Coyote caliber - help me decide

[71silverbullet]

I have been contemplating the same question. I am going to do my first custom AR build with precision type varminting in mind. I’ve been reading a lot and always follow Phylo’s builds for insight/ideas.

The Valkyrie is very intriguing. 6mm Hager is intriguing. Currently I am not a reload-er. So, it would be nice to be able to buy match grade ammo right off the shelf/interwebs.

My bolt gun is a 204 and for the most part I am happy with its performance. It would be nice to be able to shoot a heavier grain bullet. In a perfect world, I suppose the 22-250 would be exactly what I am looking for, but since we are talking AR builds, it’s a no go.

243 WSSM fits the AR 15 platform.

 

[smythe012]

Any votes for 6.5 Grendel? Cheap practice ammo, great ballistics, etc.

 

[Mgderf]

How large is the thermal pack you're using for target practice?
Instead, could you use something like hard-boiled eggs for targets?
You could reheat them before you leave for the range, then throw them in a cooler for the trip.
It would make a small target, wouldn't get overly hot, and it's bio-degradable so there's no clean-up.

You're current .223 set-up is more than capable of taking coyotes out past 400 yards. Now you just need to train you to shoot that far.
We had to qualify with the 5.56 round at 500m with open sights.
Those were much younger eyes, but it can be done.

 

[Rookie]

How large is the thermal pack you're using for target practice?
Instead, could you use something like hard-boiled eggs for targets?
You could reheat them before you leave for the range, then throw them in a cooler for the trip.
It would make a small target, wouldn't get overly hot, and it's bio-degradable so there's no clean-up.

You're current .223 set-up is more than capable of taking coyotes out past 400 yards. Now you just need to train you to shoot that far.
We had to qualify with the 5.56 round at 500m with open sights.
Those were much younger eyes, but it can be done.

2x4? Typical hot hands size. It works fine when it's warmer. When it's cold, it heats a larger area. I've actually got some real thermal targets coming so that will help.

The biggest issue that I have to learn is ranging with a thermal scope. That's really the major hang up.

 

[Mgderf]

2x4? Typical hot hands size. It works fine when it's warmer. When it's cold, it heats a larger area. I've actually got some real thermal targets coming so that will help.

The biggest issue that I have to learn is ranging with a thermal scope. That's really the major hang up.

Baby steps...

 

[throttletony]

Stick with 223, and keep us posted.
Other options include 243 wssm, 25 wssm, 6.5 grendel.

I'd just run a bolt gun in .243

 

[LarryC]

After looking at the ballistics and also ammo costs (Wolf steel case @ .$24 for plinking and Hornady Black <$1). I assembled 2 Grendel AR's. Haven't seen anything for AR-15's that compare. Both AR's are completed but haven't had a chance to fire yet. The Grendel sure sounds like the ideal Yote caliber for the AR-5 platform.

 

[bobzilla]

Had to drop one Tuesday morning. About 90 yards caught him right behind the left should with a 50gr .223 out of the 16” ar. Dropped like a sack of potatoes and never moved again.

 

[DRob]

I voted bacon because there was no option for All Of The Above. Do a search for Blaine Eddy. Perhaps one of the best, if not THE best coyote hunter ever. Made a living doing it for a long time. Another guy to check is Dave Affleck. He is a yote killing machine. Both of them are Utah natives. Both of them have talked at length about the rifles they use. See this as well About Coyotestuff ? Coyote Stuff

 

[roscott]

Rookie, at what range is your rifle sighted in? Changing your zero just might solve your problem with ease.

If you are only shooting out to 175-200 yard, a 60 yard zero might just get you a long enough point blank range that you don’t need to worry about rangefinding. Consider this chart (I just randomly googled one, but it illustrates what I’m trying to say.)
You could run a 60 or 70 yard zero, and only have a couple inches’ rise above line-of-sight around 130 yards, and be dead on at 200. Thus you stretch the range of your existing coyote rifle without needing fancy thermal rangefinding gear or hours of practice.

 

[Rookie]

50 yard zero.

 

[patience0830]

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.

Didn't know you were a lefty Rookie. That explains part of the OP to me.

 

[roscott]

50 yard zero.

Well shucks! You should be about good to go out to 200. I'd wager you can already tag those heat packets at 200, so long as the wind isn't blowing too hard!

 

[tcecil88]

I am finishing up building up a 20" AR for coyotes and groundhogs. It shoots Black Hills 5.56 77 gr. TMK pretty well, but I have some Nosler 5.56 77 gr. OTM and some 69 grain loads I want to try out in it. There are so many options in .223 and 5.56 out there that it makes no sense for me to switch to another caliber. I am a right handed guy, so a bolt gun in .223/5.56 that shoots the 80 grain loads may be in my future as well.

 

[yetti462]

I love my 204 for coyote. Very little fur damage, drops them good and not terribly loud.

 

[Slonsteady]

50 yard zero.

Yeah I had to think about that and then rembered that is how I sight my 9mm PCC to 100, I zero it to 25 and it is like a broken clock which is right twice a day. This is due to bullet arc. I have my 223 bolt gun zeroed to 150 yards which is likely my typical shot in the fields in my area. I think Ruger sells a left handed bolt guns in 223 and some of them take AR mags.

 

[Slonsteady]

Yeah I had to think about that and then rembered that is how I sight my 9mm PCC to 100, I zero it to 25 and it is like a broken clock which is right twice a day. This is due to bullet arc. I have my 223 bolt gun zeroed to 150 yards which is likely my typical shot in the fields in my area. I think Ruger sells a left handed bolt guns in 223 and some of them take AR mags.

Opps my bad, their lefty is rotary mag only.

I look forward to hearing about some of your hunts. I am seeing more dogie movement now that the deer hunters are out of the fields and broiling their new back straps.

 

[Fargo]

They make factory ammo in a 60 grain nosler bullet, or you can load it however you prefer.

http://www.federalpremium.com/224-valkyrie/

You better be better at reading the wind than I am trying to shoot much distance with a 30 grain bullet. Flat is nice, but ill take more drop, and less wind any day of the week.

If it is a dedicated thermal gun, I have generally found that at night there's either (usually) no wind or (rarely) so much wind you shouldn't be shooting.

 

[Rookie]

So, I've decided I'm going to stay with .223 for at least another year. However, I still plan to spend the summer working up the best round. I've got a friend that is willing to load for me, but this brings me to my question.

Is it possible to buy a low number of bullets? I'd like to try a bunch of different grains, types, etc, but I don't want to buy 100 of each type just to try. I'm thinking 20 would do. Can I do this?

 

[42769vette]

So, I've decided I'm going to stay with .223 for at least another year. However, I still plan to spend the summer working up the best round. I've got a friend that is willing to load for me, but this brings me to my question.

Is it possible to buy a low number of bullets? I'd like to try a bunch of different grains, types, etc, but I don't want to buy 100 of each type just to try. I'm thinking 20 would do. Can I do this?

100 is about the minimum. It will take that to fully test a bullet in a specific gun. FYI, I reload a lot, and there is no one in this world I trust enough to shoot their reload's.