to kills to birds (or critters in this case) with one stone. In either case, you can end up over gunned on one, or under-gunned on the other. While the .22 centerfires are legal for deer in many states, and they are potent calibers for coyotes, they are generally considered under-gunned for deer. Conversely, the .30 caliber centerfires are well-suited for deer, but are severe over-kill on coyotes. By all means a .30 caliber will kill a coyote right dead, and depending on the favor of round, i.e. .30-378 Wea. Mag with a 130 grain Nosler Ballistic tip will kill it, skin it and grind the burger all in one trigger pull.
That leaves us to consider the basic calibers available that are not to the extremes. They include the .24 cal, 25 cal, 26 cal, 27 cal, 28 cal. Most any of the rounds in these calibers will fill your needs, and some will do a better job than others. These basically break into short cases, long cases and magnum cases. You don’t need a magnum in any of these calibers. A long case (long-action) in 25, 26, 27, 28 and 30 calibers is more than enough for the job to 500 yards if you do your part. The 24 calibers are getting stretched a bit at 500 yards, even the 6mm Rem and .240 Wea. “Mag”, which “Mag” it is not truly…not in my book.
Other considerations include that the larger the caliber the higher the cost, both in financial terms and in recoil terms. The smaller, faster calibers tends to erode barrels more quickly. For example, a hot loaded .25-06 Rem will not last as-long-as a hot-loaded .30-06 Sprg. Yet, they have the same parent cartridge. As I see the long-action cartridges, you would be hard-pressed to find more effective and more efficient rounds than the following: .25-06 Rem; .270 Win, .280 Rem, or .30-06 Sprg. These are all over kill on coyotes, and Hades on deer.
The last category is the short cartridges (short-actions) such as the .243 Win; 6mm (.244) Rem; .260 Rem; and the 7mm-08 Rem. Any of these calibers will knock a deer down with one well-placed round. I have used them; they work plain and simple. Any of these cartridges are fine rounds for coyotes to 500 yards with no worries of remaining energy for a one-shot, clean kill.
If you are new to shooting, I would encourage go shooting with friends, and see your tolerance. More gun ain’t gonna kill what you can’t hit because you become recoil-sensitive. You need to decide the typical distances that you will be engaging in hunting. For me, shots to 525 yards are not uncommon. Depending on where I hunt, I take a .308 Win up to a .300 Win Mag for deer. For coyotes and other varmints I take a .223 up to a .270 Win. Again, I shoot at some long distances, and have been hunting since around age 10ish. For what it’s worth, I’ve never felt under-gunned with my 6mm Rem!
My final insight: it aint’ the caliber, or the gun that much matter. What matters is your knowledge and commitment. Learn you gun. Learn your caliber and it’s trajectory and drift. Keep practicing until you develop a good clean ability, then keep practicing to maintain that ability. That will make you and effective, efficient hunter. I know I’ve droned on more than needed, but you asked a serous question and I wanted to give you a serious answer.
One of the best deer/varmint rounds I ever used was my Sako Finnbear in .270 Win. I used 130 grain projectiles on deer, and 90 Speer hollow points and Speer 100 grain Hotcores for varmint. The reason I used that large of a caliber for varmint is that is what I used for deer. It kept me skilled year round with my one rifle. When you can hit 6, 2-liter Coca-cola bottles filled with water at 500 yards, with 6 shots, you have your skills honed. If the rifle hadn't possessed enough accuracy potential, or I hadn't possessed the commitment to practice, I wouldn't have hit anything. My personal assessment as to how far I can ethically shoot game, is how far can I hit 100% on 2-liter bottles filled with water? For me, that answer is 500 yards.
Why do I use that assessment? Simple. A woodchuck looks a lot like a 2-liter bottle at 500 yards when they stand. A coyote's chest area is about the same size. A deer heart/lung area is about that size.
Let us know what you decide.
Geno
That leaves us to consider the basic calibers available that are not to the extremes. They include the .24 cal, 25 cal, 26 cal, 27 cal, 28 cal. Most any of the rounds in these calibers will fill your needs, and some will do a better job than others. These basically break into short cases, long cases and magnum cases. You don’t need a magnum in any of these calibers. A long case (long-action) in 25, 26, 27, 28 and 30 calibers is more than enough for the job to 500 yards if you do your part. The 24 calibers are getting stretched a bit at 500 yards, even the 6mm Rem and .240 Wea. “Mag”, which “Mag” it is not truly…not in my book.
Other considerations include that the larger the caliber the higher the cost, both in financial terms and in recoil terms. The smaller, faster calibers tends to erode barrels more quickly. For example, a hot loaded .25-06 Rem will not last as-long-as a hot-loaded .30-06 Sprg. Yet, they have the same parent cartridge. As I see the long-action cartridges, you would be hard-pressed to find more effective and more efficient rounds than the following: .25-06 Rem; .270 Win, .280 Rem, or .30-06 Sprg. These are all over kill on coyotes, and Hades on deer.
