223 or 308 for coyotes
- Thread starter themikeman
- Start date
Hey Gordo,
I would hate to carry that rifle around a field all day.
Best shot I've ever seen on a coyote was about 25 years ago by a guy I went to high school with, at about 450 yds, one shot, runnin dog, sporterized '03 ought six (original barrel) 4x scope, offhand. This dude was an awsome shot, of course he shot a heck of a lot, prairie dogs and coyotes. Put him in the middle of a quarter section (1/2 mile x 1/2 mile for you city folk) and (terrain allowing of course) he could hit anything, anywhere on it. Heck he could cover most of a section.
Myself, i would never try 500, not even 400 if it was movin, inside 350 and it is dead.
bergie
Savage 110 .270 W., 140gr. NBT over 57.7gr. H4831SC
I would hate to carry that rifle around a field all day.
Best shot I've ever seen on a coyote was about 25 years ago by a guy I went to high school with, at about 450 yds, one shot, runnin dog, sporterized '03 ought six (original barrel) 4x scope, offhand. This dude was an awsome shot, of course he shot a heck of a lot, prairie dogs and coyotes. Put him in the middle of a quarter section (1/2 mile x 1/2 mile for you city folk) and (terrain allowing of course) he could hit anything, anywhere on it. Heck he could cover most of a section.
Myself, i would never try 500, not even 400 if it was movin, inside 350 and it is dead.
bergie
Savage 110 .270 W., 140gr. NBT over 57.7gr. H4831SC
Raymond Losli
New member
Ahhhhhh ..Yes that .25-06.. sooooound's Sweeeeaat but...
What about a, 6.5..? Like .264 Win. Mag. in a Pac-nor super match big/Bull 1-1/4" taper to 3/4" @ the muzzle. 26" OAL.
In a worked over Win. mdl. 70 Receiver. W/ smooth-crisp- release 1-3/4 Lb. trigger.
All set in a Choate stock topped off with a Leapold LPS.
W/ hand loads dialed in with Nosler 100 gr.BT's over 67 Grn of ViHt.#160. ....1- MOA groups @ 200yards.
Just doin sum Braggin........... :barf:
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& yes I do -HATE- carrying this thing around. / That's why I LOVE my AR
.
What about a, 6.5..? Like .264 Win. Mag. in a Pac-nor super match big/Bull 1-1/4" taper to 3/4" @ the muzzle. 26" OAL.
In a worked over Win. mdl. 70 Receiver. W/ smooth-crisp- release 1-3/4 Lb. trigger.
All set in a Choate stock topped off with a Leapold LPS.
W/ hand loads dialed in with Nosler 100 gr.BT's over 67 Grn of ViHt.#160. ....1- MOA groups @ 200yards.
Just doin sum Braggin........... :barf:
.
& yes I do -HATE- carrying this thing around. / That's why I LOVE my AR
.
Coyote Gun/Cartridge
We never had coyote in Indiana years ago - do now. When the company I worked for moved me to OK they handed out a lot of climatological data on the differences in the two areas. Besides the obvious temperature difference of moving 400 miles south the biggest thing that jumped out was average wind speed. Indiana 6 MPH ave year round. OK was 13 MPH year round. With that 13 mph average I'd not have used a .223 at 250 yards without a huge amount of practice in variable conditions. With the wide open spaces and higher wind I'm not even sure about a .243 in a crosswind. Just my opinion.
We never had coyote in Indiana years ago - do now. When the company I worked for moved me to OK they handed out a lot of climatological data on the differences in the two areas. Besides the obvious temperature difference of moving 400 miles south the biggest thing that jumped out was average wind speed. Indiana 6 MPH ave year round. OK was 13 MPH year round. With that 13 mph average I'd not have used a .223 at 250 yards without a huge amount of practice in variable conditions. With the wide open spaces and higher wind I'm not even sure about a .243 in a crosswind. Just my opinion.
