I got a Weatherby 22-250 Mark V SVM. I put a Leupold Vari-X III 10-22X scope on it. Shooting just factory ammuntion it will group well under 1 inch at a hundred yards. For coyotes its not even a challenge, if its inside 400 yards all you have to do is center them up.
I have yardage knobs on mine and if you started reloading you could really start pushing the shots out there. The whole setup wasnt cheap but for coyotes you wont find a flatter shooting caliber. A 220 swift or a 25-06 would be pretty nice as well.
moosehunter
PMA Member
22-250 is a tough one to beat.
K
Kaylray
Guest
Do you plan on calling them in? What is the terrain like where you are going to hunt. Unless you think you are going to be seeing them several hundered yards out, you may want to consider something that is going to work better at closer range. 100 yards and in I would go with a semi auto 22 mag with a 2-7 or 3-9 power. If you have wide open ground where you can see them coming from a ways off then go with a 22-250 or .223
HT
HT
I shoot a Remington BDL 22-250 with 6.5-20x Leupold. I reload my own rounds and have had 5 shot groups that you could cover with a dime at 100 yards. I think the 22-250 is the ultimate caliber for all varmit hunting. I have taken hundreds of fox and coyotes with mine. If your going to just hunt coyotes a .243 is a great caliber because you still have great trajectory and can shoot heavier bullets that will tip those coyotes over out there at long range. The .243 would be a legal caliber to hunt big game animals like deer and antelope in most states that have rifle seasons. The .243 would also give you a much wider selection of bullet weights as light as 58 grains to as heavy as 105 grains. The .223 would also work very well out to 300 yards. The best thing is .223 factory ammo is about half the cost of what the 22-250 or .243 would run. Reguardless of the caliber you will need to shoot lots of rounds to be able to consistantly kill fox or coyotes past 300 yards. Trajectories: If you compare all three calibers sighted in for 200 yards the .223 shooting a 50 grain bullet will be about +1.2 inches (high) at 100 yards, 0 at 200, -6.9 inches (low) at 300, and -21 inches at 400. A 22-250 with 50 grain bullet is +.8 at 100, 0 at 200, -5.4 at 300, -19 at 400. A .243 with 95 grain (almost twice as heavy bullet) is +.5 at 100, 0 at 200, -6.6 at 300 and -19.5 at 400. All three calibers drop over 40 inches at 500 yards when at a 200 yard zero. A coyote will normally weigh 25-40 lbs and a fox 6-10 lbs. So a fox is like the size of a house cat and a coyote a medium sized dog. Both are very small targets to hit past 300 yards. The height of a coyotes chest is about 8-10 inches from spine to sterum and a fox is about 5-6 inches. The width of a coyotes skull is about 4 inches and a fox is about 3 inches. Both seem bigger than that but after skinning too many fox and coyotes to count I can tell you that you'll be suprised as to how much bigger the hair makes them look. If you don't believe me skin one and measure for yourself. After all that I would say if your going to hunt coyotes a possibly big game get the .243. If your going to hunt fox and coyotes the 22-250 is a good choice. If you going to do lots of shooting or shoot praire dogs with the gun buy a .223 because the ammo is cheap. Most important thing is buy a good scope. I would recommend a variable and at least 12x. A 4-12x or 6.5-20x are good choices. If your going to be calling and in much cover when doing so save your money and use a shotgun with 00 buckshot.
Stump Shooter
New Member
I'm not sure there's anything more to really add that iowaqdm didn't say already. Good piece of info! Although I wouldn't discount a .270. It's a bit more than what you need for varmints, but if you'd like to use the rifle for something other than varmints..deer or antelope, a .270 might be your gun. Ballistics are still there for longer range varmint shooting.
I went with a .270win short mag. Why? Not sure. LOL I loved the ballistics on it and wanted to buy a gun that would cover a few different animals I may hunt in the future. If I can suggest one thing though. Don't worry about spending a ton on a gun. If your not into the looks of a gun, Savage puts out a great shooting rifle at a very good price. Spend all your available money on optics(scope)! Others can chime in if they agree or disagree, but really good optics is the way to go. Can't shoot what you can't pick up in the scope and shoot. Find a scope where you can pick up an animal with ease, has a good eye relief and great light gathering capabilities. If you don't want to toss out the BIG money, I would look into something in the Nikon Monarch line. The glass isn't that far behind a Leupold or Zeiss. I have a Zeiss Conquest 3x9x40 on my 30.06 and if I could afford a 4.5x14x44 for my varmint rifle...IT WOULD BE ON THERE! Awesome glass and picks up the slitest amount of light.
