If you've picked the cartridge (say a 243) what would be your ultimate coyote rifle??

I'm starting to think a BAR shortrack would make a good one.

I think this is also what MGOC uses.

Spot

Why a 17 Pred. or 22-250 ackley built on a stiller pred. action with a Mcmillan sako hunter stock...

Thou shalt not bring a caliber less than 6mm to the discussion of 'ultimate coyote rifles'.....

Amen to that!!!

My fav by far is my 6/06.

Dober

Mine's the 6mm Rem... same, same

Bolt gun, Auto loader, single shot... doesn't matter to me, as long as it's accurate. But, I'll say this... I'd rather have a single shot .243 for a coyote rifle, than an AR in .223.

Sav. pred. it comes all camoed out and a med heavy bbl.

I use a Browning BAR Lwt. Synthetic in .243 Winchester. If I shoot factory ammo I use the Remington Premier Accu-Tip 75 gr. V-Max. My handloads use the Sierra 85 gr. BTHP. Other loads shoot nearly as well, I have had excellent performance from these and stick to what works for me. This rifle shoots very, very, well and has proven to be 100% reliable. I've used 100 gr. Remington Core-Lokt's for whitetails and a few coyotes too. It simply works, and does so quite well!

I first became acquainted with the BAR's through an old guy that lived way, way, back in the deep Ozark Mountains along a rough Jeep trail. This old feller was a homesteader from right after WWII. He had built a pretty decent house out of sawed on location Missouri Ozark oak lumber. Eventually he got electricity, inside plumbing, ect. Lived there all his life. He kept a fish box filled with freshly caught fish down at the river where he would place them until he wanted a fresh fish dinner. He killed squirrels, rabbits, turkeys and deer whenever he needed meat. I think he put the "season" in them when he cooked! He had a garden he worked and put up vegetables from. He ran a trapline and had some scurvy hounds that he hunted "varmints" with at night. Life wasn't a bowl of cherries for him, but it could have been worse.

Sometime along the way he bought a BAR .243 and topped it with the old Redfield Wideview 3x9 scope. Pretty cutting edge stuff back in the day. When I first saw the rifle it was worn silver - he carried it constantly during the daylight hours either in hand, or, in his old 4x4 pick-up truck. He had a humped back Browning A5 .12 gauge in about the same shape. Those two old Browning�s put a lot of game on the table for him over the years, kept the vermin out of the garden, and provided protection around the homestead. I was young and the old man and his lifestyle intrigued me. I visited him often and actually worked up a handload with a 100 gr. Hornady spitzer and a dose of IMR-4350 for the BAR. I'd load 100 cartridges for the old feller yearly. He always repaid me in tales of game and varmints he killed with my loads.

Some years later I began conversing with some fellers out in California about coyote hunting. Nobody around these parts messed with them other than to take pot shots whenever they saw a coyote. I was interested in actually hunting them, calling more specifically. Those Cali callers actually had predator hunting clubs and held coyote calling contest! Many of them used the BAR .243 and raved about its performance at knocking down coyotes and how handy it was on fast moving doubles, ect. Some guys in Kansas I got to know used them too.

I had a .30-06 BAR, but it was pretty heavy and long to tote around the Ozark hills and hollars. Plus, any way you look at it, the 06' is a tad more than you need for coyotes! I bought the .243 Lightweight Synthetic and really found something special. Since then several guys I know have bought the same gun and all of them have had great results. I really enjoy mine...

That... is a sweet coyote rifle, I can dig it for sure!

I too ran a BAR in 243 for a while, it worked just fine. But I found I could do the same thing with my preferred bolts so I just sold the BAR.

Good rig though.

Dober

I think Dober has the "perfect" cartridge nailed.. I would have a med/heavy contour, with deep flutes, at 23.5 in...

