RE: coyote gun
It' s hard to say what is the best gun for coyotes and best for pelt damage, let alone combining the two. As far as pelt damage goes, the .22lr or WMR is best, since they only leave one small hole, but they aren' t easy hunts. On the other hand, I can reach out to a quarter mile with my .22-250 like nothing, but it' s going to leave a pretty big exit hole no matter what bullet construction I use that will do the job humanely/quickly. On the other hand, I' ve used .45-70' s with extremely hard bullets that leave two gaping half inch holes, but no other damage.
My best bet has always been a .30-06 with HARD bullets, like an A-frame or partition, or win Fail-safe, two .35" holes and dropped like rocks, but try to convince ANYONE that a .30-06 is the best coyote gun around!!!!
Everyone shoots .223' s or .22-250' s for the most part as varmint guns, and one is more ideal than the other in everyone' s minds. You' re not going to come up with a better plan than all the other guys that harvest pelts every year, so don' t fret over it too much. Just remember, a 30 cal bullet that' s harder than heck will leave as little damage as a moderate expansion bullet in 22cal, and varminter bullets aren' t meant for pelt harvest (including any balistic tip design or hollow point). Soft points work pretty well in 22cals, they do the job with minimal pelt damage.