Best All Round Coyote Round?

[One-Eyed Ross]

7.62x54R, 8mm Mauser, 7.62x39, 00 buck, .243....they fall down when they get hit and don't move, which is the job at hand. Darned lamb stealing sons of she-dogs.....

 

[rednek80]

6mm remington, yotes dont really care what bullet you use.

I use this caliber in an M77 bull barrel w/ a 70 gr nosler BT. Easily makes hits at 500 yards.

 

[RallySoob]

you want to use anything flat and fast but you can get it done with a shotgun if your an experienced caller. I use an AR15, 64gr power points but I've taken them with 55gr fmj too. I think a 7mm mag or something like that would be overkill but it sure would give you some more distance so why not. 22-250 is probably the most popular coyote hunter's choice though. Atleast from all the videos and stuff I've watched. I'll like using an accurate AR15 with a 1-4x BAC reticle scope best

 

[2506]

I'd use my .220 Swift.

This.

 

[best defense]

After reading all of the replies above, it appears that just about any center fire round and some rim fire rounds will work. One of my hurdles was that I wanted to take both a rifle and a shotgun along when I go after coyotes, so I setteled on an inexpensive lightweight bolt action in 243. I am not going to brag about the 300-400 yard shots I have made because I never shot one over 100 yards away. Do yourself a favor and pick something that you are comfortable with and practice as much as you can. Your target is very likely going to be moving, so take that into account when you practice.

Several of the posts above mentioned pelt damage. If you are after pelts, use small bullets that don't break up easily. Coyotes are relatively small animals, and it is easy to shoot right thru them, so you want the exit hole to be relatively small. I don't care about the pelts, so I like to blast them with buck shot.

 

[RallySoob]

One time...I hit one running full speed across a field with my AR15 @ 125yds...but I give credit to my BAC reticle scope because it made timing the yote a breeze. trijicon accupoint TR21 1-4x zoom scope. BAC (binary aiming concept) means you can easily shoot with 2 eyes open which makes aligning your reticle on the moving target simple...much like a red dot but with zoom. I think the accupoint series trijicon scopes are the best you can use for hunting and for that reason alone.

Trijicon AccuPoint®


this is how I had it set up. Everything with QD mounts so you can adjust with how/where your shooting from

 

[sprocket3]

I think a light bolt action or light AR is a great coyote gun. If you go on a trip to the east side you might end up hunting all day so you don't want a heavy bench gun if you ask me. Anything from .223 up to the mid range calibers would work fine. I would not want to shoot anything much bigger than .243 range though.

Don't expect to shoot one while it's running though. Wait for them to stop and take a good shot.

 

[Redcap]

They don't seem to like 5.45x39 very much.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Lots of solid advice. I use an AR because I like AR's, I can have fun at the range with it, and the caliber works well. If I was building a brand new coyote specific gun, I think a 22-250 on a Howa action would be a good price effective solution.

That would be a dream rifle. I have a Howa (S&W) 1500 in .30-06 and it is the most accurate big game rifle I've ever owned. It produces 3 shot groups you can cover with a quarter at 100 yards.

 

[sprocket3]

I built this upper for coyote hunting. Before optics it was only 6.1 pounds. I hunted one season with a bull barrel upper that was about 3-4 pounds more and it got old and the metal hand guard was pretty cold at times. I used a clark carbon fiber guard on this one and an old M16 colt pencil barrel. It's good for 1 MOA and the longer barrel and comp reduces noise for the shooter.

Can't get photos to work right. I'm sure there is an FAQ for that.

 

[buckfynn]

I have two rifles I like depending on my mood and hunting conditions.

The first is a plain old vanilla Remington 700 VLS .22-.250 shooting out of the box Hornaday 50 gr. V-Max.

The second is a custom built .243, Sako L57 action, 26" Lija barrel with 1:12 twist, shooting 70 gr. soft points or 70 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips @ 3500+ using 40 gr. IMR 3031.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Here's what I'm using now...

 

[sprocket3]

Here's what I'm using now...

That looks like a very nice gun, but I think it would be better for rats than coyotes. I used something similar on my first trip to Eastern Oregon and didn't like it much for Coyotes. Though it took my first dog and a few more after that so it will work for sure.

How many stands have you done with that unit?

 

[Shooter98]

I've been using my 25-06 with 75 gr Sierra hp's and 49 grains of H4350. Does real good. I don't keep pelts, I'm more concerned that the dog is killed and not just mamed.

 

[sprocket3]

I've been using my 25-06 with 75 gr Sierra hp's and 49 grains of H4350. Does real good. I don't keep pelts, I'm more concerned that the dog is killed and not just mamed.

That should do the trick. A buddy and I hunt them with .223 loaded with 55 Gr Ballistic Tips and 26.5 grains of Varget. They are going just under 3200 fps out of a bolt action rifle. We have had a number of them take a round and get back up again or crawl off when we looked the other way. I try to watch them better after they go down now.

I think a light AR in 6.5 Grendel would be about perfect for hunting coyotes. I would have built mine in Grendel but didn't want to pay the premium for the caliber. You have something similar to a .243 with long range ability and a quick follow up shot when you need it.

 

[jer fly]

If your not worried about the hide it doesn't matter what you use. I've killed them with every thing from .22LR, .40S&W, to .338 EDGE. range and shot placement make the difference. However I have had problems anchoring big dogs at distance with my .223, so Ive started using my .243 with 75 grain V-max bullets. No more problems.

 

[lucky guy]

Hard to beat 100 gr pills at 3100+ out of my 250 ackley.

 

[2506]

Hard to beat 100 gr pills at 3100+ out of my 250 ackley.

I'll see you and raise you 100 gr pills at 3400+ out of my 25-06.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

That looks like a very nice gun, but I think it would be better for rats than coyotes. I used something similar on my first trip to Eastern Oregon and didn't like it much for Coyotes. Though it took my first dog and a few more after that so it will work for sure.

How many stands have you done with that unit?

I used it a couple of times and really liked everything about it except the sight picture. I had to work hard to position my head in just the right place to get a good alignment on the scope, and then it was difficult to hold the sight picture long enough to get off an accurate shot. I've since fixed it by removing the factory installed risers that came on the gun, and mounting the scope directly to the built in rail on the receiver. See the thread on "AR-15 Screws Stuck" under "Gunsmithing and Repairs". This lowered the scope about 1/2" and getting a good, stable sight picture through the scope is now slick as snail snot. I can't wait to take it hunting again.

 

[best defense]

That looks a lot like my AR, but I use a 243 bolt gun for hunting coyotes. It is lighter than my AR, but much slower on follow-up shots. I am sure the 223 will take down a coyote. Many people use them. As far as which gun is best, I think it is more a matter of personal preference than anything else.