What's your caliber of choice, for coyotes?

[Trickymissfit]

Varmint and preditor guys..

I have a real problem with you Preditor guy with your thrust that 243 is good for bear.. I have yet to see a humane or ethical kill on a California Black bear with a 243/6MM of any kind. I have been hunting and guiding for 24 years.. I will not go into detail but the last 6 MM used on a cal black the shooter has one less hand... the bear ripped it off once he caught up to the idiot. he had other injuries but nothing as serious at the missing hand. I was over 600 yards away and could not get a clean shot to save the guy's hand.

Varmint guy.. My hat is off to you using all those calibers for coyotes.. I have used 17 Rem, 22 Hornet, 22-250 Rem, 257 Roberts, 270 Win, 308 Win, 300 win mag and once with a 45-70.. okay I was out for deer and the Coyote was a target of opportunity. I have tried 22 LR, 22WRM, and 17 HMR without good results.

In my old home town the coyotes were thick.. they were healthy and they would laugh off any rimfire. that is one reason why we used centerfire.. 17 Rem, 17 Mach 4, 17-222, 17-223 were all very good at bringing down the coyotes. the 17 cals went in, exploded, never left the other side.. Barns Varmint grenades 224 cal 40 Grainers are awesome on coyotes with leaving very little damage to the hides.

this gun guy is out the door.. the shop needs to be cleaned up and locked up.. its closing time.. I am late for dinner.
gun)out!

my personal opinion, I think it'd be hard to beat the .444 Marlin with 300 grain solid nosed bullets on black bear, but a 35 Remington or a .375 Winchester should work very well. I simply would not consider anything smaller than 30 caliber, and really .338 is the place to start.

I firmly believe that if you are using a 22 centerfire round, then you want a round with no exit wound. That way the animal recieves all the energy the bullet contains. I've shot coyotes with .222's .223's, and the 22-250. On 30lb. dogs I don't see a nickle's worth of difference! And now with some of the better varmit bullets out there today, the .222 and .223 really do well. Still none of the 22 centerfires will tag a dog as well as an 80 grain bullet shot out of a good 24 caliber centerfire round

gary

 

[HARPERC]

I made a choice based on circumstances now I'm second guessing myself. 1) I'm not a shotgunner but always owned one. 2) Coyotes are coming up pretty close to the house.
3) Urban sprawl has left me limited shooting lanes for rifle fire. Went tire kicking for shotgun ammo, first time in years (wow what a change) fell for the well packaged Hevi-shot Dead Coyote ( Gotta love a product that just comes out and says it) got past the sticker shock, and then someone asked me if that was "OK" to use with the turkey choke currently on the gun. No warning on the box-welcoming your thoughts/experiences as to which choke to use, and the wisdom of using a turkey choke with this ammo. 12 gauge 3 inch by the way. Not exactly a long range rifle topic, but thank you for your thoughts.

 

[280ACK]

My choice of calibers is like this. When i leave the house for a morning going coyote hunting and calling, i will have about 1 box of shell for each gun, along with a 22-250 varmint rifle, a 243 win in rem 700 lvsf to use if there is wind, and a 12 ga 11-87 with "Heavy" Reloads using #4 buck. The location and the conditions will vary my weapon. Anything in close, or in tall grass, or near some farmers cattle, i will go to the 12 Ga, cause 27 pellets at 1300 fps stops mr coyote in his tracks easily at 90 yds. If it is open ground out to 350-450 yds, i am happy with a 22-250 and a 55 gr nosler ballistic tip if the wind is under 10 mph, any other situation and i use the 243 with a 75 gr vmax at about 3400. That leaves me feeling somewhat confident on any shot within 1/4 mile.

 

[K22]

Sure looks like I'm in the minority, but first and foremost, a 17 Rem., then a 204.

 

[freddiej]

K22,
My primary coyote shooter is a 17 Remington with 25 grain V-max over 26.5 grains of Win 760 in a prepped Rem-Peters case. #2 rifle is a 22 Hornet with a 36 grain Speer Gold Dot hollow point topping off a 7.5 grain charge of H-110 in winchester cases. #3 gun is a 257 Roberts with a 60 Grain speer flat nose covering up a load of H4350 in Winchester +P cases. after that I have a 270 Winchester with 90 - 110 grain slugs in Hornady cases. if I have to go bigger then I am out to explode the coyotes because they are eating my friend's livestock. well, that is not true.. any of my guns could be in my car when I roll up to take the coyotes out at my friend's farm. that goes for any one of his neighbor's as well.
my first two guns are for less than 350 years shots. the rest well if I can not get any cover that allows me a 350 or less shot I go to the heavier slugs and larger diameters.
I do not own a 204 Ruger.. never needed one since I have a 223 WSSM which is getting a bull barrel for next year's coyote hunts.. then I will be able to say my #2 gun is a 223 WSSM...
keep your powder dry and your trigger finger sensitive..
gun)out.

