I am a confirmed COYOTE killer. I have spent most of my 31 yr old life killing at least 2 COYOTES a year. That is 62 COYOTES so far. I have found that it is the rifle that you have and are proficient with. I mean one of my favorite techniques is to get near a road and use a crow call. You blow the crow call like a bunch of crows feeding on carrion.Then when they (COYOTE) come in you takem with a 12 guage shotgun. COYOTES are a very good survivor their instincts are such that they are now in many areas considered the dominant predators in that region. So it comes down to the hunter being good and being proficient with the gun you have. No matter how much money you put into any gun if you can’t use your hunting skills to get that COYOTE into your range it was money ILL spent.

For carrying and stalking the critters...
I'd go for a Featherweight in 223, 22.250 or 243...

Or a Ruger Ultra Lite in 223, 243 or 257 Roberts...

either one would be a quick handling rifle..... and accurate enough for the job..

I myself have the Featherweight in 223....

Cheers
seafire

One of my favorite carry guns for the coyotes is the .338 with 250's. If I miss I can easily spot my bullet strike. This is most helpful when the dogs are running them. And you get virtually no pelt damage.

quote:

Originally posted by seafire/B17G:
For carrying and stalking the critters...
I'd go for a Featherweight in 223, 22.250 or 243...

Or a Ruger Ultra Lite in 223, 243 or 257 Roberts...

either one would be a quick handling rifle..... and accurate enough for the job..

I myself have the Featherweight in 223....

Cheers
seafire

Ahhhh seafire used some key words. He said quick handling and accurate. These are the key ingredients to being proficient with your chosen weapon. He also unlike some people didn’t site one particular gun or round as the MAJIC weapon that kills COYOTES and other varmints with its august self just gracing the field. Most of the YOTES I have dispatched have been with the (I know I’ll get guffaws about this) Humble but ever-popular .22LR. I mean I have killed more YOTES with this caliber than all others combined. Why you ask? Cuz I can hit a fly on a gnats a@# with it. The gun I was using until I sadly traded it off was an old friend. It never let me down. So my response to what is a good gun is the one that is your good buddy.

SHOOT STRAIGHT

On the subject of blowing em up like PDs. We don't have pds over her in blighty but we do have foxes and small deer. The sierra 165 HPBT game king when driven over 3100 from the .300 win mag is mightily impressive in this role. Violent expansion on soft tissue and if it strikes a bone on the way in you'll be picking up chunks

Short range: I have been shooting Coyotes for a very long time now - I think I got my first Coyote in Oregon in 1958 or 1959. I have killed them with rimfires from 17 to 22 caliber and with centerfires from 17 to 30 caliber.
I, like, Cal Sibley have had a sweet spot for the 22-250 on Coyotes. I have several 22-250's and even set one up specifically for Coyote Hunting. In many of the areas I Hunt 300 yards is not considered a real long shot!
If I were to exclusively Hunt Coyotes to save their pelts I think I would go with a heavy, long barreled Remington 700 in either 22-250 or 220 Swift - top it with a 4.5x14 Leupold scope or a 4x16 Weaver and use the following bullet!
The bullet I am converting some of my 22-250's and 220 Swifts to the use of this bullet. This bullet was recommended to me by two different high volume Coyote Hunters who save pelts!
They kill 10 times as many Coyotes a year as I do (I kill 8 to 12 a year and call in many more for my partners). But these two friends each kill 100 plus a year. My one friend and his partner killed 93 in the month of February alone a couple years back. My other friend was a Government Hunter (Coyote killer) in eastern Montana for 25+ years. He still loves to Hunt Coyotes even though he is retired from his Government job!
Anyway these high volume Coyoters both suggest the use of the Speer 52 grain Hollow-point, flat base bullets. Do not confuse my recommendation with Speers 52 grain Hollow-point, boat-tail bullets! Speer makes two 52 grain bullets.
You want the Coyote killing, pelt saving, Speer 52 grain Hollow-point, flat base bullets for your 22-250 or 220 Swift.
I have been using these fine bullets for a couple of years now and they perform fine for me! On occassion I shoot a Coyote and give it to my pelt saving buddies. I shoot Coyotes to try and aid in growing our Mule Deer and Antelope herds. Hides don't mean much to me. I also Hunt Coyotes year round so sometimes the pelts are not worth saving anyway!
A Remington 700 Varminter in 22-250 or 220 Swift with a variable scope in the 4 to 16 power range, the fine Speer 52's and you will have no trouble bringing to bag Coyotes way past 300 yards (or calling them in to 60 yards!) and having pelts worth saving.
One more thing about the heavy long barrels - I find them steadier to use and make more hits with them under field conditions year round.
Good luck with whichever you choose!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

