Coyote Caliber ?????

[bbbagman]

After dropping a deer Friday night, the thicket across the field went crazy with howling and baying from coyotes. As I dragged the deer out of the bean field, I ' felt ' something watching me. I turned around and my headlamp fell on two bright yellow/orange eyes watching me. It watched and never really did run off. Although I couldn't positively id it, I feel like that was a coyote in the woods behind me. Anyway, this all has led up to me deciding to attempt to alleviate this farm of a few of its problems.

All this brings me to this....in looking at the ballistics on federal's website, it appears that 22-250 might be the optimum caliber for coyotes. I was thinking either 223 or 22-250 and that's what my buddy and I came up with. At least that what we think by ballistics.

What are some of your thoughts here as seasoned coyote hunters?

Is it so large that it will damage the pelt?

Thank you for taking time to read this post and for responding.

[IL Hunter]

.22-250

[Adam44]

i use a .222 OR A 30/30
i always carry a single action .22 with me just for times like that.

[KansasHunter5]

22-250 is the ultimate coyote gun, but i personally like the .223 cause ammo is cheaper and easier to find. Go with what you like best. If you are not gonna shoot past 300yds then you dont NEED to get a 22-250, but they sure are fun.

[Rammer]

You can't go wrong with either choice. Personally, I would choose the 223 because of the cheaper ammo.

[700bdl870exp]

If your not going to shoot 300yrds or more definetly go with the 223 they have about the same knock down power and are way cheaper to shoot i personally have 3 223's and love them i have a savage of which i have over 100 coyotes killed with it and a remington 700 bdl thati just got and will use it on coyotes and my upcoming prairedog shoot and have a single shot heavy barrel nef that is pretty good but i would recomend the 700 bdl in 223 for a really good varmint gun.

[bbbagman]

Thanks for the input everyone.

Anyone have any insight as to pelt damage of these two caliber as opposed to say a 243 or conversely a 22 mag? One of my buds wants a full mount if we bozos can figure out how to outsmart these coyotes.


Please stay tuned as I'm sure there is alot more I will ask before Jan. when we try put a few coyotes down.

[Rammer]

I have been shooting my 243s on coyotes the last 2 seasons with great success without pelt damage using Sierra 70gr Blitz Kings and Hornady 75gr HP.

[700bdl870exp]

With my Savage .223 there is hardly any fur damage alot of the time its not till i pelt him out till i find the entry hole and if there is an exit hole its no bigger then a 22 mag which also does a good job but they need to be fairly close for a 22 mag but i still stand by the 223 its a heck of a round and the way i figure it if the US military finds it good enough to kill people then a coyote doesnt have a chance.

[naturalhunter5]

22-250, i have a 223 and its a good gun but the 22-250 just has that always needed extra range