I crunched the #'s on the 204 for coyote.

I have said this before and will say it again.Why would a person shoot a Rifle that is questionable?There are some real good Calibers out there and some that should just stay home.I have shot allot of Coyotes with everything from a 17 Rem to a 257 Wby.
In my option the 17 and 20 caliber are to small.I have shot a 22-250 for 35 yrs and thought that was the caliber.This last yr I shot a 243 with 58gr v-max.Now that's a Coyote round.Not one runner in 61 Coyotes. And I have had runners with all the other Calibers.The 204 is a heck of a PD.round but not a Coyote round.I'm sure other hunter will say different.But this is my experience.As I have been Coyote hunting for 35 yrs.
Keep them little pop guns for the Gophers and PD's.A Coyote deserves more then that.
 
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Ut oh! "the 17 and 20 caliber are to small"

But, "IF" the intended target is stationary at a perfect angle at a known yardage and you are a "precision shooter" with exact shot placement with lots of time to set up and aim, you're good to go!

Come on! I own two different 204's and love em both for what I use em for-groundhoggin- even then I had a little bullet expansion difficulty to work out.

Coyotes here in the east, flying with their ears laid back. Browning BAR 243.

sleddog is on the money! Just my opinion.
 
glad i'm not alone i have never tryed the 204 but i have had the 17 rem,220 swift,22-250,223 and i take my 243 after coyotes every time. never walking wounded, couple of spinners but they never get over 50 yards from the shot.
i also shoot a larger bullit i shoot a 80 gr bt 0 to 400 it kills all coyote dead but i wont use it on mule deer without going to the 100 gr bullit. 80's work well on white tail and antalope but for some reason i haven't had good luck with it on muley's.
i'd rather shoot all deer and elk with my bow if possable but use a 300 mag for elk and mule deer when i don't get the tag full with stick and string.
 
I don't like seeing anything suffer needlessly. If I can't bang flop most I can take my 243 but it's not as much a tack driver as my 204. I don't shoot at running targets, never been good at that. "IF" the intended target is stationary I can scramble his brains aiming dead on through 300yds there's only 2" drop between 50 and 300yds with this round.
1lessdog,
I ran the #'s on that 58 V-Max doing about 3800fps and it's just as flat. That's why I got a Savage,if I get the itch I can rebarrel and change the bolt face for around $200 and have a tack driving .243 that should kill yotes easy out to 400yds. Wouldn't even have to aim high till your shooting past 300yds. I'll keep that in mind. If I find a great deal on the barrel I'll get it to have in reserve.
 
The problem with the 204 is not the caliber but the 32gr
v-max bullet. If you would use a 40gr Nosler or Berger you
would not have any problems and you wold not get and fur
damage. I shoot a 20TAC, 20VarTarg and 20BR and the coyote
simply dies. The 20BR with the planned 55gr bullets from
Berger and Hornady will be the best coyote round available.
But it will have to be built by a gunsmith. The twenties with
the proper bullets give you the bang-flop you are looking for in a rifle with less noise and powder use than any 22-250,223, Swift and 243(own them all)
Yote Hunter.
Carters Gun Shop
Shabbona, Illinois

Dan Thompson Game Calls
Pro Staff
 
Thanks yote hunter I needed that! That's what I started out saying. But I don't have any rifle experience on coyotes yet (just shotgun with Heavi-shot "Dead Coyote"). I was beginning to wonder about my research. I wasn't getting much support here. I know I don't have the experience that you do. But there's one way to get it.

I got a buddy that also shoots a 204. He can buy the Bergers, I'll buy the Noslers and we can split the bullets to find which our guns shoot and go from there. I've already got a box of Sierra 39BK's to reload. Have you had expierence with them on coyotes?
 
