What's the smallest cal. you use to hunt coyotes? 20,17,14? Something like the .17"Little Nasty". 20BR, etc. What kind of ranges can you reliably get clean kills with?
My son is a small cal. nut, but rockchucks at 70-100 yrds in Indiana is about all he gets to hunt.
http://www.hunt101.com/?p=331903&c=500&z=1"

Personally, I like the 22 caliber in the 22-250, it is capable of taking a coyote up to 500 yards with slight recoil that wouldn't bother even the smallest person.

22 short is the smallest I would use.

But I would prefer 223 22-250 243 ect. A lot depends if you are trying to save the hide. If not anything goes.

.223 , with a 60 grain Federal Nosler Partition.

i just bought a ruger #1 in 270 weatherby magnum specificly just for yotes i will be shooting the 130 grain barns and 130 grain hornadys still trying to deside what i like better. ill probably go hornady there a little more explosive.

I have a couple of areas where the range will never exceed 60 to 70 yards. For such applications, I love the .22 Magnum and have used it to take many 'yotes over the years. For every other situation, I prefer a 22-250. But when the hides aren't worth anything, I'll use whatever I happen to be in the mood for -- from a Ruger SRH .44 Magnum to a bull-barreled .308 WCF.

I have used everything from .17 Remington, .204 Ruger, 22-250, .243, .270, and 30-06 on coyotes and fox. Right now I carry the .17 Remington in my pickup as the backup rifle to my .204 Ruger. The 35 gr. Berger FB HP bullet leaving my Savage 12VLP .204 Ruger barrel at 4,225 fps lays the coyotes out nice and neat. Not only does it knock them dead, but it is pretty easy on the fur too. Made shots from 60 to 70 yards on out to a tad over 280 yards on coyotes last fur season.

So, right now, I'll take the .204 Ruger first and not be one bit hesitant about using the .17 Remington either. My bullet for the .17 Remington is the 30 gr. Starke Red Prairie Varmint bullet leaving the muzzle of my 26" SS Lilja 4 groove 1 in 9" twist barrel at 3,900 fps. I have taken coyotes with that load all the way from about 15 yards on out to 300 yards.

For me a 223 is the low end of the spectrum for a coyote rifle. I have the best luck with a 223 using 60 to 69 gr. bullets. Coyotes seem to want to run some distance after a good hit with the 40 to 55 gr. bullets. The heavier bullets seem to me to put them down much quicker. Having said that I prefer one of my 260's with a 90 gr. Speer TNT at 3400 to 3450 fps depending on which 260 I take. I have had good luck with a 308 Win. using 125 gr. TNT's at 3100 fps. Coyotes don't go anywhere but straight down when hit with either of those two cartridges.

PaPa 260

17 Remington w/ 25g berger hp's, drops em everytime, when no useing the 17 I use a 22-250 with 50g Speer hp's

I like the 221 Fireball, use the 222 regularly and am looking to try the 204 Ruger

So far.. .22 caliber

but if you meant cartidge, then the .22 mag. I like it fo close up area's. I'd like to get a .17 Rem and a .204 Ruger just for fun but don't need them.Nate

A friend of mine shot a Coyote a few years ago that I had my sights on. If he had waited only 2 more seconds it would have been mine, but when he shot the Yote at about 50 yards with his .223 it fell over and started pis*ing. I had a 22-250 with me and he was courious how hard it would hit at the same distance. I shot it while it was down and the blast lifted it off the ground about an inch or so. He then shot it with the .223 to see what it would do and it didn't move.

From what I seen the .223 would get the job done but the 22-250 had a lot more punch.

BTW the Yote had a serious case of mange and wouldnt have been worth anything. The property owner was happy that we took it out. He had some Peacocks that had been killed by Yotes and wanted all of the Yotes killed.

I guess I'm pretty much with the rest of you, either my 22-250 or 22-250AI, but I've used my 243win and my 270. I just now (yesterday) finished my latest project, a Savage12FLV in .308win (26" varmint cont. barrel) with Farrel 10moa base, Leupold PRW rings and the Leupold 6.5-20x50mm LRT with varmint reticle. I put the SSS bolt handle on, I've got arthritis and it helps with a little longer handle. Just got the new Choate Varmint Stock yesterday, fitted it and installed - fits like a glove. I torqued the stock to 50 in/lb's as per Choate, but I guess I'll bed it anyway. not sure. I took it out a few days ago, after I got the scope, with factory stock, (junk) and shot 3 3shot groups that averaged .41" (this ammo was just some 150 sierraBTS that I loaded with out any attention to accuracy, just to break barrel in.
So, in any case it looks like I've got my next varmint rig.
Now what?

