I'm shooting a 6mm rem and have found the 70 bt's to be great for coyotes. It hammers them and while I do get exits they haven't been bad at all on pelts. I haven't crono'ed this load but it's 48 grains of IMR 4350, I've got a 25 inch barrel. Remember that's for a 6mm rem NOT a .243!
I'm going to try the 55 grainers just for the heck of it, but after I've got most of these 70's shot.

I just shot my first coyote with my 338 win mag friday two weeks ago.I am planning on a 204 Ruger barrel for my contender.I also have a 243 win in a ruger model 77.What is a good load for the 243?I usually dont have long shots ,mostly 50 -100 yards.Has anyone ever eaten a coyote?The one I shot was eating persimmions might be better than you think.

dgr,



American Indians use to eat their dogs when times got hard and they reportedly enjoyed them.



There's no reason that any dog wouldn't taste good and be nutritious.



The reason people don't eat dogs, even wild ones is likely because they're "man's best friend" and it would almost be like cannibalism in their minds....



$bob$

The first one is always memorable. A good 243Win load depends on whether you are keeping pelts or simply shooting coyotes. If you plan on tanning the hides, I recommend the Sierra 55gr with a healthy dose of H380 or equivalent. This bullet seldom exits with good body hits.

We've used the 204Ruger on some coyotes this season so far and have been unimpressed with the results. Despite the velocity, the results are not always consistent when compared with the aforementioned 243 load, especially at distances beyond 200yds or the Swift or, even, the 223Rem. The 204 is a good praire dogger, though and very effective in that useage.

Good luck, call often

I haven't shot the .204, but I think the .243 is great coyote load.

dgr416, I've used the .243 Win for some time on Coyotes and its hard to beat.....I like the 55 Gr. Nosler with 44 grs. of Varget.....The 70 Gr Nosler with 41.5 Grs. of Varget is also a great load.....Try em, I think you'll really like them.....George

I used the 243 with 58 grain Hornady V-max bullets and IMR 4064 and they worked great. Lately I've gotten a couple with the 22-250 and the 50 grain VMax's and they've worked fine out to 300 yards.

I use the 58 gr VMax in the 243 as I am concerned about richocets and I may be hunting other vermin as well. Another reason is that I can see the bullets hit with that bullet. I am using a moderate load of 4064 at 3750 fps from a 22" tube.

Leaving well enough alone is what I am doing with that load. Other loads could have more power and range. I may work up a 70 gr load for long range blasting and carry both. I like complicated stuff like this. It doesn't get more game but it keeps me busy.

That VMax leaves quite an exit wound at around 300 yds. It's a potent load.

The Swift and light bullets in the 243 are the best for me on coyotes. I would not bother with a 204 as coyotes are really tough. On the other hand a 204 complicates things