Ive gone around and around with what the ideal Coyote rifle is. One that would not only take then out at 300 yds but also one that when used with the right bullet combinations would not damage the pelt. I can't come to a conclusion so I would appreciate your input.

Short range

That my friend is the millon dollar question, 223 sort of fits that bill, but I've lost or had to follow up more coyotes with a 223 than anyother caliber I've used. I personally use and love the 22-250 with speer HPBT Match bullets NOT the TNT's they are a small HP, they don't do much pelt damage most of the time. On the other hand my favorite rifle to use is my CZ 527 Varmint in 17 Rem, I've taken coyotes out to 225 yards with it and as close as 10 yards, never any hide damage never had one move and inch from where he was shot, best part is you can spot your hits in the scope Anyway I wish you luck in your search.

I think the .17 Rem too, but the 300 yard shot might stretch reality a bit. Go chat with these guys if you like, http://www.coyotegods.com they have a lot of faith in the cartridge and can tell you what to expect of it. Beyond that I have no advice for you, I'm kinda a "cut 'em in half and let 'em lay" kinda guy. They don't walk away from an 85 gr Ballistic Tip at 3400 fps give or take.

I would opt for the 17 Remington too. Shoot the 30 grain bullets and you should not have any troubles. I am speaking of personal experience with the 17.

My choice is my 22-250 or my 220 Swift, with a Vmax bullet. CHEERS

Go to this site: http://www.204ruger.com
The site is completely dedicated to the .204.
You will see in the forums how this caliber performs on coyotes .
The .204 is a deadly coyote round out to 400 plus yards .
The other alternative is the .220 Swift or 22-250, raw energy, but you said you want to save pelts, then try the .204, you wont be disapionted

I'm a big fan of the .22-250 and would certainly recommend it for use on coyote. It's a great varmint caliber. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

quote:

Originally posted by DigitalDan:
I think the .17 Rem too, but the 300 yard shot might stretch reality a bit. Go chat with these guys if you like, http://www.coyotegods.com they have a lot of faith in the cartridge and can tell you what to expect of it. Beyond that I have no advice
for you, I'm kinda a "cut 'em in half and let 'em lay" kinda guy. They don't walk away from an 85 gr Ballistic Tip at 3400 fps give or take.

DD is right. I did not really think much of the .17 Rem except as a curiosity (and that little cartridge is sure cool looking) before visiting this site.

EDIT: http://www.coyotegods.com

I sorta wish I hadn't found out how well they work.

I might actually have to buy one now...

a CZ 527 american in 204 ruger, or if you want even less weight and something more handy a CZ 527 carbine in 223, both guns are well under 7#'s

Hey, Cummins, you know your right. So do you have the .204 in the 527? Hows it on marmonts or Jackrabbits?
Its going to be the CZ in .204 or maybe reconverting my Remington 700 in .222 to the .19-223 ever heard of it.

So how is the varmint hunting in SLC?

Short Range,
The .204 would be deadly on Jack Rabbits, out to 400 + yds .
Im over here in Ireland and shoot Hares (virtually the same animal) with the .204 regularly with no problems whats so ever.
I also shoot wild feral dogs , that are killing sheep and some of these dogs are pretty big I can tell you .
My lates shot at a wild dog was 306yds, threw the shoulder, using Hornady 40 grain v.maxes, BANG FLOP and no movement, O, the tail twiched a couple of times .
I cant speak for the CZ in .204, but can say that my Ruger M77 MK II walnut stocked is a great carry rifle and accurate too.

If i were gonna try and kill the most coyotes possible in a calling scenario out to 300, i'd go for an accurate short-barrelled AR, BUT i'd put a plex-reticled scope on it that would give me a sort of 1 stadia ballistic reticle which means maybe 4-5 MOA of trajectory compensation to the reticle's lower post which should get me to 300-400 yds. with good windage reference as well. I'd also have an interpolative system established for shorter (but still long) ranges also.

I love my 700 classic in 222 but can't reach 300 yds with much energy left

JeffMc,
By the sound of it, you need a .204
Bags of energy at 300yds to do the job .

Mik

I am in the middle of a rifle project now on the big bore end and can't afford another project. I have really been watching this 204 and like everything I hear. I take more than a few coyotes every year and the 204 seems to be a real performer. 221 FB, 222, 223, 22-250 AI, 22PPC is the current stable and I think a 204 would fit in nicely!!!!!

