Given the parameters of your requirement, I'd recommend a .338 RUM. Appropriate bullets are plentiful, brass is available, dies are available, and factory guns are available. You absolutely need to abandon mousegun calibers and chamberings, given the distance of target presentations you described.

Godspeed.

Russ

If you want to just buy a gun then the 6mm Rem or 25/06 or even Bob would do just fine. If you want to make something then the 6.5/284 would be the way to go I would think. Since this is a truck gun then keep the barrel length down to 24 or 26 at the most. I would say that the scope is just as impoetant as the round so go with a good scope so you can see what you are looking at out at those distances. I also love my bypod so get one if you don't have one. Like the other guy mentioned muzzle brakes work quite well and might be something to think about. I was shooting a 300 win mag the other day that had a brake and it was a pleasure to shoot.

DO YOU GUYS WANT TO KILL THEM OR SCARE THEM OR WORSE INJUR THEM.I WOULD SAY KILL THEM. WELL TRY HUNTING THEM UP A LITTLE AND GET TO A [WAKE UP STOP DREAMING RANGE]OF LETS SAY 400 MAYBE 500 YARDS AND ONLY THEN YOU MAY KILL THE BLOODY THINGS 50% OF THE TIME. P.S. PUT ASIDE YOUR .22s YOU HAVE TO BE DESPERATE TO USE THESE GUTLESS WONDERS AT THAT RANGE ON ANYTHING.THEY ARE SPENT AT 300... ANYHOW GET YOURSELFS A RANGE FINDER FOR THAT RANGE OR GO ON INJURING OR MISSING THEM.AND REMEMBER TO BE KIND TO ONEANOTHER AND RESPECT ANIMALS.REGARDS TO ALL......

In my humble opinion everything is in bullet selection when shooting at long-range. According to Sierra/Hornady, the plastic tipped bullets are the way to go. Although many of them are designed for big game hunting, the factory tech guys believe you can get expansion on downrange varmints, which is where velocity comes into play. How far--??. To be able to shoot at ranges beyond 400 yards consistently requires knowing the range (knowing, not guessing). Of course this means laser rangefinder, or some sort of ranging reticle system. In a calling scenario-- forget it-- there's no time for computations. If you're going to be shooting at alerted animals, flatten trajectory as much as possible out to 4 or 500 yds. max. Considering your recoil stipulation, the 6mm Rem. is a good choice, with 11 plastic tipped bullets available, 25-06 would work well too, with fewer bullets of course. If you're going beyond 500 or so, at animals not alerted then .270 WSM. Nosler has legitimized the .277" bore diameter with 4 Bal. Tips now- 120,130,140,150. (better purchase a laser rangefinder for any degree of consistency, along with some type of reference reticle or terget turret system).

I've had excellant success with .25 calibers. I've used a 25-06, 25-06 Ackley and am now using a .25/284 that I love. It's built out of HS Precision parts (they don't do wildcats)and is a dream for yotes. It has a 20" heavy barrel and will keep both the 85 grain and 100 grain Ballistic tips under an inch at 200 yards. I haven't had it that long but so far I've taken 3 coyotes with it, two at better than 400 yards. The scope is a 4.5-14x50 Leupie with the illuminated mil-dot. 3100 FPS for the 100 grain BT and 3300 with the 85's.

Mnthtr- Where ws that picture taken? I drive to Sierra Summit and see land like that.

I use a rem 7mag. Can't complain about range limitations.

Speedy,

I hope to have my next 25-284 completed in a couple weeks. It is gonna be a 22",#1 contoured totin' rifle.

I'm still hung up on that chambering and think it is absolutely fabulous..........

I vote for the .243
2nd pic- 25.06
3rd pic- 257 Roberts

It's just a little more noise and a pinch more shove but my dream rifle for this resides in my buddies safe. It's a 257 Weatherby Accumark with a 6.5-20x50 Leupold with a target elevation knob in Burris Signature rings. For coyotes it would shoot hand loaded 100 grain Nosler balistic tips at 3700 or maybe even some 75 grain V-maxes going 4100 or so. The V-maxes only need 7.26 inches of elevation at the scope to hold dead on at 600!

Keep in mind these come with a superb stainless fluted heavy Kreiger 26" barrel and a factory trigger that will adjust down to a pound easy out of the box.

In the truck you will need a range finder and the trajectory figured out in minutes of elevation for dead on holding and a Dog-Gone-Good shooting bag to steady it in, on the hood. This setup is easy on the shoulder as well. I have shot a similar rig to this 50 times at a sitting and had no soreness of any kind.

The yotes would be in some serious trouble.

Here is mine....300 Ultra built on a 700 Action with a 30" Hart 10 twist barrel.Stock is a Master 1000 BenchRest stock.It is topped with a 6.5-20 Nikon Monarch in Kelby ring's on a custom tapered base.This gun will shoot 125gr bullets to 4200fps for the short stuff(under 500 yard's).And 240's at 3000fps for anything over that.I have taken groundhog's out to 1200 yard's with it...

the 220 swift set up to shoot the 80 gr VLD bullets might surprise you.

