Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints 223 adequate for coyotes?

The 223 is a really great prairie dog and groundhog caliber, but is a little weak in the britches for coyotes. That outta get your blood up. C'mon, defend your pipsqueak 223s!

I'm with Critr on this one. The .223 is good for rats, but a coyote needs some real whump. I'll take a .243 or even a hot .257 anytime.

.223's are for rats and squirrels. <P>What you need for coyotes is a good .220 Swift. Now THAT is a good .22 caliber .<P>elian

in defence of the 223. I have soot deer at 200 yards in the shoulder and only to have them run 50 yards. And acording to my balistics the 220 swift is a good gun but it is not better. If you realy look at the ft-lbs they are practicly the same, until you get out to 300 yards then the 223 takes over in this catagory. So it is realy a matter of personal prefence.<BR>Thanks, and good shooting.

I have taken a mule deer at 265 yards with a 22 hornet out of a 14" TC. That said, you can take coyote with a 223 if you can hit what you shoot at. A 50 BMG won't kill a coyote if toy only poke a hole in the tip of his ear but a well placed 223 shot in the head of spine will kill cleanly every time. The main consideration should be in knowing your and your gun's limitations. You will most probably have to pass up a few more shots with a 223 but it is more than adequate in the right hands.<P>BTW, I am not a 223 shooter, never had one I liked and have owned several. Now a 22 BR, that is a different story!<P>chuck<BR>DqCmGs

You better believe it! The .223 is very adequate for the coyotes. I shoot a Remington 600 Mohawk chambered in .222 with a 18 inch barrel. Last winter I harvested 40 coyotes, each one that was hit went right down were it stood. This was with 40 grain Hornady V Max bullets. <P>I really think a rifle's effectiveness depends on the shooter, and the caller in a way. I have been calling awhile and average shots are in the 40-75 yds. A long shot anymore is 150 yds. If my average shots were 150 yds or further I would step up to something else but I dont have that problem.<P>I loaded up some Barnes X Bullets and they penetrate through coyotes like butter. I would not hesitate to shoot a mule deer with these loads. <P>NM Kid

I know I�ve taken at least a couple hundred coyotes with the .223 and can�t honestly recall ever having one do nothing but die on the spot. Nothing wrong with using the .223 at all, provided you can put the bullet where it belongs.<P>My pick of the litter for calling is the .17 Remington more often than not. But . . . I�ve been known to use a .22-250 once in a while and a short barreled pump 12 ga. 3 �� mag when the need is apparent.<P>The sweet 17 is about as fur friendly a cartridge as I�ve found and it kills like a bolt of lightning to boot.<P>Different strokes for different folks. . . <BR>

Well, whata ya' know. I killed this coyote with only one shot!! With a 223, no less . Now boys, I read all this malarky about placing your shots. Hey, come hunt coyotes in this Sonoran Desert brush with me, and I'd like to see you "place your shots". This fellow was running full blast through the brush about 10 steps away; I missed him the first shot, got off a second one with the AR-15 just as he disappeared in the brush. Talk about a blood trail . He went about 300 yards, leaving so much blood you could have followed him blindfolded. Found him piled up in a wash, with his throat cut by the bullet. One-shot kill with my trusty 223 .<BR> [img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1305003&a=9758335&p=32537489&Sequence=1[/img] <BR>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR><I><B>Critr</B></I><BR> <A HREF="http://www.SaguaroSafaris.com" TARGET=_blank>www.SaguaroSafaris.com</A>

Actually Critr... I prefer the Northern Chihuahuan Desert ;-)<P>Oh... and my .223 does just fine as far as I an hit them... though so far I'm not doing to well on the running shots :-(<P>Callem and Shootem !<P>--Steve