Opinions on caliber for coyote?
- Thread starter Gcola
- Start date
shawnarnason
New member
Are you joking?
byronick87
New member
- Location
- Cowtown, AB
Another keyboard ballistician poopooing the 243.
I’ve harvested many big game species with various cartridges with 308, 7rem mag, 25-06, 30 win mag, 300 wsm and 7-08, 270, 6.5 creedmoor, and 243. All reloaded ammunition so all different types of bullets have been experimented with.
For deer, and elk to a certain range, I’ll confidently pick up my 243 any day of the week hands down.
Let the magnum Mike’s do what they want.
At the end of the day, you can’t argue the speed (and resulting terminal energy dump) and accuracy of the 243.
Barnes ttsx 80gr, nosler BT 95gr, Speer hand slam 100gr, and Berger 95gr classic hunters have been bang flops. One neck shot. The rest have been boiler rooms. They make a bad mess where they should and minimal meat damage.
The 95gr nosler ballistic tip was the worst performing of the bunch.
Take that info as you want. This is all first hand experience.
I’ve harvested many big game species with various cartridges with 308, 7rem mag, 25-06, 30 win mag, 300 wsm and 7-08, 270, 6.5 creedmoor, and 243. All reloaded ammunition so all different types of bullets have been experimented with.
For deer, and elk to a certain range, I’ll confidently pick up my 243 any day of the week hands down.
Let the magnum Mike’s do what they want.
At the end of the day, you can’t argue the speed (and resulting terminal energy dump) and accuracy of the 243.
Barnes ttsx 80gr, nosler BT 95gr, Speer hand slam 100gr, and Berger 95gr classic hunters have been bang flops. One neck shot. The rest have been boiler rooms. They make a bad mess where they should and minimal meat damage.
The 95gr nosler ballistic tip was the worst performing of the bunch.
Take that info as you want. This is all first hand experience.
tactical lever
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Fox Creek, Alberta
At one time I really wanted a 22-250. Then one day I was looking at ballistics considering that most of them don't handle heavy bullets that well, and coupled with the drop in velocity even going to a 55 gr, and that made it apparent that the .243 could do everything the 22-250 could, better. Plus it handles heavier bullets that the 22-250 just can't making a much better big game cartridge.
Lots of deer rifles will work fine for coyotes, but there isn't a better multipurpose light big game, and varmint cartridge. Easy to source components, shoot, and relatively cheap, and not quite as heavy a barrel burner as some of them.
I won't take one for elk again, but some fellas use them to good effect.
Lots of deer rifles will work fine for coyotes, but there isn't a better multipurpose light big game, and varmint cartridge. Easy to source components, shoot, and relatively cheap, and not quite as heavy a barrel burner as some of them.
I won't take one for elk again, but some fellas use them to good effect.
FatCatsDad
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I missed a digit.
Different calibers and barrel lengths are made for different things, same as loads and projectiles
Guns are like adjustable wrenches, they have limits and a full set of wrenches is always recommended to do a proper job.
Every gun safe needs an assortment of calibers
While I agree totally. The op was looking to save the pelts. The 75gr vmax from my 2506 was not fur friendly inside 200 yards. I remember taking one beautiful hide to my taxidermist to ask if the hole could be hidden. His response was I'll tan it and you can put a nice 5"x7" picture of your rifle in the hole. The 75gr vmax was decisively quick killing
When I used to hunt coyotes in the late 1990's, I had non impressive results with the 223 I had at the time. I chalk that down to not using good varmint bullets, but I was young, inexperienced and there was no internet to research what other people were using
I switched up to 270 Win with 130 sierra game kings, and 7mm Rem mag with 150 Nosler ballistic tips and never had a coyote get away. It was amazing how fast they dropped. The only issue was sometimes the coyote had a small hole thru it, and sometimes it had a hole the size of a football....... It was great practice for my big game hunting rifles though.
I would like to try a 243 on them. I bet it would be just about perfect.
I switched up to 270 Win with 130 sierra game kings, and 7mm Rem mag with 150 Nosler ballistic tips and never had a coyote get away. It was amazing how fast they dropped. The only issue was sometimes the coyote had a small hole thru it, and sometimes it had a hole the size of a football....... It was great practice for my big game hunting rifles though.
I would like to try a 243 on them. I bet it would be just about perfect.
I prefer the 6mm Rem over the 243, but there isn't that much difference. 243 will work fine on both coyotes and deer, out to any reasonable distance. I've run a couple of wildcat 6mm bore rifles, but you don't gain all that much. If I was looking for another, I would look for a fast twist version. And I'd throw the 6mm CM and ARC into the mix as well, simply because fast twist versions of those are easier to find. - dan
A long time ago Eddy Mech and I hunted a lot of coyotes in what is now inside the north west of Calgary. Distances from 100 yards to 500 yards... lots of running shots.
