Your idea of the perfect coyote rifle

T

Tracker0721

New member
I’m curious as to what experienced coyote hunters think is best found in a coyote rifle or what makes their go to rifle their go to AND what sort of environment they hunt with it. We all know what works best in a thick wooded area back east differs from the wide open on the plains.

I’ll start- I usually hunt a mix of mountains and small clearings(little fields, clear cuts, meadows etc). In my experience I could use either a shotgun or something out to 300 yards on almost any set and usually only get 1 shot before the coyote dies or vanishes so now I’m thinking a combo gun like a 223/12 or even 243/12 would be most ideal. A simple 3 or 4 power scope and angled iron sights for the 12.

I haven’t used one though so for now I’ll say my favorite is a simple mag fed 22-250 savage with a sporter barrel. Light and accurate and a simple 3-16 set on 3x does a good job for the 15 yard shot to the 400.
 
I hunt in Wyoming, shots can be close in out to 500+ yards. Oh, we can have a lot of wind during the winter months as well!
I have several varmint rifles in various calibers from 22 Magnum, 222 Remington, 223 AR (safe queen), 220 Swift and 17 Remington.
I have to say my "go to" rifle for the past 40 years has been the 220 Swift. My reload for it I use most of the time is the Sierra 55 gr HPBT using IMR 4064 chronographed at 3865 fps.
My current 220 Swift is a Remington 700 VSSF (first generation) topped with a Leupold 6.5-20 with the Leupold Dot reticle. I had a CDS dial put on this scope several years ago for this scope and dialed in for load mentioned above. It feels second nature in my hands and I absolutely love the 220 Swift.
 
I have a couple of favorites

Rifles.

Sako Fullstock vixen in 222 Rem with a Weaver V-3, light, quick handling and puts down coyotes with little fur damage.

Sako before I put the 1-3 on it



Savage Model 11 in 22-204, Sightron 1.5-6x40mm scope, reaches out in more open country(40gr NBT, again pretty light and fast handling, very accurate.

Sav 22-204



BRNO 12ga/22 Savage High power with a Leupold 1-4x20mm it is very much at home in tight cover but still has the ability to reach 300 yards with ease, 55gr .228 Buffalo Arms bullets have proven to be fur friendly 1 1/4 oz of NP BB's for the close ones. I do have another combo gun 12ga/5.6x50R Mag(222 Rem Mag Improved with a rim) Leupold 1-4x20mm great gun with 52gr Speer FB HP's but I tend to take the BRNO as it has a set of O/U 12ga barrels to go with it for bird hunting.

BRNO



And accurate

 
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Sako A1



Sako A2


243 but a 22-250 would be great also
Sako A2 and L579



The bottom is a 6XC in a McMillan stock with a Shilen barrel
 
Tikka Superlight .22-250 w/Zeiss 3-15 using 50 gr bullets.
I like the rifle short and light with a removable mag.
Sometimes I need all the rifle has and all the scope offers.
A coyote may pop up right behind me or on the horizon when no tree is in sight for 20 miles.
 
700 Classic in 17Rem wearing a 2.5-8 VX3 in Tally LW's with a 22" Pac-Nor Super Match Barrel and RB trigger .
Been using this rifle for about 16yrs now and I hope to use it another 16 if I live that long.

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The cow pastures I hunt offer shots from 0-1000+ yards, of course 400/500 is my max when hunting.

I like the ability for rapid follow shots if the cows are not in the same area.

I like my 20" and 18" AR15 rifles chambered in 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC, and 6mmx45mm.

Optics include ACOG TA11E, and several Leupold MK IV's in 4.5-14x50.
 
right now my go to is a savage 11 predator in 243 with a vortex 4-12 shooting 87gr vmax handloads and as a do it all coyote rifle I think it's hard to beat it can handle being able to shoot across a field at 500 yards or it still handles well enough to use for calling. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of savage actions I can't find much wrong with it. (Although I'd bought the TC venture predator if I knew it was available in 243 at the time)

But for a better all around/calling gun im thinking a perfect setup for me would be one of the Howa mini actions with a custom barrel in 6×45 or maybe one if the newer .22's like 22nosler or valkyrie, just something with a little more reach than a 223 for the open areas (223 would probably do it but you did say perfect lol). With a med/heavy 18" barrel and a 2.5-10 power scope. Super compact and easy to carry but not too light to shoot good and it would be easy in/out of a truck.
To me I'm learning weight is less of an issue as lenght, my next rifle will be compact above all else.

