Coyote rifle help

[Namekagon]

In a bolt gun, 22-250 is the ultimate coyote cartridge for normal hunting distances. Had one for awhile, and it always hit like a lightning strike. If you want to push the range further, bump up to a 6CM for better accuracy at 500+ yards.

In an AR-15 platform 224 Valkyrie is awesome with the 60 gr Nosler loads. Since switching to the Valkyrie from 223, bang-flops increased dramatically. I just got tired of watching a coyote flop around or spin in circles 4-5 times, then take off like nothing happened. Tracking them in the dark sucks and takes up valuable calling time. Everybody focused on the Valkyrie as a potential long range cartridge in a small frame AR because it was marketed that way. It wasn't all that great, but everybody missed what I actually think its best at - 22-250ish (emphasize the ISH) velocities in a AR-15.

I really want to try the new Hornady ELD-VT's, I think they could really stretch the legs of the Valkyrie without sacrificing velocity.

 

[Grim's Reapers]

From experience, 22-250 with a 55gr Vmax is devastating out to 500 yards. I could go on about it for days.

 

[Bryan W M]

What are some good factory 243 loads?

 

[264win]

Any expanding bullet from 75 gr to 105 gr would work great.
Best will depend on your rifle and what twist it’s barrel is.

 

[joe777]

Sunday night I shot a yote at 160 yards behind the shoulder with AAC 55gr black tip 5.56. It spun around a few times and ran away. Not sure if it was the bullet choice or what.

 

[Mbaysinger89]

204 or 22-250 for me. I dont know what it is about the 20s but they flat out hammer coyotes. Ive seen multiple coyotes spin flop a d run with a 223. If you want something more mainstream look into a 22-250 and you'll never wonder why that coyote got away or where is he laying. 243, in a light rifle, in not great positions can sometimes recoil enough to screw with keeping the reticle on target. If you want to lug a 12-14lber coyote hunting a 243 is great.

 

[Charlie112]

Fellows, a lot of knowledge here, no doubt,, but there is no Magic Rifle to shoot Varmints with, I am sure you shooters with some miles on you will agree… what ever rifle/caliber you choose, you have to put rounds down range, not just a site in in good weather,, but bad conditions, wind, low light, etc. We can all shoot good , but we have to practice. I want my Missouri Varmint rifle , lite, easy to carry, so I can carry the other shit!!! And you will carry other shit until you get some miles in and say, “ What the fk do I need this heavy rifle for and 30 rounds of ammo!!!?? ( that is what I asked myself) /. Trying to be nice to you younger shooters getting into the sport!! Use your head, can I get ammo?? Can l reload and have a steady supply of ammo… do I need a seat or a chair… etc. etc. etc. I am not being a smart ass, , just some things from a senior varmint hunter to think about… Thanks for reading,,, Shoot Straight!!! ( I am a 22-250 shooter a long time) Charlie112️

 

[Grim's Reapers]

Fellows, a lot of knowledge here, no doubt,, but there is no Magic Rifle to shoot Varmints with, I am sure you shooters with some miles on you will agree… what ever rifle/caliber you choose, you have to put rounds down range, not just a site in in good weather,, but bad conditions, wind, low light, etc. We can all shoot good , but we have to practice. I want my Missouri Varmint rifle , lite, easy to carry, so I can carry the other shit!!! And you will carry other shit until you get some miles in and say, “ What the fk do I need this heavy rifle for and 30 rounds of ammo!!!?? ( that is what I asked myself) /. Trying to be nice to you younger shooters getting into the sport!! Use your head, can I get ammo?? Can l reload and have a steady supply of ammo… do I need a seat or a chair… etc. etc. etc. I am not being a smart ass, , just some things from a senior varmint hunter to think about… Thanks for reading,,, Shoot Straight!!! ( I am a 22-250 shooter a long time) Charlie112️

Absolutely agree Charlie. However, there's a special place in my heart when a 4000fps 50 grainer V-Max out of 22-250 hits a ground hog. It certainly does not suffer.

