coyote caliber

CV32 said:
... You should have been on the old PHC forums. Lots of good stories and photos of coyote hunts were there, including plenty of .20 cal holes. ;) Its a real shame its gone. There are a few members who also hang out here on CGN.
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I miss PHC, too.

And I miss my .204. I had a .204 in my hands for a few seasons when I (finally) started to get the hang of calling coyotes. I had great luck with it and 40gr. Bergers (for reasons I never determined, mine just wouldn't shoot the 35gr. any faster than the 40's, so I opted for the higher BC bullet). I killed several Ontario dogs with that beloved .204, before it met with a horribly tragic end. :( I was so disheartened by the loss of my .204 that I couldn't bring myself to buy another right away and tried a .223 WSSM next. The short mag had sweet ballistics but the rifle had feed issues and was traded after just a few dogs. Now I'm using a .22-250 that I love almost as much as I loved that .204 (a few more successful hunts will get us there).

Funny to add that I've killed coyotes with .17 Rem, .204, .222, .222 Rem Mag, .225 Winchester, .220 Swift, .223 WSSM, .243 and also 7mm-08 and .358 Win (deer hunting incidentals) but this Tikka is my first .22-250 and I've never killed a coyote with a .223! My love for the oddball cartridges is no secret.:rolleyes:

An interesting anecdote to the far ends of that spectrum is the coyote I shot with the .358 Win - hit perfect at 30 yards broadside - spun probably 100 times while simultaneously making about 20 mph progress, bouncing off trees in the bush for 50-60 yards before falling off a cliff. I don't even think I worked the bolt on my gun, I just kind of lifted my head off the stock and stared in disbelief at the antics. Conversely, the one and only coyote I shot with my .17 Rem (quartering to me slightly at 125 yards) went down so fast I thought it turned to vapour and had a modest exit hole, which surprised the heck outta me (the exit hole that is, not the DRT part).

About all I would add to the ongoing discussion of coyote calibers is that bullet selection and shot placement are still critical, no matter what gun you choose to carry. Same as deer and other terrestrial critters, if you blow the leg off one with a .300 mag and then hit the next one behind the ear with a .22 LR, the results are predictable and the published ballistics don't mean a whole lot.

As always, my advice and stories are free and there are no exchanges or refunds.;)
 
scott_r said:
... Id recommend against any polymer tipped bullet in the .204. they work but you will get more splashes and wreck pelts.
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This was my experience even with the .223 WSSM. I shot one coyote with 55gr. ballistic tips with it and the splash hole was gross and I don't think anything larger than a grain of sand got inside the ribs. That poor dog flipped/flopped and squeeled so much I felt bad and the hide was trash. That was a one time bad experience and I'll admit it was a hard angle hit, but it turned me off the plastic tipped stuff for coyotes. Very similar to my experience with root beer schnapps - I may have been the one responsible for not using it correctly, but I'll never try it again.:p
 
The Baron said:
Funny to add that I've killed coyotes with .17 Rem, .204, .222, .222 Rem Mag, .225 Winchester, .220 Swift, .223 WSSM, .243 and also 7mm-08 and .358 Win (deer hunting incidentals) but this Tikka is my first .22-250 and I've never killed a coyote with a .223! My love for the oddball cartridges is no secret.:rolleyes:
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I remember that 225 Win. Do you still have it? :d
 
I am and have always been a 22 250 guy.but I have shot coyotes with the 22 mag the 264 Wm .and s shotgun .the best one was a fox with the 17 rem of my buddy's .I hit it dead center and cut it right in half ..DUTCH
 
CV32 said:
I remember that 225 Win. Do you still have it? :d
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Nope. It came and went with the ebb and flow of coyote rifles over the years. Probably shouldn't have sold it though, because it had some great mojo. I think I only took it on 1/2 doz. hunts and killed 3 dogs with it. But at that point I thought I was the one with the mojo... I realized later it was the rifle. LOL!
 
The Baron said:
And I miss my .204. I had a .204 in my hands for a few seasons when I (finally) started to get the hang of calling coyotes. I had great luck with it and 40gr. Bergers (for reasons I never determined, mine just wouldn't shoot the 35gr. any faster than the 40's, so I opted for the higher BC bullet). I killed several Ontario dogs with that beloved .204, before it met with a horribly tragic end. :( I was so disheartened by the loss of my .204 that I couldn't bring myself to buy another right away and tried a .223 WSSM next. The short mag had sweet ballistics but the rifle had feed issues and was traded after just a few dogs. Now I'm using a .22-250 that I love almost as much as I loved that .204 (a few more successful hunts will get us there).

