Coyote caliber - help me decide

[Rookie]

I think if I wanted to move away from a 556 for a yote rifle, the 224 V would be exactly where I would land.

Keeping with ar15's I completely agree. I've had a build sitting in my cart on JPRifles since they added them to the lineup, but I am kind of waiting to see what price the LaRue offerings are going to come in at.

I found a 20 inch, but can't remember where. If I did one I'd use a 20 inch barrel. Like green, I've built one in shopping carts a few times, I just keep rolling back to "If it ain't broke dont fix it"

Shortest I've found is 18 from Rainier.

 

[cmann250]

Exactly. I had one the other night at about 175. I passed because I wasn't confident in my set up. I hate doing that!

This is telling. A 223 with the right load will drop them in their tracks at that range. A 55 grain soft point at high velocity will do little to no pelt damage and wreak havoc inside.

What are not confident in?

 

[Rookie]

Yeah, the 17wsm runs pretty quiet on the thunderbeast 22 takedown. Still in jail but I got to hear it after I had the work done, but cannot speak for accuracy as it was a shot into a close berm. It is probably as lightweight and quiet as you can get while still being effective at 250 - 300 yards tho. The 224valk will outshoot almost all of the fields I hunt so mine would be a range toy, my 30cal suppressor is a bit on the heavy end to think about carting it around a field on the end of a 18 - 20 inch barrel. The testing I've seen with the 224valk has all been 18"+. I'm ok with that on a bolt gun but ar15's get to be pretty unwieldy once you start putting cans on the end of 20" barrels.

Tripod for the win, but I agree.

 

[Rookie]

This is telling. A 223 with the right load will drop them in their tracks at that range. A 55 grain soft point at high velocity will do little to no pelt damage and wreak havoc inside.

What are not confident in?

Alright, here's the deal...

When I first got my thermal, I decided I'd never shoot beyond 100 yards. Because of that, I didn't bother to see what my rifle would do past 100 yards. Now that I have my thermal, I can practically see boogers hanging out of the Coyote's nose at 200 yards. Since I don't know exactly where my bullet is going to hit, I've passed on the shots.

 

[Spear Dane]

People thump P dawgs at hundreds of yards with .223/5.56. If you're worried about accuracy at 175 yards there is something very wrong somewhere.

 

[42769vette]

He just hasn't practiced at longer ranges. Nothing is wrong. Some folks won't take shots on game they haven't taken on paper (I'm one of them). I have the same thermal setup as rookie, and a 600 yards middle of the night shot is easily doable with his unit if you can make a 600 yard middle of the day shot.

 

[Rookie]

People thump P dawgs at hundreds of yards with .223/5.56. If you're worried about accuracy at 175 yards there is something very wrong somewhere.

I'm betting not that many thump them with a thermal scope which severely limits your ability to judge distance.

 

[cmann250]

I read his post as the system is untested past 100 yards. If it were me, I’d try an existing setup at 200 yards before investing in a new one. I really like a 223 on coyotes. However, I’ll never say “Don’t buy an new gun”.

 

[Rookie]

He just hasn't practiced at longer ranges. Nothing is wrong. Some folks won't take shots on game they haven't taken on paper (I'm one of them). I have the same thermal setup as rookie, and a 600 yards middle of the night shot is easily doable with his unit if you can make a 600 yard middle of the day shot.

Like he said.

The biggest problem with a thermal scope is judging distance. Since it's pitch black out, you don't have the ability to estimate based off visible objects like you do during the day. There is a learning curve to ranging with a thermal, and I'm getting better. What I've been doing is having my partner go to the dead coyote, shining a light at his chest, and I range him with my laser range finder. Then, I figure out how far my estimate was off. Usually I'm within 10-30 yards. However, since I haven't taken shots past 137 yards, I haven't figured out how close my estimate is at 175-250.

 

[patience0830]

.243 WSSM. I've heard of it being done in the AR platform.
6MM Grendel wildcat maybe.
Why not go with a bolt gun and not compromise on the ballistic capability?
What's tying you to the AR platform?

 

[cmann250]

Rookie, how much does your load drop between 100-200 yards and 200-300 yards?

 

[Rookie]

.243 WSSM. I've heard of it being done in the AR platform.
6MM Grendel wildcat maybe.
Why not go with a bolt gun and not compromise on the ballistic capability?
What's tying you to the AR platform?

A couple things.

1. Multiple coyotes coming in.
2. As a lefty, the majority of bolt guns aren't made for me. I don't see the sense in buying a bastard gun.

 

[blkrifle]

.243 winchester

 

[halfmileharry]

I'm not a 204 fan. There is a fairly new caliber called the 224 valkrie I've been briefly looking at that you might want to check out. Really good ballistics, and fits in the ar platform.


I haven't done enough research to form much on a opinion, and I'm not saying this is a end all be all caliber, Im saying it's worth a look.

It's my next purchase.
I've never been in love with the 556. I do appreciate the numbers on the .224. Besides it's a cool name.

 

[42769vette]

I have to do more testing, but there is a quick reticle ranging solution with your thermal (I'm not talking about their built in range finder). My problem is, I called Trijicon asking for reticle subtention charts, and no one knew what that was. I got pissed and hung up after talking to a tech that was 3 tiers up and decided I'd figure it out on my own. I'll share the info when I get it all done, but your thermal is FFP so it is doable. I just have to run numbers, and make a cheat sheet.

 

[Rookie]

Rookie, how much does your load drop between 100-200 yards and 200-300 yards?

Don't know. Since I originally thought I'd never have a shot past 100, I never bothered shooting past 150. Now that I have my scope, I realize it's easily doable. Being that it's cold, I don't have the desire to sit out on the range. It's also harder to zero a thermal in the cold because the heat packs end up heating up a much larger area than when it's warm. I went out a few weeks ago, and the heat pack was heating up the whole six inch target - kind of hard to shoot precision shots aiming at a six inch target. That's why my project for warmer weather is to see exactly what my set up will do on paper. Since I'm going to spend the time this summer, I was just curious if I should consider other options.

 

[Rookie]

I have to do more testing, but there is a quick reticle ranging solution with your thermal (I'm not talking about their built in range finder). My problem is, I called Trijicon asking for reticle subtention charts, and no one knew what that was. I got pissed and hung up after talking to a tech that was 3 tiers up and decided I'd figure it out on my own. I'll share the info when I get it all done, but your thermal is FFP so it is doable. I just have to run numbers, and make a cheat sheet.

Their "range finder" is a joke. It's just a screen that I have to skip.

 

[42769vette]

Their "range finder" is a joke. It's just a screen that I have to skip.

Yep. My chartvwill be much easier, and quicker.

 

[Rookie]

Does that help at all?

 

[42769vette]

Does that help at all?

Nope. Thats all Trijicon could tell me.

I need the width of the bottom subtentions on the tsr reticle. I'll make a range card. Basically if a yote is as long as line 3 it is x yards away.

There numbering makes no sense. The 100, 200, 300, 400, 1000 numbers mean nothing as far as I can tell (They couldn't tell me either). I know when I call an optics company with questions, it's probably not the same questions they get from average joe, but someone in the building should know the answers