coyote round?

H

hoghunter

Inactive
My options are a .243, .223, .308. Shots will range from 100 yards out to 500. And I'm having trouble making a decision for a coyote round.
 
I have all three of the one's you listed- but I'm particularly partial to the .243 for an all-around reach out there varmint ctg. I only load 55gr and 58gr bullets for my .243, and they perform fantasticly as far as I can shoot.
 
Any of the 3 you mentioned will work just fine. I use a .308 just because I'm not trying to save the hides and it makes a massive exit hole with the Hornady SST's. For us, we are trying to get rid of them to let the other small game get back up in population.
 
The 55 and 58 grain bullets in 243 are perfect for your needs. The bullets start out close to 4000 fps and do a nice job of stopping Wiley.
 
I load 75 gr HP in my .243 and it is an explosive round. Muzzle velocity is about 3500 fps and I would expect it to be a great extended range round. I gave only been able to test it out to 200 yards, but my gun likes it enough to shoot 1.5" groups at that range.
 
Do you hand load and are you going to purchase a new rifle or use existing?

If you hand load then you will have much greater options with any of the rounds you mentioned, as many of the suggestions you will be given are probably with hand loads.

243 would be my choice with the rounds you mentioned, but if I was going to buy a new rifle I would also consider 22-250.
 
Of the cartridges you listed, definitely the .243. What is the twist rate of the barrel on your rifle? If its a 1:9 it may not shoot those 60 gr and lighter bullets as well. Still a 75 gr is a good coyote load
 
243 with a 87 Hornady A Max in front of 38 gns of IMR 4064. Any of the ones you mentioned will do the trick,I just really like the 243,just a good all around varmint caliber.
 
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Since you already have a .243, I would not go looking for a .308 just for yotes. Like a lot of people already said, bullet selection will be key on deciding if you want to keep the fur.
 
Since you aren't looking for furs, Winchester has a coyote round that depending on your area, might viable option.
http://www.winchester.com/library/news/Pages/varmint-x-factor.aspx

Also, any of the .243's that you could use for deer, I would use on yotes in heartbeat. That way would prevent you from having/zeroing multiple factory loads. Don't think that you need a +3000fps round. No since in adding more wear to your rifle barrel by having screaming rounds.
 
The Federal Premium .243 load with the Sierra 85-grain HPBT is very accurate. I was using that load long before they finally started producing it. Works well on poor innocent coyotes. :)

The above-mentioned lighter bullets work well, although wind becomes more of a factor for them when out beyond 250 to 300 yards.
 
Do you hand load and are you going to purchase a new rifle or use existing?

If you hand load then you will have much greater options with any of the rounds you mentioned, as many of the suggestions you will be given are probably with hand loads.

243 would be my choice with the rounds you mentioned, but if I was going to buy a new rifle I would also consider 22-250.
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Agreed. A lot of us here use 22-250's. Many use .223 also, but usually in a semi-automatic rifle for coyotes.

Are you calling coyotes in or are you running them with a group or with dogs? .223 will work fine for calling them in, but if you're running them you want velocity so you don't have to lead a dog-length out in front of the coyote in order to score a good hit.
 
Since you are using factory ammo you will be much better served by the .223 or .243. The best "varmint" offerings will be in .223, and a quick 40-55 gr v-max is good coyote medicine.
 
Winchester also makes a .243 55 grain ballistic silvertip that should do a nice job of knocking down 'yotes, you would want to shoot them and be sure that the .243 likes them but I don't see why it wouldn't. It is much harder to have too much twist than it is to not have enough.
 
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