Beretta686

I've been told that the 204 Ruger is a top choice for coyote hunting. Also considering 22-250, 223,& 243cal.Your input is greatly appreciated.

SecondChance

What predators are you planning on taking with this weapon? Yotes and fox, the 204 will serve you well and within reasonable distance, under 400 yds with minor winds.
Larger critters, hogs and such, you may be better off with the 223 or 250 for they have a heavier bullet selection and kinetic energy better suited for this and wind bucking abilities.
Maybe you may decide to use this for hogs and maybe upto deer, you will be better off with the 243 for its even heavier bullet selection as well wind bucking capabilities.

Sheridan

Second Chance pretty well covered it and told you most of the reasons why.

I own;

.204 (40gr V-max) Wanted the latest & greatest - use it when I'm making stands
.223 (55gr V-max) AR platform - use as a walking stick with a one point sling
.243 (75gr V-max) First predator gun I brought - doubles as my small deer gun

Kill coyotes with all of them.

Bernie P.

Mostly depends on the ranges you'll be faced with.I use a .223 but for longer shots I would go with the 22-250.In thick stuff where shots will be within 50 yds or so a 12g with 3" shells is the way to go.

my7pointmonster

fox and coyotes, .17 fireball
Coyotes only .22-.250 remington
foxes only .22 mag hollow points

Ryan.

Nomercy448

For coyotes, a .22-250, .223, .220swift, and .204 Ruger will all offer pretty similar performace on coyotes (or .222 rem, or .222rem mag, among others). They're all going to do the job out to 600-700yrds if you can place the bullet well. The .204 Ruger generally runs lighter bullets than the other 3, but still offers great down range performance on coyotes.

My personal choice is the .223rem. Then again, I'm a fanatic for the AR-15 platform. I ran a .22-250 for coyotes for 10yrs, then gave up the .22-250 when I transitioned over to AR's, and haven't looked back.

The major advantage of the .223rem is that it's the lowest pressure of the lot, and therefore the nicest on barrels. If it's JUST a coyote rifle, you'll never notice the difference, but if you run it over a bench much, or do much prairie dog hunting with it, you can easily burn up a barrel with a .22-250 or .220swift (making the same bet for .204 Ruger and .223WSSM).

GTOHunter

I've put several Coyotes down with my Browning A-bolt Hunter .243 Rifle using 100 grain Hornady Custom shells and I use the same Rifle for Hunting Deer.It can be a little hard on the Coyote hides and if You plan on shooting any smaller Predators like Foxes and Bobcats I would consider a smaller Caliber Rifle...or dropped down to a lighter grain bullet in 50-75 grains.

I have a CZ-USA Model 527 .204 Rifle in the "Varmint" with the heavy/longer barrel,started out sighting my Rifle in using 40 grain Hornady bullets,went to the Winchester 32 grain bullets and it will put down a Coyote in its tracks...I'm highly impressed with the .204 Caliber and plan on going with the Federal V-Shok Sierra Blitz Kings in 39 grains because I have talked with several Shooters that say the 39 SBK group much better.You can also check out the CZ Model 527 "American" .204 which is lighter weight Rifle and it has a little shorter barrel...and these CZ .204's have a trigger that can be push forward and its a lighter pull.Whats great is You can shoot the .204 and with such light recoil You can watch Your target or Predator get hit and not loose sight of it.

Next Caliber if any I would get for good accurate long shooting would be a .223 because its easy to find ammo for it,You have lots of different grain choices,it will stay stable if it gets windy and it will have plenty of knock-down power for most all Predators/Varmints.Its a fun Caliber to have and shoot and it can be used for many purposes!



The 22-250 are nice Caliber Rifles that will also be accurate and shoot long range with a lot of knock-down power,not sure how easy it will be on the Predator Hides/Pelts if You plan on selling or having it mounted?

Check all Your options,what Your planning on Hunting and what You are going to do with when You shoot a Coyote,Bobcat or a Fox or even Varmints like Prarie Dogs or even a Ground Hog for that matter?

Nomercy448

Comparing the .223rem and .22-250, the power difference under 400-500yrds is moot, since the weaker of the two (.223rem) has more than enough energy, then once you get to 400-500yrds, 50grn loads in each will only be off by about 50yrds (i.e. a .22-250 at 550 has the same energy as a .223rem at 500yrds), then once you get to 700-750yrds, the two will be running about EXACTLY the same velocity and energy. Ultimately, the only advantage is that the .22-250 is flatter shooting. The .223 will have about 40" more drop at 750yrds than the .22-250, but when you compare energy and pelt damage, there isn't much difference between the two (or 4 really, adding in the .204ruger and .220swift).

Hide Hunting is honestly about bullet choice. The cartridge energy level can help control damage, but a good bullet can make up ground for a cartridge with too much energy.

Sheridan

Nomercy,

The .204 uses approx. 1/3 less powder although duplicating (+/-) the ballistics of a .22-250 (understand 32gr bullet vs 55gr bullet).

Do you still feel that the .204 is a barrel burner ?

salukipv1

any should do the job, if less than 300yds I think a 223rem in an ar15 is pretty ideal.

I think if long range were at hand I might take a .243win over a 22-250rem.

the 204 has the higher bc's and less powder etc... w/40grs/39grs...etc... I kinda like the idea of a 22+ on coyotes especially at 300yds etc... but maybe that's just a myth of mine right now...

does the 204 rip big holes in yotes?

my vote would be .223rem in ar15, then if you're left wanting more or something else, get something else and sell which you dont like of the 2, although if you have a specific task, let us know... ie yotes at 500yds, or prairie dogs... ground hogs etc...

let us know and we could maybe be more specific...