Proper Coyote caliber?

[BUSTER51]

Been shooting Yotes for years ,must have shot 50 or 60 over the last 20 years always used an AR15 with 5.56x45 55 grain xm193 or Q3131 ball ammo and never had a problem it realy tears them up .they are varmints after all.

[duck911]

I don't think there's ever been a finer coyote round for shots over 250 yards than a .243/6mm. The 25-06 will work too, only with slightly more blast and muzzle jump.

For under 250 yards -.204 ruger!!!

[SamD]

The big question in this is wether or not you hunt for hides.
If you are just exterminating 'yotes, the 223 will do fine. If you are hunting for the hide market you need something that will not blow holes in them. The 22 Hornet or the 22 WRM will both do fine for a hide hunter but use the fmj loads in the WMR and reload 55 gr surplus fmj in the Hornet.

SamD

[zeisloft]

Sam, you sound like you know what you are talking about...but. Try the 35gn Vmax, push them around 33-3400fps. I did alot of testing for the purpose of anchoring and minimal hide dammage. My target for testing, 2L bottle 3/4 full of water at 50yds. The 35s will explode the bottle but not exit the far side. On coyotes from 30-110yds, I have not cut the hide anywhere except the entrance hole. Bullet frags and makes jell of the vitals. Fragments hang up in the meat of the ribs, I have not tried it closer of further than the above ranges, but have taken 32 with this load, all good hides. Try it, you may like it.
~z

[WhitSpurzon]

I like the 30/30 for yotes. Dead right there (DRT) if I do my part. Plenty of range and quick pointing, they don't stand still for long. Not easy on pelts though.

The 357/38 lever carbine or handgun would be fun too.

The guys over at www.coyotegods.com seem to like the 17 cal rimfires. I haven't tried them but their results look pretty good.

[mdbuckle]

I use my 30-06 Remington Semi-Auto for killin coyote's. It is very good practice for moose hunting. Here in Newfoundland, coyotes are not native. It is believed that they came across on pack ice or ice drifts during the winter. They are really doing damage on the wildlife, expecially the caribou population! $25 dollar bounty for them makes them worth while to kill. Nothing brings me more satisfaction then to blow one of those stupid creatures brains out!! Ok, I need to calm down now...lol A buddy of mine hit one running with a .338 win mag. What a mess that was! Split the thing in two! One of the most fun shooting sports IMHO. I really hate the creatures.

[bodab]

go over to the rimfire Central web site and there are people there that use the .17hmr for Coyotes, i would say its good up to about 100 yards

[FirstFreedom]

For what it's worth, I talked to a guy yesterday who swears that the .17 MACH 2 works far better on yotes (head shots) than .17 HMR, because at the slower velocity, the mach 2 bullets don't explode upon impact like the faster HMR rounds, so they give better penetration. And of course, you extend your range a bit over .22lr. I'd still use .22 hornet or up for a coyote myself, however.

[GUNSMOKE45441]

Hello!! You bowhunt deer, your uncle loads .22 Hornet, your shots are close, the Hornet will smash them to 150 yards.
Order an NEF Hornet, put a good scope on it GIT-R-DONE!!!!

[bodab]

you are right about the 17.HMR mach 2 but i think if you used the 20 grain 17hmr it wouldnt explode..i think your better off with a center fire..i dont know much about it but what about the ruger 204??? anyone know anything on it?? i think i read someplace that its travels at 4000 FPS...

[azredhawk44]

My experience with the .30-30 only gets me within about 200 yards of them, and I can't calculate bullet drop correctly off my iron sights with 170gr bullets.

I am experimenting with 100gr and 110gr bullets from hornady and sierra for velocity and accuracy. I'm hoping for about 2600fps and more or less level shots at 200 yards, rather than 2100fps and a foot of drop at 200 yards.

We'll find out what happens in another couple of weeks

[cje1980]

Since you are looking at the 17HMR why not consider the 22WMR? It should work pretty good out to about 100yds on coyote but won't carry as far and retain energy like the 223. It expands pretty violently and will drop coyotes pretty good. I have a large coyote, fox, bobcat and even cougar problem in my area as well. I saw a full size coyote while parking my truck at work today about 35yds away. The 22LR would work but only at extremely short ranges. Less than 30yds due to its lack of velocity for proper bullet upset and penetration.

The .223, 22-250 or .243 would be the ideal coyote calibers in my opinion but if you are looking for a cheap and affordable short range pest control rifle, I can't think of anything better than the 22Mag. Ammo is cheap and widely available and there are quite a few rifles chambered for it. A 270 and 30-30 for coyote? Sounds like using a 338WM for white tails. Some people will always recommend way more gun than you really need. Don't use something too anemic though because coyotes, although small can be dangerous. If they bite you, you could get pretty sick from it. I've found that 124gr. 9mm JHPs at about 1180-1220fps are pretty good coyote medicine. 357Mag drops them like a sledge hammer.

[deerhunter17]

I would seriouly check out the 204 Ruger. That is a very good coyote round. These are the gun I would choose in order:

204 Ruger
220 Swift
22-250
17 Rem (center fire)
218 Bee
221 Fireball
223
243
25-06
222

I mainly use my 25-06 because yotes in my area are worth little to nothing. I shoot 75 gr v-max and it sure does the job on a yote. Once you shoot one yote, you will probaly be hooked!

