Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints What's the most economical caliber to shoot yotes?

I have a good friend who is as tight as bark on a tree but I overlook this aspect. Lately I've been talking him into going yote hunting with me and he's asked the inevitable question that really has me thinking. He doesn't reload at all and I don't know if he ever will.

Seeing that the 223 appears cheap, is there some other caliber I could steer him towards? I shoot a 243 and I reload and am perfectly happy.

But now the cost of store bought brand name ammo is getting out of sight, I'm not sure what to tell him.

223

223 - it is available from a multitude of sources, both domestic and foreign, with some being good and some being bad.

There is a lot of it manufactured and even with the current shortage it can still be had with a little shopping around. And if you are a reloader and don't insist on premium bullets it can be reloaded fairly inexpensively.

drover

chukar,
The .223 would be the most economical in my opinion. I don't think you will give up much in range but you will get more wind drift than some of the other .22's. If all he is going to shoot are coyotes I would suggest he pay more attention to the rifle than the caliber. The 220 swift for example doesn't seem to be as popular as it used to be and used rifles in that caliber seem to be getting pretty cheap. A couple of boxes of ammunition would account for a lot of coyotes.
skitish

+1 on the .223
Ingwe

I'm gonna go against the flow and say .243
first off, you already load for yours you said right? might be a way for him to get more into the sport if you offered to help him reload his ammo, as long as he pays for components.

to just plain out buy ammo .223 will be the cheapest, although my old man has killed quite a few yotes with a .22 mag

I'm going to suggest the cheapest rifle to shoot would be the one you already own.....

Radical concept.... As a Rifle Loony I have not been pre-programmed or socialized to think in rational terms when it comes to possibly acquiring firearms....
Ingwe

Cheapest? A pistol caliber carbine. If you guys hunt cover have him get a good lever gun in .38/357 or .44. Shooting .38's is almost as cheap as 22 mag and a bunch more punch. Either that or you 2 could just tag team em. You shooting a rifle and him a shotgun.

The .223 is not a bad choice and it is cheap but it's kinda "you get what you pay for" kinda thing. Good .223 ammo cost almost as much as good 22-250 or .243 ammo. There is a large selection of .223 ammo and you should find "ok" ammo fairly cheap.

You said economical it's the .223 hands down what else can you get 2K of once fired brass for $120?

Idahochukar2: I had never thought of that concept before (cheapest way to shoot Coyotes!).
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Idahochukar2: I have been thinking about the "economy" theory of Coyote Hunting and I think the 223 Remington would allow for the careful shopper to spend the least amount of monies for "good" Coyote centerfire ammunition.
And if rimfire ammunition is to be considered I would go with the 17 HMR - there is cheaper rimfire ammunition but I prefer to use the 17 HMR on Coyotes when rimfires are called for.
Best of luck to the "thrifty" one.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

No doubt the .223 is the cheapest way to go. That being said, he is likely to find out that coyote hunting is not a cheap sport. The money in gas alone is something to consider. I swing a wide loop when hunting dogs and $50 a day in my compact truck is average. That adds up in a hurry.

Plus with all the coyote contests that have been held lately througout the state of Idaho has a lot of dogs call shy now.

It happens every year. Sportsmans will have a contest and 300 guys will be afield screwing up the hunting for a hundred miles in any direction. The only fortunate thing is that most are lazy beer drinking fat asses that are not willing to walk far.

223.. Handloaded...

I shoot rounds costing me under 15 cents apiece...

before prices went thru the roof that was 7 cents apiece...

If he doesn't care about the pelts, the 30-30 is just as cheap as the 223. It works just fine on coyotes as lots of cattlemen/farmers can attest.

+1 for .223
Ingwe

0.22

A handloaded round of anything based on a .222 Rem mag (including .223, .222, .221, .17, .204 and others) costs less than $.35. How cheap do you want to go? Maybe your friend should hang out at the rifle range and beg for free ones that get dropped on the floor. Does he pedal his bike to go hunting ?

+ one more...I just ordered a new one today. A model 7 predator .223...
Edit to add...Yes also a sometime deer killer...Until this year my primary deer rifle was a .223 & was responsible for my previous half dozen drt's...no losses.

If the rifle won't serve multiple functions, .223. You don't expend much ammo hunting coyotes, at least I don't, so if he already has a deer rifle, he should just use that, at least to get started. .243 would be a more versatile caliber if it would serve as a big game rifle, particularly if you're state doesn't allow .223's on big game.