What's with the desire for larger calibers for coyotes?

While 223 Remington bolt action rifles with 22"-24" barrels are sufficient for many hunters, 223 AR15 rifles are handicapped by the typical 14.5"-16" short barrels and accompanying velocity loss. That may be the reason so many 223 shooters find it sometimes marginal. There are more powerful cartridges that are still effective with typical shorter AR barrels.

One gun to rule them all. One gun that can be used for casual target shooting, varmints, coyotes, wolves, pigs, and deer out to around 400 yards. No single caliber is perfect for everything, there's always a compromise. But it's nice to have a favorite trusty gun that can do it all with less margin of error than 223.

Most coyote hunters do not sell fur so who cares about overkill and fur damage? I did at first, I learned which calibers and bullets to use for fur and I learned how to skin. But coyote furs are not worth my time where I live so I don't care anymore. I have the knowledge and skills if I want to do that when I retire.

I reload and never buy factory ammo so wildcat chamberings offer more interesting options for the same cost in ammo components.
 
I use a 22 Hornet, 222RemMag and 243 for coyotes, generally for different conditions, such as early season and close range, Hornet, most of the season, 222RemMag, and when conditions get tough like wind or educated coyotes, the 234.

If I need body count, such as hunting a new ranch/property, I take the 243. I need to show the owner I know what I am doing and the 243 generally just drops them where they stood.
 
Originally Posted By: 6mm06SnowmanMo nailed it on the head. I think too many people dwell too much on the thought of the proverbial "overkill" and lose sight of the fact that a lot of guys (myself included) just like to do things different sometimes. Half the fun is at least gained by the equipment we use. Dead is dead. Granted, Coyotes are taken regularly with some very small calibers and there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with using a lever action 30-30 either. There's no set standard that everyone has to live by. I see this topic pop up every now and then and I guess it kind of bothers me that some have this strick code in their mind that everyone is supposed to dance to the same tune, and they want to be the one to name the song.

To me, it can become boring quickly if I use the same gun / caliber all the time. I like to mix things up to keep it interesting not to mention a bit of experimenting with different bullets of different calibers. Fur hunters will have a priority for a specific purpose. Other than that, use what you want.

For instance, I have taken several antelope with a 25-06. After a while I wanted to try something else and began using a very accurate Remington Sendero 7mmSTW. The STW is very flat shooting and packs a punch at longer ranges. It is pleasing to see 400 yard antelope drop right there. One PM member wanted to criticize me for using it (as if he is an authority on the subject). I call it narrow-mindedness. I don't need an STW to hunt antelope but I sure do ENJOY it. I have taken deer with a 6x45, 243, 270, 7 mm Mag, 7STW, 300 Win Mag and even a 338 Win Mag, as well as with a 35 Whelen and 444 Marlin. I enjoyed using every one of those rifles / calibers but could just as easily have used the 243 for all of them. I used the other calibers because I could and because I wanted too. It's just that simple.

When shooting coyotes, I tend to bounce back and forth between a bolt action 17 Remington and an AR in 6x45. That's me. It just seems to get old when I use the same gun over and over. Other guys like to stay with a tried and true rifle / caliber.

People are different and thank goodness we all are. Otherwise we might all be shooting a 30-06 for everything since after all, that's "all we need." As most of us know, it's not about need (gun grabbers try to tell us we don't need ARs for hunting), but rather it's about using what we want and enjoying every minute of it.

Now, if you happen to have a 375 H&H collecting dust, get it out and take it hunting. You don't have to have Cape Buffalo running about your lower 40 to have some fun. My son took his groundhog hunting! Think out of the box a little bit.




Very well put! I've always been a gun guy first and like using different stuff. That said I will usually pick a rifle and go with it for the whole season. I thought this would be the year for the 22 Nosler, but I just got the 6 Predator tuned with 70 NBT so it's getting the nod now. The better bc coupled with a tougher bullet just gives me the warm fuzzies I just don't get with the smaller calibers.

I used it's sister 243 lbc last year and it's just about ideal IMO. Really didn't get bad fur damage and sometimes none at all.