Some people will argue 6.5 and .25 cal but this is what works for me, last May my wife and I made several one shot kills on rockchucks past 600 yards. It works just as well on coyotes, maybe better as they give the bullet a little more resistance at those distances, anyway here is my combination: 6mm/ 6MM Ackley Improved/Remington 700 action/ 28 1/2" Hart SS barrel/1/9 twist/87 grain Hornady V-Max/50.0 grains of R-19,ww case Fed BR primer/ Night Force 8X32-50mm with NP-2 reticle or Leupold 6.5X20-40MM.

Good Hunting, "Z"

Canuck;I think I have the perfect rifle for you especially since you say you are mainly shooting from a truck.It is a little heavy for my tastes w/respect to packing around but I have killed a lot of coyotes and sometimes multiple kills.The rifle is an AR-10T in.243 with a NM trigger and a 4-12 leupold I usually shoot 100gr Win PP Factory from walmart $12.00 a box this is my only .243 and I havent got around to reloading anything for it yet.w/regards

Having tried everything from 22.250 to 257weatherby, i settled on a 6mm ackley in a remington vls. bedded and floated. 4.5 to 14 leupold vx3. i shoot 55 grain nosler bts at 4200 fps. this combo works very well out to 600 yards. for longer shots you would need more scope and more bullet weight. but for me, 5ooish yards is getting close to my personal max. Good luck!

Wow, thanks for the responses everyone. This is the largest response I have had to a post on this website (well, not if you count the picture of my butt on the Africa forum!!).

Lots of great suggestions here. Personally I am leaning towards the 25/06. I really like the 25/284, but it is a strictly handloading option, whereas with the 25/06 my Dad can pick up factory ammo in a pinch.

I am drawn to the 243 caliber options as well, so we will have to see what the remainder of the gunshow season brings!

A couple of points to clarify the constraints I made in my original post:

• I should have been more clear in my subject line -- I am not actually talking about coyote "hunting". This is about coyote eradication. My Dad is strictly "killing" coyotes to protect his bison herd, and he is very busy and isn't going to stalk these coyotes or call them in. Coyotes have already cost him a few calves and at $1000 potential revenue each, my Dad has no sympathy for any coyote caught near his herds. If he's sees fur, the lead is flyin', and as long as there is lead in the air, there's hope. Some may not like it, but that's just the way it is.
• Most of the coyotes, especially the really long range ones, are shot from the front deck of my Dad's house, which overlooks much of his 600 acres. He has ranged most of the features on his property (corral, cross fences, etc), and has a pretty good idea how far a coyote is when it makes the ill-fated decision to venture out into his field.
• The rest of the coyotes are shot from the truck while my Dad is patrolling his property, mending fences, taking grain out to the buffalo etc. That's why gun weight or portability is not much of an issue.
• Noise is a factor primarily because he likes how quiet the 220 Swift is compared to his 8mm Rem Mag (which he was using before I lent him my 220 Swift). He would prefer not to subject his buffalo herd to more noise than necessary, as they are already one of the most docile herds around. Hence, big calibers and muzzle breaks are out.
• Recoil is a factor just because my Dad likes that 220 Swift so much. He is used to shooting his 8mm Rem Mag almost exclusively and likes the comfort of the Swift. I don't think he'll really notice much with a jump to the 25's. He likes my 6.5 Gibbs an aweful lot.

Thanks again for all the replies, and the e-mails I have recieved. I really appreciate it. If anyone else has any more suggestions, I'd be real happy to hear them.
Cheers,
Canuck

[ 02-25-2003, 23:29: Message edited by: Canuck ]

25-06 will serve him well. Wish him good luck, and give 'em hell!

Your requirements make a difficult situation. Being a 220 Swift fan for over 30 years I would NOT reccomend it for 400 to 700 yard shots on coyotes. I have shot many with it and 22-250 AI and that is asking to much for clean kills all the time.

Two years ago I switched to a 6MM and have not lost a coyote and have not had one travel over about 10' after being hit. You are asking the proverbial question and "I want my cake and want to eat it also". In my opinion it can't happen, not long range, killing power, and low recoil.

As I see it you need to move up to 24 or 25 caliber and although I'm not a Weatherby fan the 240 is perfect or maybe the 257 but then you do have recoil, you have LONG RANGE but you do have recoil.

If low recoil is still part of the equation then I think you need to limit your shooting to 400 yards or less and use the Swift with a V-Max, or Blitz type bullet. Good Luck

Good Hunting, "Z"

Just noticed a Colt Sauer on the classified's in 25-06 that may be the real combination good longer range and lower recoil, lower than the Weatherbys I suggested. May be on the fancy side for a carry gun, however may be a chick magnet also, if you need one.

Good Hunting, "Z"

My rig is a 280AI 24inch, Muzzle brake, Schmidt & Bender 4-16X50 with BDC knob Calibrated out to 1000Yards. 139SSTs at 3160fps No coyote gets up after hit with this combo. So far 750yrds is as far as I have connected on. I am tempted to shoot the 168 MK heard that works to. Recoil is not bad but it is a little loud.

