RE: Coyote rifle
 

With you saying your not going to shot past 150yrds a nice little 223 would be my pick. I have a Savage Tac-10 bull barrel in 223 and have made shots out to 420yrds on dirt dogs. On coyotes I would go with some kind of BT bullets and find someone to load them for you. It's a ton cheaper that factory loaded ammo. The BT bullet expand right away and dont exit most of the time. Good luck and hit me up if you need some loads. Jovan

RE: Coyote rifle
 

all the rounds mentioned are good Ideas, my choice is obvious but with the .204 and some others you can get poly-tipped bullets that fragment right away. this will kill em nice and dead and have a very small enterance and your pretty much gauranteed no exit hole. I am not sure they make those rounds for the .223 or others. but whatever you chose will all be good...

RE: Coyote rifle
 

I'd say a 223 or 22-250. Whatever you choose DO NOT[:'(] use a polymere tipped bullet like a V-Max. They have a nasty tendency to blow up on contact at high speeds(like 204 velocity). I have personally seen 3 coyotes hop up and run off this year shot with V-max bullets out of a 204. Another was shot with a 55 gr V-max out of a 22-250 that the entrance was the size of a baseball. This one was right behind the shoulder at 80 yards. I personally use a 220 Swift with either 52gr BTHP of 55gr SP.

RE: Coyote rifle
 

.204 IS THE ANSWER! it shoots 4225 fps out the muzzle and has outstanding accuracy up to 400 yards! for closer ranges, i would use the .22 mag, .220 swift, .22-250,.222, .223, .243, or .25-06. otherwise you'll put a big fat whole in the animal.

RE: Coyote rifle
 

223 or 204 are both good to great. I use both depending on whether I want to use a bolt or Semi auto.

RE: Coyote rifle
 

???

I use V-Max bullets all the time and have never had a problem getting clean kills or abnormal exit holes. A shot anywhere on the head, chest, and even a couple near the stomach have resulted in clean kills. It's all about using enough bullet to get the job done. I think you are handicapping yourself with a small caliber, such as a .204.

I have had afew bullets expand before hitting the target, but about all they will do then is knock some hair off. This only happens when I hit a broomweed or something else before hitting the coyote. Part of your problem may be your barrel twist with a 220 or 22-250. A high twist barrel and high velocities don't mix well with thin-jacketed varmint bullets. The polymer tip isn't the cause, it's the jacket.

RE: Coyote rifle
 

I have heard of some splashing of poly-tipped bullets when hitting a bone or something but NEVER have heard of a coyote hopping up and running after being hit that hard. If he said he saw it then he saw it but I have to agree that it probably wasn't because of the poly-tips.

RE: Coyote rifle
 

What bothers me about the V-Max is that it is what it is and that
is a prarie dog bullet. It was not designed for penetration at all. It
was designed to make little buck toothed rodents EXPLODE :Dviolently. Them's the facts and that is how they are marketed. Explosive results.
I'd rather use aJHP type bullet in a 204 than a polymere V-Max typein
a 223 or 22-250. That being said I would give any 22 cal. a vote over a 17 or 20 for a coyote gun. Coyotes don't exactly die easy, so like Robert Ruark would say "Use Enough Gun".

RE: Coyote rifle
 

Savage .223 can't be beat for $ & accuracy.