I live on the east coast but my all time favorite hunting is calling Coyotes. Once or twice a year, I journey to Texas, Alberta Canada,South Dakota, Montana or Wyoming to hunt my favorite varmint. I would like to know what you guys that hunt Coyotes on a regular basis think is the "perfect" caliber/rifle for hunting called coyotes...Lets say out to about 300yds. to maybe 350 yds. Barrels weight and length, stock type and overall weight. caliber and bullet...Any help would be appreciated......

Over the counter - The new Remington varmiter in any of the offered calibers.
Calibers- A tactical 20 or a 17Rem would be awesome. 32s in 20 and 25-30 in 17. Anything form 460 Weatherby down will work.

For me-I would want a 8 pound or less gun with a 4x12 or similar power high quality glass.(4.5-14 or 4-16), camo paint, plastic stock 22-24 inch barrel 4 contour at most. On a Rem action in one of the above calibers. Stoney point sticks. Pretty much what my deer rigs look like, just smaller holes in the barrel

I have called/hunted Coyotes in the West for nearly 25 years and in that time have seen hundreds of them taken with many different rifles.'Yotes have always impressed me with their toughness and usually any Coyote that runs off is one you will never find.



The key to your requirements is the ranges you mention.There are LOTS of good smallbore 200 yard Coyote rifles because at those ranges,most folks can place the bullets almost perfectly.Nearly double that distance and that's when top notch accuracy and enough killing power come into play..



To me, perfect Coyote rifle is blend of enough power for consistent knockdowns and yet a round that won't exit leaving a gaping hole in the hide.



Out past 200 yards,I really don't like ANY of the .17 cal rifles.They get a bit erratic in terms of their terminal performance.The most sickening thing in the world is a well hit Coyote getting back up and dragging himself into the Sage,etc to die without being retrieved.I've been there,done that.There are too many .22/6mm Centerfires that kill Coyotes cleanly for me to use a 25g bullet on them at 300yards+



The .20 cals are still too new for me to make much of a judgement on them.A 32g .20 bullet is still pretty darned small.I would feel better with the 40g,myself..



I think the best all around choices range from a .22 centerfire(.22-250,.220 swift) with 40 to 50/55 Vmaxes or a 6mm/.243 with 60-70g bullets.



My all time favorite is the .22-250 in a heavy rifle because most Coyote calling is from a fixed postion and putting them down quickly means shooting very accurately- but fast.The "feel and balance of a rifle is an individual thing and harder to quantify than the power of a cartridge.Heavy rifles allow me to "track" moving game better when aiming and are easier for me to hit with.



Depending on your tastes,get a sporter or Varmint weight .22-250 bolt repeater,tune it up until it shoots about .75 MOA or better,practice with it a bit and THEN you'll be ready for the 350 yard Coyotes..

Sharpsman,
Thank you very much..sounds like good advice...I've been using a .223 AI with a 50 gr. v-max at 3750fps and a 6BR with a 58 gr v-max at 3700fps. Number 4 barrel on a H-S Precision stock, 23" barrel, 4.5 X 14 Leupold on both. I've considered the 22-250 and a lot of very astute Coyote hunter use it with confidence and success. If you, or anyone else, have any other suggestions, I would appreciate your comments...
George

Sounds to me like you already have things covered with the .223AI and the 6mm BR.They are both in the energy class of cartridges I was talking about and given the loads you are shooting,the .22-250 will not really offer you anything more for all practical purposes.



If you REALLY want an "excuse" to buy a new Coyote rifle,hustle on out and get yourself a new .204 Ruger and in a few years(and hopefully dozens of dead Coyotes later) tell us all how it's worked out!!

Sharpsman,
I'm like you..I think the jury is still out on the effectiveness of the .204 on Coyotes and I'm going to wait a while and give the dust a chance to settle before I dive into that one....I have a couple of friends that absoultely swear by the .204 and the 20 Tactical with 40 grain bullets at around 4000 fps. Low recoil, flat trajectory etc. I always feel like there is something better out there. When I first started out I used a .243 with the 65 gr v-max and it killed Coyotes very well. It had a little more muzzle blast and recoil than I wanted to use. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to "let um out". Thanks again...
George

Gsh284Win,



Well, you pose a pretty tricky question, especially for a gunsmith like myself that really wants to give the customer exactly the perfect hunting tool for the job at hand.



