You get ONE predator caliber/gun.....

I get it just fine. And don't disagree that the 243 will anchor stuff better than a 223........

I also feel that a 223 with the right bullet will more than easily kill any coyote livin', point of the shoulder shot or not.........

Put a 53gr or 62gr TSX in it, and it will plow length-wise through any coyote on the planet, with little pelt damage to boot.........

A 64gr power-point will do nearly the same, although it won't look as pretty.......

Try a 55gr TBBC on one and tell me how much more "punch" you need........
 
Quote:
I get it just fine. And don't disagree that the 243 will anchor stuff better than a 223........

I also feel that a 223 with the right bullet will more than easily kill any coyote livin', point of the shoulder shot or not.........

Put a 53gr or 62gr TSX in it, and it will plow length-wise through any coyote on the planet, with little pelt damage to boot.........

A 64gr power-point will do nearly the same, although it won't look as pretty.......

Try a 55gr TBBC on one and tell me how much more "punch" you need........



Don't forget the 60 grain Nosler Partition
 
OK so you guys never make marginal hits with your 223's you feel you could have easily collected the coyote with a larger/more powerful round like the 22-250 or 220 Swift, 243, etc?

I've been hunting along time, and don't get jumpy, practice a good bit, yet still have some marginal hits.

Thats life?
 
One of the things I have always loved about this site is the posters ability (in reply) to NOT answer a mans question.
I believe the man gave two choices .223 or .22-250. As new rounds are developed it seems that everyone forgets about the tried and true. The .223 may not be as sexy as a .204, but I personally would take the .223 over a .204 any day......and I sure see alot .204's in the used gun rack. Hmmm? I have killed alot of coyotes and assorted larger 4 legged creatures with my .22-250, also. .223 is cheap to shoot so a guy can get lots of practice time in. Lots of good factory loads on the shelf, too if you don't reload. My personal choice would be a CZ 527 Varmit in .223. I like Sightron scopes. A 3X9 will do. I think that it is interesting that the rounds that were used to decimate the buffalo herds and the calibers that the northern indian and eskimo tribes use to protect themselves against polar bears and put moose meat on the table are now considered inadequate for deer and elk by many sportsmans standards. I'll get off my soap box now.......
 
I guess I understand the poster wanted to have a caliber recommendation and why.

Why don't we ask Coyote contest shooters, and Coyotemen that hunt for a living (fur collectors) what they shoot and why. That way ham and eggers like myself views can be discounted by a pro.

I bet it won't be a small gun /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

The 223 is a fine round (I still shoot one), but believe the AR platform is why its so highly used. Before the AR craze hit the 223 was rarely spoken of. It was all 22-250 and Swifts, 6mm, 243.
 
Of all the centerfires I've used on coyote. I would choose a .243 over a .223 or 22-250. A little more thump/trauma & greater wind bucking ability. Are the main reasons.

I've had my fare share of runner's with all of the above calibers. IMO, due to a "non-perfect" 1st rd hit. Rarely have I ever made a "1 shot kill" on any coyote. No doubt, a perfect hit by any of the above will/can drop them good on the 1st hit.

I've killed small[26lbs], medium & large[>50lbs] coyotes. They are all capable of taking a severe pounding, regardless of which centerfire caliber's used. On a non-perfect hit.

When I shoot any coyote, I'm ready to shoot them again.

Kill them twice /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I have been whacking coyotes with various calibers for over twenty years. Choosing the correct bullet is very important, but a lot of folks are still losing a lot of coyotes because of poor bullet choice. A lightweight BlitzKing, or SX bullet will often blow up on the surface. A good, stongly constructed bullet is needed for consistent one shot kills on coyotes. I consider the .223 about minimum for coyotes, but if you keep your shots under 200 yards and use a good bullet such as a 55 grain Sierra "GameKing", or 55 grain Nosler ballistic silver tip, you can get by quite well with the .223. I have whacked a lot of coyotes with a Ruger mini-14 and never lost a coyote that I hit with the little carbine. I was hunting hill country with lots of trees and brush, and I waited for the coyotes to stop and give me a good shot. Most of my coyotes were taken at 50 yards or less.