I thought about taking the 204 this year but the bad bc has me doubting it. There's just too many windy days and days that start out nice but by the time you get back to the truck from a long walk making stands in the hills the wind is blowing 20 mph. Plus it's not an AR.

The last few years the ones that didn't give me enough confidence were a 17/223, and a 264 lbc, for different reasons. The 17 was a laser, songbird accurate to 200 yds off sticks. Yet I missed my first coyote, or think I missed because it ran off. The grass was fairly tall and I'm not so sure that tiny bullet didn't disintegrate on a blade of grass on the way. I can still see the sight picture and my hold was good.

The 264 is just lacking speed with the available bullets. I spent too much time thinking about the trajectory. It really needs a 75 gr vmax IMO to get it flatter to 300 yds.
 
I have tried to build my coyote guns for need. We seldom shoot over 250-300 here and really more likely 200 and in. On non windy days I will be using my 17 Fire Ball, on windy days I'll use the 6mm BR and when we do have occasion to shoot out to 400 or the wind is really rippin, I'll shoot the 6.5 Creedmoor.

I have no compunction about using any of the calibers. The 6's will buck the wind better than the 17 any day. Yet as some have said the 17 is a laser. I have no regard for "over sized" calibers, shoot what ya want when ya want. We, in general, do not save fur so that point is moot.

I am sure some folks, and I may be one of them, are looking at using their favorite coyote or varmint gun also for some target work or competition so shoot both activities with the same gun(s). Why not..

Just some thoughts.

 
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I enjoyed this conversation. Heavy bullets for caliber work good in the wind and don't seem to splash and get great penetration and often don't expand a lot. A 264 caliber 130 grain Berger won't kill a coyote reliably, but are stellar on Elk. 30 grain .17 caliber bullets are wonderful on coyotes. Being a fur saver I don't want too much damage. 85 grain .243 bullets are awful on hides. 105 Bergers are fine??????
 
Dan, now you know everything there is to know about internet forum ballistics for coyotes.
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There are a lot if differing opinions. Kind of like if you ask someone about a restaurant and they say yeah, they are known for their dried camels butt, and it was great! You may believe it, or you may not.
 
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I use everything for coyotes just depends on my mood and conditions that day.
Its the same answer i give when someone asks "Why do you need safes full of a weapons and suppressors?" Because I want and can.
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I started using larger calibers when I started hunting tournaments. I call almost exclusively with coyote vocals, and maybe one out of every ten successful stands is a single. Most are doubles or triples. I get a good shot on the first one, but shoot a lot of them in less desirable places. Just like with a 223, still have to shoot some twice, just not as many- and they're in a lot less of a hurry with a wound from a bigger faster bullet.

For what it's worth, I shoot a 223 at night most of the time, but only because I feel that it's less danger of a ricochet. I do in fact feel ill-equipped when using it.

Dead is dead, but they get there a lot quicker with some rounds.

I'm finishing up an absurdly over-qualified coyote rifle right now. It's a 22x47 Lapua built on a TL3 by Jon Beanland? Why not a Creedmoor?? I thought the name sounded better...
 
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I know this for first hand. When hunting a contest and having to shoot most of them multiple times with a 223 it is a bit nerve wracking. So from here on out I'll be using a bigger caliber. The lineup for me is 260 Rem and 243AI.
 
For me it boils down to several relatively simple factors.

We have lots of mange here most of the time, and even when we don't most of our hides aren't worth much. For sure not enough for me to mess with skinning and selling them. How much a hide is torn up has pretty much zero bearing on what cartridge I choose.

I like to call coyotes. It is an enjoyable thing for me. But for a lot of the ranchers I call on it is not a game. They flat out want them dead, especially during calving season. They don't like to see coyotes get away, there is no such thing as "too dead." If I am hunting their land, then they expect dead coyotes. Anything I can do to increase my effectiveness, to put more coyotes on the ground, just helps cement my place in that relationship with the landowner. I hunt lots of open country, and the wind blows a lot here. If a cartridge has a flatter trajectory, less wind drift, and more on target energy, then those are all advantages that might mean several more coyotes a year to me.

