Coyote Cartridge

Before AR's became so popular out here in Wyoming, many a coyote was taken with the .220 Swift. I still shoot them with the Swift, but the AR in .223 is so much more versatile. A good Swift and a good 50 gr bullet has proven deadly on song dogs for many years.
 
Check your laws on electronic calls before you use one, they are not legal in all places. The best call I ever used is a duck call used open read. Takes some practice but once you get it figured out it can make a jackrabbit or cottontail sound very well and can also be used as a squeaker. But any decent call and some practice will get the job done.

If you call a farm dog in next to you do not panic. Most coyotes will ignore all else and come on a dead run to whip that dog and take the rabbit from it.

You have had a lot of good suggestions for rifles. I like anything in the .22 family, not LR, with appropriate bullet for saving hides. I shot a bunch of them with 22 accelerators out of a 30-06 back in the day.

I prefer to sit on the ground in a bit of cover and use a bipod that is tall enough to shoot from a sitting position. Insulated coveralls and bit of a ground cushion make this more comfortable.

With fur prices what they generally are you might decide saving pelts is not worth it. If you have never skinned one of those stinking flea infested critters you are in for an education the first few times. You should also look into buying or making some stretchers for them. You will probably be wanting to have them stretched, dried, cleaned up, and brushed before talking to the fur buyers.
 
I use a hot loaded 357 magnum carbine but its still not very flat shooting. I have it sighted in at 125 yards which allows a point blank shot out to about 140 yards It also has a CDC scope dials that let me shoot it out to 240 yards but it does require accurate range finder.

I went coyote hunting a few days ago with a guy that had an AR57? it shoots the .57X28 round. it was pretty flat shooting but I was not real impressed with its knock down power. Still it held like 50ish rounds! I think it would make a good home defence gun.
 
In New Mexico you can't beat a 22-250 with several different mouth calls. I've never used the electronic calls because who wants to lug around that sh$t. If you know what you're doing, mouth calls work plenty good.
 
if your looking to sell the pelt you want the minimum to get the job done.which is hard to say for me being that i never hunt open country.no real advice there



but if your just doing some pest control for the local farmers,why buy new gun.shoot it with a .300 wby mag. if you like or just your usual deer gun
 
The main way to ensure minimal pelt damage is to shoot them with a bullet that will not exit. Exploding bullet coming out of a screamer is the best way to keep the bullet in.
 
I've always considered the 22 Hornet a great coyote caliber. Out to a couple hundred yards they can do a nice job of it with little damage to the pelts.
 
223, 243, ruger 204, all are decent rounds for coyote. If you want to keep the pelt. Otherwise, anything that will reach out to 300 or 400 yards works. I've taken the mangy varmints with 22 LR, 12 gauge, 30-30 lever, 30-06 and 308. I'm thinking about 7mm08 next, for something new
 
I've heard good things about Barnes varmint grenades. The coyotes I've shot were with deer ammo and there wasn't much expansion, so .30 hole in and .40 hole out.

I imagine fmj would work.
 
I use 50 gr Sierra Blitzkings, they are a little on the explosive side if you want to save the fur, but if you hit them at or below the shoulder line it shouldn't matter much. I use them because I get phenominal accuracy, I have some Sierra soft points loaded up that I need to test.
 
Hey Bucksnort, In the foothills, just west of Denver off U.S. 285, is a restaurant called, "The Bucksnort Saloon.". I've never been there but I hear it has good food and that during the day and on week nights, it's a good restaurant but on weekends, it's a biker bar, you know, one of those places where they check you for knives and guns and if you don't have one, they give you one before entering.

A bit off topic but I couldn't resist responding.
 
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