1. I like rifles with shorter barrels. Do you think a 20-21" barrel is too short for those rounds and coyote hunting? (rare opportunities past 300yds)
No, that's fine. I personally would get a 22-24" bbl just for the extra vel, but it doesn't really matter when it comes down to it.
2. Would a heavy barrel be much of a benefit? (doubt I'll be heating up the barrel much, 'cept at the range) Seems like it would be better for the folks who shoot lots of rounds at prarie dogs and such. What do you think?
I agree. You're not going to shoot a ton of shots, so a sporter weight is fine. Barrel quality is more important that thickness.
3. What stock options do you like? (varmit style, standard hunter, thumbhole, etc)
Just whatever floats your boat - stock to action fit (including possibly bedding the action) is more important than external curvatures. Just whichever one is light enough to tote it around with you, and feels good & natural to you. The weight you can tolerate depends on how far you're going to carry it. Howa has a good selection of stocks - you can get the thumbhole for example, both with or without the wide varminter front portion.
4. What about scopes? Is a typical deer hunting scope in 2x7 or 3x9 ok? Or, should I look at something a bit stronger for yotes, fox, and bobcat?
I'd definitely get a bit bigger, like a 4-12, 5-15, or maybe even a 6-18. Depends on how long of a shot you'll be taking, and whether you're going to hunt a lot at dusk & dawn.
5. Lastly, (might as well ask ) which of the two calibers would you feel is best suited to the hunting conditions I've described.
.243 Win, definitely.
Nice paint job, PPD!