)
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What happened to the .204??? Curious?
 
scott_r said:
What happened to the .204??? Curious?
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I was stepping over a 24" high section of old broken page wire fence. I was wearing a heavy parka and bibs, and the fence snagged my bibs so I had to reach down to unsnag the wire. I didn't feel the rifle slip off my shoulder until it was too late. My reflex was to try and grab for it, but all I did was bump the butt and it spun and landed muzzle straight down on the only rock for about 100 yards in any direction. Hit just right and destroyed the crown. Turned an honest to goodness 1/2-3/4" gun into a 4-6" er. Got the crown redone and it was not better than 1.5 MOA with my favourite load. I could have revisited the load work up but I was so bummed I just sold it with full disclosure as a parts gun. It was a very sad day.
 
There is bad days but not really bad cal.s ,
any small cal. Is good for yotes.
.223 used to be cheap for reloading but nothing is any more,nowadays there is no big difference in price whatever you use but availability becomes "the thing" that will raise the cost of components compared to something readily available,
In my previous post i mentioned .243 that is IMO better than 22-250 just because they are almost same recoil,guns are made in same action for both regarding the weight and -250 is faster that is for sure but coyote wont ever know the difference.
Most of days are windy(bad days) and .24 is a bit better deal than .22 on those days
 
The Baron said:
I was stepping over a 24" high section of old broken page wire fence. I was wearing a heavy parka and bibs, and the fence snagged my bibs so I had to reach down to unsnag the wire. I didn't feel the rifle slip off my shoulder until it was too late. My reflex was to try and grab for it, but all I did was bump the butt and it spun and landed muzzle straight down on the only rock for about 100 yards in any direction. Hit just right and destroyed the crown. Turned an honest to goodness 1/2-3/4" gun into a 4-6" er. Got the crown redone and it was not better than 1.5 MOA with my favourite load. I could have revisited the load work up but I was so bummed I just sold it with full disclosure as a parts gun. It was a very sad day.
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Ouch...that sucks!!
 
I too miss the old PHC site :(
Here is a few coyote calibers I've used
Cooper model 21, 204 Ruger


Tikka model 595, 22-250


Remington model 700 SF LE, 17 Fireball


Sako, L461, 20 Tactical


Cooper model 38 Jackson Varminter, 20VT



Cooper model 22, 6BR


And my favorite, Cooper model 51, 223 Rem.
 
Quite a few years ago I bought my first "varmint" gun, a Ruger 77 HB 220 swift. It was awesome with a Bausch & Lomb 6-24 elite 4200 on it. Then I got a good offer and let it go. Looking back it was a poor decision.

Next up was a HB savage 10 in 308. Wasn't the same so I sold it.

Then along came a rem XR-100 in 204. Awesome. 6.5-20 zeiss on it. Kid liked it enough that I bought a second one, but for the TC encore, mounted another zeiss on it. Still have that one. The XR ended up traded for a CZ 550 416 Rigby, a little heavy for yotes. Lol

I think most people would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the swift, 22-250, 223, 222, & 204 when shot side by side. They will all work.
 
Shot my last two coyotes a 35 yards with a 235gr Claw bonded jacketed bullet @ 2050fps from my 14" barreled 375JDJ and at 50 yards with my 26" barreled 300RUM loaded with 200gr Accubonds @ 3200fps.

I use whatever is in my hands and here in BC there are no weird cartridge regulations so I pack whatever I feel like.

For dedicated coyote/wolf hunting cartridge I have rifles chambered in 204 Ruger, 223, 22-250, 243, 6mm-284, 25-06, 6.8SPC sold my 17 REm found I never used it.

I am not concerned about saving pelts which could be why I consider the best all round predator cartridge and the one that I have used more than any other cartridge to be the 22-250.

Loaded with 55gr bullets @ 3660fps and now 50gr V-Max at 3880fps it is devastating on anything I have ever shot with it even deer.

Living in BC I never know when wolves are also going to show up so I do not want to not have enough bullet when that does happen.

This is my last wolf shot was aprr 225 yards across the frozen Fraser River near McBride it had been chasing a moose across the frozen river.

Double lung DRT with one of my 55gr Sierra Varminter @ 3660fps loads, the moose is way off in the distance along the shoreline over my left shoulder for a size reference I'm 6'2" 220lbs and this is just a medium sized wolf.

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