.243 as a yote gun

powdergun

powdergun

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I know the good old .243 is and would be a fine gun for yotes and other game but you don't hear a lot about folks using it as a varmint round. Just wondering if anyone out there totes a 243 for coyotes.

Thinking about putting together a varmint gun and the .243 has peaked my interest. I've owned one in the past and was very impressed by the low recoil, excellent trajectory, and accuracy. It was a lowly NEF single shot but it printed quarter sized 5 shot groups without needing much tweeking. I can only imagine what a gun of better quality might do with this round.
 
It depends on what your goal is for killing the coyotes. Killing them yes, keeping the pelts - no. I can't find the link, I saw on a forum the results of shooting them with a 0.243 and it doesn't leave the pelt in good shape.
 
Not really interested in collecting pelts but I was wondering if there might be a bullet load combo that might be a little easieron the hide in case I want to make a rug of a good specimen. ( perhaps FMJ or an uber premium monolithic Barnes bullet designed for cape buffalo LOL....)
 
243 is one of my all time favorite cartridges, I own 3 right now.........it kills wolves and coyotes with great aplomb out to as far as you can shoot it. It only leaves real big holes if you are close, if you use some of the super frangible bullets they almost never exit.
Can't go wrong with a 243 !!!!!!
 
c-fbmi said:
243 is one of my all time favorite cartridges, I own 3 right now.........it kills wolves and coyotes with great aplomb out to as far as you can shoot it. It only leaves real big holes if you are close, if you use some of the super frangible bullets they almost never exit.
Can't go wrong with a 243 !!!!!!
Click to expand...


What bullets are you using for this ?
 
Pelt damage will certainly be worse than the .22 centrefires but not as much as the .30 calibres. If you are really serious about pelts you snare them, getting anything for the pelts of shot coyotes is just a bonus on the enjoyment of hunting. The advantage of the .243 is less drift and more killing power at the longer ranges, so if that's the hunting you'll be doing or you want the gun to double up for wolves or deer, it makes sense. There is never a perfect all-round solution, the .243 is the best compromise sometimes, other times not.
 
From yesterday afternoon. Broke in the new McMillan game scout.

95gr Berger VLD
7B319184-731B-47F6-9981-9FA711268050-6530-00000633C99D24F9.jpg


Mines a 243AI though.
 
I use a .243 with Nosler BT varmit in 70 gr. Yes they do more damage than the .22 cal. But if your not saving hides who cares. I shot a crow a couple years back with a Hornady 65 gr V Max at about 50yds. Took the whole striking side off the crow but left the other intact so I quess the V maxes are frangable. The only reason I switched to Noslers is they are more accurate out of my M-70. I really like the .243 as it will reach way out there and touch things and isn't as wind sensitive as the .22 and .204 calibre's.
 
I can post some previous pics of the damage my 243 with the Nosler 70 Gr Varmint bullets. Big holes at 300/350 yards or so. This caliber is, in my opinion, an all time winner. With My Savage Predator Max1 - it is deadly. Yes the 22 calibers may save more pelts, but the 243 will knock them down at any reasonable long distance I can shoot accurately.
 
The sweet spot for most .243Wins seems to be between 70-90Gr pills. I've got some 87Gr Vmax ready to load, but after doing a quick search in this forum & seeing some big blowouts, I may switch to 80gr GMX or the same 70gr NBT sobo uses. I am keen to try the Berger 69Gr-80Gr MG FB Varmints also.
 
My coyote partner who shoots a .243 uses 55 grain Ballistic Tips, and gets damage that seems very similar to what my .22-250 produces with 55 grain Ballistic Tips. Both can be a little "much" at times as far as fur goes, but I think coyotes need to be hit hard if you don't want to lose any.
 
Wife uses 58gn Vmax moly's in hers. Works great and hardly any exit pelt damage. Most have no exits at all and they all go down. Me, I load 110gn Vmaxs in my .308. Does a nice job. I shot a magpie at 70yds with it back in Nov. it literally blew it up and scattered it over a 25' circle.
 
I have a 6mm Rem that I use for coyotes if I know the shots will be 400yds+. Otherwise I use my 204s 90% of the time to minimize pelt damage. It really irritates me when I hear people saying they don't really care about the hides. In fact in MB. it is illegal to waste or abandon any part of a fur bearer. I kind of relate it to people who only shoot deer for the horns and waste the meat. I buy a new rifle and scope every year with the money I get from selling coyotes so the more money they bring the better quality package I can buy.
 
Coyotes & wolves,the 243 is as good as it gets except perhaps the 243ACKLEY. I use a 243A that was built for 1000M target shooting @ 10.5lbs, it sports a 1 in 8 twist and I use the same load with 105 berger bullets. Just a matter of dialing the scope for the distance.
Bill
 
B-78 said:
I have a 6mm Rem that I use for coyotes if I know the shots will be 400yds+. Otherwise I use my 204s 90% of the time to minimize pelt damage. It really irritates me when I hear people saying they don't really care about the hides. In fact in MB. it is illegal to waste or abandon any part of a fur bearer. I kind of relate it to people who only shoot deer for the horns and waste the meat. I buy a new rifle and scope every year with the money I get from selling coyotes so the more money they bring the better quality package I can buy.
Click to expand...

cool, I like what you say!
 
62 gr barnes varmint grenade w/ 46.0 gr of IMR4350 or 46.5 gr of win760
Gives me a 5 rounds one hole.
I use .243 tikka ss laminated.
No recoil, very acurate and stable rifle to shoot.
Fits nice as well
 
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