Hey everybody, I’m wannabe from Florida with zero coyotes under my belt, but joined this forum probably 10 years ago as a 15 year old kid with dreams of shooting Yotes. A little older now with something of a career and now I’m wanting to go somewhere out west to do a coyote hunting trip. I’ve been putting this AR build together and I’ve been wanting to ask you guys how crippled I’ll be from a ballistic perspective with a 16” AR15 in 223 Wylde with a 1:8 twist out somewhere like Utah or Nebraska. I’m praying that factory loaded Superfomance 53 V-Max’s will shoot well in this gun as that should give me around 3100fps. Otherwise I’ll be forced to get back into handloading. Here’s a pic of my build I have pretty high expectations for accuracy and I’m about to send off the handguard and scope (Burris Fullfield IV 3-12x56) for cerakote.

[img]https://imgur.com/a/Jgu5q1Z[/img]

You'll be fine. Best upgrade you can do is upgrade your marksmanship by practicing from field positions. Namely, sitting and shooting from stix from 25-200 yards. That's what you'll be doing the vast majority of the time. If you can hit it, you can kill it. Practice dry firing at home from field positions. Bring extra ammo to practice with and practice a bunch in the field. Dry fire or simulate shots including changing positions on every single stand. Pretty soon you'll be better than you were.

I'm no expert but have a similar rig (16" bbl). I have found the 20 round mag is a lot handier and less likely to bump or hang up on things than the 30 round mag. Lancer makes a nice, clear 20 rounder. I have never shot more than 14 rounds at the same coyote running across fence & field. I do handload and like the 60 gr V-Max for front quarter or going away shots. The 55 Ballistic tip is another good bullet but what you picked is a very good one too.

Not being a big AR fan, I find the awkward in the field but I do shoot one on occasion. I won it and it does need to get out in the field. I did swap out the 20" 20 Pratical barrel for a 16" 223 upper(handier), I do like the 20P for coyotes and am building my second bolt action in it.. I use Speer .224 52gr Varmint HP's in a 5 or 10 round mag. 1.5-6x44mm German #4 w/ill. dot here in New Mexico.



DD's advice is spot on, practice loading at the truck as they do make a lot of noise trying to chamber a round at the stand.

I've killed the vast majority of my coyotes of the last 10 years with an AR in .223 with 18" barrel shooting 53 grain Superformance. If you put that bullet in that red spot shown above, you will have a dead coyote. You are not undergunned. Come on out and see for yourself!

16” AR in 223 is my primary coyote gun. It will do great as long as you hit them in the vitals. That is key with any caliber. Dump the 30 round mags though.

Could it be that you are over thinking this?
Yup.

It'll work inside 300 yards if you can hit vitals. If you're going to take a long road trip out west for coyotes, I'd recommend taking at least one other rifle for the more windy conditions such as a 6.5 Creedmoor, a .270, or even a 30-06 if you've already got one on hand. 300 yard shots don't come easy with a .223 when the wind is howling.

Wind,wind,wind. Hardest part of shooting when you go west. Broken country, wind up or downhill. I shoot a 18" 223(suppressor), but take something flatter shooting when I expect 250+ yards. Calling is usually inside 200. Short grass, public ground shots will be longer.

Never been a problem for me with either a 16" or even 10" barrel.

Don’t worry about the talk of long shots. 90+% of the ones I shoot are less than 100 yards with a lot less than 50 and that is on open public ground. If the wind is blowing hard enough to cause a problem at even 100 yards then it is blowing to hard to call. Anyone shooting a lot at longer distances are not letting them come in close enough. Let them come in and misses are not an issue.

Thanks for the responses everyone. Definitely gave me some much appreciated insight. And i do plan on grabbing a couple 20 rounders for the field as well. I do also have an old savage 270, that i may consider bringing as well.

Get a ballistic app and figure out your bullet drop. Sight it in for 50 yards and you are good to go!

NO NO NO NO.

I have found doing that results in some bullets that are supposed to shoot low being high. And some that are supposed to only shoot a hair low being 4 inches low at 200.

Know your hold over. To do that you have to sight in at 50, shoot at 100, 200, 250 and 300. Make a few adjustments to dial it.

Then you know your rifle and you are powerful.

There are always the two factors of wind and what is the real distance. (In the heat of battle)

You have already been given some solid advice from others. I've killed hundreds of coyotes with a 223. It is plenty of gun for any western coyote at reasonable ranges. Practicing shooting in field conditions is excellent advice. If you have lived in Florida your entire life, you would probably enjoy the Nebraska weather in the early fall more than January or February. You may also want to avoid planing your trip when the majority of deer hunters or others are likely to be in the field. If you have never hunting out west, it would be very beneficial for you to try to team up with someone with some experience. If there is a convention in 2022, you could find that trip to be very helpful and enjoyable.

That is going to be a sweet looking rig. Lots of good advise. I would add plan on doing a little shooting when you get there before going hunting. Getting dialed in at 300 in Florida at sea level with high humidity then going out west to high altitude/low humidity might be enough change for a miss.