prairie coyote gun

[saskhunter12]

Hello everyone, i am looking for a new coyote gun! i will be shooting in a lot of open fields where it is windy a lot of the time. I do not handload. I want something with good range and accurcy. I have been looking at 243, 25-06, 22-250. What would you guys recommend for the above criteria. All advice is appreciated!

thanks

[Canvsbk]

I shoot a Ruger 77 in .25-06 in areas like you mention. When zeroed at 200 yards you can shoot pretty much right at 'em out to 300 plus. Normally I'm a Nosler guy but in this instance I find the Hornady v max 75 grain to be absolutely devastating.
I would think a .257 Roberts or one of the 6 mm's would handle the wind decent also.
For a scope in a " carry it in" gun I like a 4 x 14.

[Mild Bill]

I would look at a 243 or 25-06 of the ones you mentioned in your original post for the situation that you described.

[Browninglover1]

A 243 shooting the Hornady Superformance 58 grain V-Max load is pretty hard to beat for coyotes. The recoil is mild and the bullets get their fast! They don't buck the wind very well but they make ranging errors less important because they shoot so flat, and their speed helps a lot when you're shooting at running dogs.

[jlamb]

Browninglover brings up a good point; the faster shooting light bullets will help when shooting at a moving dog.

I have both a 25-06 and a .243. The 243 has more bullet options if you reload. I've got a super accurate load using Superformance powder and Hornady 65grn VMax bullets. I'm going to try Superformance and 70grn Nosler ballistic tip varmint bullets next.

If you are looking at a 25-06, most come with a 1 in 10" twist which limits good accuacy to 87 grain bullets. My go-to 25-06 load is the Speer 87 TNT pushed by 56.0 grns of H4350. The bullets leave at 3400fps.

How far will you be shooting?

[c_bass16]

Since you DO NOT hand load. The .243 seems like a no brainer.
You'll likely have a broader ammo selection in more locations.
Anything from light 55-75 loads all the way to 95-100 loads will be fine for.coyotes and the 95s can drop a dog as far as your willing to send it.
The light bullets would be fine out to 400 or so, but if you have wind like us...you want the heavier bullets beyond that.

[Clint Idaho]

I shoot both the 25-06 and 243. Main coyote rifle currently is an old 788 Remington. One of the most accurate rifles I own. Don't shoot factory ammo in it, so cannot comment on that part. Current handload is the 58 gr v-max with Varget.

The 25-06 is my go to rifle of choice for wind. Using a 117 grain bullet with H-4831. It is a Ruger Varmint and to heavy to pack with as much walking as I seem to do for coyotes. The 75 grain with H-4831 is my favorite long range Rockchuck rifle.

So either choice of caliber should do a great job. Only recomendation I can give is barrel length. Longer the better if you prefer the slow burning powders like I do.