I'm making a dedicated coyote ar-15 upper and had some Q's

[SublimeSilence]

As I mentioned I'm going to be making a dedicated ar-15 upper for Coyote hunting and I was hoping to tap into the knowledge of some of the people here.

Essentially I'm going to be aiming for an upper that can reach out and touch a coyote reliably up to to 300 yards. But economically I can't afford to buy a crazy expensive upper, ie stainless steel barrels are almost out of the question for me.

I was wondering what would the best barrel length and twist be for conventional soft point loads. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rcmodel]

Well, I have a Colt SP-1 pencil barrel 16" carbine that has reached out and touched several coyotes at 300 yards.

Just about any decent AR will put the shots on a coyote just as far as the .223 will reliably kill them on the spot every time.

Was it me I would be more concerned about building a coyote rifle too heavy to carry around, then one not accurate enough.

Using good quality varmint bullets like the Hornady V-Max or Nosler Ballistic-Tip will pretty much insure plenty of accuracy and killing bullet performance.

rc

 

[TonyAngel]

Hey man, 300 yards isn't all that long of a shot. Heck, check out Ranier Arms. They have a "Select" barrel that is a house brand. Stainless, 1:7 twist 16" barrel with mid length gas system; and the last time I checked, the barrel came with a satisfaction guaranteed or your money back sort of thing.

In my experience, Ranier doesn't sell junk and at the price of under $200, it's hard to beat.

 

[SublimeSilence]

Well, I have a Colt SP-1 pencil barrel 16" carbine that has reached out and touched several coyotes at 300 yards.

Just about any decent AR will put the shots on a coyote just as far as the .223 will reliably kill them on the spot every time.

Was it me I would be more concerned about building a coyote rifle too heavy to carry around, then one not accurate enough.

Using good quality varmint bullets like the Hornady V-Max or Nosler Ballistic-Tip will pretty much insure plenty of accuracy and killing bullet performance.

rc

Well currently I have a Rock River Elite Operator and the sucker isn't all that light! It's an 8 pound gun and that's with just irons. So I definitely can see your point.

I've personally never shot my ar(or any gun!) past 150 yards. But am able to hit 3" clay pidgins no problem at that range with either my red dot or irons. I plan on getting a decent scope though for this upper.

Thanks for the responses thus far guys.

So realistically there would be no point in getting anything other than a lighter pencil barrel right? Since I won't be shooting a ton with the barrel in one sitting.

 

[TonyAngel]

The only thing that would keep me from a pencil profile is that I don't think that stainless barrels are available in a pencil profile.

 

[rcmodel]

+1

I wouldn't say a pencil barrel is the only barrel to consider.

I just meant to say you don't need a 10 pound, 20" Match chambered bull barrel to shoot coyotes as far as the .223 will put them on the ground reliably every time.

In my experiance, when you get much past 250-275 yard coyotes, it's time to get out the 22-250 or .243 anyway.

If you want them to go down and stay down every time.

rc

 

[Sam Cade]

The only thing that would keep me from a pencil profile is that I don't think that stainless barrels are available in a pencil profile.

Noveske.

http://noveskerifleworks.com/cgi-bi...8lw-556&cat=158&page=1&search=&since=&status=

Expensive though.



SublimeSilence: ADCO will recontour a barrel for you pretty cheaply.

http://www.adcofirearms.com/shopservices/shop_.cfm?code=21

 

[TonyAngel]

Those Pac Nor barrels do shoot good, but they cost. If I was going to spend that kind of money on a barrel, I think I'd probably go with a Krieger.

I was under the impression that the OP was trying to do this on a lower budget. If you're not too worried about cost, but just want a good bang for the buck, that's easy as far as the barrel goes. For me anyway.

I'd go with either a SS410 16" middie or 18" rifle length from Bravo Company. For the $300 that they cost, they flat out shoot; very well and consistently. I've heard from a few sources that they are made by Criterion. Can't say for sure, but I've used a few of them and they all shot well.

 

[SublimeSilence]

Well I'm looking to make the whole upper assembly for roughly 600 dollars max.

I have a regular ar-15 lower so perhaps a 6.8spc or similar caliber that can run off an ar-15 lower would work for me. Personally I'd still rather stick to .223 but after looking at the costs of good hunting ammo for .223 it all seems expensive to me!

Also since it was mentioned what twist rate would be best for a decent coyote rifle, 1:7 twist I assume?

 

[Sky]

300 yards ain't all that IMO with good glass or eye balls for a 16" AR. Killed a pig at 325 (?) with a double pop from a 16" with Speer LE Gold Dot duty ammo 64 gr GDSP or priv partizan 56gr Sp...sorry been a while but am pretty sure it was one of those. If it will drop a pig promise it will stop a yote.

At that range you can get a double pop off and the bullet gets there before the sound of the second shot..sometimes ...One thing to consider for weight is 10 round mags instead of the typical 30 rounders everyone goes for and a good carry strap/sling.

I have not tried that range with the 14.5" AR because the night scope is really only good out to 125 and is zeroed at 100; that is all I use that AR for.

If I had more motivation I would put some good glass on the 14.5 and try it at longer ranges; because of the weight (night scope weighs right at 2 pounds) thus that is it's mount for the foreseeable future.. Hummm maybe rambling?? I absolutely love shooting a 20" or 24" AR with bi-pod and good glass but for your everyday walk and hunt unless you have a mule or someone carrying the rifle for you the weight gets old rather quickly. I use 1:7 usually but hardly ever shoot anything lighter than 55gr in 223.