coyote hunting rig? what are my options?

blakeyboy

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I live in Alberta, not sure if killing coyotes would be classified as 'hunting' as no lisc. or tags need to be purchased...seems same requirements for gopher shooting and i know with the rimfires we can use high cap. mags so wondering if i can use high cap mags for coyotes in say a .223 auto-loader of some sort. And now getting to that question...i like accuracy and don't mind heavy barrels etc. so what type of non-restricted options are there for these.

Sorry, with two little ones i'm strapped for time and couldn't do much searching. If someone can summarize something some stuff for me to research that would be great. I tend to like very top end stuff if that helps point me in the right direction...oh, and did i mention i like really accurate stuff? If the gun shoots moa or preferably less then i like to put dial up and kenton knobs to match loads for when the long shots are required but these dang coyotes coming in 2's and 3's and only killing one with the bolt guns most of the time is really getting on my nerves.....if can't find suitable option in .223 then volquartsen .17 hmr with 25 round mag it might have to be????
 
No high cap mags for centerfires. Highest you can get is ten rounds, and so long as the mag, which fits in your rifle, was actually designed for a pistol. I do my yote hunting with a bolt, so hopefully someone else can come in and offer advice for a semi rig. Though, I'm going to be using my tavor on the next hunt. I'll let you know how that goes.
 
I use a Ruger TARGET topped with a Leupold 3.5-10x40 for varmints of all sorts, fast, accurate and a hoot to shoot. Once you get the mini-14 target dialed in shes sub MOA all day long. Give it a look.

Don
 
Based on your comment that you don't mind paying for quality I would suggest a Swiss arms Classic green or black special. Only 5 round mags and will run you between 3 and 3.5k. From what I hear they are top quality/ accurate/ and non restricted.

Other options are an AR18b with a 10 round pistol mag, a Tavor if you can find one, a mini 14 Ruger and um..... I think I am missing a few but that should get you started on researching.
 
You can get a Volquartzen Evolution 204 or 223 that will legally take the LAR (pistol) 10 round mags. They are very accurate and expensive and heavy. Sounds exactly what you are looking for. Sylvestres in Bonneville AB is the only dealer in Canada that I know of and they should be able to bring one in for around $2600. Google the rest and see if it's what you're looking for. Also the 10 round pistol mags for it are always on the EE for around $35.
 
.....if can't find suitable option in .223 then volquartsen .17 hmr with 25 round mag it might have to be????

When I was researching the Remington 597 VTR I found a link to one of Remington's pages that said that .17 HMR was unsafe to use in a semi-auto rifle. I don't know much more than that, but it was a little concerning...
 
Robarm XCR

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The SL-8 is probably the best bet followed closely by the Sigs...they'll both run circles around any other auto (save the AR) including the XCR. The level of accuracy out of both approaches that of what can be obtained from a really good bolt gun.
 
The only thing I have in a semi is an SL8. Truely a great rifle, has a faster twist rate than a regular hunting rifle (1:7 I believe) so you can run heavier bullets. Has a "heavy" barrel, non-restricted. As I understand it you can get a mag well adapter to accept AR pistol 10 round mags from wolverine.

As to the legality of the switching of a magwell to accept pistol mags I don't know, nor do I know if you can use the pistol mags to hunt with. Thats a start for you, just make sure it is non-restricted for hunting.
 
I wouldn't bother with an 17 HMR either. You'd be better off using a 12gauge semi with buckshot and letting them get close. Not a lot of shocking power in an 17 HMR at any distance for a coyote, especially when they are on the run. They are only a 17 or 20 grain bullet going around 2400fps as opposed to a 223's 40 rain bullet going at least 3800 (not exact, but just for easy math) double the bullet weight and double the speed give you 4 times the momentum. Go with a 223.
 
X2 on the Swiss Arms Black Special!

I use a Tikka Varmint in .223 with a Bushnell Elite 3200 on it quite happily. It easily shoots sub moa with anything I feed it except Winchester ammo, but you like high end, semi-auto stuff, so I would say go with the Black special or an XCR.
 
thanks for all the tips, researching i will go, i have custom asi mini 6.8 i think i'll finally finish break in procedure and then i have to find some hornady 110gr v-max or get into reloading as thats its prefered sub moa load....guess i was just looking for an easy fix....stuck with 5 round mags i guess better than nothing...seems like alot of extra dosh i got to put out to get to 10 rounds, in this case i will go with a VQ and 25 round mag....i would agree the .17 hmr isn't a great first pick for a coyote caller but it works great in the hands of an experienced coyote caller who understands its limitations and i would hands down choose that over a shotgun which i've also used....i kill most of my called coyotes under 150 yrds and generally above 50 yrds so the hmr would probably get me in the neighborhood of 90% of my coyotes where as the shotgun would be running under 50% forsure.....and my big game rifles are set up for long range, i've been using my sako a7 in .270 wsm i set up for mountains this season and connected on coyotes at 440, 583 and 800 for the long ones so far so i'm looking for my two gun system and i think the vq hmr with 25 round mag and then one of my long range big game rigs for the set ups that have distance where i could deal with hangers etc.

thanks for all that advice, gives me enough answers for now

forgot to mention, i've killed lots of coyotes with .17 hmrs already so i know what to expect and i love doing it that way, great around acreages etc. also so fills a niche for me and then some, they recoil so lightly that you can just keep pulling the trigger on the runners after shot #1 at dog #1 but my 597 with only 8 rounds runs out pretty quick
 
I wouldn't bother with an 17 HMR either. You'd be better off using a 12gauge semi with buckshot and letting them get close. Not a lot of shocking power in an 17 HMR at any distance for a coyote, especially when they are on the run. They are only a 17 or 20 grain bullet going around 2400fps as opposed to a 223's 40 rain bullet going at least 3800 (not exact, but just for easy math) double the bullet weight and double the speed give you 4 times the momentum. Go with a 223.

kinetic energy = mass x velocity^2. Double the weight, double the speed actually gives EIGHT times the energy. I would shy away from the .17 for yotes too.
 
kinetic energy = mass x velocity^2. Double the weight, double the speed actually gives EIGHT times the energy. I would shy away from the .17 for yotes too.

i can get them inside 50 yrds but its pretty rare, from 50 to 110-ish yrds which i've killed about 20 coyotes with .17 hmr so far is much easier to accomplish, read rest of my stuff, for experienced callers who know how to use it it is awesome little round, great niche round for around acreages etc. also but i've used it where i can use whatever i want just as well....bring em in close...

if told i could only hunt coyotes with .17 hmr rest of my life i'd be plenty happy and could do so very easily and would only give up about 5-10% of the coyotes i call due to range issues...

you take your shotgun and i'll take my hmr and we'll have a little contest to see who kills more coyotes in a season ok;)
 
justben - Thanks for adding it up there, forgot about speed doubling it up.

blakeboy check out the volquartzen evolutions, they might be exactly what you're looking for.

I agree with you too about rimfires around acreages being quieter.
 
+1 for the volquartsen. They still make the hmr semi-auto, unlike everyone else. I would love to get one for gophers.

EDIT: Check this one out: https://www.volquartsen.com/products/37-lightweight-17-hmr-w-hogue-stock

i just got email from scott at volquartsen clearing up velocity differences between their carbon wrap barrels at 16.5" and the regular stainless barrels at 18.5"....he said up to 300 fps faster with the 18.5...so thats really the only choice for a niche coyote rig imo, mine will be grey laminate stock(great natural camo) and i will bead blast the action/barrel myself to matte finish

they make a quality 25 round magazine for it too
 
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