For the last 25-30 years I've used 22-250, 22-250AI, and a .243win. The 250 I've used with FMJ's loaded light, sometime just an entrance hole no exit, depending on the time of year, and what the pelts are worth. Ruger#1 with "made in the 200th year of our American Liberty" in barrel, bought it new, still in good shape. Now days I use my 700VSSF in 22-250, had it re-chambered to AI just for fun. Don't let me for get my Remington 700bdl 22" .243win "kick-around". It's been more places and shot more varmints than either one of the others. Light, quick, not much recoil, I have a Leupold 3.5x10AO on it and usually shoot 55-70gr. Once in a while I grab my .270 with a 90gr HP just for fun. I think the next one will be a 22BR as soon as the bank account will let me. Thanks

I used to use 22-250AI's for years on coyotes, in fact had a Tasco 3.5-10X that i sent to TK Lee in ALabama for a 3 dot trajectory-specific reticle that was on @ 0-300, 400, then 500 yds. for the 40 gr. Nosler Ball. Tip @ 4350 mv. Truly 1 of my favorite coyote killers on a Ruger 77 action/MPI stock/Douglas barrel. Still got that rig in fact.

My go-to gun is my .223 Browning. Not that I haven't had to make follow up shots, but it was the shooter and not the gun. Put the bullet in the right place at 400 yards, and the coyote will go down immediately.

I like the 40 and 50 grain V-max molys. Even for shots as close as 25 yards, they won't leave an exit wound.

243 Winchester, with an 80 grain bullet of good construction. Leaves the 22's in the dust, especially the 223. We are talking coyotes, and not smaller varmints right? Just for you guys who think I am bashing a particular cartridge, I own 3, 223's, a 220 Swift and a 22-250. The 243 as a "Coyote Gun", outshines them all.


Jerry

If 300 yards was the limit, I would chose my Sako in .223.

As Dr. Lou said "If 300 yards was the limit, I would chose my Sako in .223"

I dont have a sako, but .223 is a good all around shooter. depending on what bullet you use.

I shoot all my coyotes inside 200 yards, mostly less then 75. Love a .223 Mini14 for that.

I think a Rem 7 in .243 Win would be perfect othwerwise.

How about an AR chambered in .17 Remington?
http://www.tromix.com/Tromix_Tackhammer.htm#17%20remington

Reliable coyote cartridge at distance, no pelt damage? My choice is the 243 Win, 55gr @ 3,925 fps. It anchors them and seldom has an exit. Accuracy is sub .5MOA, AR10 platform.

Over four decades of calling and 1,000+ kills, I've gravitated to incrementally more powerful rounds. I hung up the 17 Mach IV, got a 17 Rem but found the 17s were inconsistent beyond 100yds with too many wounded coyotes requiring followup shots. I found the 220 Swift was always a "go to" rifle if the intent was simply to kill the coyote without other considerations. The Barnes 53gr TSX at 4,015fps has been a phenomenal round and its a great deer round, too, on big mulies. I still use the 223 Rem when calling in close (under 100yds) and respect its ability.

It is normal to call coyotes into ranges under 40yds and in this situation a 12ga with 00 buck has never let me down. No pelt damage.

What about a big bore caliber?

What would you use to blow up the coyote, like a praire dog? I would think the 30-378 firing a 110 grain V-max would simply destroy the coyote.

Do you know of a similar caliber?

Here's a twist to the debate:

In North Carolina, where I am sitting now, there are coyotes, but to hunt them on the state gamelands, the rules are screwy:

During non hunting season, one cannot possess a rifle in a caliber larger than .22 on gamelands. So I called and spoke with an officer who said, yes, you can call coyotes and shoot them any time, no season, no limit, as they are varmints, but only with a rifle .22 orsmaller.

I decided trying to take coyotes with a .22 was not feasible BUT I did not think about using a .17 Rem or a .204.

Am I missing something here, or are the 17 and 204 "less than a .22"?

I will follow up with game officials here, but this thread may have shown me a way to hunt coyotes...maybe tonight!

Shortrange-a while back, well now it is actually a long while back (where do those pesky years go) I decided to become a yote killer.

Since then most years I've taken between 50-60 dogs a year. A good share of those calling and a fair amount of them come as you may.

I've used a lot of different cal's from 17-416's. They all worked some better some worse.

For me, I like the 6/06, it feeds great it will handle 4 down and it is quite accurate. I use a M70 I inherited from my G-pa and I have a glass stock on it and a 6-20 Leo with Premier dotz to 600 yards. For me the cal's below 6 just don't always get it done the way I like it to, then again that has just been my experience.

Personally, I feel that for taking dogz at whatever angle and at whatever range that the 6's on up do a better job no questions asked.

