preferred caliber for coyotes

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The 223 advice is good. Cheap, plentiful and some nice looking guns that fire it. Of course your choice should be considering what range you want to shoot at. A friend uses the Hornet because of its low report which is an issue where he lives. Quieter than the snap of a 223. Another buddy uses a 22-250. One day on an out of state hunt with a vmax bullet at 125 yds, the Hornet left as gaping an exit hole in the yote as the 22-250 at the same range. I was impressed. You'll need something bigger than the Hornet if you want to shoot past 150 yds. I have a farmer friend who shot 6 out of 8 coyotes milling about, 225 yds from his farm house window. One would drop and the rest just hung around. He used a .243 hollow point which would be illegal to hunt with in my state. We can't even use a center fire from Oct thru May which is why I use the 22 magum out to 75 -100 yds.

 

[charlz]

i know the 22-250 is great for long range sniping of varmints, not much parrie dog hunting around these parts thou...

Also great for antelope where long range shots are pretty common. 30-06 seems a little over powered to me... not so much the damage to the coyote but my shoulder We are supposedly getting some moving into this area soon-to-be-suburbs area. -06 would be a little loud... wouldn't want every soccer mom in the county to be calling 911 if I took a shot with that . I forgot to pick up the 25-20 when I was at my parents place so I guess it's the stealthy .22 for now Maybe I'll start shopping for a 22-250 as I may get back into hunting here one of these days.

 

[schmism]

I have a farmer friend who shot 6 out of 8 coyotes milling about, 225 yds from his farm house window. One would drop and the rest just hung around.

i also know of a farmer who hunts out one of his second story bedroom windows. This time of year light snow cover, with even a half a moon for light is plenty for him. he'd have to get up in the middle of the night for a nature call and always stop and peer out the window. avg range was 200-250yds. he drops 10-30 yotes a year depending on how they are running (again central IL area)

 

[nybirdman]

I vote for the .223 also.......here is a rare lite colored one shot during deer season.This one was shot with 25/06 ,also potent coyote medicine.

 

[wolc123]

The window method has worked good for me in the past. I use a bait pile about 125 yards straight behind the house. I have a couple deer carcasses in the garage now that I just finished butchering and they will go out there in a few days before the next full moon. As I mentioned earlier, the 22 LR (Ruger 10/22) has been my nightime gun and it does well at 100-140 yards if sighted in at long range, for broadside, lung shots, and in light winds to calm which we usually have at night. My 22-250, daytime gun (Ruger M77) has much more reach but is way too loud to use from the house at night when the kids are sleeping. Calling coyotes is fun but will usually only take immature animals (I have used a full-choked, pump, 12 ga shotgun with 3" #4 shot then). The bait pile at night will enable you to take out the old ones and to specifically target the females if population control is your main objective (the female is always the smaller of a pair). Even then however, shooting them will only put a tiny dent compared to trapping, which can eliminate most of the coyotes from a targeted area for as long as it continues. I have had a couple real good trappers working around my farm the last 5 years, so coyote sightings are way down (and deer, turkey, rabbit and fox populations are way up as a result). I did see a set of coyote tracks while hunting on Sunday, so maybe I can get some shooting in a few days.

 

[tawilson]

I have a 222 that I'm very fond of. If I didn't I'd be shopping for a 223.

 

[tawilson]

I vote for the .223 also.......here is a rare lite colored one shot during deer season.This one was shot with 25/06 ,also potent coyote medicine.

He looks kinda sad.

 

[radman1]

I vote for the .223 also.......here is a rare lite colored one shot during deer season.This one was shot with 25/06 ,also potent coyote medicine.

Looks like my missing neighbor's dog.

 

[dwenham]

Looks my my missing neighbor's dog.

How long has your neighbor been missing? Are you feeding his dog?

 

[Kays Supply]

This 223 has taken soda can sized PD at 440yd. It should do alright on a coyote. The 70 gr bullet has the power of a 243 at 300 yd. It will group in a plate at 600yd. I am thinking about letting someone else enjoy it , my boys are grown and it just sits in the safe now.