 

[heathbaker]

I shoot a remington sps tactical .223 with a nikon 6x18 mil dot. My bullet of choice is a 55gn nosler ballistic varmint. I dont get many runners.... I am a firm believer that the type of bullet you shoot plays a huge role in how many "runners" you will have. When I began coyote hunting I shot soft points which were effective but didnt have the hydrostatic shot that the ballistics have and yes, I would occasionally have a few runners. The 25-06 and bigger calibers will definately get the job done on coyotes but have two flaws in my book... 1. they tear up the pelts " if your skinning them out" 2. The recoil keeps you from watching the shot through the scope..which to me is half the fun. All in all I would have to say im a .223 fan.

 

[marchboom]

the .243AI fixes a couple major defects in that case design, but also increases another. The vortex of the flame path ends up in the throat on a regular .243, and causes the barrels to go south in a hurry. But with the 40 degree shoulder angle it brings it back into the neck where it should be (actually the first half of the neck length). It also decreases the brass flow, and increases case life. But then it creates another problem in case shrinkage during fire forming. Usually about .030" in an already too short of a neck length. The best way to fix this is to form your cases out of .257 brass or even 6mm remington. This will restore the longer neck length you need so badly. I've seen several folks run a 6mm Ackley reamer in short to create a .243AI with the 6mm neck length (they both have the same taper per inch and the same basic diameters). For a die you can either shorten a .257AI bushing die or do the same with a 6mmAI die. Then run the reamer in the sleeve on a Forster seater (use a standard .243 sleeve). Sounds like a lot of work, but it's really pretty easy. By going with the longer neck length you will be able to seat the bullets correctly, and also keep the bullets from being seated past the shoulder.
gary

Wouldn't it be better to just start with a 6mm Rem case and avoid the short neck problem? I think a 6mm Rem AI would be an ideal caliber. FWIW

I shoot a .22-250 but I am leaning towards the 6mm Rem AI for my next rifle.

 

[mcseal2]

Mine changed the last couple days. My 6mm rem handloaded with 70gr ballistic tips and the new superformance powder at 3824fps scored on 4 yotes the last 2 days. I can hold center out to 350yds, and top of the back at 400. Good yote load!

 

[Trickymissfit]

Wouldn't it be better to just start with a 6mm Rem case and avoid the short neck problem? I think a 6mm Rem AI would be an ideal caliber. FWIW

I shoot a .22-250 but I am leaning towards the 6mm Rem AI for my next rifle.

A lot of guys form their .243AI cases out of 6mm remington brass due to the case shrinkage problems caused by fire forming. But I think a person would be better served with a 6mm Ackley, or an Ackley chamber reamed to headspace on a .243AI go gauge. The 6mmBG used the 6mm Remington neck, but with a 30 degree shoulder. Kinda looks like a 6BR + .30". Brass is made from .243 Lapua or generic stuff. Knowing that the case will shrink when fire formed; you still end up with a neck that's about .32" long, or about .100" longer than a .243AI. And necked down to .224, it would be a killer!
gary

 

[mustang58]

Check the Vais cartridges. They are almost exactly what is being talked about with the .243AI and necking down to a .224. I have the .224 version and have talked to J.J. Conway in Texas who has experience with both the .224 and 6MM versions. He won the first "F" class match held in Canada with a .224. They changed the rules the next year so he went to the 6MM. Don't hold me to the exact details but I think that is how it went. He is very knowledgeable and readily told me (who he doesn't even know) about these cartridges. I have a .243AI but wish I had gone with the 6MM Vais. They are made from the 6.5x55 Swede which according to Mr. Vais is one of the stronger cartridges available. I am getting 3600FPS with 80 gr. JLK andf no pressure sign. My barrel still looks good but only have about 300 rounds through it. The reamers, dies and loading info are all avaliable.