I have to reply to the Mtn Htr. I will back you up on your opinion on the 243AI as a long range coyote buster. Fantastic,a truly flat shooter, Ihave a 243AI built by Gordy Gritters. My load fore this rifle is Federal Gold metal Match primers 49.5grs H414 Nosler BT 70grs seated to three thousand off the lands. Yardage drop,Imeasure in meaters the same as for high power silhouette, not that I shoot this gun in compatition I just have a range set up in these distances of meters. This load and gun combanation shoot into 1/2" at 100yards. My drop chart is as follows,100meters1/2"high, 200meters -00 300 meters-3" 400 meters -15" 500 meters -28" These measurments are taken with a tape measure. The meater measurements are taken with a laser ranger finder. My true all time fraverate dog killer is a 25-06 loaded with 85gr Balisitic Tip buillets,55grs reloader 19. With this load I have shot several groups into the 5's at three hunderd yards. Mnt Htr the country you hunt looks just like the country i hunt with out the brush. The country i hunt is rolling hills with grass about six inches high. Good luck the dog hunter.

Dog Hunter,
Sounds like you got a nice rig especially since it was built by Gordy. He is one heck of a nice guy. If you did not live so far south of me I'd go bust some yotes with ya sometime! MtnHtr

Mtn Htr I have some family up north give an email and lets hook up for some dog killing. The dog hunter.

Frank your rig sounds like one hell of a shooter. Just one word of advice on the 168gr Match Kings you might be alittle disappointed with the results these bullets have on coyotes. Match kings are designed for one purpose only, tobring out the full accuracy potencial of your firearm thus the name Match king. I know of alot of shotters that shoot nothing else in rifle compation.But to shoot these fine bullets at coyotes will give you a caliber hole goining in and acaliber hole going out.The are not designed to expaned. A very inhumane way to kill we love to kill coyotes but we owe it to these fine anminals to keep there suffering as short as possible. The Dog Hunter

Canuck,

You list a tall order my friend, lets see, a 700 yard range on coyote size critters, heavy enough to make the shot, light enough to pack in the truck, no more recoil and noise then the Swift.

I feel you are looing for that mythical perfect round/rifle combo that simply does not exits but we are all looking for.

To start off with we need substabtial optics to see a yote well enough at 700 yards for a clean kill, not a lucky hit which is usually the case. Not only power but quality are second to none for this need.

As far as the list you have I'll go through them in my opinion:

1 &2) This may be the hardest of all to decide. The big 22 calibers of conventional design are flat dead at 700 yards. Not only are their energies far to low for hunting anything larger then a prairie dog but the wind plays hell with these little bullets. Still you want no more noise and recol then the 220.

I'ld say your SOL. You have to accept a bit more recoil and noise to reach your goals with any consistency at all. Limiting the rig to a factory round makes things harder for sure.

Still, with a 26-27" barrel, a round like the 25-06 will perform very well at those ranges using the 100 gr Ballistic Tips. My 24" 25-06 loves the 100gr BT and drives them into 3/8" groups with 3450 fps. In a longer pipe, they would easily reach 3550 fps.

This is still more recoil then you want but thats how it is. An even better round would be the 25 WSM wildcat but that will not work for you. This round is the full equal to the 257 WBY but in a short action.

My pick would be the 25-06 with your restrictions.

3) I would go with either a Rem 700 or a push feed Win M70. For all out accuracy, either a custom action or a sleeved M700 would be best but quite pricy.

4) For my extreme range rigs, 28" is minimum and I prefer 30" barrels. But since you want this rifle to be portable, then 26-27" must be max. Again, a very serious compromise in my mind.

5) 1-10 works well and is standard but I often feel a 1-9 would be much better in the 25 caliber rounds especially with the 115-120 class bullets. This is why I prefer the 100 gr Ballistic Tips as the 1-10 twist will seldom shoot the 115 gr Ballistic Tips well enough for extreme range shooting.

6) Already covered.

7)I use 58.0gr Rl-22 over a CCI-250 primer. The CCI-200 work well but on very cold days, the magnum produces better velocity spreads.

8) Any of the top end high power scopes will work. I would say 5-15 power should be the bottom limit. If your looking for the single best long range optic system, get a Nightforce NXS in at least 5.5-22x. Once you shoot one of these you will know what I mean. Shooting them on 50 BMG target rifles have made me a believer.

Good luck.

My personal extreme range coyote rifle is a custom 30" fluted, Lilja barreled Win M70 chambered for the 6mm-284. The barrel is cut with a fast 1-8 twist and she drives the 107 gr Matchking to an even 3600 fps with groups in the 1.5" range for three shots at 500 yards.

The Matchking is not a game bullet so don't tell the coyotes because they don't seem to know that when one lands in the chest cavity, they just stop real quick.

This rifle tops the scales at 19 pounds so it would not fall into your specs in size and weight but sure would on performance. 700 yards is a chip shot with this rig.

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