If a customer came into my shop with this question, the first thing I would do is ask him what he intended to do with the cotes after he shot them, save the pelts or just hunt them for population control which many do here in Montana.



This answer would vastly change the round used but not really the rifle design used.



Lets look at the pelt savers. Problem here is that to get a round with enough horsepower to stretch out to 350 yards effectively, your going to get some degree of pelt damage on closer dogs. Really for 350 yard yote sniping, I would call the 22-250 the minimum I would recommend to solid kills on big dogs.



Many will take offense to that saying their 222's, 223's and such will and have easily taken dogs at those ranges and much farther.



I agree they will but we are trying to build the perfect yote rifle and at extended ranges the rounds on the 223 case family from 17 up to 6mm are far outperformed by the 22-250 and 220 swift class rounds.



To save on pelts I would recommend a SP bullet such as teh Hornady 55 gr SP that would expand but in a more controlled mannor compared to the tipped bombs out there. In the event that the bullet exits, the SP will produce a smaller exit hole then most other bullets.



So for the pelt hunters, I would say it is a narrow window of rounds consisting of the 22-250, its AI brother, the 220 Swift and its AI sibling.



The major problem here is reaching 350 yards while not destroying the critter at 100 yards.



Now if you have no concerns of pelt damage, we can get into some serious yote hammers. Here is where I would start with the medium size 6mm rounds(243 and 6mm Rem) and go up to the medium cased 257 rounds(25-06, 25-06 AI) as tops.



Perhaps one of the best yote hammer I have built so far was a Rem M700 I built in 6mm-06 for a semi-pro yote killer in Idaho. He wanted a rifle for those call shy dogs that were holding up at 500 yards because they thought they were safe.



We used the 6mm-06 chambering in a fast twist 28.5 Kreiger barrel. His range reports listed teh 55 gr Ballistic Tip printing in the 1's and 2's with a muzzle velocity of 4400 fps.



It may be of interest that this rifle is designed to use the 105-107 gr VLD style bullets, the 105 gr A-Max specifically loaded to around 3500 fps. With these heavier bullets, the rifle is grouping in the 3's but will perform dramatically better at longer ranges, especially pushing 500 yards and beyond.



Just goes to show that a fast twist barrel will shoot light short bullets extremely accurately.



There are no flies on the old 25-06 firing the 75 gr V-Max or 85 gr Ballistic TIps at 3900 and 3700 fps respectively. They wull level a yote like few other roudns will. ITs AI version is just a bit more of the same thing.



Remember these rounds are only if you care not about saving pelts. At 350 yards though, the fight is over right now.



As far as a rifle used for calling and shooting out to 350 yards. I would use a barrel in teh 24" length, possible 25" at the longest to keep the rifle short enough to move quickly if needed.



I would recommend a medium sporter weight contour in the #4 or #5 range. Light enough to carry but heavy and stiff enough for accurate consistant shooting for those longer range shots. I would recommend either a chrome moly(blued) or a blackened stainless barrel. Both with a Matte finish on barrel and action to reduce glare. No shiny polished metal of any color for calling yotes.



Stock wise, I would go with either a H-S sporter in a desert camo or grass camo pattern. Of the customer wanted to go all out, I would recommend the fine McMillan sporter stocks.



Action would be a Rem M700 which I would blue-print fully.



Scope base and rings would be both Burris with the SIgnature ring system, best system on the market hands down for a conventional calibered rifle.



Scope would be a little trickier. Again because of your range goals. I would like a good quality variable in the 3-9 range at the very leat and preferably in the 4.5-14. With top quality glass, I would prefer a 40mm objective to keep the scope low on the rifle and easier to shoot accurately from field condition.



So there you have my recommendations, just one smiths opinion of course!



Good Shooting!!!



50

All I can tell you is that my favorite coyote rifle is my 25-06. I have shot them with everything from a 17 Remington to a 300 Win Mag, but I LIKE that 25-06.