I would also add the mini action would get the flush magazine mod and that would be a great coyote rifle IMO
 
Oh I forgot about tikkas, I wish they were more popular around here. Hard to go wrong with one, is live to see them come out with a predator special like savage and ruger has
 
My go-to coyote rifle for the last ~20 years has been an AR-15 in one flavor or another. What I have narrowed down to find “ideal” over the years:

20” barrel, 1:7” or 1:8” twist, 0.750” adjustable gas block, hbar/National Match profile, free float 15” handguard, carbine stock, preferably Magpul UBR. 4-16x44mm FFP scope with milling reticle, preferably illuminated. 2 stage Geissele trigger. All ambidextrous controls. 223 wylde or 5.56 chamber.
 
There's no right or wrong answer.

I took a Tikka in 243, replaced all the plastic parts with with metal, had it cut down to 18", cerakoted and dropped into a McMillan stock. Consistently shoots half inch groups with factory Winchester varmintx ammo.

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Remington 700 VSSF II in 22-250. I use a couple Rock River AR’s also but you would be hard pressed to not go back to the VSSF that I bought new in 2003. My handloads are 33.5 gr. Of IMR 4064 with Federal 210 primer and 55gr. V-Max. Gun is topped off with a Leupold VX-6 3-18x scope. Only modification was had a smith take the trigger down to 2.5# pull.
 
They are probably not perfect, but I have triplets that work fine as a coyote rifle if I could only have limited choices. The only way to tell them apart is by looking at the wood grain and by reading the cartridge stamp on the barrel. Right now I couldn't tell you what specific scope is on each specific rifle without looking, but they all have older age comparable scopes. Other rifles would work just as well or better, but these are sentimental favorites for me.

All three are sporter weight Sako L461 rifles in 222 Rem, 223 Rem, and 222 Rem Mag. All 3 are very accurate and will kill any coyote within reasonable ranges with the right bullet being used.

Again, maybe not perfect, but solid choices for me if I had to cull the herd.
 
.223 and 22-250 for me. I don't know if they're perfect necessarily but they don't blow them to pieces and I kill them consistently so they're about as perfect as I need I suppose.

There's nothing wrong with a .243,308 or any variety of big game cartridges either. It just depends how intact you're wanting your dead coyotes to be. I prefer mine to look like they're sleeping so I'm a fan of smaller bullets.

I hunt a variety of terrain. Hills,flat ground and wooded areas at times. The further I can see I like the 22-250. Because the further I can see leaves me open to get seen and have a coyote hang up out there. Not that I'll hit it necessarily but I like to barely miss if not. I feel a little better if I can at least kick dirt on 'em.
 
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The main difference is how you hunt. If you are calling, then just about anything will do. Myself, I snipe from a distance only. Therefore, in my mind, I need a rifle just for that purpose. Could I made do with a less specialized equipment? Yes. But it limited my distance of execution. I will be going hole-hog this year with a Manners of some type with adjustable everything, as much as I can.
Jus as in my current stock selection, the choices are endless. And at the same time mind boggling. The perfect coyote rifle for YOU is a never-ending process. (At least it is for me). And as a reloader. Rifles are like golf clubs.
 
Originally Posted By: smbobMarlin XS7 243. Has shot 1/2 MOA or less right out of the box.

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Robert

I've got an xs7 in 243 as well, it also wears a vortex scope but I think you're looks better! Nice setup...I've considered cutting my barrel down to 18" or so. I just don't care for the blind mag
 
Oh! I’m in gunsmithing school and I’m just thinking about what others put into an ideal rifle for their terrain they hunt. It’d be cool to have an idea of what sort of rifle/gun is most used in what terrain. I have a stable of guns and usually choose based on where I plan to hunt.
 
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