Now I like the 223, don't get me wrong. I kill coyotes with it sometimes, and my daughter shoots everything with her 223, from rabbits to deer. It will work. If I am hunting thicker country where I know the shots will be inside 200, and the wind is pretty decent, I wouldn't hesitate to take the 223. But when I head out in the morning I may not know where I am going to end up that day, or how bad the wind is going to pick up. I want a rifle in my hands that can handle any shot I want to attempt. If that old calf-killer shows up at 350 in a 12-15 mph wind I would lots rather have a 25-06 or 243 in my hands than a 223. I guess that is just my way of saying I would rather be prepared for any eventuality. I'm not saying that I am always up to that task. On the contrary, I can use every bit of help my equipment can give me.

Plus I have the other thing, that really I am a rifle looney at heart. Being stuck with just one thing is boring to me. I have lots of rifles and like to shoot them. This year it has been the 243. A couple years ago it was my fathers old 25-06 that got a lot of field time. Next year it might be the 257 Bob or the 22-250. And yes, sometimes it is the 223's turn as well. And a few get killed every deer season with a 270, 6.5 Creed, 30-06, or 7x57. Sometimes it just boils down to what I have in my hand or felt like carrying that day.
 
I like to collect some nice pelts every year and use what I feel are appropriate cartridges, 222R, 22-204 and 5.6x50R Mag/12ga. I don't remember a coyote that I've shot getting away because I wasn't using enough gun.

Other times lately I find myself hunting coyotes for sport as at the convention, to get out with friends, experiment with new calling techniques or because I've been called for problem coyotes. These are the times I break out the OTHER guns and experiment with new cartridges, dead is dead and a little extra Umph can't hurt a thing. So over the years I've been able to kill coyotes with a variety of shotguns, pumps, semi-autos, sxs and o/u's. In rifles I've use single shots, bolt actions, pumps, combo guns both o/u and drillings that I've killed coyotes with. Still haven't kill anything but deer with a semi-auto(Rem 742), I did get to go tiger hunting with an M-14(no luck) and I have an AR here in 20 Practical that might make it into the field this winter.

Coyotes are a challenging game animal, they can also be a great learning tool, deer, elk, bear and other big game are one shot and your season is over.
 
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I prefer my 22-250. I don't see the need for anything larger than a 243. Shot a coyote the other day with a 243. Only reason I used that was I wasn't hunting and were at the in laws and saw one and that's the rifle they handed me. But any larger really for strictly coyote hunting seems to just be a waste I guess. I'd also like to add a 220 swift to my collection.
 
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We always use the saying "It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it" hah. The majority of the time we hunt it is with 223s, 204s, 22-250s, etc., but we do tend to break out the 25-06 with 75 gr vmax, 270 with 110s and 300 WM with 110 vmaxs just because. On windy days or days we hunt wide open areas like we have down here we will bring our longer range target setups we shoot very regularly just in case (6mm creedmoor, 6.5 creedmoor, 300 WM all shooting hunting VLDs and they absolutely flatten coyotes). I guess for me it boils down to being able to switch it up with different guns, knock the dust off of one you haven't shot in a while and also just have fun with it. Because much like psychodog's "Thinning the Herd" thread, if they sit and collect dust, there is no point in holding on to them I reckon.
 
Originally Posted By: huntschoolShelton573:

Are you hunting the ground east of Poplar Bluff/Dexter towards the river? Just wondering.

Thanks

We hunt several areas from Cape Girardeau down to Steele, MO (almost Arkansas) and several areas west of the river, never really make it over as far as Dexter area.
 
Shelton573:

Man, you have some open country to shoot in..... brings a new meaning to "bean field rifle" dont ya think..... Just sayin.

Wife's family was from Bernie years ago (gun and knife town back then). I have often wondered, while driving around over there, how the coyote hunting was.

I only get to stretch the legs (mostly) on my 6.5 CM in the Ohio River bottoms South of me towards Paducah.

Shoot well.... maybe some day we could meet for coffee or something...
 
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