The last category is the short cartridges (short-actions) such as the .243 Win; 6mm (.244) Rem; .260 Rem; and the 7mm-08 Rem. Any of these calibers will knock a deer down with one well-placed round. I have used them; they work plain and simple. Any of these cartridges are fine rounds for coyotes to 500 yards with no worries of remaining energy for a one-shot, clean kill.
If you are new to shooting, I would encourage go shooting with friends, and see your tolerance. More gun ain’t gonna kill what you can’t hit because you become recoil-sensitive. You need to decide the typical distances that you will be engaging in hunting. For me, shots to 525 yards are not uncommon. Depending on where I hunt, I take a .308 Win up to a .300 Win Mag for deer. For coyotes and other varmints I take a .223 up to a .270 Win. Again, I shoot at some long distances, and have been hunting since around age 10ish. For what it’s worth, I’ve never felt under-gunned with my 6mm Rem!
My final insight: it aint’ the caliber, or the gun that much matter. What matters is your knowledge and commitment. Learn you gun. Learn your caliber and it’s trajectory and drift. Keep practicing until you develop a good clean ability, then keep practicing to maintain that ability. That will make you and effective, efficient hunter. I know I’ve droned on more than needed, but you asked a serous question and I wanted to give you a serious answer.
One of the best deer/varmint rounds I ever used was my Sako Finnbear in .270 Win. I used 130 grain projectiles on deer, and 90 Speer hollow points and Speer 100 grain Hotcores for varmint. The reason I used that large of a caliber for varmint is that is what I used for deer. It kept me skilled year round with my one rifle. When you can hit 6, 2-liter Coca-cola bottles filled with water at 500 yards, with 6 shots, you have your skills honed. If the rifle hadn't possessed enough accuracy potential, or I hadn't possessed the commitment to practice, I wouldn't have hit anything. My personal assessment as to how far I can ethically shoot game, is how far can I hit 100% on 2-liter bottles filled with water? For me, that answer is 500 yards.
Why do I use that assessment? Simple. A woodchuck looks a lot like a 2-liter bottle at 500 yards when they stand. A coyote's chest area is about the same size. A deer heart/lung area is about that size.
Let us know what you decide.
Geno
Last edited:
demonseed34
Member
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2009
- Messages
- 18
iv been shooting for 9 years. and the only time i was hurt by a gun was sightign in a reimington 870 supermag with 3 in shells. Ive shot the worlds most powerefull production hand gun the sw 500mag with out any hitches off hand. i even took that very same hand gun out hunting. the largest rifle ive shot was a 300 weatherby magnum and it did not even hurt my shoulder. so an in expereiced shooter no. some one who could learn new tatics yes. my mado if you cant handel the recoil don't shoot the gun.
MachIVshooter
Member
Recoil doesn't have to reach the level of painful to adversely affect shooting habits. My 7.5 pound .375 Ultra (not ported) doesn't hurt me, but with 82 pounds of recoil at 23 MPH, you better believe it caused a flinch.
Trust all of us here when we tell you that you'll shoot a lighter recoiling gun with greater degree of accuracy.
Uncle Mike
Member
Pretty much whatever firearm I have in my hand when a yote presents itself is the perfect coyote gun! lol hehehe
Wanta B
Member
Myself,regardless of experiance,it would come down to how many firearms were in my collection and weather I intended to aquire more in the near future. If you live in the U.S.A. I would get a .308Win. boltaction 22" medium contour,with out more specifics of your plans.
lost river rat
Member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2009
- Messages
- 34
Ammo
As you narrow your choices, you should look at the available ammo unless you hand load. For instance, the 30-06 will do both, but there is not a good varmit load available in factory ammo. Although, 150gr will work on both.
What ever you chose, make sure it is a good choice for the biggest game you are going to hunt. Example would be the 22-250. A premier varmit round but a very poor choice for deer. The faster deer cartridges are probably best. The 270 win and the 25-06 are two standouts. The 25-06 has factory varmit loads available and both are flat enough shooting to be serious varmit rigs. I am partial to the 6mm Rem but hard to find now. The 243 is a good cross over rifle. I have not had good luck in the 243 with standard bullets on deer, but legions of deer hunters use 243 and standard lead core bullets. I recommend premium 100 gr bullets for deer.
As you narrow your choices, you should look at the available ammo unless you hand load. For instance, the 30-06 will do both, but there is not a good varmit load available in factory ammo. Although, 150gr will work on both.
What ever you chose, make sure it is a good choice for the biggest game you are going to hunt. Example would be the 22-250. A premier varmit round but a very poor choice for deer. The faster deer cartridges are probably best. The 270 win and the 25-06 are two standouts. The 25-06 has factory varmit loads available and both are flat enough shooting to be serious varmit rigs. I am partial to the 6mm Rem but hard to find now. The 243 is a good cross over rifle. I have not had good luck in the 243 with standard bullets on deer, but legions of deer hunters use 243 and standard lead core bullets. I recommend premium 100 gr bullets for deer.
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