Good luck!
I went with a .270win short mag. Why? Not sure. LOL I loved the ballistics on it and wanted to buy a gun that would cover a few different animals I may hunt in the future. If I can suggest one thing though. Don't worry about spending a ton on a gun. If your not into the looks of a gun, Savage puts out a great shooting rifle at a very good price. Spend all your available money on optics(scope)! Others can chime in if they agree or disagree, but really good optics is the way to go. Can't shoot what you can't pick up in the scope and shoot. Find a scope where you can pick up an animal with ease, has a good eye relief and great light gathering capabilities. If you don't want to toss out the BIG money, I would look into something in the Nikon Monarch line. The glass isn't that far behind a Leupold or Zeiss. I have a Zeiss Conquest 3x9x40 on my 30.06 and if I could afford a 4.5x14x44 for my varmint rifle...IT WOULD BE ON THERE! Awesome glass and picks up the slitest amount of light.
Good luck!
boacephus
New Member
I was always impressed with my step father's 25-06. Not sure of the scope but I know it went up to 18x. He had a 1" group at 200yds. Barks like a big dog but, it was about like shooting a .22. As far as I can remember the rounds are a bit pricey. Well the gun was too it is a Sako. That and a Rem model 600 .308 are the two I am hoping that will get passed off to me.
baggin_bucks
Active Member
for coyotes I bought a .243 Browning A bolt II. It works great, a little over kill maybe but I like it that way
Fishbonker
Life Member
I've never been one to go halfway on anything so I have a Bushmaster Varminter with a Burris Black Diamond 6-24X-50 Ballistic Mil-Dot. That is too heavy to carry so I also have a Bushmaster "Stubby" with a Trijicon 3-9X-40. Sad thing is I've only "killed" paper with either one of them. That is, unless, you count those two tom cats that I caught spraying on the house. Their skins are in the freezer. And yes, the wife knows. She just doesn't get in that freezer anymore.
The 'Bonker
The 'Bonker
I'm with Bonker on this one. I've used bolt guns and you cant go wrong there, but nothing beats an AR-15 for fun when hunting yotes. My Colt Accurized with 24" barrel and 12X Leupold shoots very well and is a great yote rifle. Like Bonker though, if I had to do it over again I would buy a 16" or 20" barrel to lighten it up for calling. The AR is not my choice for prairie doggin, but plenty accurate for yotes. Settling the crosshairs on a sleeping dog 200 yards away is a beautiful sight. Whop!
That said, I've probably killed alot more yotes with a 12ga and #4 buck than anything else. That is nasty medicine for coyotes within 60 yards or so.
That said, I've probably killed alot more yotes with a 12ga and #4 buck than anything else. That is nasty medicine for coyotes within 60 yards or so.
150 Class
Well-Known Member
Ditto on the thoughts of using the 12 gauge with #4 buckshot in 3 1/2" shells. They do a number on them!
I also will add (like some other already have) to conisder using your deer or big game rifle like the 270, 30-06, 7mm Mag, 300 Win Mag, etc. since there is no such thing as a coyote that it too dead. OK, the fur buyer might think they are too dead but if you are going out for the recreation and already have one of these guns, coyotes are great fun and this would be some good practice.
I also will add (like some other already have) to conisder using your deer or big game rifle like the 270, 30-06, 7mm Mag, 300 Win Mag, etc. since there is no such thing as a coyote that it too dead. OK, the fur buyer might think they are too dead but if you are going out for the recreation and already have one of these guns, coyotes are great fun and this would be some good practice.
Savage 24F combination gun. It's a over/under double barrel, .223 on top of a 12 gauge. It's not light but it will cover most of your bases, close or fairly far. It also came with a sleeve for the 12 gauge barrel to shoot .410 shells through it, although I've never tried that yet.