I shot a coyote a couple of months back that we measured with a laser rangefinder at 522 yards. We did not call him, he was just snooping around on a ridge above us. We had been hunting wild hogs and the coyote was just a target of opportunity. I shot him with a 100 grain Nosler Partition.

The rifle is a rebarreled Remington model 700. It now wears a 24 inch Lilja chrome-moly barrel. It is pillar bedded into a Bell and Carlson stock. It is topped with a Leupold 4.5 X 14 Vari-X III.

It shoots absolutely great. About the only thing I would change on it is that I may add a Jewell trigger one of these days.

I hunt deer, antelope, hogs, etc. with the 100 grain Nosler Partition. However, when I go out specifically for varmints with the 25-06 I shoot the 75 grain Hornady V-Max.

Several of us used to use the Nosler 85 grain Ballistic Tip, but no more! They have softened that bullet up so that I will not shoot anything bigger than a marmot with it.
The last time I used it on coyotes I shot two in the same morning that nearly got away. Both were hit right on the shoulder with those 85's at about 200 yars and neither bullet made it into the vitals, had to shoot them both again.

Anyway, my vote goes to the 25-06.

R F

Fiftydriver,
Thank you very much for your indepth comments and recommendations regardng my quest for the perfect Coyote
Rifle. I can tell you have a great deal of experience in rifle/cartridges and your thoughtful approach to building an appropriate "tool" for the task sheds a lot of insight that I need to seriously consider...thanks again...
George

Well, I've been tinkering with a new Kimber Montana in 260 Rem. with a Monarch 2-7 on it. Tips the scales at 6 lbs plus a few ounces. It showing 3/4 MOA accuracy for three shots with Lapua Scenars and I'm now working up some other loads to try. You may have seen my "one bullet" post on Reloading--I was asking about one bullet that could double for deer and coyotes in a pinch. If I can get this rifle to shoot I see it as my "go to" gun for deer and coyotes. It's really not the tool for a 350 yd shot, but we generally call em' in a bit closer than that. I do have a spot to set up prone on a berm with an open field of 450 yards or so between me and a treeline along a creek that I have been wanting to try with my 6.5x06. I know that .264 bullets are big for yotes but I'm not a pelt guy.

We have a guy here in town who is making carbon wrapped barrels for GA Precision and he's making me one, a Mike Rock barrel in .243 set up for the 105ish VLD's like FiftyDriver was talking about. This will go on a Savage 12 that has a SSS trigger. It will still be a bit much for toting very far, but it should be a great long range varmint gun.

R

I think I own this one, a .220 AI with a 4.5-14x Zeiss in a medium barrel, I think about .650 at the muzzle. It shoots groups in the .3's with 55 gr. at 4000 fps.

I feel that almost any flavor of AR-15 would do well but to me, a 16" HBAR is hard to beat for most varmint hunting. If you're hunting in open country you might prefer a 20" or even 24" version though.

GSH - I've taken varmits with .22/250 and 220 Swift and they will do the job. But I've seen a lot of coyotes get away because of distance, when they just won't come any closer than 300 - 400 yds and because of little twigs of this or that getting in the way.

A lot of coyote hunting out here is done in pretty brushy conditions and these guys know how to use it to their advantage.

Personally, for your specified conditions I wouldn't consider a .224 or less at all. I would come down with the guys who suggest a medium caliber rifle. And there really isn't any need to get anything "exotic" and custom unless you just have the money and want something different. There are lots of superb coyote rifles available straight over the counter starting with the 243.

The BEST and most deadly coyote hunter I know of uses a 270 Winchester. Frankly, I don't think you could beat that choice. It's fast, flat, deadly and will dang sure reach out and touch them about as good as anything you could get.

Sometimes the best answer is the simplest!

Pecos,

I have to disagree with you on this one.I have hunted coyotes for 25 years from Alberta, Canada all the way down to New Mexico and Texas.During that time I have seen hundreds taken by various rifles.