AI22-250: Among the "smalls" I have used on Coyotes are these - 17 HMR, 17 MachIV, 17 Remington, 204 Ruger and of course the 22 L.R. and 22 Magnum.
The last Coyote I killed was taken with a 260 Remington!
Hunt them with anything and everything just Hunt them!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I've shot a truckload with the 17 Remington. They seem to just pile up when hit right.

It really doesn't matter what caliber or cartridge you use IF you put the bullet in the right place and don't extend the range of your shot beyond appropriate distance for its power and bullet design.

There's a fella over at http://www.CoyoteGods.Com that has been doing a lot of 'yote blasting with a .14 something or other, with pretty fair success. IIRC the practical limit is around 125 yards for his cartridge. Others at the site are deciples of the .17 bore in all its multitude of centerfire renderings. They seem to prefer ranges under 200 yards as I recall, but the whole lot of them are hide hunters and they use the small bores to avoid pelt damage. Their favorite shot is broadside in the lungs, and they depend a lot of the bullet detonating on impact for quick kills. Me, I don't care about pelts and I'll use whatever is in my hands for the foul creatures. The more gore, the merrier as far as I'm concerned. Put me down for the Roberts as my preference, all else being equal.

I have hunted coyotes with a .17 Remington over the last 18 or so years. If you are going to use the .17 only take broadside shots for clean humane kills. I found out the hard way that the .17 will give inconsistant performance when trying to shoot through a shoulder. More often than not you will end up three-legging the coyote, as the .17 will not get to the vitals. If you are hunting open ground a second shot might not be a problem, but if you are in cover the coyote may get away. Trust me a coyote can move pretty darn quick on three legs. If you take a broadside shot (heart-lung) and get within 300 yards you will have a very dead coyote.
I added a 220 Swift to my coyote battery for open long range shots. With the Barnes X bullet it will take a coyote as far as I can shoot, and shoulder shots are no problem.

quote:

Originally posted by David Craig:
I have hunted coyotes with a .17 Remington over the last 18 or so years. If you are going to use the .17 only take broadside shots for clean humane kills. I found out the hard way that the .17 will give inconsistant performance when trying to shoot through a shoulder. More often than not you will end up three-legging the coyote, as the .17 will not get to the vitals. If you are hunting open ground a second shot might not be a problem, but if you are in cover the coyote may get away. Trust me a coyote can move pretty darn quick on three legs. If you take a broadside shot (heart-lung) and get within 300 yards you will have a very dead coyote.
I added a 220 Swift to my coyote battery for open long range shots. With the Barnes X bullet it will take a coyote as far as I can shoot, and shoulder shots are no problem.

David, please forgive me but I must respectfully disagree with you. Depending on what bullet your useing your statement is true. If you are useing a very lightly contructed bullet designed for ground squirrels ect.. But if you use a well constucted bullet for example the berger hp series (not the varmint series, the match series) odd angle shots on coyotes work very well with the little 17 Rem. I drive the 25g berger hp's at 4100fps, which has proven to be a deadly coyote rig. Just my .02

Hey no problem disagreeing. My statment was based on using 25 grain hp from Remington and Hornady. I have not used any of the Berger offerings, will have to try them. The coyotes around here are typically about 45lbs.and are pretty tough, and have found with the .17 a broadside works everytime. Again will have to try a premium bullet like Berger.

"WTFIITT"!!! What the .... is in the truck!!!" if y'all didn't get it!! A 22rimfire, a 17HMR, a 222Mag, a 6m, Or GOD's gift to rifledom....25-06, .260, 7mmBR(last one got that little nuber with a 100 grain Hornady!!!!) 7Mag, .300SAUM......whatever's handy is the best thing "AT THAT TIME" to shoot a yote!!! If I had to designate a one and only chambering for the little beasts.....22-250!!!!! Authoritatively do the deal at close range!! Authoritatively do the deal at extended range(4-500 yards) and tracking aint much of a concern if the shot is placed anywhere near right!!! GHD

just get a 22-250!!