Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints recommended nebraska coyote rifle?

3-4 of us want to buy a kind nebraska rancher friend a good rifle primarily for coyotes. he used to shoot a great deal years ago so is quite savvy about cartridges, reloading, etc., but hasn't shot much for a couple decades now. he is leaning towards a 22-250, obviously a fine choice, though going up to a 243 may be advantageous to resist the winds on the plains, add range, and provide flexibility in case he deer hunts again. the rifle would be carried in his tractor/ATV/truck so a synthetic stock makes sense. he has never liked stainless steel too much but is open to it for the same practical reason, assuming it would shoot as well which i believe they generally do. prefers a medium-heavy varmint barrel. MY QUESTION centers on recommended models. Currently I'm thinking a Sako or a Cooper. I have a Cooper 54 260 which i'm pretty crazy about, hence interest in a Cooper for him. Never owned a Sako but 3 of us hunt w Tikkas sometimes and are very pleased, and read a lot of good things about parent Sakos. Found a new 22-250 A7 at Cabelas last week that seemed to fit the bill just right for $1099, blued 24" medium heavy w B&C layered (not injection-molded) stock. but then read some threads that expressed disappointment in more recent A7s, i.e. under beretta ownership. we could move up to 75/85 models if worth it. Price over 1K is fine, but over 2K gets difficult. SO, recommendations? His own preferences are not definite beyond what I've stated above. Thanks in advance.

wow , I must say you fellas are pretty generous to buy the gentleman a Sako or Cooper.......


that said , IMO you may be advised to get the guy a more of a plain jane gun

if he is a typical farmer/rancher , he may not feel like getting such a nice rifle all beat up , and will end up leaving it in the house most of the time

carrying a gun in the tractor or ranch pickup is brutal treatment , it ends up with the snot beat out of it

and again IMO,. stainless is well advised , condensation or other corrosive problems will be present.....I have blued guns with rust damage to prove the point

my pick would be a Ruger Predator.......tough , stainless , and has the medium heavy barrel you are looking for , along with a beautiful trigger , and you don't want a real longish barrel to manuver in the tractor cab ; another might be a stainless Vanguard ( would be medium weight barrel instead of medium-heavy)

reguarding caliber , is the fella going to reload ? if not , the 250 will be hard to beat......you got the cheap generic factory loads that will do a yote or other vermin with no problem, 243 will be quite a bit more expensive to shoot


go with a plainer gun , you will have cash left over to buy him a decent deer rifle to boot......something to think about

Nothing says "farm gun" like a remington sps stainless/synthetic. Roll the dice, both 22/250 or 243 would get the job done.

Any number of good stainless rifles with synthetic stocks. Ruger and Savage come to mind for me, then put money into a nice scope and rugged mounts..

With it being on the plains with the wind, 243 and don't look back.....just my two cents worth.....

Hard for me to imagine Cooper and Sako being mentioned any where in the same thought as "ATV,Tractor,Truck" gun..But then again, it's not my money being spent.

Ditto^
Here's my choice.
http://www.winchesterguns.com/products/catalog/detail.asp?family=001C&mid=535109

I know it's not plastic but it's classy, reliable, accurate, and enough of an upgrade to show your appreciation of your friend while still being practicle. As far as the wood stock goes, it's gunstock grade Walnut, not AAA Claro so who cares if it gets a ding or two? Sounds to me like your friend's kind of a traditionalist anyway.
They also make the M70 Coyote Lite with a plastic stock but it's stainless.

Here's another good value.
http://www.cz-usa.com/products/view/cz-550-american/
Comes blued with wood or Kevlar stocks in 250 or 243.
You'll have to look pretty hard to find someone who isn't pleased with any of the CZ rifles.

For a ranch gun you cant beat a Savage M11 in .243.
The ones mentioned above are great guns, but not for bouncing around in the ranch trucks or tractors.

I really appreciate all these informative and gracious responses.
couple things i didn't mention which may be helpful for ongoing input, also appreciated:
-he does reload. has dies, a lot of old 22-250 brass and probably some 243.
-he has generously allowed me and one friend to hunt his ranch free for 15 years, and the other 2 friends for about 6 years. in recent years especially we all shoot 120" or better bucks within 2-3 days and normally one is a 150" or better. totally wild and free range. Are we blessed or what?! hence our desire to get him something nice, though we get him something like a small trailer or infrared heater or something as a token of thanks. Plus he is just a great guy and has become a genuine friend.
so we are not thinking something wasteful or frivolous but a cut above ordinary. CZ has in fact entered our minds.

I like your style. Caliber depends on what he wants and even though I would pick a 243, by the info above I think a 22-250 would be the choice. I believe a truck rifle should be accurate, sturdy, and a little more accurate. A Sako and Cooper would bother me to ride and get road bumps and scratches. Savage has the accutrigger and seems to be accurate. You want him to use it and not just keep it around for looks. Spend what you save on a good scope and reloading supplies. Also, I remember gun rack that attached to the roof of a truck that was very handy. Remember comfort over style! And again, I like you guys' style!!!

Rem 700 Stainless 22-250
Replace the factory stock with a McMillan swirley that has a lot of cornhusker red in it.

I have one in 204 Ruger (I am not a cornhusker). If you want pics of it, send me an e mail at dfehrenbaol.com

My vote is for the tikka stainless 243.

http://www.predatormastersforums.co...s=Getemclose&Search=true#Post1582510

I my opinions on the rifle from my own experiences, and this guys.

Thanks again to each of you who responded, all intelligently.
the rancher has decided 1) CZ would be too heavy. and 2) he wants to visit a Cabelas in NE to check out various models himself and then tell us what he would like (we'd probably buy it elsewhere). we are glad he is finally ready to accept our gratitude and is carefully checking his options so that, as he says, he will never want to part with it. so we'll see what he says once he has checked them out.
btw i am also a big tikka fan: i have a 695 300 WM i shot a big KS buck with last season, and picked out a a 558 308 for one of the other guys and a 595 7mm08 for another (custom FN Mauser 7x57 for the 3rd guy). So Tikkas have killed a lot of nice whitetails on this friend's ranch. He has had remington 700s before, maybe in 22-50 even, years ago and was happy. shot out the barrels. anyway now it's up to him; i will mention Tikka and 243 however.

22/250 is legal for deer in NE. Kills them quite handily I might add.

How about an AR15? Short barrel, light with fast follow up shots.

You guys are way over my head. My varmint rifles are all Handis.....22 Mag, 22-250, .223 and .243. I've never needed more. They get the job done for a cost of less than 1000 for all four. The center fires all shoot less than MOA at 300 yards. It's a lot of bang for my buck. I seldom am looking for a quick second shot which I can do, if needed, almost as fast as a bolt gun.

Pete

For a dedicated Coyote Rifle nothing is better than the 22-250

Find a good lever action in 243. They are handy and can take a beating.
http://www.hinterlandoutfitters.com...tock-matte-stainless-finish-p-26266.html

I have hunted quite a bit in Nebraska, and winds can be rough. Having owned a dozen or more of both the 22/250's and 243's, I would go with a 243 and load a 87g Hornady BTHP with a hot load of R#19 with win primers, you will be all over 3300 fps