I am thinking of getting into Coyote hunting,which make of gun & cal is good to start out with?I would like to keep the package under $1000.00,thanks for any suggestions.

what you got now?
pretty much anything works just fine.
I use my 7 mauser with 100gr. bullets pretty frequently, or my 25-06, or... whatever I got with me.
sometimes it's even considered a varmint rifle [shrug]

lamar is exactly right. If you just want another rifle, fine. But, coyote calling is not a long range deal, especially here in the midwest. Almost all of my coyotes have been taken with my .270 using handloads. I'm not concerned with hide damage but do have many of them tanned because I enjoy the variety of colors. Also, I use a 2-7x scope usually set at about 4-5 power.

Shotguns are often used. I’ve shot them with everything from .375 down.

quote:

Originally posted by Lamar:
what you got now?
pretty much anything works just fine.
I use my 7 mauser with 100gr. bullets pretty frequently, or my 25-06, or... whatever I got with me.
sometimes it's even considered a varmint rifle [shrug]

Good question,I primarily hunt with Double rifles or Lever actions,no scopes on any that I have,in bolts,the lightest calibers that I have is 9.3x62,376 Steyr & 338 Lapua mag,I am thinking maybe its overkill with any of these?

6 Creedmoor

$1,000

https://www.budsgunshop.com/mo...+6mm+creed+24+10%2b1

This is what I would want as a dedicated Yote rig.

I typically prefer a .223 just cuz. But my wife's rifle is a .22-250. I agree that use what you got is more than viable and, if you handload, you can tailor your loads with a nice lighter weight bullet if you want.

Well looks like I might have figured it out,I have a Scar 17 in the safe that never gets used,5 round mags are available for it,there is factory ammo available loaded with 110 gr bullets,I am going to throw a scope on it & see how it shoots!

I have two coyote guns:

1. Ruger M77 International in .243 Win; shoot 55 grain VMAX bullets blazing fast, even out of that short bbl
2. Ruger Mini-14 in .223.

My coyote shots are never long (if I see them coming in from 200 yards, why shoot?). I much prefer shorter rifles because I am always getting in and out of the truck.

My favorite rifles are short barreled.

your rifle of choice in .223
I have a howa 1500 with 3-9x50 sig sauer scope
$400 rifle $200 scope

Bill,
I have two proven, bolt action accurate varmint shooters, both scoped.
Ruger 77 .243 reaches them way out there
Mossberg ,223 lighter and smaller and good enough, also threaded for supressor.

Both are great when I am not shooting with other folk shooting AR 15 .223 rifles. Why? Because the auto loaders kill or scare every prairie dog within 400 yards within minutes after we set up!
Curses and foul words!!!!!

Bal, your SCAR should work fine....short for confined set-ups and semi-auto for fast repeat shots. If you use my old Dakota African 338 Lapua, you can shoot 'em and skin 'em at the same time :-)

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Bal, your SCAR should work fine....short for confined set-ups and semi-auto for fast repeat shots. If you use my old Dakota African 338 Lapua, you can shoot 'em and skin 'em at the same time :-)

I shot an impala at Nixon's camp for meat with that rifle,shot it in the neck,it was almost decapitated.

One thing about using a small cartridge like .223 or even 22 hornet, is they are quiet and some times that can save some fussing with farmers, if you have to shoot close to buildings.

Years ago I bought a 17 Remington to use over calling setups for coyotes. I've used it mostly on P-dogs along with a 204 Ruger and a 220 Swift. But I've shot a number of coyotes and prairie dogs with a 7mm Remington Mag and 25-06. If you're going to save the hides then I would go small 17-20 caliber. A lot less hide damage to sew up. The smaller 22s (223, Hornet, etc) worked pretty good for a few of my friends depending on bullet choice.

Is the rifles overall carry weight a factor in your rifle choice? Tikka or Sako make some light rifles.
A nice 22 Hornet might to the trick if the range to the game is kept less that 150 yds.

For under 300 yards I prefer 223 for over I have a very accurate 243.

When running the hounds a 12ga OO buck and a Ruger Mini 14 ranch 223 and 55gr sps.

If you're just trying to kill one, any cartridge/rifle combo should work fine.

If you're trying to save the pelts, the hot little 20 calibers are the ticket. They shoot flatter than most anything else, low recoil and usually only make one hole going in and then fragment.

I personally use a 20 Practical which is just a 223 Rem necked down to .204 cal. It shoots a 40 grain BIB right at 3800 fps and works so well that I'm building another to share when someone goes with me.

But, like we all agree, anything will work depending on what YOU want to do.

Zeke

Oh sorry, you probably cannot build a 20 Practical for under $1K. (I should read more and puff less)

Just buy a nice 223 and put a decent scope on it and go have fun.

Zeke

I’ve shot quite a few coyote, with lots of different cartridges.
Hard to beat a Rem 700 in 223.