[BamaMac54]

Marlin 94 357mag carbine

[Wild Bill Bucks]

If you shoot a LOT, the .204 is a great yote killer.
Prarie dogs and range time will wear the 22-250's out in about 5200 rds.
Most of the calibers start to open there groups at about 5000 rds because of throat erosion due to the massive burn behind the bullets.
The .204 uses lots less powder and a lot smaller case, so the throat erosion
shouldn't be nearly as bad(I expect to get 10,000 or 12,000 rds out of mine before the groups start to spread)
For most guys that would make your barrel last through several generations
of kids and grandkids.
Excellent gun for predator hunting since it shoots so flat and fast.
Re-loading ammo won't be much of a speed advantage on this round because factory powders can't be purchased(Special blends are held as a tight secret by the factories) and the factory powder already pushes this ammo at over 4200 fps.
If you re-load, your probably not going to get your loads any better than that and stay within a safe chamber pressure.
Biggest advantage with re-loads will be the cost, should be able to get your cost down to about 20 cents per round if you hang on to your Brass.
I shoot the 40 grain bullets by Hornady called V-Max, I like them better than the 32 grain, even though you loose a little speed, it doesn't change your trajectory hardly at all and it has a better ballistic coefficient.
Right now you are fairly limited as to what you can buy ammunition wise, but that will get better as the popularity of this caliber increases(and believe me IT WILL INCREASE).
Don't have a lot of info for you yet BUT I WILL as soon as I can.
I will post my findings based on shooting the gun, as soon as I can.

[Kyote]

In this neck of the woods, the ADC (Animal Damage Control) used Beretta A302 12 guage with 34 count pellet #4 buck magnum and a modified choke. Range out to 100 yds. from an Artic Tern Piper. Rolls 'em up like bread dough. Easy to repair holes too! I've used a Mosberg 500 in Cyl. choke out to 60 yrds with no problem. When calling, the first round is Mag BBs then the next 4 rounds are #4 buck 27 count. I use a Bushmaster when I'm driving though 'cause I always see them when they are in 4th gear and LOW to the ground!

[TJ Freak]

My vote would be a 22 lr or 22 mag. I have a friend who is out this weekend hunting yotes. He has the calls and the whole nine yards. He uses a 223. But he also carries a 10/22 with a scope and uses it too. If there are a lot of campers and such around I would go with a 22 or 22 mag. Remember ya may get a few of em, but they will wise up fast. You ma need to go to a 223 or 22-250 after that.

[K8vf]

QUOTE"Michigan does not allow summer coyote hunting on state land. It does run until march (I think) but I am a snowbird so I'm not there. "ENDQUOTE

Michigan allows hunting for coyotes from July 15 to April 15 with a small game license, except no HUnting for Coyotes during firearms deer season Nov 15-30 in the Upper peninsula.

[Pukindog]

Best of both worlds. I use a .19-223 Calhoon. .17 velocities with heavier bullets.

Jeff

[knoxville]

Sounds to me that shotgun is going to be your best bet the 12 gauge pump that is i know alot of guys that hunt yotes with the shot gun and they are very effective if you have the right load. I wouldn't use anything less than the four shot tungsten and up to 000 buck or even a slug a guy can shoot out to 80- 90 yards pretty accuratly with the slugs and the 4 shot prob 40 yards and the buck shot maybe 50. I was going to tell you that i hunt coyotes with a 243 wssm and thats what i recommend cause it kicks @($ but if there are houses and people nearby the 243 223 22-250 they will all travel to far for safety Take the shotgun practice with diff bullets and find your effective range and take a rabbit in distress call you'll have a blast i called a few in last week within ten yards wished i had my shotgun good huntng

[mnhntr]

Coming from a guy that shoots dozens of yotes every winter, it is .204 through .243 including .222 .223 .22-250, and any other that falls in between. If saving hides for selling it comes down to bullet choice. I have seen 204 rounds tear up a hide with the wrong bullet. PM me if you want more on bullets and selling your hides.

[Mobuck]

I won't disagree with any of the above but I have shot quite a few yotes.
#1: 22 lr is out for two reasons it won't consistently kill coyotes and it is prone to ricochet.
#2: 12 gauge w/00 buck is even less lethal unless you're close enough to club them and those pellets also bounce around
#3: I don't feel the 17 HMR will kill coyotes w/o a broadside chest hit
#4: 223 with one of the light, polytipped bullets or Hornady SX(super explosive) will break up inside the animal w/o making an exit since the exit is usually the one that ruins the pelt, will do the job under 300 yards and these bullets don't bounce
#5: Any bullet designed for deer sized game and larger is out regardless of caliber-it will exit, make a big hole, and bounce in some weird direction
Most of the coyotes I've shot were with the 22-250 w/52 grain BTHP or 55 grain Hornady SX. When I bother to hunt coyotes I intend to kil every one I see regardless of range and have even used the 25/06 or .308 if it's windy.

[Magnum Mike]

Kind of an old thread guys!!!

[Bolosniper]

I use a 243 Winchester with a 1/8" twist rate barrel and 105 grain Berger VLD bullets, and a 7mm Remington Magnum with a 1/9" twist rate and 180 grain Berger VLD bullets.

Most of my shots are at longer ranges with an occasional close (300 yards or less) shot. It is very open here in Southwest Montana and the opportunities for a close shot are minimal so I set up my equipment for long range. My zero for both rifles is at 300 yards.

[young mosin]

12 gage pump
20 gage single shot
mosin nagant 7.62x54R

you almost got the same setup i got. missing the .270 and .22



anyways. I would suggest four calibers. .22 hornet,222 remington,223 remington and 204 ruger.