I have never seen a Coyote that was PROPERLY hit with a .22-250 or.220 Swift(loaded with a proper bullet) fail to go down even out to 400yards.I say "loaded with a proper bullet" because a 40g slug that blows prairie dogs apart on impact probably won't penetrate enough from all angles to cleanly kill most Coyotes at longer ranges.Any noraml 50 to 55g bullet will do just fine.

Look at any ballistics table.Any decent 50g or heavier load for the .22-250 has about 450+ FtLBs of energy at 400yards.
Thats more than ANY .22mag load has AT THE MUZZLE.Plus,
the .22-250 is shooting a 50-55g slug wereas the .22mag is only shooting a 40g.

As to shooting coyotes with deer rifles,well, many bullets used in those rounds are deer slugs and they often don't open up fast enough to kill coyotes any better than a .22-250 would.Many times they punch a hole like an FMJ will.Bigger rounds also are pretty much quaranteed to blow big holes in the pelts..

All things considered,I will take a .22-250 with a 50 -55g bullet anyday for 'yotes...

Sharp - You have far more serious experience at coyote hunting than I, sir. And believe me when I say I know full well the effectiveness of rifles like the .22/250 and the Swift. Both will kill like the sky fell on you within their range envelope.

However, when I suggest there are many superb coyote rifles available in the "medium calibers" I should have stipulated with the PROPER bullets. You are exactly right to say these calibers can punch thru a coyote without inflicting the desired wound for a good kill.

Using a medium caliber is really not the arena for "premium bullets." A fellow is much better off with shooting say a standard, soft point Hornady and one from the LIGHTER bullets available for his cartridge.

Whatever the cartridge a varmint hunter picks, he's probably going to want a bullet that is light, fast and explosive. This is quite achievable with the medium calibers. But I don't expect them to ever be the first choice for the majority of varmit hunters.

Sharpsmen--I agree with you about the hitting a yote at 400 with a big 22. They will go down, if not right away, then fairly quickly. It has been my experience though that when using a 6/06 or bigger that the margin of error is quite a bit in your favor. Make a bad hit at 400 with a big 22 and it has been my experience that you'll chase or track the dog for a bit. However, make the same hit with a 6/06 or bigger round and the affair ends much quicker.



Now as to your thoughts on big game rounds not killing the yotes and acting similar to a FMJ I say that is pure horse hockey...and I am trying to be nice here. I don't know how many yotes you've killed with the bigger rounds and with using tough big game bullets but, I've killed a bunch and have seen a bunch. I've killed a lot of yotes using rounds from the 6/06,25/06,270,06,300 Win and Wby,338,340,375,375 Wby,416 Taylor,416 Rigby,and lastly the 458. There may a round or two in there that I've used that was a fair sized round also that I've forgot but that is about the list. I've used soft standard bullets in these rifles and I've used the hard Preme's, and nothing I've seen would follow with your line of thinking that they work similar to a FMJ. I've found that they will work just fine and El Bun gives it up quite quickly after taking such a round. Whether I use a hard or a soft bullet.



I'm not trying to pound on you, but I do not agree with what you said at all.



Just my thoughts....



Have a super day



"GET TO THE HILL"



Dogz

Mark,



I'm not trying to pound on you about this point either...BUT.



First of all read my post again.I said many times a big game bullet will punch a hole just like an FMJ.I meant that in terms of killing power VS hide damage.I did not mean to infer they were LESS of a killer than a .22 centerfire.I stand behind that.When they knock a yote down they tear hides up for sure and when they don't tear up the hide,they don't expand very well.



It's common sense that a premium big game bullet that will not come to peices on a Bull elk's shoulder at 100yards won't expand very well on the ribcage of a 40LB coyote at 400!!

You can't have it both ways..



I have shot Coyotes with .270 class rifles at longer range with controlled expansion bullets and they did not die any quicker than had they been lung shot with a .220 swift.Barnes X bullets and many bonded core slugs open slowly enough on Deer ,let alone Coyotes.Regular soft point bullets(that most folks these days don't think hold together well enough for big deer or elk)work just fine,but there again, they always exit and make a mess out of hides.



