for those of u tha hunt in illinois, what kinda rifles do u use to hunt coyote's and other varmits? i have heard that it is illegal to shoot a centerfire rifle in illinois, then, someone else told me that it is legal to hunt coyote's with a centerfire rifle, as long as it is on private land, but on state land, u have to use a rimfire.
could someone clear this up for me, can i use a centerfire rifle to hunt varmits in illinois if i am on privage land?

"Keep your stick on the ice"

I dont know about public land, but I know you can use centerfire rifles on private land. Public land might be alittle different, cause I know on at least some of the public stuff you are limited to shotguns for squirrels and the like. You cant even use rimfires.

I myself have a .223, and a .243 for the longer shots. But I also have taken my .22mag.(rimfire) before. A few of my friends have used anything from a 30-06, .308, .270, .25-06, .243, 22-250, .220 swift, .223, down to a .17HMR(rimfire).
I myself like my .243 w/ 55gr Noslers.

I'm also from west-central IL. I use centerfires on private land. Last year I bought a 22 mag to use on public land. Some public places let you use a 22 RF between sunset and sunrise during coon season. Other public lands allow 22 RF's. I don't know of any public lands that let you use a CF except maybe the Shawnee Forest.
As a side note, I won't use hollow points from the 22 mag on coyotes. The bullet is too fragile. I use a solid and aim for the front shoulder.

I checked on the DNR web site and everything I read was geared towards public land with regards to CF or RF rifles. So I think the other posters are right; CF on private but not public lands. Why not give DNR a call to make sure?

I've killed two Coyotes here in the "collar counties" around Chicago in the past year with my T/C Contender carbine carbine in .223. A couple years ago I had to attend a hunter safety course so I could hunt Elk in Colorado since I just missed the 1949 birth cut-off date. It was me and a bunch of 12 year olds. Anyway, I engaged in a "debate" with the conservation officer after one of the classes. My questions were "Why do we have to use slugs instead of rifles for deer hunting?". His answer was because of the range limitation. I said, "then why can't we use buck shot like we did in North Carolina". He said buckshot was not effective. (I've put a lot of venison in the freezer that would disagre). I then said "It is legal to use a centerfire rifle on coyotes isn't it?" He said yes, but the difference between deer hunting and coyote hunting was there wern't as many hunters in the woods when you were coyote hunting.