308 or 6.5 Creedmore for coyotes

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musky01

Member
Good morning :
Im looking for a dedicated bolt gun for coyotes. I found the gun I want but its not available in anything smaller the 308. I know its over gunned but what do you all think of a 308 or 6.5 Creedmore ?

Thanks Bob
 
All I can say is “generally” if there’re hit with a .308 you’ll find them within a few yards. I didn’t pick it as a coyote gun, I picked it as a hog gun. It wasn’t until I started thermal hunting hogs that I stumbled on coyotes and calling them in.
I shoot 168gr bullets…if you’re wanting something fur friendly, a .308 is NOT it. I have to do some serious arranging of the coyotes for pics. I use the 168gr because it groups the best in my rifle, but it is not coyote friendly.
 
I've shot a good many with a 308 and a 260 (essentially the same as 6.5Creedmoor at the coyote end) from a deer stand. They work, but leave a bloody mess. Not my first choice for a coyote-only gun.
 
musky01 said:
Good morning :
Im looking for a dedicated bolt gun for coyotes. I found the gun I want but its not available in anything smaller the 308. I know its over gunned but what do you all think of a 308 or 6.5 Creedmore ?

Thanks Bob
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If I had to choose between just those two I'd go with the 6.5 Creed but either will certainly get the job done.

For a "dedicated bolt gun for coyotes" the biggest caliber I'd want would be a .243/6mm. A good 243 Win, 6mm Creedmoor, or even the 6 ARC will lay waste to yotes for many years to come and still have low enough recoil to spot your shots while using something that is still relatively lightish.

IMHO, the 24 cals are kind of one of those "Goldilocks" calibers, not to big and not to small, they're just right.
 
I have to agree with the populous that both are over kill. If you get a solid hit with either I doubt you'll have to look very far for it. Nothing says you have to shoot heavy bullets out of the 308 or the 6.5. They do make light bullets for both. I don't save fur so DRT is more important to me anyway. Either one will do the job at hand.
 
I found the gun I want but its not available in anything smaller the 308.
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What gun do you want? You said it is not available in anything smaller than .308 but ask about 6.5CM which is smaller than 308.
 
Agree with all of the above, but if you're not into saving hides, there ain't no warts on the .308. I loved the 243 WSSM w/87 gr. Hornady BTHP. Not particularly fur friendly, but was my favorite coyote rifle. When I had to replace it found a deal on a .308 Savage scout which likes 125 NBT's. No discernible difference between the .308 w/110 gr. Varmageddons & the 243 w/87 gr. Hornady BTHP in either ballistics or terminal performance on a coyote, IME. Neither of which are fur friendly.

Spurchaser said:
if you’re wanting something fur friendly, a .308 is NOT it. I have to do some serious arranging of the coyotes for pics. I use the 168gr because it groups the best in my rifle, but it is not coyote friendly.
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Can't disagree here, first coyote (L) shot with 125 gr. NBT did take a little TLC to set up for pic; 2nd (R) not all that bad. The 2nd was facing dead on hit just below chin, so no real damage. Fur not an issue down here anyway.
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No such thing as "over kill" dead is dead. You can't get more dead. If all you are wanting to do is kill them then how big a caliber you use doesn't matter. If you are wanting to harvest Fur then that is a different story.
 
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Thanks for all the feedback. Im looking at the Springfield Way Point. It only comes in 308, 6.5 Creed, 6mm Creed and 6 Prc. I really want a 223 or 22-250 but cant find a rifle with all the features that I want except the Way Point.
 
TXCOONDOG said:
I'm with the 6mm & 22 centerfire crowd for coyotes, cats and fox.
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I believe a 6mm on a fox or cat would be as much or more of an "overkill" than my 6.5CM/95gr vmax on coyotes. I have killed a couple fox with it and it's way too much, but the damage to coyotes has been minimal. This is just my experience with it.
 
If I were specifically targeting Fox or Cats to harvest the fur I would use my 17 Ackley Hornet or 17 Tactical. And for Coyotes again harvesting fur it would be a 17 Tactical or 204 Ruger. If I didn’t care about the fur hands down 22-250 Ackley Improved.
 
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