Coyote killingest AR 15 cartridge???????????????

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varminter .223

Well-known member
If the 22 Nosler never pans out what is the hardest hitting flat shooting to 200 yards coyote leveling AR cartridge available now. I never got into AR's too heavy until this night hunting came along and I know some of you guys have been down this road. Thanks!
 
contrary to what others report on here i have never seen anything wrong with the plain vanilla .223. killed truckloads of coyotes from 10 yards to well over the 200 yards you are asking about. done a fine job on them.

maybe just missed it, but dont see you posting anything about killing coyotes. are you killing some (maybe i should say more) coyotes now that you are hunting at night?
 
Originally Posted By: SlickerThanSnotcontrary to what others report on here i have never seen anything wrong with the plain vanilla .223. killed truckloads of coyotes from 10 yards to well over the 200 yards you are asking about. done a fine job on them.

maybe just missed it, but dont see you posting anything about killing coyotes. are you killing some (maybe i should say more) coyotes now that you are hunting at night?
Yes we having been killing them with a 223's at night pretty regular now. I can't seem to get pics posted so I don't bother to post kills up because without pics or video I doubt anyone cares to hear about my kills lol. With that said I felt like I put good shots on two of triple called in last weekend and neither were there when I went to recover them. I even followed up on the first one. The shots were probably between 150 and 175 yards and I felt I did all I could do. Between 1 moa adjustments on the photon, a .5 moa gun, a big ol dot to aim with and heat of the moment nerves I feel like this equates to 3 inch ish accuracy when approaching the 200 yard mark. I am one of those guys who lets misses and unrecovered coyotes eat at them and in general I am always looking for the best way to skin a cat. I got away from the 223 in day time calling to eliminate runners and spinners etc. I went to the AR for its night time advantages but again I am unhappy with the knock down power. Shot placement is key I know but as KE goes up and the better a bullet performs the the more marginal shots you can get away with. I am just looking for every advantage I can get.
 
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Originally Posted By: yotehunter243Get one of the 6mms along the lines of 6x6.8s, 6DTI, 243LBC even a 6.8spc shooting 80gr bullets is a hammer
Forgive my ignorance but which is the fastest, hardest hitting round?
Which is the least pita to makes brass for etc. I do reload so that isn't a problem but I am in the early stages of researching these cartridges. THANKS!

What kind of barrel lengths do these rounds need to get to the point of diminishing returns? MY current AR is 24" bull so I don't mind some weight.

My 22 Nosler Stoner project failed and I am waiting on better barrels. Do I just need a different bolt for the 6's?
 
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Just building a 22 hellcat (6.5x47 lapua necked to 22 and trimmed) to make night hunting and range estimation a bit easier. I have killed many with the 223 and see no problem with that. However, I too can appreciate the advantage of a round that gives more performance when hunting in less than ideal situations. I was looking for a gun that would be good for quick follow up shots and hammer a coyote like some of the bigger rounds. This all came after reading a lot about the 22 nosler and deciding for myself if that was the answer for me. I feel that for me personally, the factory offerings in 22 nosler would not be something that would interest me and since I don't mind picking up my brass (or replacing a barrel when the time comes) I would opt for whatever gave me the most performance without having to buy another can. ( just about to get my sas sentinel and don't want to start the 12 month process all over again) I realize that this may not be practical for most people but having an ar15 that can sling a 52 gainer over 4k out of a 22" barrel gives me a chubby
 
the first thing to need to understand is many I would say most on here don't actually kill that many coyotes despite what they say. I would also agree the 223 is a weak coyote killer. i don't care if you or your buddy kill this or that. I know what I have seen you will never convince me otherwise. I do keep using a 223 because its about all thats reasonable to use in an AR the way I use them.

I have always wanted something more than the 223. its just hard for me to give up almost free brass. give me something that will push a 50 grain bullet to at least 3600 from a 20" barrel and I will, move away from the 223 if the brass is resonably priced.
 
reaper4 , you may have just created a monster! What length of barrel are you running. I am thinking 24" bull with a 12 twist. Who makes a good barrel in this chambering? My ears are percked way up. Pm me if you feel that would be a better place to name a manufacturer etc. THANKS!
 