iv done 99% of my yote hunting with a 257 weatherby mag in a ruger number one man than thing pounds the living piss outta them yotes.

quote:

Originally posted by live4thestalk:
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!

The regs say not larger than 22 Rimfire. Now whether that means less by caliber dia or less by case size.. energy.. etc is not very well spelled out. From my understanding it means 22 cal rimfire and 17 cal rimfire are the only accepted calibers when big game seasons are out. I would love to be wrong on this so if you get a warden to nail down this info let us know.

Hello;
Coyotes are a major deal here, so I like to keep the fear of God in them. Got a Rem. 700 Varmint in .243 with a 3x9x50 Bushnell Elite and 85grn. Speers that does the job admirably. If I can see em, I either kill em, or make em run very fast. On the other side, when my son got his first .22, he used to call them in close and dispatch them with a head shot.
Grizz

tikka 595 sporter 22-250 russ haydon 52 gr. match bullets never exit and doesn't blow big holes in pelt.

It always amuses me when this question comes up...
As far as I am concerned the answer is one and it is definite.
6PPC

I have only been to Canada 3 times, but it was specifically to hunt coyotes(among other things)
Each time I used my Sako s/s 6PPC verminter with 70gn ballistic tips. Later I tried the 58gn Vmax and found the fur friendly load.
300yards is a piece of cake with that rifle, 600 is not even out of reach, though then you need the 70gns or heavier bullet for that kind of shooting.

The 58gn Vmax doesn't normally exit, it hits hard enough to give the "bang-flop" every time and is very flat shooting out to 300yards.
Wind is something you have to take into account with this load, though no more than you would most .22 centrefires.

The 70gnBtip hits them harder than the 58gner and you have enough residual energy to reach way out. Inside 300 it usually exits, but the damage is not extensive, further out it's not a factor.


If anyone is interested I'll post the exact load details.

You can't beat it, makes little holes appear just where you wanted them!

What I have on me when I see one either a 50cal black powder TC Encore or a Rem 300 Win Mag. Since I wouldn't touch one with a 10ft pole I don't care if it blows the heck out of them. More fun that way.

quote:

Originally posted by Swede44mag:
What I have on me when I see one either a 50cal black powder TC Encore or a Rem 300 Win Mag. Since I wouldn't touch one with a 10ft pole I don't care if it blows the heck out of them. More fun that way.

I am not a big fan of light bullets, but in a 6mm they make a lot of sense. I have a Ruger RSI that I have been playing with that shoots 58 VMAXs into around 3/4 to 7/8 of an inch. That just might be my new coyote gun.

Remington 700 VLS in 6mm Remington.

I have hunted with all the calibers listed here with the exception of the .204 Ruger. I have coyotes around my farm on southern Indiana in good numbers year round. I believe if I could hunt coyote with just one gun, it would be a Remington 700 with a heavy barrel 22-250, 52-55 gr boat tail bullet (I have taken a liking to the Hornady V max bullets). Great gun & great round. I've hunted for right at a half of a century and handloaded for over 40 years. Don't know how many coyotes I've dispatched since I stopped counting when I learned better. I no longer shoot for hides but just to "protect the chicken" and small game. Just my two cents! Good shooting all!