I put this one together with coyotes in mind. Maybe even for deer if I'm feeling savvy. I know some of you don't like the T/C platform, but I think it works well. Bullberry full bull 11.5in barrel with brake (kicks like a 22 mag) chambered in 6mmBR. Still working up loads and its still a virgin

MOGC,

Did you camo it yourself or buy a replacement stock.

Nice rig!

Spot

That is actually camo cloth tape wrapped around the stock just enough to break up the all black look. I don't use it on the metal because I don't want it to soak up moisture and then sit against the steel and rust or pit the metal. I just throw a few wraps on the synthetic stock to break up the outline a little. Ya know, in case the coyote can identify the outline of a rifle, then he knows I have an evil black rifle and am up to no good... I dunno where that was going.

243 is definitely a better performer for yotes.

nice cat in the picture.

At the NRA Convention in Exhibit hall I had the chance to look at what I thought would be best coyote calling rifles. I had in mind the BAR in .243 or the Savage Predator in the same caliber.
The camo job Savage puts on that Predator is flat out amazing and really has to be seen to be appreciated. But I think I'll go with the fast follow up capabilities of the BAR. Not sure yet.

Ive been shootin coyotes and deer with an old ruger 77 chambered in the 6x51 for about 6 years now,I wouldnt trade it for love nor money,this rifle is HELL on coyotes........

As much as I love bolt guns, I have had way too many coyotes get away when they came in as pairs or even sometimes triples. Getting the first one is usually no problem, but the second one more often than not seems to make its escape.

I strongly prefer an AR15 for a calling rifle. For just driving around and shooting them at long range the bolt works fine though.

I believe an AR in 6.8SPC might have a lot of merit as the "one gun". Combining its bigger bullets and easily personalized platform in a semi auto sounds like a winner to me.

Of course the lightweight BAR sounds like a pretty slick gun as well.

Here is a pic from this last season. I was using my Tikka T3 lite in .223.

AR-15 in a 6.5 grendel - DPMS lower w/panther tactical grip. 24" overwatch upper, magpul stock and a burris 6-24x50.

a beautiful rifle.

I dunno... The 6.8 SPC and 6.5 Grendel both have the same problem as far as coyote carbines are concerned. Too long of a recovery time after the loud noise button is depressed. I would say that the average sized dog in Montana is 35-40 Lbs, and shooting one that goes 50 Lbs isn't unheard of. I've never had a problem with the 223 and 60 grain V-maxes on yotes. Coyotes are tough critters, and even when I was using a 243 I would say it was a rare dog that just laid down and died right there.

Maybe its the terrain that we're hunting in that dictates which is a better caliber. I live on the West half of Montana, we have big dogs and lots of timber. Its rare to shoot one outside 100 yards. Now when I call in the East half of the state, I usually take my shotgun and my 260. You get a lot more dogs that "hang up" at far out yardages where a bigger caliber would work better. We still try to call them into shotgun range though. I use the 260 on the east half mostly because a 140 grain Sierra Matchking is a lot more wind friendly than a 60 grain v-max.

My Coyote arsenal consists of:

222 Rem
223 Rem
222 Rem Mag
22 BR
22-250
6 mm Rem
250 Sav
250 Sav AI
257 Roberts (3)
Plus several 7x57's with proper bullets

Dan-you're right on in terms of weights where I've been hunting yotes over the years. My partner and I used to take around 30-50 yotes a year and I weighed most of them. The biggest dog I ever saw was taken by a rancher friend in the Highwoods and the old hound weighed in @ 37 lbs.

Now I have no doubt that in other parts of the world they make em bigger, but in central/eastern and southwestern 40 is about the top end.

As 4 my yote arsenal:

M70 in 6/06
G33/40 in .270
700 in 7 Mashburn Super
70 in 375 Wby


Shoot straight guys!

Dober

DMB-curious as to your thoughts on pro/con on the 250 Sav AI vs the Roberts?

