Coyote gun??

[tmoney_0206]

This is my first post in the hunting section of this site, But if you guys are as cool as the people i have been chatting it up with in the fishing forums i will be a regular!

I am thinking about trying some coyote hunting this year and wondering what are some of the best gun choices for them?

Being that i am located in southwestern wi i am only allowed to shotgun hunt for deer, so i really dont know much about rifles!

Any help/advise would be appreciated!

Thanks!!

[Scott K]

22-250,.243 good yote guns

[jlm]

If you are familiar with a shotgun, that is really all you need for yotes if you master some calling techniques. If you REALLY want to use a rifle, I agree with what the other poster stated. I would also throw in the .223 as you can shoot them REALLY cheap. The .243, .220 Swift, and .17 are also good choices. It really depends on what you are looking for. Let us know a little more about what you are looking for and we will do our best to steer you in the right direction! Welcome to the hunting forum!

[Fish&Fowl]

.22-250...fast and flat shooting.

[woody1975]

I would suggest the .243. It is a good all around gun and if you ever decide you'd like to try deer hunting up north or out west, you will have yourself a flat-shooting deer slayer as well.

DL

[roosterslayer]

.223 in my opinion is the best but that is just because it is what i use. But all those choices are good. the advantage to the 223 is it is much cheaper then anything else when it comes to factory ammo.

[picksbigwagon]

I use a .223, I hunt with guys who use a .243 wssm, .243, 30.06 and7.62x39. realizing where you are going to be hunting ( I am from NE IA and know about bluffs and coulee's) I would say anything mentioned before would be great. Keep in mind how easy it will be to get ammo you need. .223 is pretty common in most places that sell ammo (small stores in small towns that is) as well as .243. Good luck and like the first reply said, if you have a shotgun you can use that, but will need to get the coyote into shotgun range.

[slotlimit]

22-250 is the best gun I've seen for Yotes. The only bad part is they don't make them in an auto loader. I personnally use a Rem. 243 auto. As stated earlier I baught it because I can use it for deer hunting also. Hornaday makes a 58 grain bullet that works wonders on yotes. A Couple of buddies use an AR 223 and they like them.

[HunterLee]

Depend on what you want if for. Fast, flat and fur friendly get a 204, it gets the job done as far as i have hit them at, only draw back is ammo. if you don't reload get the orange box from cabelas, they are 40 grain bergers, 200 shells for 130bucks. otherwise if you are just after killing them get a 243, for the versitility. 223 for cheap shell, not as fast or as flat, or the old 22-250. shots flat and far. it really depends on what type of hunting. i personally got the 204 and we call, walk and chase them around, and it works great, put a good scope on it as well. we all are happy to give some advice, so ask a way.

[Bandit]

AR-15 223 Everything you'll ever want or need.

[fish4cats]

I love using a shotgun and also a 22 mag for yotes, call em in close.

[tmoney_0206]

Sorry it has took me so long to reply but you guys have been great so far!

Most hunting i will be doing is around crick bottoms with cut crop fields surrounding. I dont need something that will shoot a mile but 150 yards would be nice. Especially because i have never even tried hunting or calling for them before.

Possibly leaning towards a .223. What kind of pelt damage could you expect from this cartridge? Too much to sell the pelts?

Thanks again you people never let me down!

Aaron

[Dave S]

Bullet choice will play a big role in pelt damage as will shot placement. If you hit bone (shoulder/hip), you'll be looking at a mess regardless of bullet choice.

I bought a .223 and started with ballistic tips. If you're looking at selling pelts, DO NOT shoot ballistic tips.

Otherwise, a .223 makes a good 'yote gun with respectable range.

[bbesser84]

Ive shot them with everything from a .22 mag to my .280 rem. from what ive seen if you don't care much about saving the pelts go with one of the light to moderate big game calibers such as the .243 or .25-06. these calibers are capable of shooting heavier bullets that will drift around less in the wind. sure they drop a bit more at extreme distances but when you look at ballistics there isnt much variance in bullet drop out to 300 yards with a 150 or 200 yard zero. furthermore these guns will retain more energy at distances past this. also in my opinion anyone that is willing to take a shot past 300 yards should have the common sense to find somewhere to practice at these distances as a lot more factors come into play at ranges past what most people would consider shooting.

If you would like to save the pelts to make a nice wall hanging go with one of the lighter calibers or a shotgun loaded with #4 buck or one of the non toxic coyote loads that have been listed above. interestingly only one hunter has mentioned a .204 ruger. This is my go to gun if the shots are not past 250-300 yards. The light bullets tend to fragment inside the animal and leave only a small entrance hole. If you are planning on shooting past 250 or 300 yards choose a .223 or .22-250 with a soft point bullet that will hold together and leave a small exit hole as the heavier ballistic tips (often 50 or 55 gr) loaded for these calibers will not stay inside of the animal very often.

Calibers to avoid in my opinion would be the light .17 calibers. They will kill and I have killed a few with these, but I have lost several big dogs with them. They just push that small 25 grain bullet so fast that it breaks up on impact.

Hope this helps!

Blake

[paul pachowicz]

there are some excellent posts on this topic in the "furbearers, varmits section.

[JeffB]

My vote would be for the .223, its a great cheap gun to shoot. You can buy a box of 50 for the price of 20 22-250's and they are close to the same performance. The gun and scope choice are way more important than the caliber though because there are a ton of great rounds out there .22-250, 220 swift, .243, .204 the list goes on forever. I like the tikka, sako, and steyr rifles. The tikka is a great gun for the money, the other two be patient and find a bargain.

[so haaad]

There are some great posts here. It really comes down to what you feel comfortable with, and what you can get your hands on. If you are hunting/calling in a thick river bottom with lots of cover (that is private and not really hunted much), then you could use your shotgun and be perfectly fine. If you are overlooking the bottom and have some open shots where you can reach out and touch something at a distance, then anything in the 22-250, 223 or 243 will do just fine.

[snoozebutton]

I would suggest the .243. It is a good all around gun and if you ever decide you'd like to try deer hunting up north or out west, you will have yourself a flat-shooting deer slayer as well.

DL

What he said. More than enough for yotes and I wouldn't want to go any smaller for deer. It's a great caliber for antelope too if you ever decide to give that a try.