I later moved up to the .22-.250, and started taking longer shots. It didn't take very long in the big open country of north texas for me to learn that I needed more whomp and stomp. Enter the custom Mauser 98 in .25-06, which I stoked with 90 grain Sierra "Game Kings" in front of a stiff dose of IMR-4831. A large improvement was quickly noticed. I fell in love with the quarter bores, and for the past several years I have been shooting my coyotes with a .257 Ackley. I read the various reloading manuals as faithfully as Grandma used to read her King James version of the Bible. I am convinced that a .243 Winchester spitting 85 grain Speer spitzer boat tails would kill coyotes just as well as my Ackley, and the trajectory out to 300 yards would be about the same. Coyotes, pound for pound are harder to kill than a whitetail deer. Use the caliber of your choice and take careful aim. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I guess I could consider myself one of those who have hunted coyotes professionally. Having trapped and called coyotes for a living and worked for the USDA doing ADC. I have seen cartridges used from one end of the spectrum to the other. Most of my "fur friendly" friends are still shooting .17 calibers and shotguns(.17 remington or .17 K Hornets) On the ADC side you will see anything from .223 right on up to .300 WinMags and 12 guages from helicopters. Federal Premium BB shot in 23/4 in mag. being the round of choice.
Everybody has a different idea on what constitutes a good coyote round. We have big coyotes here in Mt. and in 35 years or so of hunting coyotes I think I have used just about every gun in my arsenal to kill a coyote..... .17 Mach II to a .45-70....... .32 and .54 calibler black powder. Most of these were oppportunistic shots. My choice of rounds when specifically hunting coyotes ranges from a 12 guage w/BB shot or #4 buck to .25-06. It really just depends on the enviroment in which you are shooting and the job you are trying to accomplish. For hides that I am going to keep. I prefer a .22 Hornet or a .223. I believe in keeping it simple. Find a cartridge that you can afford to shoot alot. For the guys that beleive faster is better....you need to factor throat erossion into the equation. I have shot the barrel out of 2 .22-250's after only about 2000 rounds each. Barrels aren't cheap and the frustration of losing accuracy is enough to drive you nuts. Velocity comes with a price. My .223's have atleast double that and continue to shoot as they did the day I bought them. Ability to place a shot being paramount to the round you are shooting. Doesn't matter what you are shooting if you can't make a sound shot. Recoil is a factor. I don't care who you are....we all flinch when we have been bitten by the recoil bug. I personally believe that for most recreational coyote calling situations and for most recreational shooters the .223 is the best all around cartridge for getting the job done and I think that you will find that a large number of the "old timers" on this site. A few who I know personally will tell you that a .223 is one of the most logical choices for the guy who has 1 coyote gun. Low recoil, lower report, accurate, inexspensive, large choice of rifles and factory rounds and even wider choices if you reload. Adequate for most calling ranges and adequate for larger coyotes. I don't like to admit that I have had to anchor a few awful big domestic dogs and a .223 has worked just fine and most of the time getting golf ball size exit wounds shooting Hornady 52 gr. match(not recommended for those concerned about pelt damage) bullets. I guess my feeling is that you shoot whatever makes you happy. One federal trapper I worked with loved his 300 WinMag for ADC type work with others leaning towards the .222 Remingtons. Shoot well, shoot enough gun and shoot it sensably. I don't like to see runners or wasted fur because a guy thinks his .17 HMR is a 200 or 300 yd. coyote gun. My son has been bitten by the predator calling bug and has decided that he likes his grandpa's old Savage .250-3000. He is turning into a pretty good seamstress because of it too.
 
Quote:
OK so you guys never make marginal hits with your 223's you feel you could have easily collected the coyote with a larger/more powerful round like the 22-250 or 220 Swift, 243, etc?

I've been hunting along time, and don't get jumpy, practice a good bit, yet still have some marginal hits.

Thats life?



My point is that of bullet selection. The premium bullets I mentioned will penetrate a coyote from any angle, even on "marginal" hits....

I have 204, 223, 22-250, 243, 6mm-06. That pretty much covers it. I don't disagree that bigger is better, if all you want to do is kill it......
 
We could (and probably will) argue this one for an eternity, but in the end I think the whole issue is rather academic. Would a .243 anchor a coyote better than a .223 ? Well, duh, of course it ordinarily would. Just like a .338 Lapua would outperform the .243.

It doesn't mean one is necessarily "better" than the other, or that a .223 is any less of a coyote gun than a .243. A simple comparison of velocity and energy figures does not a better coyote gun make. A whole host of other issues come into play: Are you aiming to save fur ? Do you reload ? Is suitable factory ammo available to you ? Can you get the caliber in the rifle you prefer ? Etc etc.

This was the original question:

Quote:
.... and only ONE. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angry-smiley-055.gif What's it gonna' be?
.223? .22-250? Something else? What caliber and why? (Primary use: yotes, in the east)
I'm trying to steer a friend and I'm "trying" not to be prejudiced /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif so what say ye?
Hunt/fish safe,
Phil



The question is subjective, that the "correct" answer will be different for everyone.

If I could use the .243 here in Newfoundland (where, as I've said, coyotes probably get as big as anywhere else, given they like to eat caribou for a living), I probably would just for its great wind bucking capabilities. But seeing as the regulations here restrict me to using no larger than .22 centrefires, it will be a .22-250 or a .223, and I'm going to try .204.

We don't need to lambast each other for not using one caliber or another. There are a whole host of tools suitable for the job, given your own particular set of circumstances.
 
This debate never seems to stop. Here is a suggestion, open the gun cabinet, close your eyes, reach in and grab one. Take it out, hunt with it and kill with it. If you have a less that spectacular kill next time dont use it. Any gun, anytime.... Im not condoning it, but a 22 rimfire or the evil lil 17 hmr would do the job, as would a 375 H&H.

Me personally, I use a REM 700 in 22-250, almost every time. Its big enough for our deer, bear, yotes, cats, etc up here in the pacific nw. And is my go to gun for Everything
 
Such a subjective topic. With good shot placement any centerfire cartridge will get the job done. Objective is the underlying factor. Do you want to save fur?? I once shot a coyote with a .270 Win, bad hit, it nearly blew him in two but with a broken spine and his [beeep] end barely attached he still managed to crawl several yards before I put him down, no DRT.
 
The biggest coyote I ever shot was dropped with a 223 Remington and a 60 Grain Hornady SP. Quality bullet.

Same year I had 3 runners, and a bunch of spinning/crawling dogs. Same 223 load, same bullet. Switched back to the 243..........problem gone.

I'm not sure coyotes are the same size everywhere. Maybe?? I have hunted in Colorado, and they certainly weren't near as large as the Northeast.

Say what you will, but for me in just 3 years shooting a 223 I came to believe a premire coyote round for New England starts at 22-250 and goes up.

Have a few 40+ pound dogs spin and bolt with small calibers, you just may wish you had some more punch as well /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

For the new fellas, here are just a few reasons why I think that.

Good hunting, Sleddogg /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

im000669.jpg


Dsc00342.jpg


DSC00299.jpg


IMG_2985.jpg


im000666.jpg


jan20_10.jpg
 
The more I learn, the more I realize that bullet design is at least on par with caliber selection in importance of getting critters dead.
Maybe more so...
 
Back
Top