Contender for coyotes

[Stape]

Spending the off season up here in Maine coyote hunting, problem is, these woods are thick and all shots are inside 100 yds, and using my standard coyote rifle, a rem700 vls in .223 is cumbersome in these conditions, so I was thinking about using my contender.  Question is, is there any pros or cons to a 223 in a super 14 vs a 30-30 in super 14?  The bullets I've run in the 30-30 are the hornady 130 sp and they shoot really well, and I have tons of various 223 pills from 40 gr vmax to 55 gr sp.  Anyone have any experience using either on coyotes?  I'm wondering if the velocity drop in the short 223 barrel will be a big deal for anchoring coyotes.  i usually drive a 223 at 3600 or so, but hard to reach that velocity out of a 14 in contender, as where the 30-30 is a no brainer, but is it needed?  Whats your guys .02?

[swift-justice]

I use my 15" 223 out my Encore with no problems out to 300 yards.
I use 50 V-max useally drops them with in 40 yards after being hit.

[Ladobe]

You can kill a coyote with a rimfire at 100 yards... with shot placement (I've shot them out to 180 DRT with a 17HMR).  The 223-14 will easily get it done at 100 (and well beyond).   Been a lot of years since I had a factory barrel like yours, decades, but I shot lots of coyotes with it and 100 yards was just a chip shot for it.  Bullet choice is whichever shoots the best in your barrel to get the most consistent shot placement.  Even out of the short tube a 40 will have plenty to get it done and will shoot flatter than the 50/55, but by default they make up for a mishit better.  I shot 50's in most of my 22 centerfires for preds no matter what length the barrels were.  Another favorite was the Win 46 OPE's for the 221FB's/22 Hornets (that will also get it done past 100 yards).
 
I used Contenders for predator hunting for something like 37/38 years, only problem with them is when the preds come to the call enforce.   I've had as many as 6 come in together in tight enough cover that one shot was all I was going to get with a Contender where two or three would have been doable with a repeater.

[Thebear_78]

I used to have a 14" 223 barrel for the contender with a 3x pistol scope on it with target turrets.   I never did mess around too much with those turrets but it was a decent scope.   One of the drawbacks of the 14" 223 was the copious muzzle blast.   These things will blow flames for 3-4 feet out of the muzzle.  I fixed this problem by reloading with some "reduced" bluedot loads.   My main hunting load was with 50gr bulk SP bullets @ 2550fps.   These weren't much slower than factory loadings but they had considerably less muzzle blast and were very accurate.  I killed several coyotes and tons of raccons with this load.    Minimal pelt damage even on fox and good out to 200 yards easily.   

[Stape]

Thanks for the scoop.  All good info.  I appreciate it.

[S.B.]

I recently purchase a older Remngton XP100 in .223 for this purpose. Now to find bullets(to reload) somewhere?
Steve