Help me choose a cotoye-specific caliber-rifle combo

L

Loyalist_84

New member
This may be a bit pedantic but I hope you'll bear with me as it's my first post here -

I've been trying to decide on a coyote caliber to polish off my centerfire rifle battery, which consists of FN '98 Mausers in .30-06 and 9.3x62, along with the Canadian pre-requisite of a .303 British. Now, since all of my current chamberings were pre-WWII I'd like to keep it that way for this next rifle. My main debate is on choosing a higher caliber to balance out the .30-06/act as a backup gun on a deer hunt or whether to go for a dedicated predator round. I've generally narrowed it down to:

.220 Swift
.22-250 Remington
.250 Savage
.257 Roberts

My main considerations are that the rifle should be capable of around 400 yards at the top end, and capable of MOA. I handload so whichever round I choose I can work with to fine-tune.

I may end up using this rifle as a walk-about gun in another province to pop cormorants, coyotes and other nuisance critters, which entails a .224 caliber maximum, but that's not a certainty in my life and even in that case I may end up picking up a .22 Hornet or similar

Ideally the rifle would be a walnut & blued steel bolt gun styled as a walk-around varmint/sporter introduced pre-1955 - no need for a heavy prairie dog rig. CRF is a perk but isn't a strict necessity if more accuracy is gained out of a push feed action.
 
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If a wildcat isn't out of the question a Pattern 14 Enfield in 22-303. It was a real popular combination in Australia for roo hunting. I believe Epp's built a few up there in Canada.

C&H has dies.

Link to some info.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.303/22
 
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I'd tossed around the .22/303 quite a bit actually, and Elwood Epps still carries a reamer for it, but I found the lack of load data a bit troubling, although a Lee-Speed type build for coyotes that might give .222 velocities is a gorgeous proposition! I tried the commercial BSA sporters on the 1917 Enfield actions and just found them too heavy and relatively chunky for what I wanted.
 
Unless you want to spend time making brass, I would stick to standard calibers with over the counter ammo. Wildcats are great but you either have to fire form or make brass from a parent case. But it sounds like you know that already. My choice would probably be 22-250 or even 243. Both are easy to find brass for and cheap to shoot. I'm old and I like it easy these days.
 
I'm old and love shooting the odd balls. I'm taking a 6.5x58R Sauer drilling to hunt coyotes at the convention this year. It hasn't been loaded since the 1930's and then only in Germany. Brass has to be made from 9.3x72R.

6.5x58R center 9.3x72R right it is also an odd sized bore at .260 and I have to size .264 bullets to .260.

6v77Cn.jpg


93 years old and still kills coyotes just fine.

mF8Jow.jpg
 
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I like shooting them, just don't care to mess with the brass these days. One of my friends likes the odd balls as well. (your words, not mine. LOL) He lets me shoot them but he does all the loading and I'm OK with that. Some aren't that much fun to shoot. They kill on both ends. He shot a nice buck last year with a 9.3x72. Hit it in the front shoulder. The hoof was about all that was good.
 
That is really surprising as the 9.3x72R while seaming large is in the 35 Rem/375 Win power range. Now the 9.3x74R is a whole different story being in the 375 H&H family.
 
AWS I'm right with ya, I'd love a Drilling in something like 5.6x57R or 6x62 Freres with a set of 12g barrels and Suhler-style claw mounts, but as a recent college graduate who's also obsessed with fly fishing and turkey hunting, the coyote rig funds are on the scanty side. Maybe in 10 or so years I'd scrimp together for a nice semi-custom Brno if I got into song dogs more often, but for now I'm just tagging along with my Dad on driven hunts with Walker hounds in the winter, which is the only time the guys in my area seriously hunt 'wolves'. My only oddball is my 9.3 and I'd love more, but I can only really justify one more rifle to fill the gaps in my battery!
 
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Originally Posted By: AWSThat is really surprising as the 9.3x72R while seaming large is in the 35 Rem/375 Win power range. Now the 9.3x74R is a whole different story being in the 375 H&H family.

I'm wrong, his is the 74R. The case is pretty big and its a thumper. Destroyed the shoulder on that buck. Doesn't do mine much good either.
 
Here's my BRNO 305 in 5.6x52R/12ga

UmGSI4.jpg


Bernardelli in 5.6x50R Magnum/12ga

KEncNP.jpg
 
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I’d stay away from the 220 Swift. From the little of gain you will get from it and less available brass I’d do 22-250 over that. But w that said I would do a different caliber besides what you posted. A 243 would do you great for deer and coyotes. Flat and fast and can load up heavy for deer w like a 1:9 or 1:10 twist or so. You can load the 70 grain +

You’d be hard pressed to not give it a look. And brass is everywhere you can imagine.

Unless you want to use in a AR frame then maybe the 6.5 Grendel. It’ll hammer coyotes and do well for deer too!
 
Unfortunately I'm in the Great White North so the AR platform is a no-go for hunting for me, which is moot since I'd prefer a bolt gun anyway. I decided against the .243 mainly since it's a post WWII cartridge, otherwise I'd be running the 6mm Remington with no qualms as a backup gun to my .30-06.
 
If you look it up there is/was a 6x57mm that is a dead ringer for the 6mm Rem only it is about 50 years older, just make your brass from 7x57 cases and tell them it is an old timer.
 
I have been a 220 Swift fan since the late 70's and it will always be my #1 go to caliber for coyotes. But, I also reload and if you don't then factory ammunition is not always easy to come by.

I recently worked up a load for a friend of mine who bought a 243 Win for his daughter to use on Antelope and Deer. I have never owned one but through the process of working up a load for it I became more and more impressed with it. As said in earlier posts, it is very versatile as a varmint round all the way to Antelope or Deer.

But since you said coyote specific caliber, my vote goes to the Swift, especially if you are a reloader.
 
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Im kind of in your shoes in looking for a good crossover round, but im not set on the pre ww2 period. By your title i would go with a fast twist 22-250 so you could shoot heavy .22 bullets, but if deer are going to be somewhat regular thing i would go with the 257 bob. The 243 was brought up, and (arguably) the 257 is going to give a bit better results (velocity, energy) than the 243 on deer. If the coyote pelts dont matter to you, definitely the 257. If so, 22-250 imo.
 


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