 

[gonzaga]

I've killed alot of coyotes with a 223....but at further distances?, there are better options. Killed one with my 6 Rem and 108 eld at 550. She was sitting there facing me, she just tilted back and never moved....

 

[lariat]

Around here farmers and ranchers will use anything that is immediately available to kill coyotes. 204 is effective, but I have seen so many of them take a solid thump across multiple calibers and refuse to die. Last one I saw hit was a few weeks ago with a 6 PRC small hole in, small hole out. Dropped right there, but when it comes to coyotes I’ll believe almost any story of them getting up.

I had a coyote up at my house some years back. Shot it and It flipped around and ran off. I found that damn coyote in the morning next to my back door curled up on the mat and very alive and growling with a gaping hole in it. Admittedly it had to be rabid, but that was a real lesson on how tough they can be. I’ll never forget that event.

High velocity and fast expanding bullets help increase the bang-flop for sure, but coyotes are formidable in a way that doesn’t make sense sometimes.

 

[natdscott]

What a great thread this has turned out to be! @Bryan W M

 

[Grim's Reapers]

What a great thread this has turned out to be! @Bryan W M

What, you've never seen a bunch of rifle nuts get sidetracked?

 

[waspocrew]

My preference: 22 Creed.

You can find factory loaded ammo for it now. Mead has 77 and 85 gr ammo for $40/box which is quite a bit cheaper than Copper Creek, Unknown Munitions, etc. Hornady did just release 2 factory options that are like $38/box. Otherwise, a 6 Creed is great too. I use it for my thermal hunting and it knocks coyotes down very easily. Plenty of factory ammo options as well.

 

[natdscott]

What, you've never seen a bunch of rifle nuts get sidetracked?

I tend to be the one throwing the rails in the ditch. hehehe

 

[FredHammer]

Never had a yote survive M855 or 77SMK from a 14.5-16" AR at truck'em down distances, LOL.
I do have a hankerin to drop some with my 162ELDM 708AI this year. No fur concerns here in the "Fly-over" states.

 

[GTOJOSH]

I use a 7.62x39 for yotes. The ammo Was cheap and plentiful. But I've only got a few thousand rounds left, so I'd better slow down.
Utah gives $50 bounty on them, so for every 100 you kill, you can buy a thermal, or restock ammo at the higher new rates. They're harder to find last 10 or so years though. They've gotten pretty "Wiley" and stealthy.

 

[natdscott]

Never had a yote survive M855 or 77SMK from a 14.5-16" AR at truck'em down distances, LOL.

Ha! I will agree with that. As I've said sometimes, an SMK is a GameKing or BlitzKing, if it's going fast enough!

The closest one I have shot was something around 15 feet. I'd put myself right on an open berm they travel, lying in the same place as a tuft of beans left from spilling filling the planter. I left the beans for this reason, all year.

Anyhow, that night, it became extremely foggy, but it was a mostly-full moon, so it felt like lying there inside a lightbulb. Weird. I was about tired of it, giving it that "one more hour" thing, when the pair of dogs showed up, headed to me right down the berm.

Neither one of us could see the other one until maybe 30 feet. They COULD see something was slightly different, but were used to those beans, so they stopped and paced and looked for a number of seconds...which is good, because I had gotten lax, and not wiped my lenses recently. Haha!!!!

Anyway. The male caught a 262 clone with the front of his chest.

He didn't make it.

 

[ConnaB99]

I've ran and built quite a few Coyote Rifles in the past 20 years. The Manners mini chassis will work fine with either of the above actions. I currently run a few Origins with the Mini Chassis on some PRS-1s and T5A's. I would recommend a prefit barrel chambered in a 22-250, 18" with a relatively quick twist, most of ours are 8, but the newest Carbon Six barrels are 7.7 which were stacking the 50 vmax, now we are using primarily the 62 ELD-VT which would suit your needs for the 4-500 yard mid to longer range shots.

