Some years back the people at winchester were thinking the same thing"...You know there are hunters out there who want a rifle in a cartridgethat they can use for deer and also do some varmint shooting with the same rifle. A kind of deer/coyote gun you might say..."

And so they came up with the .243 win. cartridge. And now almost all serious manufactures chamber rifles in it.

So the .243 is a cartridge that is well suited for the task but you asked about the best "rifle" and there are so many good "rifles" out there.

Robin down under; where they build a wildcat, necking a .303 british down to .25 cal.. which would be a good deer/coyote round.

I'm thinking 25-06 or maybe one of the WSSM's

One thing that really makes a difference in the answer to your question is what you want to do the most. If you are wanting a gun primarily for deer hunting, and just the occasional yote shoot, then a .270 or 25.06 would rule. But if you want your gun to excel at yotes and only the occasional deer, then a .243 or 6mm would be great, or if you want a pure yote run capable of dropping a deer then a .223 would kick hind end on that department. There are other rifles chambered to excell at one or the other, but these are the most common ones that you will be able to pick up ammo for at any sporting goods store or even a backwoods quick stop in a pinch. Personally, the .243 would be my pick if I wanted a gun that is as close to equal in both small game and medium game potency.

TUK, is right, it depends on what your main intended purpose for the gun is, if you want a good all around, yote/deerrifle, i would get the .243, but, if you hunt deer, and maybe occasionally hunt 'yotes, then I would step up to the .270, it just depends on what you wanna do with the gun.

All the calibers recommedned so far, with the exception of the .223,will ruin a coyote pelt (especially the 50BMG LOL) so if you are considering collecting the pelts the deer/coyote combo would not be the way to go.

If you are not interested in the pelts, then any of the calibers mentoned will work so why not pick one that is better suited to the deer hunting side of the equasion.

I just bought aRem 7600 in 7mm-08 as my deer/coyote combo. (7600's also come in .243 and .270) Assuming the loads are as accurate in my 7600 as they are in my Rem Mtn LSS, I'll be using a 100 Grn Sierra HP for coyotes andeither 145 Grn Speer SP HotCor (Open)or a 154 Hornady RN (Woods) for deer.

I figure the pumps quick second shot capability will come in handy when more than one coyote shows up at the same time. Doesn't hurt to have it available when deer hunting either.

firstshot
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Make your first shot count!

I guess that I am not seeing how a .243 would ruin a coyote pelt if you are using a light enough bullet. The diameter is hardly any bigger than a .223 bullet is and when shooting it at a target I am hard pressed to figure out which one is which. But then again, I have never taken a coyote with either round so maybe I am in the wrong even questioning this.

TUK101

You may be right about the .243......if "you use light enoughbullets"...that are designed for varmints.

I've never shot a coyote with a .243 either; however, I have shot coyotes with a 25-06, a .270, a 30-06, a 7mm-08 and even one with my 50 Cal Muzzleloader. All of these were pass through shots that left a good size exit hole.

I suppose if, like you said, "you are using a light enough bullet", of "varmint" construction in a .243you might not get an exit. I founda couple of .243factory loads with 55 Grn BT's & 55 Grn PSP's, but it looked like most factory .243 loads used 70 - 100 Grn bullets with which, due to the heavier weight,you would probably get an exit. I would suspect that bullet construction would also have a lot to do with exit / no exit.

I'm not a pelt hunter, so I don't really care how big a hole my 7mm-08 puts in them. My coyote load is a 100 Grn Sierra HP running at 3,000 FPS muzzle velocity.

firstshot
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Make your first shot count!

Thanks man, what I said was more a question than me trying to make a statement, or argue with you. Anyways, something around an 70gr bullet in a hollow point, something that frags quickly should do the trick in a .243 yote round.

I've been using the 243 for my main coyote gun for a number of years now. I load Hornady 75gr HPs around 3200fps (under max load), and out of 100+ coyotes I have harvested with that load, I have only had a few that the pelts were wrecked. This was my fault because I put the bullet in the shoulder blade (something you never want to do on a fur-bearer if you want to keep the fur).

I've always shot a # of coyotes with 95gr Combined Technology BTs loaded at 3200fps, and didn't wreck the furs. So in my opinion, the 243 is a great fur shooting gun.

I've seen a few 25-06 kills on 'yotes, and none of them were salvagable. But I'm sure with the proper bullets they would be.

.243 WSM...great flat shooting gun!