I have never had a problem killing a coyote with 223, using 52 gr Serria hollow points and 53 gr Hornandy match bullets, don't matter what you shoot them with if you hit them in the leg or just break a shoulder, I have killed several at 400 yards no problem

I have 6mm ackely improved necked down to .224, shooting 55 gr bullets close 4000fps and it is no more deadly than the 223, just got to make a good shot on them

But hunting I have found the white box Winchester 45gr @ 3600FPS is a good hunting round.

Hold the Fort I just found some white box Winchester 40grain poly tipped @ 3700FPS at MidwayUSA.

Then again shot placement is the whole story.

Every coyote I’ve shot with a 223 has been bang flops except for one due to poor shot placement. I hit it high across the back. Never did recover it. I saw it the next day in the same area limping with a moon shape chunk missing out it.

My load 60 grain vmax with 25 grains of benchmark. Runs 2850 FPS out of my 14.5” POF and about another 125 FPS faster out of my 20” LTR.

Extremely poor shot placement is your problem as everyone who read the post can clearly see and have told you. Any plastic tipped bullet is your friend with this caliber. Aim for the shoulder on standing coyotes and they won’t go anywhere. If you can’t stop them to stop for standing still shot then don’t shoot. You’ll harvest less dogs but at least your DRT count will rise. I’d tell you practice, practice, practice...or leave the rifle at home and pick up a shotgun along with some lead BB shot.

This doesn't make sense to me. It'll blow them up but not make them fall down?

Here's a couple of quick videos of coyotes shot with an Stag AR-15 with 16" barrel. Load was 50 gr. V-max at about 3,100 fps. Range 100 yds.



Here is another one, same rifle same load.



It's not the caliber that is the problem. Put good ammo where it is supposed to go, and you will get good results.

We killed a house full of coyotes with this load, very fur friendly:

55g Winchester sp
26.5g of Win 748
3100 fps out of a 24" barrel

Dogs flop

This guy is just looking for a reason to buy a new rifle.

After the .308 he will tell his wife that he nicked the Coyote's paw and it still ran off.

Then he can say "honey, the .308 is no good for these Californian Coyotes"

I need a 50 BMG for close range and a .338 Lapua Mag for the ones that are a little farther.

Wifey says "you don't want to hurt the Coyote" Go ahead!

This ^^^^^



Kills them dead but doesn't knock them off their feet.



ETA: Ummmm, after thinkin' about it, you're absolutely right; the 223 is no good for coyotes. Maybe you should check out
REAL COYOTE RIFLE, for those really big un's and a lot more. (shameful plug )

Regards,
hm

That’s awesome! Gotta use my photon XT one of these days! Bought it and never used it.

The many deer, antelope and an elk I've killed with the ol 223 should have read this thread, then maybe they wouldn't have died..

what are you shooting those out of a heated deer stand with a concrete shooting bench in it. yeah if I have that much time to make a shoot, a 22 LR would probably get the job done.

no one thinks if things go perfect with the shot a 223 can't work. The problem is most hunters don't make perfect hits everytime. When you have shot 100's of coyotes with 22-250's or 243's and been there when others have done it. Then you see yourself and others needing more and more finishing shots with 223's the only conclusion is it aint nuff gun sometimes.

If you want to see a coyote get blown up, shoot a sierra 55g lead tip blitz with a hot load of benchmark, N135, 3350+.

Actually I have shot hundreds with everything from a 17 Rem to 308 Win. My favorite caliber is the 243 with either a 55 gr. Nosler or 58 V-max, but for most of my night calling I use an AR in 6x45 with the 55 gr. Nosler BT, but right now I am shooting an AR in 223 with 50 gr. V-max for calling. I get tired of shooting the same thing all the time.

I have thermal video of this. Looks like a Rage commercial where the blood flies on impact.