 

[freddiej]

I can not see why people are so head over heals for this 6 MM crap? I have had a variety of 243/6MM's in my shop, used factory ammo, custom ammo for that specific gun and was utterly unimpressed with the 6 MM family of cartridges. all my 243 brass was either sold or went to make 22-250 heavy walled cases that my best friend shoots with such accuracy that it rivals my 17 Remington at 350 years. I have shot accurate 223 rems and the rest of that family of cartridges.. not too impressive but the 22-250 and the 220 swift I am impressed with. the 223 WSSM I have is a nail driver at 100 yards but the darn thing has such a fast twist rate (1:8) that light 40 grain slugs are spun too fast to maintain any accuracy after 125 yards. here is my solution to that matter.. 1:14 twist Shilen or Krieger barrel is going on the gun and the pencil thin profile gets a big beef up to a 1" muzzle. I had a customer that had this done to his 223 WSSM and it was just the sweetest shooter I had seen in a long time. so this summer.. it gets done to my own coyote chaser.
if I do not care about the hides I just use a 257 Roberts with a 90 grain HPBT or my 270 with a 90 HP, 100 HP or a 110 grain V-max..
If I want the hide, 17 remington or 22-250 or 223 WSSM.
gun)

 

[Trickymissfit]

I can not see why people are so head over heals for this 6 MM crap? I have had a variety of 243/6MM's in my shop, used factory ammo, custom ammo for that specific gun and was utterly unimpressed with the 6 MM family of cartridges. all my 243 brass was either sold or went to make 22-250 heavy walled cases that my best friend shoots with such accuracy that it rivals my 17 Remington at 350 years. I have shot accurate 223 rems and the rest of that family of cartridges.. not too impressive but the 22-250 and the 220 swift I am impressed with. the 223 WSSM I have is a nail driver at 100 yards but the darn thing has such a fast twist rate (1:8) that light 40 grain slugs are spun too fast to maintain any accuracy after 125 yards. here is my solution to that matter.. 1:14 twist Shilen or Krieger barrel is going on the gun and the pencil thin profile gets a big beef up to a 1" muzzle. I had a customer that had this done to his 223 WSSM and it was just the sweetest shooter I had seen in a long time. so this summer.. it gets done to my own coyote chaser.
if I do not care about the hides I just use a 257 Roberts with a 90 grain HPBT or my 270 with a 90 HP, 100 HP or a 110 grain V-max..
If I want the hide, 17 remington or 22-250 or 223 WSSM.
gun)

In my part of the woods dogs run big, and males sre usually around 35lb. or larger. A 22-250 will knock them down, but too often we see them just get back up and run off to die. But a good 6mm will drop him hard everytime, and he ain't going no place. If you like 22 centerfires on dogs, the so be it. I'm lazy and don't like chasing after anything. I hit him, and know exactly where he's at.
gary

 

[freddiej]

misfit, I have hit 40+ pound dogs and they have never gotten back up with a 17 remington. the 25 grain Hornady V-max and Berger Varmint HPFB have never failed me. My hunting buddy with his 22-250 Rem has hit 35 to 52+ pound dogs and they have never gotten back up. heart and lung shots bring dogs down and they do not get back up. I have used neck, head and heart/lung shots with 17 Rem, 22 Hornet, 223 Rem, 223 WSSM; without failure they go down with one shot and never get back up. I must be using the "Magic" slugs. Hornady V-max, Speer TNT, Nosler Ballistic tip, Sierra BlitzKings. nothing I fire at a coyote has failed to work if I hit the dog. most of the time with a 17 Remington they crumble mid stride and are history.. with my hunting partner's 22-250 with 40 grain V-max have brought down more coyotes than I have with my 17 and 223 Rem combined. he has changed to factory Winchester 40 grainers. nothing fails in his 22-250. in fact we found the Sierra 40 grainers are too explosive; they rip the dog apart and ruin hides.
I shot a coyote with my 257 roberts from 350 yards with a 60 grain flat point (25-35/25-20 slug) and the dog exploded.. ripped it so badly I have not used that load ever since. use 75 grain V-max now for less destructive results and I have loaded the round down to starting loads and it seems to down coyotes quite well.
I am totally unimpressed by the whole 6MM family.. I owned a 243 once and I could never get the dang rifle to shoot right.. I have repaired many 6 MM rifles and have seen ugly to unbelievably bad shot groups.. I just do not trust the 6 MM to be accurate. I have had over 50+ 6 MM bores in my hands and not one of them grouped under 1.75" at 50 yards.
gun)peace through superior firepower....

 

[mustang58]

It's funny the benchrest guys use a 6PPC.