Advice on an AR build for coyote hunting.

R

Rockdriller

Inactive
Hello lads,
I just bought a spikes lower at a local show to build my first coyote rifle.
I'd like a 24" barrel (.223)and a fixed buttstock. Other than that, the build is wide open.
I guess I am looking for suggestions from folks who have built a similar rifle. What works or not. Who has quality uppers? kind of trigger I'd want/ That sort of thing. I've heard some uppers don't fit well on the spikes lowers.
I want a 250 yard tack driver to kill the ever growing coyote population in New England.
Thanks for any advice
 
My first comment would be to use a 20" Hbar profile rather than a 24". Most 24" barrels are heavier than you may want to carry and severely unbalance the rifle.
I use solid stocks with 20" barrels to provide a better balance and cheek weld. The trigger choice is hard to make for someone else. I have several types of so called "national match" triggers some of which work well and some of which have mushy and indistinct breaks. One of the "drop in self contained" trigger units might be a better choice since they don't rely on the lower to support and position their sear contact sufaces.
 
I would also go shorter & lighter. Coyote hunting in the East is a hunt where you'll carry much more than you shoot. When you do get a shot I'd bet most are < 100 yrds. The 3 lb Timney trigger works fine for me.
 
I agree, shorter and lighter is the way I prefer. I have a White Oak Armament upper, 20" Varmint bull barrel. Sumbitch is heavy. Shoots well, but I like them lighter. You should be able to get good accuracy out of a shorter/lighter barrel.
 
I'd go between 16-18". If you use a quality barrel, I believe you'll see it does fine in the accuracy dept...and easier to carry.

What type terrain are you expecting to hunt? What range do you need to be able to shoot?
 
I use a standard flat top 20'' with a good trigger,coyotes no trouble @ 200
with 3x10x50 leupold.No need to over think a coyote rifle simple is good.
 
I used a 20" mid weight barrel, flat top upper and one of the New Frontier Armory polymer lowers. I'm putting a standard A2 buttstock on it. A Bushnell Elite 3-9x40 SF scope in Burris Signature Zee rings will round it out. It will have a standard round free float tube on it with stud to mount a bipod. shouldn't be too heavy. Still waiting for some of the parts to arrive.
 
24" is overkill IMHO. A 16" barrel can handle 250yds with ease.

Look at what the service rifle crowd is doing with a 20" and irons.

I'm waiting on parts (barrel shipped three days ago) for a iron sight A2 build. I have a 18" mini SASS stainless fluted barrel on the way. This is a mid length gas .920 barrel with 1-8 twist. I shot one for several days this past fall and was very impressed with the sub moa accuracy out to 500yds.
 
I've used AR's for coyote hunting and I have to agree with the others on this thread that say to keep your barrel length to 20 inches or less.

I had a Bushmaster with a 24 inch varmit barrel, it did not take me long to realize the barrel length was not the best for my type of hunting with an AR.

Now I'm using a 16 inch barrel DPMS, I do like it better.

I use my AR when I'm going to be walking a long distance and calling the coyotes into thicker cover.
If I'm hunting where I may have longer shots out in the open I use my 22-250.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
 
I've used AR's for coyote hunting and I have to agree with the others on this thread that say to keep your barrel length to 20 inches or less.

I had a Bushmaster with a 24 inch varmit barrel, it did not take me long to realize the barrel length was not the best for my type of hunting with an AR.

Now I'm using a 16 inch barrel DPMS, I do like it better.

I use my AR when I'm going to be walking a long distance and calling the coyotes into thicker cover.
If I'm hunting where I may have longer shots out in the open I use my 22-250.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
Click to expand...

What would you say is your max effective coyote range with that rig?
 
Last edited:
Striker1

After doing some trigger work on the DPMS I can shoot 3/4 inch groups with the rifle at 100 yards.
So I would have no trouble taking a coyote at 200 yards.

Hunting the type of cover I do when using the AR the chances of having a shot at 200 yards at a coyote would be slim to none, most likely 75 yards would be a long shot.

When using the AR I hunt the the thicker wooded areas and a shorter fast handling gun is handy.
When I hunt the open areas I use my 22-250 or one of my 243's.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
 
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