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Joined: Dec 2011
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Is it stupid to hunt coyotes with a 30-06? I know it is way too much gun.

The reason I'm asking is that when looking for a rifle a found a deal on a Tikka T3 Lite Stainless 30-06 that I couldn't pass up.

Now, I'm thinking of trading it for a more sensible caliber for coyotes. However, do you think that is necessary or should I just use it?

I guess I should add I'm not worried about saving the hides.

Thanks.


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No guns. No peace. No safety.








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Blah blah blah blah blahhhhhh.

Ultimate varmint gun can be narrowed down to at least one caliber, .223.

As far as the gun, nothing will surpass a good bolt gun preferably a Sako of some sort...


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I don't know about "ultimate" but I built this as my "practical" rifle for my kind of varmint hunting which includes a lot of walking in between sets and hunting in sometimes deep snow. I wanted a very lightweight, simple AR:

[Linked Image]

Between the carbon fiber, Colt guts, RRA 2 stage match trigger, turned down WOA barrel and ACOG,it is about perfect for my type of hunting.


THE CHAIR IS AGAINST THE WALL.

The Tikka T3 in .308 Winchester is the Glock 19 of the rifle world.

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Now for a bolt gun, I have multiple choices, but one real winner is this .223 Tikka T3 Lite Stainless. It has proven to be a stellar shooter and has killed a good number of yotes. It wears a 4x12 Leupold w/an M1 elevation turret and pretty much exclusively shoots 52 grain Sierra Matchkings.

They seem to work.

[Linked Image]


THE CHAIR IS AGAINST THE WALL.

The Tikka T3 in .308 Winchester is the Glock 19 of the rifle world.

The website is up and running!

www.lostriverammocompany.com

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I started shooting prairie dogs in 1949. Started looking for an ultimate varmint rifle some years ago. Sofar I have tryed out the 17 HM2, 17HMR, 17 Fireball, 17 Rem, 204 Ruger, 22 LR RF, 22 WMR RF, 22 Hornet, 221 Fireball, 222 Rem, 223 Rem, 22-250 Rem, 220 Swift,and 243 Win rifles. I wont to try out the 17 Hornet and the 5.7X28MM rifles. Back in the 50s when I only could afford a 270 Win I used it to shoot p dogs ,other unwonted critters, pronghorn ,mule deer, and elk. But now the 204 Ruger is hard one to over look for a handy varmint rifle.

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That's just sort of question made for controversy if ever I saw one. There's a big difference between ultimate and personal favorite, which a lot of people don't see the difference in.

One of the cartridges that has the most versatile range of available bullets and effectively spans the most critter territory is going to be at the top. Then there is the purpose driven angle for those who never shoot past certain ranges, which makes an alternat cartridge perfect for them, ultimate doesn't apply to someone who simply doesn't need more. Parameters would be like this:
1. inherent accuracy and what the groups look like at 300 yards
2. bullet weight and type range for different animals
3. trajectory for long range

I love a .22-250 and a Sako heavy barreled varmint was a decades favorite, the #1 favorite was a matching .243. I'd be hammering ground squirrels on levees in the delta and the wind would start pushing the .22-250 off a few inches to the side. Switching to the .243 gave me the same trajectory but way less wind drift.

I got a lot of Yotes with the .22-250, but as the shots went beyond 300 yards the drop in their tracks factor wasn't there the way it is with the .243, at some point I just switched to the .243 as it does it all and the right bullet can be used for whatever you are hunting. I've taken somewhere around 30 deer with one and never had to do any tracking, the majority dropped where they were hit with the exception of a few that were stumbling and dead but didn't know it yet.

The .243 WSSM is a whole 'nother beast, I wish I'd a had one 30 years ago. World record 1000 yard 10 shot group was just set using one at under 3 inches!

My first Coyote (and second) with this thing were 350 and 420 yd shots that would have been problematic with a .22-250 due to tricky wind, in fact the guy I was shooting with missed his at 350yds and I got it as it was running straight away from us. Jared's first words were "man I gotta get me one of them, you made that look stupidly easy".


The major difference between belief and fact is those who believe something have come to a conclusion no facts will contradict. Well informed people are open to new facts that oppose their beliefs. That also defines an open and closed mind.
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Originally Posted by ingwe
Originally Posted by dale06
Depends on what varmint you are banging. I like 17s, 20s and 223s for PD size of varmints and I also use all of those for coyotes. But is I am serious about killing coyotes, I only use 223s, 22-250s and 220S guns.
If I could only have one varmint gun, it would be a bolt 223.