Here are some speed I run with my 6/06

55 Noz Bt=4400
70 Noz Bt=4000 (this load is what gave my rifle the name Wilson, it puts a whole in them you can pull a football thru...grins)
85 TS=3700
95 Noz Bt=3500

I use 4 weight Scheider tubes cut to 25" with a 10 twist. I've been able to shoot the 55's to 107's so twisted.

Now about preserving pelts I presonally only worry about this for about 6 weeks (Dec 1st to mid Jan). I've found a couple of things.

First off keep that bullet off of big bone (shoulders,hips,breast), if you don't you will have a big hole. Many times the entrance on a frontal shot that hits the breast bone on the way in will be huge.

As far as bullets goes for being kind to pelts my 2 fav's are.

#1-55 Noz BT (plenty of dogz shot at under 150 yards this bullet will not exit.

#2-the Barnes 85 TS, this works kind of nice as that is my big game bullet.

Someone mentioned blowing up a yote like a pd and using a 30/378. Well I've done a bit of research trying to do this on chucks and yotes and from the big 30's I've found that something with a bit more weight (than the 110's) works much better for making the fur fly. A couple of bullets I like for such work are the 125 Speer TNT and the Noz 165 BT and the Sierra 165 HPBT. Using any of these should get you the desired effets!

Good luck on your choice.

MD

my choice would be the good ole .223REM. I havent had a dog walk off on me yet and i shot one a a hair over 600yds with my 700 vssf. Awesome caliber in my opinion.

Hey Rem lvr how do you have your 223 scoped and what is your preference and what do you use for a range finder?

Thx

MD

I have my .223 700 vssf topped with a leupold vx111 6.5-20X50 long range target. For range finder i use a leica lrf 1200.

Do you like the click system?

I've been using Premiers dots for years but am thinking about getting clicks put into my 7,5 Leo and my 6-20 Leo.

Thx

MD

love it, you wont regret putting them on your scopes

Rem it seems o me that I once read you could get these in varrying heights..any ideas? I am not to spiffy on most of the ones that I see because of scabbard issues.

thx

MD

i believe you are correct, the ones on the leupold lrt's are 1" i believe, but i think you can also get them in 1/4" and 1/2", but dont quote me on that.

Hey Mark-- i can vouch for those Leupold's-- at least the 1 time i killed a coyote with 1. Used a buddy's Nesika Bay .270 WSM with the 8.5-25X Leupy Vari X-III, with the std. target turret, and nailed a dog at 775 (i think-- it's been awhile) some yards this last season. Zeroed the gun in on a pr. dog just 2 days before, and ran the ballistics program only for drop figures, and was still able to kill the mange dog facing toward me. After the gun recoiled i was still able to pick up the dog when he just fell over on his side-- saw it all at 25X thru the scope. Couldn't believe it myself-- let out a big whooppeee when i got him.

I've heard the clicks aren't dead on sometimes, but if they're repeatable that oughtta be good enuf, if u can calculate the exact click size to put in the ballistics program for ballpark, and fine tune on targets (instead of pr. dogs, that is). I've also heard u can get the scope "Tuckerized" by sending it to Cecil Tucker out of Texas i believe, and he will rework the turrets to get them precise and repeatable.

ssyote-thx for the words and the great story I gotta work today for a while and this will help me get thru the day. I really want to be out shooting or on the river with some dry's

MD

I shoot Leupolds at long range all the time. The clicks are very repeatable. The only "dot" type system I have ever used that is better than clicking is the Horus Vision - that thing is incredible, but slow to use. The problem with dots is that a bullet at extreme range drops noticeably every 10 yards, and you can't put that many dots in your scope. As for the relevance to coyotes, in AZ I just don't shoot at them that far. If I see them come in at 200, they will be there at 50 (well, usually).

quote:

How about an AR chambered in .17 Remington?
http://www.tromix.com/Tromix_Tackhammer.htm#17%20remington

Looking at that sight, they offer an upper in 50 AE! That would really impress the yote! Of course it would be kind of hard to not ruin the pelt.

Seriously, in Nebraska I used a .223 in a Savage 10 and mini -14. I wasn't interested in pelts, but just killing the dang things before they got a calf. A good friend used to use a 22-250, and had very good luck with it.

quote:

Am I missing something here, or are the 17 and 204 "less than a .22"?

Not missing a thing. They are smaller.

I have the best luck with the 22-250 & 220 swift. I prefer the old nosler solid base bullets and never seen an exit hole larger than the diameter of a pencil when shot behind the shoulders. The 17 Rem is a good choice except on long distance with windy conditions where the bullet drift is significant!