Many thx for your time

Dober

My choice would be a medium heavy barreled bolt action like the old Ruger 77V had for long range shooting (1/2 MOA or better). For strictly calling or close shooting, a semi-auto .243 if it had a great trigger pull and 3/4MOA or better accuracy. If it would do 1/2 Moa or better I'd take the semi-auto.

I just use my deer rifle - a .25-06 Rem 700 CDL. Mulies, coyotes and rockchucks - all with the same rifle. Makes me pretty confident in my deer rifle comes October! Used to use a 6mm Rem 700 BDL, but my youngest son swears it's his rifle now...

Rem Model 7 predator, 243 or 22.250..

one like that with a custom chambering of a 22/243 with a fast twist, for long bullets like 75 and 80 grain AMaxes..

....the Middlestead. The numbers for that cartridge sounds very interesting.
Seafire, how about the 224 Texas Trophy Hunter?...a 22/6mm Rem. Same idea with the fast twist.
http://www.accuratereloading.com/226rem.html

Sako Hunter in 243.

My favorite coyote rifle for calling is a 250 Savage 1899 TD with a 2x7 Leupy on it. I use 87 gr HP.

I have a 243 also. It has an old Redfield Five star 6-18x40 with a range finder and some "turrets" on it. It works fine.

The places we call them around here seldom offers shots much over 150 yards. The longest I can remember shooting one while calling was at about 250, had one that surprised all concerned at 10 yards. Most of the time we use .223 bolt action sporter rifles with 50 TNTs without issue. Had a problem one time with a 55 soft nose, didn't penetrate straight and slipped down under the lung. The quickest drt I ever saw on a called yote though was with a 90 gr. Sierra out of the ol 270 at about 50 feet, head on. Not sure but there is still hair floating in the air, and that was over 30 years ago.

LOL 30 years ago! Thats some funny chit right there.



I like my AR shooting a 60 gr V max.

I also like a bolt gun in .243 shooting a 55 gr Nosler BT.

I also like a bolt .270 shooting a 90 gr Sierra.

I also like a .223 bolt gun shooting a 40 gr V max.

They all work, it just depends what you prefer.

Now that coyotes are here in the NE I prefer the 243. This Kimber shooting 58 Vmaxs got this one.

I have used a 243 on a few coyotes. It seems too much overkill for the coyotes I hunt which usually go about 30 lbs. Most that I call in are under 200 yards, actually about 25-75 yards.

I got aquainted with the old 6x45 in a bolt action and fell in love with the cartridge. Same case as the 223, produces more FPS with same bullet weights as the 223, feeds perfectly, the bullet selection for 6mm in outstanding, the brass is cheaper than 243, and it is easy to form. Just expand the neck to 6mm.

If I wanted to shoot a couple of hundred yards further, then the 243 with it's extra horsepower would make sense I imagine. I get great barrel life and less noise with hardly any recoil.

The other neat thing is I built an AR-15 in 6x45, since it is on the 223 platform. I now have an accurite repeater. With it's Pacnor 3groove barrel, it is a shooter too.

M70 Lightweight
243 Win
Arma-Coated Matte Black
McMillan Compact (50%grey/25%black/25%white)
3-9x40 Bushnell Elite
Leupold Low Dual Dovetail Rings

Shooting 70gr Speer TNT's over Varget.

Sweet stick Gord!

Perhaps the "ultimate coyote rifle" can be broken down into two distinctly different categories. Those who are pelt hunters, and those who shoot coyotes for animal depredation.

My good friend Blaine Eddy has killed well over 3,000 coyotes in the last 20 years. He averages from 120 to 160 coyotes per season, in a 60 day span when the fur is prime (Nov. - Dec.) . He hunts 4 to 5 days straight and comes home after he has 30+ coyotes skinned and rolled up in his portable freezer.

His caliber of choice...... the 17 . Most of Blaine's kills have been under 100 yds, but he has killed them at distances from 5 yds to 450 yds. Nearly all were shot with a 17 Rem and the 25 gr Berger.