Exactamundo.....


For me...it's the Kimber 84M Montana in 223.


"If dogs don't go to heaven, when I die I want to go wherever they went." -Will Rogers

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Originally Posted by shrapnel
Blah blah blah blah blahhhhhh.

Ultimate varmint gun can be narrowed down to at least one caliber, .223.

As far as the gun, nothing will surpass a good bolt gun preferably a Sako of some sort...


Do they make the 223 in a Finnlight? That would be sweet.


"If dogs don't go to heaven, when I die I want to go wherever they went." -Will Rogers

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And for me a Kimber Montana in 204 or 17 Rem.

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Originally Posted by shrapnel
Blah blah blah blah blahhhhhh.

Ultimate varmint gun can be narrowed down to at least one caliber, .223.

As far as the gun, nothing will surpass a good bolt gun preferably a Sako of some sort...


Shrap, I am sure you know the HK 630 is nice too.


"If dogs don't go to heaven, when I die I want to go wherever they went." -Will Rogers

"If you have a lot of self control you don't need a lot of government control" - Thomas Sowell
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Me thinks me smell something.....Come on....2100 yards rockchucks.....give me a break......LOL

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Originally Posted by safariman
Varmint Looney, what IS the ugly creature in your Avatar? Been meaning to ask for a while now. THANKS!


Looks like a killer tomato from that old b movie.


"If dogs don't go to heaven, when I die I want to go wherever they went." -Will Rogers

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can't see why anyone would pick a 223 over a 22-250.


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I'll answer that....
You're in Virginia.
You have groundhogs, but not enough to melt your barrel, especially on Sundays (that's a dirty shame, by the way).
A 22-250 is actually probably better than a 223 given the size of the target and the rate of fire -- in Virginia.
But if you come out West to South Dakota and have a good guide and good shooting, or luck into a good ranch on a typical summer day, your 22-250 will start to droop.
I've had hunts where my 22-250 buddies had to sit and wait while I whaled away with the 223 -- especially when I used special Blue Dot loads that move a little bullet fast.
All that said, the ultimate varminter is the one that YOU like the best. I'm lucky in that I have several. Each is the "best" for the application at hand.
So the 22-250 is the perfect "core" gun for you, for others it's the .223, for others a six, or .204 --


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I you like seeing your hits -

I'd pick my Tikka 204 varmint rifle.

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I'm new at Coyote hunting but this is what I use.

Rock River Predator Pursuit 20" barrel. Leupold Vari-X III 1.75x6x32
[Linked Image]

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I use a 30/06 on coyotes, but sometimes have to pass up shots that don't have a good backstop. My ideal choice would be a 6BR, 243AI or 243. with a match barrel for LR shooting.

Last edited by ba_50; 03/07/12.
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To be the smart a$$ here I'm gonna say............. What ever gun I have with me at the time. I'm mostly a predator hunter (and yes, predators are predators and not varmints) but it seems to me that varmint hunting runs a rather large gambit. For an eastern ground hog guy a lightweight sporter in .22hornet may be perfect, a rock chuck guy out west may prefer a .22-250 or .243 and prairie dogin may be best with a .204 or .223 heavy barrel.

Personally I think a .22-250 with a 20" varmint contour barrel would make a great compromise gun. Light enough to pack, but a little heavier barrel to not heat up as fast.

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Originally Posted by mygirlhunts
I rarely shoot varmints, mostly just coyotes, but I went with some friends today and really got into it. I have a 220 swift, my question is what is your opinion on the ulimate varmint gun and why.

First you have to decide what all you're covering with the varmint label. Little rodents? Furbearers like raccoons and coyotes? Cougar? Bear? What happens if you go outside the US? I'm told of people shooting baboons and kangaroos as varmints.

Then you have to ask how far away, how many shots in a sitting, and whether you're trying to save hides etc.

"Ultimate" isn't so easy to pick without some context for the choice.


Anyone who thinks there's two sides to everything hasn't met a M�bius strip.

Here be dragons ...
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Originally Posted by PaulM1
Me thinks me smell something.....Come on....2100 yards rockchucks.....give me a break......LOL


With the right equipment it can and has been done, find it interesting that you joined the fire just to call me out.
If you are smelling something you most likely shat yourself when you realized you are wrong.

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