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Originally Posted By: steve garrettthe first thing to need to understand is many I would say most on here don't actually kill that many coyotes despite what they say. I would also agree the 223 is a weak coyote killer. i don't care if you or your buddy kill this or that. I know what I have seen you will never convince me otherwise. I do keep using a 223 because its about all thats reasonable to use in an AR the way I use them.

I have always wanted something more than the 223. its just hard for me to give up almost free brass. give me something that will push a 50 grain bullet to at least 3600 from a 20" barrel and I will, move away from the 223 if the brass is resonably priced.

I understand where you are coming from but for what I want do I could care less about what it costs to load. I have all kinds of other guns to poke holes in paper with as most here probably do but I want all I can get and I want dead coyotes and that's about it.
 
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Originally Posted By: varminter .223Originally Posted By: steve garrettthe first thing to need to understand is many I would say most on here don't actually kill that many coyotes despite what they say. I would also agree the 223 is a weak coyote killer. i don't care if you or your buddy kill this or that. I know what I have seen you will never convince me otherwise. I do keep using a 223 because its about all thats reasonable to use in an AR the way I use them.

I have always wanted something more than the 223. its just hard for me to give up almost free brass. give me something that will push a 50 grain bullet to at least 3600 from a 20" barrel and I will, move away from the 223 if the brass is resonably priced.

I understand where you are coming from but for what I want do I could care less about what it costs to load. I have all kinds of other guns to poke holes in paper with as many here I am sure do as well but I want all I can get and I want dead coyotes and that's about it.

in most cases I agree with you. the problem is the AR 15 pukes shells to who knows where. Running suppressed also leaves the cases sooted up so they blend in with the sage brush, dirt and rocks and hunt in. I do recover about 40% of my fired cases and I reload them. but I am not spending even 5 minutes after a stand worried about picking up fired cases. if I am shooting a bolt gun I am at least 90% on fired case pick up. that is the difference for me.
 
Well since I am in communist IL I can't have a can and I honestly could care less about lost brass. I can't stand a lost coyote though!!!
 
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Originally Posted By: SlickerThanSnotcontrary to what others report on here i have never seen anything wrong with the plain vanilla .223. killed truckloads of coyotes from 10 yards to well over the 200 yards you are asking about. done a fine job on them.

maybe just missed it, but dont see you posting anything about killing coyotes. are you killing some (maybe i should say more) coyotes now that you are hunting at night? I have never lost one coyote, that I put the bullet where it was supposed to go with .223. I see no need to blame equipment for operator error.
 
Originally Posted By: old catOriginally Posted By: SlickerThanSnotcontrary to what others report on here i have never seen anything wrong with the plain vanilla .223. killed truckloads of coyotes from 10 yards to well over the 200 yards you are asking about. done a fine job on them.

maybe just missed it, but dont see you posting anything about killing coyotes. are you killing some (maybe i should say more) coyotes now that you are hunting at night? I have never lost one coyote, that I put the bullet where it was supposed to go with .223. I see no need to blame equipment for operator error.
................and if you were shooting a round with more KE you may have not lost the ones you did. Besides I am a tinkerer and 223's bore me. Seems like wildcats might be where I need to be.
 
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I got the info from a Facebook page called bd's crazy [beeep] wildcats. Bruce finingan (not sure on spelling) is reaming the chambers. I'm ordering a 22" xcaliber barrel and bolt from him $525 shipped. All you need other than that is a 6.8 mag and reloading crap. It won't be cheap but it looks like you get well above 250 performance out of an ar15.....what's not to like?!
 
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Originally Posted By: MasterBlaster22-250 or 243 AR will smoke them
MasterBlaster
Seems like availability is limited. I have been researching those as well. I am shooting a 26" barrel 12 fv now with 60 Nosler bt's. Very effective I will agree.
 
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I was just thinking the same as this topic. I got back from an AZ hunt and flopped a few down with the 223 60 grain vmax from a suppressed 18" barreled AR and watched them get back up and run off. Yes, operator error for sure.

Anyway, one call to Dtech to talk through some things and I have a 18" 25DTI in process. My shots are 200 and under and I wanted a bit more sectional density with more speed (3200-ish with a 75 Vmax vs 2800-ish with a 60 Vmax).

Only real world hunting will prove it out.

Good luck!
 
I never said the 223 was not effective. I am just looking for something more effective since Murphy hangs around most coyote hunters. Besides I have seen more than one coyote hit right with perfect shot placement and still nearly escape us.
 
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