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An interesting thread. I kill coyotes for a living and 4 years ago I was shooting a 6mm-284 and I was using a 70 grain Nosler balllistic tip at 3900 fps. I seen where Hornady had a 87 grain v-max so I thought I would try it as it was a little heavier and a higher bc. Well I got a good accurate load worked up at 3750 fps. I thought this is going to be a heck of a coyote killing son of a gun. Well this was early spring and I had just started denning and I think it was probably in the month of April and about the 1st 30 coyotes I shot they all went down but no big exit holes like I wanted and expected with a bullet that heavy going that fast. Well I ended up hitting a coyote at around 350 yards and it spun around and I seen a big red spot on the shoulder and I thought that is the side of the entrance, how to heck is the hole that big on that side. Well my dogs got close to that coyote and he took off and my dogs finally killed it over a mile away. I got to the coyote and the bullet had exploded on the shoulder blade. I was shocked. I got back to the outfit and called Hornady on the cell phone and told them of my experience. The guy said that those v-max bullets are made for shooting prairie dogs and have thin jackets and soft lead and they will blow up on a coyote. I had a tac-20 built and had the same results on coyotes with the 32 grain v-max. I liked the 20 caliber though and started shooting 40 grain Bergers with real good results. I then saw they were making a 50 grain bullet so I called my gun smith and had him build me a 20 super wolfer. Which is a 22-250 Ackely improved necked down to 20 caliber. The barrel has a 1 in 9 twist and I am shooting the 50 grain Berger's at 4000 fps. I can hold on a coyote from 0 to 400 yards and if I do my part will hit the coyote with no hold over. At 225 it is about 2.5 inches high. I seen Nosler is making a 40 grain ballistic tip and I bought a box and am working up a load and so far I have reached 4275 fps with no signs of pressure and it is an accurate load. I like the Nosler balistic tip it has a strong jacket and a solid base which makes it a much better killing bullet than the v-max. One thing with these 20 caliber bullets is the difference in bc fromn different manufacturers. The nosler 40 has a bc of I think .249 but the Sierra 39 grain bullet has a bc of nearly .300. SOmething is wrong somewhere either Nosler's is too low or Sierra's is too high. Hopefully it is somewhere in between. The Beger 50 grain bullet is .296 so I have no idea how the Sierra can be as high as it advertises.
Sorry I rambled on so long.
 
so far the 204 has been outstanding for me. over 20 groundhog kills out to 375 yards. most don't move after they been hit. waiting to see the max yardage i can get for a clean kill. earl from pa.
 
itrap4u
Hornady and nosler will be bringing out
55gr bullets in the near future. BC's are
rumored to be about 350. Those bullets in
your super wolfer or a 20BR or
20PPC will be outstanding.
Yote Hunter.

Dan Thompson Game Calls
Pro Staff
 
By Golly I'll be looking forward to Nosler coming out with that 55 grain ballistic tip. As I said in my post that I had a bad deal with Hornady v-max bullets and won't use them again. I just ran the 55 grain bullet with a bc of .350 through my ballistic program at 3800 fps and with zeros at 36 and 296 at 400 yards it is 6 inches low with 2841 fps and 985 foot pounds of energy and at 500 yards 16 inches low 2623 fps and 840 foot pounds of energy. A nice coyote killing son of a gun with not much recoil.
Thanks for the heads up.
 
I think this was great. Thank you for asking about the 204 GeorgiaJoe, there is so much about this round out there that you can be hard to determine. I have been read the forum for a while and new this was worth the read. I like you have a desire to use the 204 this is the only gun I am interested as a pure Predator Rifle. I like what I have read about it, I just do not get in to the level of detail all of you have. I learn a lot about the round and even about what I use currently.

I know that some of you probaly have had nothing but success with other calibers. All my friends use 22-250 or 223, and I get nothing but crap for mentioning the 204. I was just think about picking up a handirifle in 204 for my and my girls to use when we go this fall when we go trapping and predator hunting. I was hoping that I would get this kind of information on whether or not this was the right decission. I think it answered that question.

I curently use my 243 with the Hornday 58gr v-max, and I agree with 1lessdog it is a coyote slayer. The longest kill I have ever had was last winter 325 yrds coyote with that round and it was close to 40lbs. He went down and all there was was a short twitch of the tail. I have not been coyote hunting as long as most of you and before I got this 243 I used my friend 223 hand me down, which I agree is a exceptional gun for this. But everyone has one and I like to try out the new things most of the time, the 243 was a unbeatable deal, I should actually say that about all of the guns I own. I am not sure why so many of the guys that hunt with the 243 are using such heavy bullets, 80 gr is enought to kill deer and antelope, I would say that a coyote needs that much fps to take it down. I will also let you know that I skin them and sell the pelts if I do not donate them to colleges and schools. The 80 grain does a lot of damage to a coyote in my estimation since I have used it on almost ever dear I have killed in the last two years with great success. Hopefully this did not add more fuel to the fire, I am just a rookie predator hunters with a opinion.

Thanks everyone for contributing, I really learned a lot, and I am still going to buy a 204, but the information on the brands and weights was spectacular.
 
I did A LOT of research before i bought my .204. Its true to each his own.

The berger 40 gr, shoots like a dream and i have NEVER have had one run more than a few steps. And i am not the greatest shot.

39 gr. Blitz King is also an awsome round, i use it on fox and smaller animals, again zero problems.
 
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