I suppose Blaine knows a thing or two about the ultimate coyote rifle or caliber Pictures from the 2004 season just before the fur buyers came over to bid on Blaine's finished product. These furs brought an average of $50 each.

Shooting coyotes is the easy part. After Blaine gets home, he fleshes and cleans each pelt in a clothes washing machine to make sure they bring premium dollar. Blaine even has a DVD he produced and titled "Hunting & skinning coyotes for profit".


** if you're doing animal control and have no use for the coyote fur, I'd advocate the 6mm in any chosen cartridge. (243 AI, 6mm Rem, 6 x 45, etc...)

cb <*)))>{





The Man himself, pictured with son, Ian.

WHOLEY BAT SHEETS>....


I have never seen such a thing...


Enterprising gentleman..


COOL>>>>> http://smartflix.com/store/video/1231/Hunting-Skinning-for-Profit

Later..

Those are all actually shot, not trapped and snared coyotes in the picture too?

although I'm paying off other stuff I'm going to get a Browning BAR shortrack sythetic in 243 for coyotes.

I've been through many a rifle, and that's where I ended up. Also been through many a coyote - but I like kill'en 'em not skinning them. Plant them where they lie, no running, or if running watch them roll hard.

Watch any randy Anderson tape and you'll see the difference between the 243 anchoring a yote and other chamberings. If your skinning dogs I probably wouldn't go with a 243 unless I'm using super lite bullets.

Spot

That's quite a picture.

The couple I've shot dropped in their tracks with a 7mm (280) entrance hole and a "little bit" bigger exit wound.

In some places they use dog's to hunt coyotes

They drive around with a dog trailer and when they see a coyote they pull a lever and the dog trailer doors pop open, and multiple greyhounds jump out and run down the coyote.

A guy could kill alot of yotes that way, many more than I can with my callers anyway.

Spot

Check out Dave Affleck's video short from Varmint Safari 4 - Tricking the Trickster. Dave is the man as his varmint/predator videos are highly recommended and top notch.

all dogs shot in the video are with his new .17 Predator custom rifle. Run-offs are non-existent with proper shot placement and a fast moving bullet.

IMO, coyotes often die instantly when hit with a .17 caliber bullet at 4000+ fps. due to "hydrostatic shock". The internal organs and tissue explode due to the high speed bullet causing shock waves during penetration.

Varmint Safari 4 - 17's and coyotes

cb <*)))>{

Can't argue with that kind of success... I love to see stacks of coyote hides. I've killed a couple hundred, but skinned out exactly one coyote in the last 5 years... almost of them were shot with either the 6mm Rem or the .25-06 (toss in a few with the .375 and the WSMs just for giggles).

I hunt coyotes purely on a depredation basis, so the 6mms and 25s get the call. If I were a fur guy, I'm thinking the .204 Ruger would be making an appearance out of the bull-pen.

Sweet picture, thanks for posting it... I know a couple of guys that hammer out the pelts, your buddy has them in spades. But, that seems like a whole lot of work for $7500 gross... throw in all the expenses and you see maybe 6 grand for 6 weeks of hunting and all the prep work... I think I'll stick to depredation.

now double the mass, and the frontal area... shoot that baby at 4K+... mmmmmmmmmm, massive tissue explosion!

$6,000.00 for six weeks of hunting and the great outdoors? Sounds like a hell of a deal to me. I know guys that spend that plus some for a week to hunt.

Not the hunting... hell, we'd all do that part for free... but all that prep work? Skinning, fleshing, stretching, and preparing for sale takes at least a couple hours a piece... times 150 dogs? I don't know about you, but my time is worth a lot more than $12-$15 an hour. I guess it's a labor of love... but I'd rather spend the other 450 hours shooting more coyotes, istead of playing with the dead ones I already shot.