Raymond Losli
New member
Wind -13 mph average ... that does not sound fun
To tell you the truth cross wind sucks for all weights & Cal. does not matter what cal. you shoot.
I do think a Heavy will maybe buck a head-wind better seems to bother my .223 @ little more than others.
Wind is wind, you just have to know your weapon, shot a lot and just be Current./ It hard sometimes if your not a one gun guy.
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To tell you the truth cross wind sucks for all weights & Cal. does not matter what cal. you shoot.
I do think a Heavy will maybe buck a head-wind better seems to bother my .223 @ little more than others.
Wind is wind, you just have to know your weapon, shot a lot and just be Current./ It hard sometimes if your not a one gun guy.
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I used to use my ISSI AR .223AI 26" 9 twist Hart-barrelled AR, and had great results to about 500 with the 69 Nosler. But i also had a "tactical" system established for it-- 4.5-14X Burris/Ball. Plex reticle, and Leica LRF. But i wouldn't take a 500 yd. shot in any kind of wind-- mostly am, or later pm hours when wind was typically down. I tried the 75 A-Max, and 70 gr. JLK VLD, but they were poor killers at 3000 fps mv when the range stretched. Truth is if i ever go back to it it'll be the 75/77's as they may have a better compromise between frontal area (for long-range expansion) weight, and BC.
Raymond Losli
New member
Hey also: back to the original Question /... " 223 or 308 and I’m going to use it to hunt coyotes up to 500 yards."
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I also have a super quality AR set-up. But, @ 500 yrds if you were to Lung Shoot a Coyote.
No question about it... a .308 would be the safe bet.
Ok to hit a Coyote that will hold still long enough Between trotting and dodging in and out, @ 500 yrds.
In reality that's the big question.
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.......................
I also have a super quality AR set-up. But, @ 500 yrds if you were to Lung Shoot a Coyote.
No question about it... a .308 would be the safe bet.
Ok to hit a Coyote that will hold still long enough Between trotting and dodging in and out, @ 500 yrds.
In reality that's the big question.
.
.
oneeyeross
New member
I wish
that the coyotes would be that far away. The last one I shot was about 35 yards. She was eating at the "Cafe Ross," everymorning. Snacking on chicken..
(Notice that is in the past tense). .22 rimfire. Works wonders.
Now, at LONG RANGE... .308 would probably be better.
that the coyotes would be that far away. The last one I shot was about 35 yards. She was eating at the "Cafe Ross," everymorning. Snacking on chicken..
(Notice that is in the past tense). .22 rimfire. Works wonders.
Now, at LONG RANGE... .308 would probably be better.
Lawyer Daggit
New member
For most 'sportsmen' a 500 yard shot would be speculative at best and likely to leave a wounded animal. If someone was mindful to take such a shot there is probably going to be a lot of luck involved as a result of the need to allow for windage and bullet drop and given the anemic ballistics of a .223 at that type of range I think a 308 would be the better choice.
I agree with an earlier post that a person who can handle this type of shot need not ask which is best- they are in the 'expert category', if you are not I suggest you look at what 500 yards really looks like and revise your perameters and choose a calibre accordingly.
I don't mean this comment insultingly- there are few people up to consistently and humanely taking shots at 500 yards.
I agree with an earlier post that a person who can handle this type of shot need not ask which is best- they are in the 'expert category', if you are not I suggest you look at what 500 yards really looks like and revise your perameters and choose a calibre accordingly.
I don't mean this comment insultingly- there are few people up to consistently and humanely taking shots at 500 yards.
appleguy53
Inactive
I use a .308 and it has always done a wonderful job out to 400-500 yds acknowledging the fact that theres 54" of bullet drop(150 yd zero), and windage isn't as finicky as the lighter .223. Avoid the lighter bullets. I stick with 165-168 grain BT and it's usually all over if I can get a good rest to shoot from.