Wanting to do a 18” or 20” 1-8” twist prefit for my 250 as well. We can’t run cans here in Canada, I’ll run a brake that’s it. You still recommend an 18” without running a can? Or should a guy just go to 20”

 

[FredHammer]

Today’s mission. Out of blue call out for a yote with no fear of my buddy’s house or dogs. 350 Legend 100-125yd shot if it shows up. 350L isn’t my first choice but it’s what he had ready and I built it for him:

Ejecting brass can crack a side mirror so balaclava works perfectly.

 

[Grim's Reapers]

Wanting to do a 18” or 20” 1-8” twist prefit for my 250 as well. We can’t run cans here in Canada, I’ll run a brake that’s it. You still recommend an 18” without running a can? Or should a guy just go to 20”

I'd go for the 20" but that's just me. That 1:8 twist in 22-250 would be something I'd love to see. Mine is 1:14 so I'm pretty much limited to 55 grainers. I would imagine a twist rate like that shooting 62 grainers would be a coyote busting bruiser. Could probably launch that 62 grain bullet in the 3700-3800fps range with the extra 2 inches.

 

[skinney_7]

Wanting to do a 18” or 20” 1-8” twist prefit for my 250 as well. We can’t run cans here in Canada, I’ll run a brake that’s it. You still recommend an 18” without running a can? Or should a guy just go to 20”

I'd go 20, you're still going to be quite a bit shorter with no can. I'd bet you can get up to 3650 with a moderate load, but going faster I have a feeling you'll be compromising precision.

 

[FieldGaugeFailure]

There is a lot of good advice here, and I would add the following.

I apologize if I'm assuming too much here, but it sounds like you're just getting into hunting coyotes (given your post, and not knowing if 223 can work for your potential application/positioning/range/etc). If you're just getting into it, I would honestly just take whatever you have on hand now, and go hunting. The easiest way to learn about what you need/desire in a rifle, is to see what works and what doesn't with your current setup, and what you like/don't like about it. It's too easy to start pouring a couple thousand into a rifle without knowing if you even need it or would even like it.

When I started off, I was using M80 out of a 14.5 P&W AR10. Was it optimal, no. It did, however, teach me a ton about what works in my area, and what doesn't, and I was able to make more educated decisions based on first hand experiences with my hunts. Learning about how much the wind disrupts the areas I hunt in, and how erratic it is with direction changes and gusts, led me to mainly using 300 win mag (a cartridge I never even considered at first) during big portions of the year.

Very little will beat first hand field experience when it comes to deciding what will work for you.

 

[RTH1800]

What seems to be only lightly touched on if at all is the rate things happen with coyote shooting. You want a very flat trajectory. Often if you range the coyote all you know is where he was before he ran off.
500 yard coyote shooting sounds fun but unless you are in the wide open west most shot will be under half that range.
I shoot from 20 to 200 coyotes per year depending on how busy I get with other things.
For years I used a 22/250. Today I use a .204 R mostly. It’s point and shoot to 350 yards on a coyote. I’m not criticizing anyone but I simply don’t see the coyotes run off like people claim with the .204. It’s easy to shoot and easier to hit with. The few I have shot at 450 plus yards have died no problem.

 

[ConnaB99]

I'd go 20, you're still going to be quite a bit shorter with no can. I'd bet you can get up to 3650 with a moderate load, but going faster I have a feeling you'll be compromising precision.

Sweet. I think I’ll run a 20” then

 

[skytrooper67]

My Rem 700 40X in 25/06 really wacks them. 85 gr BT @ over 3600 fps with RL-19 smokes them out to 500 yrds EZ. Never lost one. I know its an antique but it still does the job. Even a running gut shot. Blows the guts outta them over 5 ft.