I really like my 6mm-270wINCHESTER SHOOTING 105 GR. HORNADY AMAXS

CB I've been following Dave Affleck's (DAA) posts for years like to meet him some day. Lots of good stories and shooting. Most of the video I've seen of his those critters drop like they have been hit by lightning. Him and his brother in their earlier posts were both using 17 Remingtons and stacking them like cord wood.

My time working at a job yes is worth more. $12-$15 a hour to do something I enjoy now thats a win win. I try my best to use in one way or another everything I kill. I admit some things I kill I won't eat and don't use the pelts, but I do use for bait in my traps. Hell I hate cleaning my guns but that is part of the process of shooting and hunting. Now if I could only get $12-$15 a hour to clean my guns I would be in heaven.

i saw a stainless fwt m70 in 22-250 a couple of years back... got a bad itch on first site, but my old fwt.243 would not be easy to replace...

i'm a "pick the rifle and don't sweat the cartridge" guy, but day in and day out the 22-250 is the boss coyote cartridge out there... john w

For fur collecting, this one is a lot of fun too. It's chambered in 17 Remington, with a 20" Lothar Walther barrel.

Yeah right... and the .270 is the 'boss' deer cartridge. Both are pretty dang good rounds... but at the end of the day they both suck hind tit for the entended job.

no argument from me.....
in fact, i don't use a .270 any more than i do the 22-250... and it's not because they are less than perfect for deer (the .270) and coyotes (the 22-250)... it's because i like having a true "do it all" rifle, and using it for everything (the .243).....

I wouldn't have traded my 17's for anything out there in their time--especially fur hunting. I was also in love with my old 22-250 AI Ruger 77/Douglas sporter barrel/MPI-stocked rig either. It had some good cheap glass on it at the time--the 3.5-10X Tasco WCP with a 3-dot T.K. Lee reticle for 0-300, 400 and 500 yds. using the 40 Nosler BT @ 4350 mv.

But if i were just trying to kill as many coyotes as possible it'd be my AR-15 .223 AI, or DTech 243 WSSM uppers--no question.

If Blaine Eddy were to tell me the best cartridge for coyote hunting was the 22 rimfire, i'd believe him. I always thought of him as the ultimate coyote hunting wildcatter--man he's got some. Then again there's Quinton Waggoner out of NE who kills a bunch of 'em every year now too. He uses a bolt gun in 220 Swift with the 52 A-Max (I think, now). There's also Mike Johnson too out of MT. He used to spot and stalk, and kill over 100 in a fur season--there's a hunter, IMO. He uses the Middlested, and 17 Rems. I actually knew about these guys because of their writings in Varmint Hunter,SCN, and PS mags way before i ever talked with them or wrote to them about our mutual interest. There's actually kind of an interesting story about that. The 1st time i ever met Quinton was at the '98 Fur Taker's Convention in Kearney, NE. I was asked to do a talk on coyote hunting there from the writings i'd had in Trapper and Predator Caller. When i was done talking some young guy comes up to me and we talked for a minute and he finally asked me how many i'd gotten that year. I told him maybe 50 or so. He didn't say anything and we continued talking and finally i asked him the same ? He told me 150 i think it was. I couldn't hardly say anything, until i finally uttered out, "Man u oughtta be up here talking about this instead of me." Very great and humble man.

I'm now into spot and stalk and long-range as i killed enuf for #'s in the past that i don't have to do that anymore. For this reason i love my old 17 Fireball XP-100. For long-range i'd like to try the 111 DTAC in a big 24, if they ever get that bullet up and running. For now i use my XP-100 6.5 WSM/140 A-Max for long-range post fur season.

Here's mine:



BMT

Sweet pic!! Ditto on the 'yote rifle too.....

Thanx, I tried a 800+ yard shot on a 'yote than appreared.

I pulled out the 308, best guessed the range (LRF did not report the range that far out)

I fell about 12 feet short.

Would have been a good place for a Barret.

BMT

Or turrets.

Turrets don't do you any good if the range is unknown...