Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Ok - one rifle for coyotes?

Considering the local population is very healthy, I need to get on the stick with a yote rifle in farm country with a smattering of hobby farms.
What are your recommendations? I know - get the popcorn.............

223 and 40 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. Absolute death on coyotes and fragile enough to limit any ricochets. As for which rifle, I’m a Tikka fan. These days I like light rifles with 20” barrels.

Yep, that covers it all in short answer.

drover

Great choice

I have an RAR-P in 204 Ruger that would be a good choice if you want to minimize through/through penetration. It shoots flat, hits hard, and both the 32 and 40 grain bullets seem to disintegrate on contact. I don't shoot coyotes to harvest the fur and the 204 isn't at all fur friendly.

EDIT: If you go with a 204 and don't want to reload for it, the Fiocchi 40 grain load is pretty inexpensive on-line and shoots sub-MOA in my RAR-P.

Thanks fellas - seems to make good sense.

I picked up a Remington ADL at Wal-Mart for less than $400 earlier in the fall. It has a 24" 1/12 twist barrel and a cheap scope on it. I have some 55 grain Nosler Armageddon's loaded up for it.

kwg

Lots of good ones out there..I like Tikkas too. If it was a rifle strictly for coyotes, I like a .22-250...seems to put them down...


That said Ive shot them with a wide variety of rifles...the .22-250 with a decent 50 grain bullet is my first choice, second would be a .223 similarly loaded...

More than enough gun.....gotta 22.250 barrel on a Ruger short action ( formally a 243), with a one in 7 twist...

That with a 73gr ELD is kinda floating my boat for the time being....

can easily launch that bullet in the 3300 to 3500 fps range.. and pretty flat shooting...

Back up option... 223, 53 gr Vmax, with a stiff charge of Benchmark.... 26.5 grains.....

that'll be a flat shooter also....

If I could only pick one it would be a 6mm Remington with 70 grain NBT’s, it has just enough extra to make me happy!

17 Rem. with a 25gr.or 30gr. non ballistic tip bullet or 204 with a 35gr. Berger or 35gr. Blackhole bullet. These are fur savers. If not saving fur...........well pick your favorite Deer caliber and have at it.

I should add that the ultimate fur saver Coyote round for many is the 17-204 shooting a 30gr. Nagel bullet. But you didn't say if you handloaded or not.

I've killed most of my coyotes with a 223, using mostly 50 grain VMax bullets. Never really felt as though it was lacking. I've also killed quite a few with a 243, and some with the 22-250. While the 223 is certainly enough, performance wise, the 243 and 22-250 are better, especially at the longer ranges. A 40 grain bullet out of a 22-50 at 4000fps will absolutely put the hurt on a coyote, as well as a 58 bullet out of a 243 at 3800fps.

Occasionally I use my AR-15 .223/5.56 with 64 grain Power-points but usually it’s a Vanguard S2 .243 with Superperformance 58g Vmax.

Are you calling coyotes or just targets of opportunity?

Calling,

A short handy rifle with a scope that would work well from your shoelaces to 300 yards, caliber of your choice if your not saving fur. I call and save fur so a 222 Rem with a 1.5-6x40mm and a 22-204 with the same scope work for me. I'm going out today with a Win Model 70 222 Rem with a Meopta Artimes 1.5-6x40mm(it is on the heavy side and hence the Howa), I have a Savage 10 20 Practical in the works with a Burris 4X 1.5-6x40mm on it and am seriously looking at a Howa Mini HB in 223 and bob the mag. Another of my faves is a Sako Vixen with a 2-7 scope on it.

Targets of opportunity

Here a longer range rifle comes into play, shots in farm country can be long, being farm country and hobbie farms I'd seriously look into putting a can on it. 22-250-6.5-Something, 2-10x40-4-16x40 scope with ballistic reticle, you need to get a very good(expensive) if your going to rely on turning turrets and it is too easy to forget to turn things back to Zero going in and out of the truck all day. I shoot a 22-250 LVSF with a Elite 4200 2.5-10x40mm. A HB isn't out of the question here if your not going to hike long distances

erich - good points on calling vs. oppo. targets. I can see both scenarios. Right now due to the proximity of hobby farms, country homes, and working farms, I am leaning to a frangible 55gr, maybe NBT or 55gr. FB Varmint Bergers with a .223 Rem. and a dose of Varget. Wouldn't mind a Montana but can't beat the out of the box reliability of the Tikka - the darn things just shoot so well.

Thanks again, fellas.

Nosler 40GR. out of a RRA AR.

For frangible and fur friendly out of a .223 give the 50 gr Speer TNT a try...

Bigwhoop: If I were to start Hunting Coyotes "today" instead of 60 years ago and knowing what I have learned over all that time, the only answer to your question covering all around night and day conditions and distances of Coyoting is the 204 Ruger!
Period!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

243 or 6mm with a 55 grain Ballistic Tip.

I have about 10 rifles that I hunt coyotes with, from 17 Rem to 240 weatherby.
If I had to choose one, it would be 223, with the 22-250 a close second.