Help me decide on a caliber.

[Sledge]

Hello all. New guy here been stalkin for a while tryin to learn new things ( comes plenty hard for me ).
I have a passion for hunting coyotes ( I'm new at that too ). I prefer to call em in and the closer the better. I absolutely love to paste em with "Sledge" but there are times when hunting with some of my buddies and also when scouting that I get a chance for a shot out around 600-700 yds. My longest attempt/kill to date is 523 yds with my AR10 .243. I have recently gotten rid of this rifle and want to go back to a bolt gun. I would like some suggestions on what to chamber it in for busting these dogs at extended (for me) ranges. I like 6mm's for the quality of bullets but would also like something with a little more thump. I'm also concerned about the 6mm bullets' "on game performance" at these ranges. I'm wanting this rifle to be "purpose built" so longer tubes may be considered.

Thanks for any help.
Steve.

 

[slophish]

Hello Sledge, I'm new here too. Like you I love long range shooting. This website is loaded with more info than anything I have ever read or seen elswhere. After reading here for a couple of months I decided to go with a 7mm, possibly ultramag. What helped me decide was bullet selection, hi bc-velocity, and the fact that my recoil threshhold is .338. I currently shoot a 300 rum, but the sevens outclass it by a fair margin with less recoil. The 7WSM would be a great coyote buster if you did not want to go full mag, also giving you deer, elk, and paper punching options should they arise. Hope this helps.

 

[oldfamily]

243 AI, 6MM AI,6mm-284, 6mm-06. some ideas I am in the process of getting every thing for a 243 AI myself.

 

[ILIKA308]

6.5/284 8 TWIST BARREL FINISH LENGTH AT 28 INCHES ON A REM 700 LONG ACTION RECEIVER

 

[cinch]

22-243 Winchester. 1 in 8 twist with 75gr A-max = 3700fps with plenty of power. Very easy to reload.

 

[uncleB]

Sledge,
I used to have the same rifle only mine was the target model AR-10T .243 24" stainless free float barrel, I sold mine too. I called it my "Hour of Angle" gun because it was as far away from a minute of angle gun as anything I have ever owned (never should have sold my trusty AR-15 H-BAR elite)
.243 cal-6mm is great for coyotes at a distance,6.5's work well also but I would not go to a caliber you dont feel comfortable with not having a brake. I love muzzle brakes but not on a coyote gun.
UB

 

[Sledge]

Thank you all for the help.Gives a lot to consider.
I had originally thought about the .243 AI as I'm very fond of the .243. Might have to look into the 7mm's though to see what's available bullet wise.

UncleB...My AR was just the standard version but it would hold moa out to 500. It really liked Hornady Custom 75grn HP's for some reason. I couldn't believe some of the groups that rifle shot with a factory load. I still don't miss it much though. I always thought an AR platform rifle would be the berries for coyote hunting, but I never had the need for a semi-auto rifle and was giving up too much in the accuracy I felt.

Thanks again all,
Steve.