Rifle advice needed for coyotes

[jcsabolt2]

My Dad is having a lot of trouble as of late with coyotes on our farm.  Ground hogs have been a real pain as well.  He asked me to look into a rifle for him.  My Dad is not much for guns, but he will use them when he has to.  He is a Vietnam Vet., a tank commander at a mere 20 years old.  I think the reason for him not liking firearms is because of all the killing he saw over there.

Anyway, I was thinking about a relative light weight easy handling rifle such as a Savage 116FSS or FCSS in 223 Remington or 243 Winchester with an descent Weaver or Bushnell scope ($200 range).  He wants to easily put down a coyote, but I can tell you right now he's not going to practice with the rifle.  I was thinking of sighting it in at 200-250 yards for him and figure he could pretty much point, aim, fire with no hold over for most of his shots.  The ammo must be factory loads too.

What do you think?  Any other recommendations?

[PA-Joe]

If you're not going to do too much shooting then a single shot NEF or H&R is all you will need. If you're not going to save the pelts then 243 or 7mm08 is good. The Remington Model 7 is also a good choice. You will need a good scope! 223 is good if your going to save and sell the pelts and keep it under 200 yds.

[Bob in TX]

Go with either of those rifles in .223 (lots of good factory ammo) and top it with a Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40. Zero it for 200 yards and turn him loose.

Good Hunting,

Bob

[wyote]

I would go with the Savage 16 rather than the 116. I like the short action better. I would stick with the 223 because of the ammo, easy to get and cheaper than 22-250, 243, 257 etc.

[MH WASH]

I would suggest going with a 243 in which ever rifle you like best. I use a 22-250 for coyotes and rarely do I have a problem putting down a yote, but every once in a while they seem bullet proof. Shot placement is everything but everybody goofs now and then.

 Matt

[todbartell]

If you want to get rid of problem dogs, pelt damage isn't going to be a big concern I think - You want them dead  :twisted:

Get a Savage stainless 16FSS in .223 Rem.  Top it with a 3-9 from Weaver or a Bushnell 3200.  It has a synthetic stock, so you don't have to care for it as much.  Weight in 6.5 lbs with a 22" barrel, certainly light.  Ammo is cheap, and the caliber is deadly on small stuff.  Low recoil and noise too.

[SHW]

My vote is for the 22-250.  My dad farms, & he too has coyote problems.  We have shot them with everything from 22 magnums to 300 Ultra mag.  The 22-250 seems to be the best all around for flat trajectory, ease of shooting & quick kills.  The 243 is a close second.  Though I reload, my Dad usually shoots Winchester 55 grain pointed soft points.  They work great.  I prefer 55 Nosler Ballistic tips.  Happy Hunting :grin:

[crapshoot]

Since your dad is a vet, I would suggest an AR 15. This is what i personally use and love it for varmint hunting. i have a 16" heavy barrel ss fluted, 1-8 twist, flat top wit a simmons Aetec scope. Shoots .5" groups @100 yrds. He should be real familiar with this rifle also.

[les hemby]

for his purpose NEF or H&R would be great but savage cant go wrong. i would suggest 243 it will do bad things to a coyote with 55gr. winchester with no kick but 223 is great. T/C in 223 would be a little prettier if that matters. 22-250 if in savage. All are  more accurate than price indicates :toast:

[varmint101]

All good stuff said so far.  223, 22-250, 243.  It's all just whatever caliber you decide you'd like to use, all would do excellent for coyotes.  If I had to shoot just one caliber for varmints though I'd make it a 22-250 as it's one accurate, flat shooting caliber.  A 223 would be the cheapest to shoot and a 243 really knocks them flat out pretty far.  A 243 would double for a nice deer gun as well if it's legal in your area.  If you just want something that is accurate and ammo is cheap go with the 223.  It will kill them just as dead as the others with good placement out to 300 yards.  If memory serves me right, a box of 40 45gr Winchester hp's at Walmart is $11.98 and a box of 40 45gr Winchster hp's for the 22-250 is $16.98.  Yah, so I probably confused you more, but what I'm saying is either of the 3 would be an excellent choice and you wouldn't go wrong with either of them.  Good luck.  Regards,

Matt

[WW1]

Hi there......
           I have the Savage model 12FLSS in 223....stainless steel, synthetic, 26" fluted barrel.....the 223 is pleasant to shoot, and I have taken coyotees at 300 yards with it...I guess what I liked best was the accuacy ( 3/16" at 100 most groups) and the recoil...yes the bigger ones are a little better at longggggggg range, but in the 223 you can practice more for your $...would recomend cheap ammo for practice and buy good quality stuff for varmits.....so far I have had best luck with Black Hills 52gr. Match Hollow Point ammo......havent gotten to hand loading yet...anyway had to put in my 2 cents worth.....hahaha... Rob from Olympia

[WW1]

forgot one thing.......as a bonus mine holds 6 in mag and 1 in chamber....

[Jim n Iowa]

When I started hunting coyotes I had a 243 with a 4x scope and used win 80 grn sp bullets. 1.75 over at 100 and your right on out to +200yds and it still works.
Jim