Ya I do wish there were some lighter grains as well. I’m going with the Hornady 100 grain ELD-VT. Ordered a couple hundred rounds for just a little over a $1 a round
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Thermal Coyote hunting round
- Thread starter ***Hambone00***
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- ar10 ar15 caliber nighthunting thermal
I find a .204 very effective to 400 yards on coyotes. The only issue I have is if there is any intervening grass or brush. I like the explosive 32 grain bullets as they don't bounce around. I do think a small frame gun is the answer and a proof barrel is a good light weight solution.
I am not a fan of any other cartridge in a small frame AR other than 5.56 or .204.
If you go with a .204 don't use the P Mags. Use the metal USGI mags and they will feed fine.
I have shot over 7000 .204 rounds with no issues in small frame AR's.
I am not a fan of any other cartridge in a small frame AR other than 5.56 or .204.
If you go with a .204 don't use the P Mags. Use the metal USGI mags and they will feed fine.
I have shot over 7000 .204 rounds with no issues in small frame AR's.
You MAY kill slightly quicker with the 6.5 than a .223 but you will hit far less than you would with the .204. Many coyote shots must be taken quickly or not at all. The trajectory is far less 'flat" and you will not have time to range and shoot.
Only hunting with this rifle at night 90% of my shots will be under 100 yards. I went with 6.5 Grendel ar and am going to run a 20” BSF carbon barrel. Had great reviews and it’s actually lighter than proof. I’m looking forward to see what it’ll do. I’ll post pics when I’m done with the build
LOL so are you saying that they are just going to move out of the way before the bullet gets there?? Yes .204 is wayyyy faster, but this gun is ONLY going to be hunting at night. 90% of our shots are within 100 yards. Not sure if you have read through the other comments on the thread ( I don’t blame you if you haven’t) when we get coyotes they skirt around us a long ways we usually just let them be and save them for another night and not educate them any further. We very RARELY shoot past 200 yards. Really the 6.5 g will be a perfect round for what we do
Not going to move out of way of course.
If you like it great. After killing over 2500 Kansas coyotes it would not be my choice. I shoot further and also kill a lot of running coyotes. Both day and night. If I limited myself to standing coyotes at 100 yards I would have about 10% of this number.
You will find that as you hunt the same areas for a few years the 100 yard standing shots get to be very few or none.
Good luck with your choice and good hunting.
If you like it great. After killing over 2500 Kansas coyotes it would not be my choice. I shoot further and also kill a lot of running coyotes. Both day and night. If I limited myself to standing coyotes at 100 yards I would have about 10% of this number.
You will find that as you hunt the same areas for a few years the 100 yard standing shots get to be very few or none.
Good luck with your choice and good hunting.
Well I do agree with you there, very rarely are the coyotes just presenting standing shots. Typically they are always moving regardless. Usually a trot. To each their own, a lot of people recommended to stay away from to .204 as it wouldn’t be gaining much over the .223 and a lot said the really liked the Grendel. Worst come worse if I’m not crazy about it I can always build another upper and try something else. We shall see! Happy hunting
I'm fully in the .223/5.56 camp. Either heavy bullets like the 77gr TMK or lighter bullets pushed fast, both work well. After having issues sourcing my preferred components in the past few years I'm just going to revert to my old cheap standby of pull down wc844 and 55gr Hornady soft points. Very effective and about as cheap as you can get for anything that isn't FMJ.
If starting from scratch you can do much worse than a soft point, 60gr Vmax, varmageddon, etc.
If starting from scratch you can do much worse than a soft point, 60gr Vmax, varmageddon, etc.
I still love .223, however night time was non stop runners. Was shooting 55gr Hornady previously. I’m just about done with my new build. Looking forward to letting the 100gr 6.5 Grendel bullets eat
I hear ya on the runners, it happens. Unfortunately, a bigger caliber doesn't always solve the issue. They're tough little buggers and even an inch one direction or another can be enough to impact the quality of the hit. Not only that, but their light build, especially smaller dogs, just isn't enough to get every bullet to expand as quick as we'd like. Then you get into little differences like impacting bones, angle of the shot, etc. Runners just happen sometimes. If the goal is killing them then it's no big deal. If you're hunting for pelts (pretty much nobody in 2025) pelt damage comes into play, if hunting tourneys and worrying about recovering immediately that's different too. So many factors to consider.
A buddy that uses 6.5 creed and I were hunting together last year. He sent one square into the chest of a dog looking right at us. It still ran, finished it on the run with .223.
6.5G is a great all around chambering though and I'm sure you'll love it. Bottom line, as long as you're comfortable with your choices and it works for your needs just keep pounding em!
I think what matters is finding the sweet spots between recoil management and knock down power.
Running something in the 90-110gr with good velocity and if I’m stationary on a tripod using some weights and/or running a heavy barrel to reduce muzzle flip. I personally run heavy barrels.
Running something in the 90-110gr with good velocity and if I’m stationary on a tripod using some weights and/or running a heavy barrel to reduce muzzle flip. I personally run heavy barrels.
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That played a big decision when I decided to go with the 6.5 G. 100gr bullet with very little recoil. Will be running a 20” carbon barrel. Will only be using this rifle for night hunting so won’t be shooting much past 200 yards. 300 max
Should be perfect for that and a very nice setup to tote around with the CF barrel.
.223 has been getting it done for myself on both pigs and coyotes for years. I have a 6 ARC as well which I love and have been using for this years deer season but it has dropped multiple pigs, and Aoudad as well. I have considered making it my thermal rig and I still might but 556 is simply getting it done without issue and the ammo is cheap, 55 grain SP is all I feed it for both of those pests. I plan to run either a 6 Creed or 22 Creed in my AT-XC for long range dogs this year.
Not sure where you are from, but possibly size of the coyote has a lot to do with it as well. They’re are some large coyotes here in Kansas. Sure with the perfect shot 223 will get it done on anything.
I considered going with a 6.5 creed but really wanted to stay as light as possible and didn’t want to jump up to an ar 10 platform if I didn’t have to. I’ve bought 300 rounds of 6.5 G ammo so far for just $1.13 a round so I’m plenty happy with that. 22 creed has best ballistics all around but I didn’t want to pay for them ammo prices. I’m really thinking I’ll love the 6.5 G but if I don’t then I guess that’ll give me an excuse to build another rifle
Not sure where you are from, but possibly size of the coyote has a lot to do with it as well. They’re are some large coyotes here in Kansas. Sure with the perfect shot 223 will get it done on anything.
I considered going with a 6.5 creed but really wanted to stay as light as possible and didn’t want to jump up to an ar 10 platform if I didn’t have to. I’ve bought 300 rounds of 6.5 G ammo so far for just $1.13 a round so I’m plenty happy with that. 22 creed has best ballistics all around but I didn’t want to pay for them ammo prices. I’m really thinking I’ll love the 6.5 G but if I don’t then I guess that’ll give me an excuse to build another rifle
I am in Texas, dogs vary in size depending on time of year and which property/region I am hunting. And I don't think an excuse is needed in order to justify adding another rifle and/or cartridge lol, at least it doesn't in my house. I like having options and I have plenty but for dogs and pigs inside of 200 the 556 thermal has always gotten most of the work.