We used .17 Remington, 22-250, .243, 270, .280.
Before snow the smaller calibers, once there was a lot of snow we used more power so you could see your bullet hit and make adjustments for the next shot. the 17 was only good broadside and 250 yards or less but it never ruined a pelt... never an exit hole and hard to find an entrance
We used .17 Remington, 22-250, .243, 270, .280.
Before snow the smaller calibers, once there was a lot of snow we used more power so you could see your bullet hit and make adjustments for the next shot. the 17 was only good broadside and 250 yards or less but it never ruined a pelt... never an exit hole and hard to find an entrance
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I've shot yotes with 308 and 30-06 using 110 VMAX and 125 Ballistic Tips. Both kill extremely efficiently but they also produce large exit holes. The 110 VMAX produced a 4" exit hole and turned the yote's insides into blood soup. The 125 Ballistic Tip would produce a slightly smaller 3" exit hole.
Marginal for deer?
good grief. It really is all you need for deer.
Has Chuck Hawks actually ever used a rifle for hunting? Lol.
Distance is the magic factor for all calibers, doesn't matter what you're shooting, theres a limit on all of them. And ill stick to real world, real conditions that i've experienced and witnessed. FWIW I only gave 1 example of witnessing the 243 flatten deer. Ive watched it probably 25+ times in my life between friends, family and my own experiences. Same with 270, 308, 7mm-08 etc etc. The point is that everyone thinks they need a 300 win mag to kill a deer. Again, bigger calibers don't make up for poor shot placement.
I think we can all agree that 1000ft/lbs of energy is a good number needed to ethically flatten a deer. Realistically its probably closer to 750-800 ft/lbs but for the benefit of the doubt, 1000ft/lbs will be the number.
A 6mm 103gr ELD-X at 2900 fps holds 1000ft/lbs of energy out to 500-550 yards. To most people thats a long shot and 85% of hunters will never shoot an animal that far away. That being said, you still need a GOOD bullet that has good terminal performance. A "long range" bullet at 75 yards wont perform as well as a bonded/soft point (interlock, accubond etc) at the same range. And again, vice versa, a long range bullet will perform better over an accubond, interlock etc,. at 500 yards once it slows down a bit.
The summary is that most people will agree that a 243 is just fine for deer with the proper bullet choice and placing that bullet where it needs to be. Those who don't agree either used the wrong bullet or decided a texas heart shot was sufficient enough and ended up losing the animal.
FatCatsDad
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
LOL, what moron uses a 300 win mag on a Deer ?
I've come to determine that caliber arguments/discussions are completely futile.
I love deer hunting with my little 16" 243 M77 if I'm in a tree stand with a limited range of visibility.
Setup on the edge of a small field in a ground blind I'll move up to a 308 and if I'm setup on a hydro cut with unlimited visibility, I put those both down and head out with a 270.
All scoped accordingly for intended use, from 1-4.5, 3-9 and 4.5-14
tactical lever
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Fox Creek, Alberta
What's wrong with using a .300 mag? Do they make them too dead? Just a couple pages ago, a .243 was marginal. What's the rules, can only step up 500 ft/lb at a time or something? Friend of mine uses a WM for everything. He could use something smaller, but it works for everything he points it at, and never has to make a mental switch to a different rifle, and always has the right ammo for it handy.
FatCatsDad
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
MosinMan13
CGN Regular
- Location
- Thornbury Ontario
I do agree with what you’re saying, but I think where this went off the rails was in the OPs original statement of intent, where he mentioned wanting to preserve the furs.
I think the problem with these topics they’re generalized in framing and personal in response, and overlooks a few other elements that matter. Choosing the right load is just as important as the right caliber, and knowing the conditions and environment you’re in.
Maybe if you live out in Northern Alberta or somewhere wide open 300WM makes sense. Here in central Ontario I often times struggle to find a safe 100 yards to plink on the farm, but I’m on a brushy rocky hill atop brushy rocky valleys. I use a brush gun because it suits my needs, where a 243 nor a 300 WM wouldn’t.
tactical lever
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Fox Creek, Alberta
Meat waste has a lot more to do with bullet construction, and where you shoot than how much energy the cartridge has. Shoot a deer behind the front legs with a heavily constructed bullet designed for big bear and you might wish you had more disruption.
I can shoot two identical deer, hitting one with 4000 ft/lbs and another with 2000, and waste twice as much with the lower powered cartridge.
If you really want to minimize blood shot meat, shoot a heavy bullet at 1500 fps.
