Author Topic: rifles & small calibers for coyotes that will also work on mule deer (Read 1357 times)

Hunter Fishman · « **on:** December 30, 2009, 04:27:23 PM »

Besides using an average deer gun like a 308, 30-30 or 30-06, Is there many smaller common caliber rifles that would be better for coyotes but would still be fine for mule deer?
I mostly hunt muleys but I am in the woods every weekend year round & can hunt coyotes year round so I figure hey, why not carry a rifle with me & pop some yotes while scouting deer & shed hunting $:-\$
I was thinking a remington R-15 in a 223. kinda pricey tho...
bryce towsley wrote in the oct. issue of american hunter magazine that [the 223 is not ideal for deer hunting.]
It gets the job done, doesnt it?
I dont know much about calibers of bullets & its affect on different kinds of game other than the common deer hunting rifles. I'm looking for somthing light in weight & as cheap as possible.
What rifle & caliber do you recomend?

jumpsteady · « **Reply #1 on:** December 30, 2009, 04:38:50 PM »

25-06. 110 grain Nosler Accubonds for mule deer and 85 grain Nosler Varmint Ballistic Tip for Coyotes and the likes.

Hunter Fishman · « **Reply #2 on:** December 30, 2009, 05:40:42 PM »

how does the 25-06 preform on yotes? Is that still a bit much or is that what the 85 grains are made for?
It seems considerable but how is it on the fur pelt?
All I have to use now are 30 caliber deer rifles & I am looking for somthing more suited for yotes.

Oldshooter · « **Reply #3 on:** December 30, 2009, 05:47:18 PM »

Quote

I was thinking a remington R-15 in a 223

To each his own but an R-15 in 243 would be a better choice, or at least my choice.

Ive done in a few coyotes with a 6mm Rem. that never heard the gun go off! That same rifle has stopped more than a few whitetail and Axis deer.

trotterlg · « **Reply #4 on:** December 30, 2009, 07:21:21 PM »

Might as well ask for a common cartridge for Elk and Crows. 30-06 will kill them both, but is the -06 really suited for the Crow? Get a 30 Cal for the Deer and a 17 for the Coyote and do it right. General purpose rifles are just that, general purpose, not the best for either task. You are asking for a rifle that is suited for killing both a 150 pound deer and a 15 pound Coyote, what do you think? Larry

Graybeard · « **Reply #5 on:** December 31, 2009, 02:20:32 AM »

Quote

To each his own but an R-15 in 243 would be a better choice, or at least my choice.

Not an option, the R15 is basically just a regular AR15 and cannot be chambered to .243. That would be an R25 similar to the AR10 but a totally different rifle really at MUCH higher cost.

jumpsteady · « **Reply #6 on:** December 31, 2009, 03:30:08 AM »

Quote from: Hunter Fishman on December 30, 2009, 05:40:42 PM

how does the 25-06 preform on yotes? Is that still a bit much or is that what the 85 grains are made for?
It seems considerable but how is it on the fur pelt?
All I have to use now are 30 caliber deer rifles & I am looking for somthing more suited for yotes.

Yes that is what the 85 grainers are made for, but I have never looked really close at the pelt. Never kept one and really don't ever plan on it. I have seem a 25-06 drop a yote at 360yds with the 85 grain Ballistic Tip. We never even went and picked him up. We used him as bait later that day and the next day. Before I bought mine .338 Federal to take Elk hunting, all I ever used was a 25-06, shooting either 85 grain BT or 110 Accubond. I have never lost any game with either bullet.

SD Handgunner · « **Reply #7 on:** December 31, 2009, 06:52:10 AM »

Quote from: Graybeard on December 31, 2009, 02:20:32 AM

Quote
To each his own but an R-15 in 243 would be a better choice, or at least my choice.

Not an option, the R15 is basically just a regular AR15 and cannot be chambered to .243. That would be an R25 similar to the AR10 but a totally different rifle really at MUCH higher cost.

In addition to the higher cost of the Remington R-25, the Remington R-25 is also larger and heavier than the Remington R-15 in .223.

As to a Cartridge for use on both Whitetail Deer and Coyotes personally I think the list starts with the .243 Winchester. We all have our own personal favorites and I am no different. Long ago I managed to find a load for the .243 Winchester that shoots the 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips great in several different Rifles and Handguns. In fact I handload a supply of this very load for a buddy of mine every year and you could not convince him there is a better load available for the .243 for his old Remington Model 660 .243. Personally I have used both the 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips and 70gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips in the .243 on Coyotes and prefer to let the rifle decide which one it shoots better and that's the one I use.

For Whitetail Deer I have used a lot of different bullets in the past 30+ years from .243 Winchester & 6mm Remingtons. My absolute favorite for putting down Whitetails with authority is the 95gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip. So far I have yet to recover a 95gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip from a Whitetail Deer as all have exited. The internal tissue damage has always been massive, and the farthest any of the Whitetails I have shot with the 95gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips has traveled after the shot has been 30 yards or so, with most dropping in their tracks.

Good luck with your quest.

Larry

Oldshooter · « **Reply #8 on:** December 31, 2009, 07:03:46 AM »

Quote from: Graybeard on December 31, 2009, 02:20:32 AM

Quote
To each his own but an R-15 in 243 would be a better choice, or at least my choice.

Not an option, the R15 is basically just a regular AR15 and cannot be chambered to .243. That would be an R25 similar to the AR10 but a totally different rifle really at MUCH higher cost.

IRONICALLY, I have a R25 in 308, Guess my mind was not in gear when my fingers sped off!

I stand corrected.

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #9 on:** December 31, 2009, 08:26:06 AM »

243Win,
250 Savage (AKA 250 -3000)
257 Roberts (7X57 necked to 257 Main reason why no one has made a factory 308 case necked to .257)

25-06 (30-06 necket to 257)
25 WSSM - win super short douplicates 25-06.
257 Wby Mag (264 Win Mag Necked to 257 with Wby neck) Yes I know it is a 300 H&H cut back and necked but it is a standard action lenght case. New guns by Wby(Vanguard) or Howa are available for under $400. It is a Lazer but ammo and cases are expensive

2 friends in MT and one in ID swear by this as a do all from preditors to elk.
260 Rem (308 necket to 264/ 6.5mm)
6.5X55 Swede

264 Win mag. (338 Win mag necked to 6.5mm)
7mm-08 (either 308 necked down or 243 necked up to 7mm
284 Win
280 (AKA 7mm Express - 30-06 necked to 7mm/284)
7mm Rem Mag (recoil will be the same or worse than the 308 or 30-06 you mentioned)
All these rounds have great sucess on Deer and have options for lighter varmint/ Preditor projectiles. But I would just use the same rounds you use for deer.

Swift One · « **Reply #10 on:** December 31, 2009, 08:54:27 AM »

Quote

Might as well ask for a common cartridge for Elk and Crows. 30-06 will kill them both, but is the -06 really suited for the Crow? Get a 30 Cal for the Deer and a 17 for the Coyote and do it right. General purpose rifles are just that, general purpose, not the best for either task. You are asking for a rifle that is suited for killing both a 150 pound deer and a 15 pound Coyote, what do you think? Larry

Sorry Larry, but I have to chime in on this statement. If we are talking about saving pelts here, then yes, the 17 would be the optimal choice for the lowest pelt damage possible. However, I hunt with buds that use more powerful calibers and they skin pelts out just fine. It's about bullet choice. As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of calibers out there that have bullets available for big game and small game. As for the 30-06, I think its very well suited for crow. A 110gr bullet kills them, (blows them all over the place) quicker than hec. It will anchor a coyote at long distance with authority. If you are not concerned about pelts, why not put something in them that will anchor them to the ground and dispatch them quickly? ANYTHING in 17 caliber would not be even in my top 5 choices for this task. And if shooting at longer ranges, you can forget the 17 calibers IMO for a dependable quality kill shot.

