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A friend asked me today if I would come to his property and help him with his coyote problem. I have never been successful hunting them before but he is claiming that he is polluted with them. My question is about caliber. A guy told me today that he has had more than one shot with 223 run away. Should I use 308 instead? I know that this debate wages on but I’m truly curious. I have both and want to use the right thing. Please let me know what your thoughts and experiences are.
5.56 M855 and PPU 75grain match blow them out of their socks, personal experience. 45lb Eastern Yotes. I wouldn’t hesitate using 55gr ball either.
Any caliber will work. I hunt with a 6.8 105cbb. One of my friends uses 223 65 game king. I would just make sure the bullet is a hunting bullet instead of a target round. I have shot them with 308 150sst. I have seen them run with heart or lung shot. Depends on the animal.Quote:
Originally Posted by lew.45
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223 will be fine. Most people I call with shoot .204’s 22-250, .223, or .243
Good luck to you. I've never seen a 'yote while actively hunting them, only while driving, hiking, deer hunting, etc. Bastards seem to know when I'm out to get them.
As for your question, I'd think .223 would work just fine. The question I have, are you attempting to harvest them somehow? If not, why does it matter if they run away? Chances are they'll die sooner or later with a solid gunshot wound, and that solves the original problem. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I personally wouldn't care if the 'yote gets away as long as it dies. They've caused enough problems in my AO that I don't care if it suffers a bit first.
Coyotes are skittish and can be challenging to call in but die easily when hit. Expanding loads, know your dope, and have fun.Quote:
Originally Posted by lew.45
Very light, e.g. 40 grain, varmint bullets may not lead to quick kills at extended ranges, but just about any other .223/5.56 load should perform well on coyotes given good shot placement. FWIW, I hunt western coyotes which are somewhat smaller than those found back east.
ETA: I use 77 grain SMK’s at just over 2700 fps
Know the property and the areas your in base your calling on that, set your hides so you blend in, I use the 5.56/223 with the Winchester 64 grain soft point never have lost one yet. Most yotes in the VA area are running around 70lbs or so if well fed, the farms I hunt run cattle and sheep, they fatten up on them in spring winter time, they're a little skinny
I shoot most of my Western coyotes with a suppressed .17hmr, but that’s partially because I shoot them a little closer to town than most people do. I prefer shots under 130m but I’ve whacked five or six at 160+. I’m mentioning this because I think .308 is overkill.
My ideal choice for coyotes is the Fiochhi .223 50gr Varmint Grenades. Very accurate and devastating. I shoot them out of my Rem 700 LTR and love them. My second choice might surprise some of you, but it’s the Hornady Black Match 75gr BTHP. Extremely accurate, and pretty frangible bullets- many times they don’t exit a coyote or a fat marmot. I’m really only switching to the varmint grenades because they’re lead-free.