Use of .204 Ruger caliber rifle for Coyotes

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wpshooter

New member
I was doing some research recently on the best caliber rifle to consider using for coyote hunting.

Some of the articles and forum posts that I read seemed to indicate that the 204 Ruger caliber was possibly not the best choice for coyote medicine and they tended to suggest other calibers such as .223, 22-250, or .243 and others.

However, I just looked at the listing of stats on a number of various calibers in my Remington's listing of ammo data and unless I am mis-reading this, it looks like to me that as long as .204 Accutip V boattail is used, that the .204 would be a better choice since the .204 energy at 100 yards is listed as 1058 ft/lbs., whereas the .223 energy at 100 yards is listed as only 992 ft/lbs.

Is there something that I am not looking in these charts that would make the .223 (or other calibers) better choices than the .204, other than possibly that the .223 is 50 grains, whereas the .204 is only 40 grains in weight ?

I want to have a rifle that I am sure will do the job on coyotes but I don't want to have to purchase another caliber rifle just for this purpose when I already have a perfectly good Remington brand .204 Ruger.

Thanks.
 
The .204/.223/22-250/.243 calibers for use in coyote hunting has been covered as extensively as anything in these forums.

@ 100 yards all the above calibers will drop a coyote DRT with proper shot placement and the only real difference I can see is pelt damage depending on the caliber, the load/bullet used/etc.

Now @ 300 yards and beyond you're talking a whole different ball game.

Do a little looking around in here and you will find any/all info you could ever ask for regarding this subject.
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Now go kill some coyotes with that .204.
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I think one of the biggest factor is the bullets performance. Just because it has a high BC doesn't mean it is a good coyote bullet. There are many well liked 223 cal bullets out there, but for the 204 cals it is limited. I prefer the 35gr Berger in my 20 cals, but I believe it's BC is kinda lame compared to some 223 cals.
 
You won't be able to tell the difference in 66 ftlb of muzzle energy at 100 yds. The higher velocity of the .204 gives it an advantage when calculating kinetic energy. I would prefer the higher sectional density of the .224 bullets from a .223 myself. YMMV
 
Through the charts away. My wife is using a 204 with 35 gr Berger. It kills them just fine. She has not had one run away yet. She dont need anything bigger and she has no need to shoot beyond 200 yds. In fact she has not had to shoot one beyond 75 yds. Bullet selection is a big factor. There have been lots of coyotes killed with the 204 and even the 17 Remington. Call them close, hit them where you are supposed to and use a good bullet.
 
Hunters have been putting down Coyotes with the .17 HMR,.17 Hornet,.17 Fireball,.22 Magnum,.22 Hornet and now the newer .17 WSM rim fire.....the .204 shoots 32,35,39 & 40 Grain bullets (just to name a few) very well and it's fast and accurate.I asure You that the .204 is a great caliber that will do light hide/fur damage and still have great knock-down power on Coyotes.I have a CZ model 527 "Varmint" .204 that I use and have put down several Adult Coyotes down with it in the past few years!
 
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.204 will do just fine. I own 4 of them (along with pretty much every other caliber mentioned, and then some!) I hunt with my .204's 99% of the time. I, like most have had great success with the 35gr Bergers and 39gr Sierra's. Do your job and the rifle/bullet will do theirs.
 
I've killed a lot of coyotes with my 204 and Sierra 32 gr blitzkings. Very lethal combo. I have mine on stand 95% of the time. I killed one with the bullet above at 425 yards last fall. Do I don't feel under gunned with one.
 
Jefo and I might be the primary .204 addicts here.
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Use the Bergers on coyotes and you will be a happy camper at calling ranges.
 
Originally Posted By: tt35Jefo and I might be the primary .204 addicts here.
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Use the Bergers on coyotes and you will be a happy camper at calling ranges.

Ahhhh,..you have been paying attention to my travels! Did I mention all ya need is a jug of H4895 and a jug of RL-10 too and your good to go!
 
Originally Posted By: BonerfistI shoot deer with my 204 out to 300 yards so a yote will be no issue

Thinkin that might be asking just a bit too much outta the ole .204
 
The 204 is an amazing round I have killed a pile of coyotes and a few bobcats with mine I currently have 2 ar15's in 204 and one bolt gun in 204. They do have limitations choose your bullets wisely I like everyone else love the heck out of the 35 and 40gr Bergers they have worked best for me.
 
I don't just look at ENERGY when comparing rounds. Honestly I hardly look at energy at all anymore, for a variety of reasons.

Momentum is way more important to me. To make numbers easy, I covert to pounds by dividing by 7000, so I get bullet weight in grains x velocity at range in fps / 7000grns/lb.

So stealing data off Hornady's site: 32grn 204R @ 100yrds = 3645fps = 16.7 lbft/s, 223rem 55grn is 2854fps @ 100yrds = 22.4 lbft/s

The "Taylor Knock Out Factor" combines the momentum of the round, factored by its diameter: bullet weight in grns x velocity at range in fps * bullet diameter in inches / 7000.

So 16.7 x 0.204 = 3.4. 22.4 x .223 = 5.0.

So even though the 223 is lacking in kinetic energy (not by much) to the 204 at 100yrds, comparing those two specific rounds, it's not really lacking at all, since the 204 made up most of its game by speed.

And then you just back out of all the numbers and all the theory, and realize that hitting a coyote with a 30-50grn bullet at 2000-3000fps (and natural anything bigger or faster) is going to be lethal, and you go about your way.
 
Use the 35 Berger in your .204 and remember-you're not deer hunting. Shoot above the front leg, NOT the shoulder pocket and they will go down.
 
Originally Posted By: VarminterrorI don't just look at ENERGY when comparing rounds. Honestly I hardly look at energy at all anymore, for a variety of reasons.

Momentum is way more important to me. To make numbers easy, I covert to pounds by dividing by 7000, so I get bullet weight in grains x velocity at range in fps / 7000grns/lb.

So stealing data off Hornady's site: 32grn 204R @ 100yrds = 3645fps = 16.7 lbft/s, 223rem 55grn is 2854fps @ 100yrds = 22.4 lbft/s

The "Taylor Knock Out Factor" combines the momentum of the round, factored by its diameter: bullet weight in grns x velocity at range in fps * bullet diameter in inches / 7000.

So 16.7 x 0.204 = 3.4. 22.4 x .223 = 5.0.

So even though the 223 is lacking in kinetic energy (not by much) to the 204 at 100yrds, comparing those two specific rounds, it's not really lacking at all, since the 204 made up most of its game by speed.

And then you just back out of all the numbers and all the theory, and realize that hitting a coyote with a 30-50grn bullet at 2000-3000fps (and natural anything bigger or faster) is going to be lethal, and you go about your way.

Friggin engineers!
 
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