 

[supercorndogs]

What seems to be only lightly touched on if at all is the rate things happen with coyote shooting. You want a very flat trajectory. Often if you range the coyote all you know is where he was before he ran off.
500 yard coyote shooting sounds fun but unless you are in the wide open west most shot will be under half that range.
I shoot from 20 to 200 coyotes per year depending on how busy I get with other things.
For years I used a 22/250. Today I use a .204 R mostly. It’s point and shoot to 350 yards on a coyote. I’m not criticizing anyone but I simply don’t see the coyotes run off like people claim with the .204. It’s easy to shoot and easier to hit with. The few I have shot at 450 plus yards have died no problem.

Even out here in the wide open west. If you most of your shots aren't close. You are calling them wrong. Sometimes they hang up way out there and sit and watch. Like 1 out of 50.

 

[supercorndogs]

Wanting to do a 18” or 20” 1-8” twist prefit for my 250 as well. We can’t run cans here in Canada, I’ll run a brake that’s it. You still recommend an 18” without running a can? Or should a guy just go to 20”

That is going to be obnoxiously load. There is no need for a brake. A 22 or 24" barrel isn't going to hinder you in any way. If the barrel is too heavy at that length I would hop down a couple contours. You want to be able to shoot sitting kneeling off hand and in other awkward positions. You want as much speed and the longest PBR zero you can get. Coyote hunting action tends to be fast. They will appear 50ft from you on the wide open prairie.

 

[RTH1800]

The shorter barrel on the 22/250 would only be my choice if suppressed. If suppressed, 18-20 is fine. You lose some velocity. Still not a bad set up.
Unsuppressed, it's going to be punishing.

 

[SWgeezer]

I think a 22-250 with a 20" barrel will work well, get it threaded and use a linear compensator on it, I would recommend electronic hearing protection as well though. 6.5 Creedmoor with 95 gr varmint express work well too, same deal get a linear compensator or go suppressed. If suppressed an 18" would be great. Still get around 33-3400 if I recall.

 

[ConnaB99]

That is going to be obnoxiously load. There is no need for a brake. A 22 or 24" barrel isn't going to hinder you in any way. If the barrel is too heavy at that length I would hop down a couple contours. You want to be able to shoot sitting kneeling off hand and in other awkward positions. You want as much speed and the longest PBR zero you can get. Coyote hunting action tends to be fast. They will appear 50ft from you on the wide open prairie.

I am very aware lol i shoot a lot of them, only reason I run brakes is for video purposes. With a Tactacam 5.0 and a cellphone camera Off my rifle attached to arca. So less recoil the better video. I wanna go shorter barrel, it’ll be carbon, so not too concerned about weight there.

 

[ConnaB99]

I think a 22-250 with a 20" barrel will work well, get it threaded and use a linear compensator on it, I would recommend electronic hearing protection as well though. 6.5 Creedmoor with 95 gr varmint express work well too, same deal get a linear compensator or go suppressed. If suppressed an 18" would be great. Still get around 33-3400 if I recall.

Ya I think I’ll run 20”. And ya I use electronic muffs when we call coyotes. I only run a brake for video purposes, less recoil, the better Tactacam video I get lol

 

[CoyoteCommander]

I’d much rather have a triple deuce fifty in my hands, but there’s nothing wrong with .223 WITH the right bullets.

Stay away from bullets designed to vaporize p-dogs, they often under perform greatly in coyotes (this is a good habit to get into regardless if cartridge).

50 and 55 Nosler ballistic tips (NOTHING like a v-max), and the 52 gr Sierra hollow points are favorites of mine.

And with coyotes not being worth putting a knife to anymore, it really opens up some bullet options not worrying about “fur friendliness”.

 

[CoyoteCommander]

Even out here in the wide open west. If you most of your shots aren't close. You are calling them wrong. Sometimes they hang up way out there and sit and watch. Like 1 out of 50.

Count your blessing than as you have either, a lot of coyotes, and/ or a lot of unexploited coyotes.

The average distance increases dramatically over winter with every Tom Dick and Harry screaming at em since Thanksgiving!

The game has certainly changed over the last 20 years.

And don’t get me started on thermals!