Heck,if I did not care about recoil or what condition the hides were in after I shot,I would use a .25-06 with 90g HPs MINUMUM. But most Coyotes I call in are 400yards or less.That's about the range most folks can get a bullet on a 'Yote from a field position.Further than that( without a benchrest and all day to figure the shot),most folks couldn't hit one with a 30-378!Inside that range, a big cased .22 round works just fine.If you want to snipe at Coyotes at longer ranges or blow bigger holes in them,use something bigger..

This much I know for sure and that is that I love calling and hunting El Bun (yotes). No matter what I choose to hunt them with, be it a handgun (once called and shot a yote in a blizzard with my grandads m29 at about 4 feet-I don't know who was more suprised me or the yote), a rifle or whatever they are a fun and worthy adversary. I do love to call them and take them with my short barreled 45/70.

I also big time agree that most all of the yotes that we take while calling are taken well inside of 400 yards. For us and the country that we hunt and call it is more like under 150 for the most part.

I also big time agree with your statement about 400 being the far side range that most could hit a yote from a field position. For me the best field position I can get is using my Leica range finder. A cheater (bipod) on the front and a fanny pack for a rear bag.

I gotta run, I bet we all have some good yote stories, I think it would be grand fun to talk about them instead of all this bullet nonsense.

Me thinks I'll start a thread on our funny and fun yotes hunts.

Gotta run

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dogz

Gsh284win: I have killed Coyotes with a myriad of calibers from 17 HMR on up to 300 Winchester Magnum. I also call Coyotes at night a lot. At least 50% of my calling and Hunting of Coyotes is during the day. And daytime Hunting on the high plains means wind quite often and long range shots on occassion. So in my calling Rifles I still prefer speed to combat the wind and distance! The faster the bullet the straighter and flatter it travels! Remove the variables with speed is my motto!
My all time favorite daytime calling Rifle is my Remington 40XB-KS in caliber 220 Swift. This Model has the Winchester Marksman styled stock made of Kevlar and fiberglass. It has a heavy, stainless, 27 1/4" barrel. The trigger on this Rifle can only be described as "perfect"!
This Rifle is amazingly accurate and the stock design and weight absorb the recoil pretty well.
I have a Leupold 6.5x20 variable scope on it and I shoot the splendidly accurate Sierra 55 gr. Blitz bullets in it.
This Rifle is a Coyote killing machine. It is hard on pelts quite often.
Now I have used this Rifle at night on numerous occassions for Coyote calling duty - but! I think I have another favorite for night calling Rifle duty. This night calling Rifle is in caliber 223 Remington and is also a Remington Rifle. It is a limited edition Rifle Model designated as 700 VLSS. It is a 26" heavy barrelled all stainless Rifle with the gray laminated stock. I have a Leupold 4x12AO variable scope on it. This Rifle is also pleasingly accurate and I use the deadly and accurate Nosler 50 gr. Ballistic Tips in this rig. My night Hunting for Coyotes since I moved to Montana 6 years ago is now all in country that is full of all manner of night creatures domestic and wild. So I must wait til the called (or spotlighted) critter is positively identified as my quarry! Thus the 223 can easily handle the 250 yards or so range that allows for positive identification at night in a red spotlight.
I would not hesitate to try a 350 yard shot with my various 223 Rifles on a Coyote. I have done it many times over the last several decades and I know it can be done. Its just a little easier with the speed provided by the Swift.
Coyote calling on the high plains is really great sport in my mind and I look forward to my Coyote Hunts with relish!
A friend of mine makes a Coyote Safari each winter to Alberta, Canada specifically to Hunt Coyotes on the prairies there. He made a couple of full length Coyote coats for his sister and wife. Now he is working on a Coyote bed spread! He is a pelt saver and uses a semi-auto 223. They use mostly the spot and drive method of pushing Coyotes out of tree lined fields. The semi-auto helps bring home the pelts for him.
If I was interested in saving all the Coyotes pelts I would use one of my 17 Remingtons or my 17 MachIV. They are fur friendly.
To each their own is my motto but if I had to nail down one caliber and Rifle style for all around Coyote calling it would be the 220 Swift in a bolt action heavy barrelled Rifle with a 4x16 or 6x18 power variable scope.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy