Advise for factory 243 and factory ammo for coyotes

[TZaun]

Hahaha!!! B.C. of a loaf of bread is pretty funny. I'll have to remember that one.

I am surprised to hear about the runoffs. I always shoot for the chest or front shoulder. I suppose that area is solid enough to get good expansion. Most coyotes weren't worth picking up after hitting them with that 85 gr. Sierra.

 

[AckleymanII]

I guess Im the only one that does not like the 85 HPBT gamekings of sierra. Always had runoffs. The zero @ 200 yards put me 3 inches high at 100. And it has a bc of a loaf of bread. Accurate tho.
I would like to try the 85 varminter and see what that is like.

They changed the construction of this bullet some years ago, jacket is thicker. It is more of a deer bullet now. We used to shoots thousands at p. dogs in the 80's in 243 and 6 Rem, but it is NOT the same bullet now.

the 80g Sierra Blitz BT is a whale of a coyote bullet in a 243 with a max load of IMR 4064(about max for the rifle, not book) with a fed 210 at 3400-3500 fps, tiny groups with this load, tiny.

 

[TZaun]

I just loaded up 70 gr. Blitzkings for my brother-in-law's Winchester Coyote Lite. Anxious to see how they perform on coyotes. They shot pretty good in my load workup. I didn't push them as hard as they could be. Hoping that keeps the hole size down if they want to exit.

 

[Savage243]

I would have to say the 75gr vmax as well. I haven't bought much factory ammo lately so I'm not sure if the 87gr VMAX is loaded in any of their factory ammo but that should get a look too if he just want's them dead.

 

[Ghost56]

Pretty much any grain bullet out of a 243 is going to tear fur up...unless you can tame your speed down...which is going to hurt you accuracy at longer ranges..So if you don't care about the fur any bullet from 75 grain up with do the job at them ranges...Ive tried shooting 55gr vmax with 10mph at 200 yards and the winds bucks them off....so I ended up reloading some 77 grain hp s and they worked great.

 

[Dan Hall]

I like the Remington VLS and some good 70-85 grain Ammo. Hornady Varmint or Superperformance is always one you can count on. Another good rifle for accuracy and price would be the Tikka T3 light. I just bought one in .204 Ruger for friends that come prairie dog shooting and don't have a proper rifle.

Have fun.

 

[sundance]

Whatever gun you decide on I would recommend a reticle like the Leupold Varmint Hunter for the wind. It really helps me shooting prairie dogs in the wind. I would like to hear what you decide on after you digest all of this good info.

 

[370bc]

Pretty much any grain bullet out of a 243 is going to tear fur up...unless you can tame your speed down...which is going to hurt you accuracy at longer ranges..So if you don't care about the fur any bullet from 75 grain up with do the job at them ranges...Ive tried shooting 55gr vmax with 10mph at 200 yards and the winds bucks them off....so I ended up reloading some 77 grain hp s and they worked great.

Lapua 77's ??
How well do they harvest?!

 

[370bc]

Whatever gun you decide on I would recommend a reticle like the Leupold Varmint Hunter for the wind. It really helps me shooting prairie dogs in the wind. I would like to hear what you decide on after you digest all of this good info.

I use the Boone & Crockett Reticle myself, and it took some getting use to. This new hunter/ shooter needs to ease into the sport. I think the single crosshair with the CDS reticle will be less confusing for him. I suppose he can always get the B&C/ Varmint hunter reticle installed at a later date if he would want to.

 

[Ghost56]

Lapua 77's ??
How well do they harvest?!

The accuracy was great outta my Ar..even with a 10mph wind.....won't know what they do on coyotes till this spring...and they were Sierra matchkings....my barrel was 1:9 twist and that's about the heaviest,I can shoot outta this barrel..