The 25-06, .243, 257roberts, 30-06, 7mm -08 all are not that expensive to reload for and they all have bullets for varminting. I personally use a 7mm-08 (154gr SST) for day hunting in open country and a 223 (60gr HP) for night and close quarters hunting.

And it has been my experiences that with the bigger calibers, the bullets desinged for big game hunting have overall caused alot less pelt damage than using the varminting style bullets. Take a big game rifle out and put some fur down with Authority!!!!!

Daman · « **Reply #11 on:** December 31, 2009, 09:06:49 AM »

I own 5 30 cals. So I understand your affection as your main deer rifle. I just recently purchased an H&R 7mm-08 for my deer and varmint needs. I also have .243, .223, .270 and .222 just to name a few.

However, for big bodied mulies and yotes I would stick to my 30-06 with 150 grain Ballistic Silvertip from Winchester. I use these on white tails and the a shoulder shot leaves only about a 1 inch exit wound so pelt destruction should be minimal on yotes. It should be plenty lead for even a 300 lb muley.

trotterlg · « **Reply #12 on:** December 31, 2009, 01:55:16 PM »

You guys show no class at all. Larry

BBF · « **Reply #13 on:** January 01, 2010, 07:30:37 AM »

270 Win

Yak Angler · « **Reply #14 on:** January 01, 2010, 03:01:17 PM »

+1 .270 win
.243 would be my next choice

Cottonwood · « **Reply #15 on:** January 02, 2010, 04:18:41 AM »

I'm thinking of taking a .243 Win barrel and reaming it up to .243-06, from what I have been reading its a great cartridge and will cover both worlds quite easily.

mrbigtexan · « **Reply #16 on:** January 02, 2010, 03:49:17 PM »

Quote from: The Montanan on January 02, 2010, 04:18:41 AM

I'm thinking of taking a .243 Win barrel and reaming it up to .243-06, from what I have been reading its a great cartridge and will cover both worlds quite easily.

.243-06, this really interests me! if you do it, be sure and give us a range report.

billy_56081 · « **Reply #17 on:** January 02, 2010, 04:30:00 PM »

I'd take a look at the cartridge drawings. I think you might have to do a 6mm06 improved to clean up the 243 chamber.

SD Handgunner · « **Reply #18 on:** January 02, 2010, 07:25:30 PM »

Quote from: The Montanan on January 02, 2010, 04:18:41 AM

I'm thinking of taking a .243 Win barrel and reaming it up to .243-06, from what I have been reading its a great cartridge and will cover both worlds quite easily.

A 6mm-284 would be another option, and should clean up the .243 chamber nicely.

Larry

Cottonwood · « **Reply #19 on:** January 03, 2010, 03:17:33 AM »

Well, if I ever do get a .243 Win barrel for my H&R I may think about this, but have decided to keep my Sportster .22 WMR that I was going to trade for it.

BBF · « **Reply #20 on:** January 04, 2010, 11:21:55 AM »

6mm-06 has been around as a wildcat for years

navylawdog · « **Reply #21 on:** January 05, 2010, 09:43:35 AM »

.257 roberts or .243 would be my advice.

Navylawdog

tangob5 · « **Reply #22 on:** January 06, 2010, 06:27:03 AM »

I use a .243 for both deer and coyote. Seems to work just fine on Southern CA mule deer and the coyotes tend not to like that caliber either. I typically hunt deer with either a 95 grain Hornady SST or a 100 grain Remington Core-Lokt. For coyote I use either 58 grain Hornady V-Max or if I want to put clean hole in it a 80 grain Federal Power-Shok will do the trick. But if I just want to destroy the coyote then a 40 or 50 grain V-Max out of my .223 is my round of choice.

454Puma · « **Reply #23 on:** January 21, 2010, 12:05:28 PM »

I guess it really depends on if you want, limited range or a long range rig! I found the the old 30-30 with 130 gr Speer HP's-pointy bullets- works like a champ out to 200-250 yards! And they don't blow big wholes in pelts either! Now shoot the same bullet's out an '06 and you'll saw a yote in half!