Coyote Rifles, Heavy or Light?

[stacy]

IF I PLAN ON STAYING IN ONE SPOT GLASSES LONG RANGE DOGS HEAVY IT IS BUT FOR WALKING AND CALLING LIGHT WEIGHT ALL THE WAY FOR ME ITS GET TUFF IN THE HILLS WITH THOSE 15LBS RIFLE

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

I'm pretty happy with, my 2 Tikka, T3's, SS Lite's, one in .270 WSM ( Elk, etc.) one in .243 Win for Coyotes/ Varmints. Both have 4.5-14X Burris scopes and they weigh 7.5 Pounds, each! They shoot farther than, I'm capable ! The .243 Win will eventually get re-chambered to 6 SLR as I like 30-40 Degree shoulders and longer Necks, probably after, the Holidays. The Tikka's "shoot" very well ! I WISH they were, made in America ! I hope to use the .243 with, the Horn 87's on Wolves and that means, trudging in deep Snow in the foothills/ mtn's, to get to them. At 71 years "young" I can carry these Rifles, in Idaho's Deserts and Mountains about, 8-10 Miles before, getting tired and that's,.. very IMPORTANT to, me !

 

[284winner]

I'm pretty happy with, my 2 Tikka, T3's, SS Lite's, one in .270 WSM ( Elk, etc.) one in .243 Win for Coyotes/ Varmints. Both have 4.5-14X Burris scopes and they weigh 7.5 Pounds, each! They shoot farther than, I'm capable ! The .243 Win will eventually get re-chambered to 6 SLR as I like 30-40 Degree shoulders and longer Necks, probably after, the Holidays. The Tikka's "shoot" very well ! I WISH they were, made in America ! I hope to use the .243 with, the Horn 87's on Wolves and that means, trudging in deep Snow in the foothills/ mtn's, to get to them. At 71 years "young" I can carry these Rifles, in Idaho's Deserts and Mountains about, 8-10 Miles before, getting tired and that's,.. very IMPORTANT to, me !

At 71 and walking in the mountains 8-10 miles before getting tired... Your the man.

 

[shooter65]

7lbs

 

[daniel brothers]

Your opening post was only showing a difference of about 2 pounds between those two rifles... what's 2 pounds..??? My advice is to get the cabelas special... try that for awhile.... if it becomes too heavy after you've tried it out in the field... then install a sporter barrel on it. A two barrel switch rifle could still be cheaper than a tikka. But I LOVE TIKKAS... and I have enough of them to fall in LOVE with them.

Personally... I love heavy barrel rifles. They don't heat up as quick... easier for me to tune a load... they are usually longer, like 26", which can give a tad more speed... and they seem to be more stable during the shot... while helping cushion the recoil. What's not to like? The extra 2 pounds is worth it to me.

 

[pilot]

I love Tikkas, too. I have a T3 light in 243. I ended up buying a TC Compass in 204 Ruger. I received the lighter trigger spring today and got that installed. The trigger was about five pounds. With the Old Beaver Gunsmith spring, it is closer to 2.5 pounds.

The TC came with a cheap Vortex 3-9. It will do for now. All sighted in and ready to go.

 

[Jr solocam]

I use a .204, 22-250, 6x47 or 240 Wby. Whichever rifle I take correlates directly with how far I plan on walking

 

[Lone Hunter]

I use a .204, 22-250, 6x47 or 240 Wby. Whichever rifle I take correlates directly with how far I plan on walking

What JR said. Depends on how far I'm walking. Light rifle will shoot pretty good first 2-3 shots. Your not going to get more than that unless it's a democrat coyote...

 

[daniel brothers]

I started out shooting light rifles in savage 223, then CZ 204...then 243... then progressed up to the heavy barrel 22-243AI for the very purpose of shooting those Democrat coyotes sitting out there laughing and thinking they are safe.

PS... as a matter of fact... I wish I was out Westward shooting those Democrats right now!

 

[varmintshooter]

Dan, I am the opposite of you. Big guns when young and dumb, caliber and weight got smaller as I got older.

 

[daniel brothers]

I agree Varmintshooter.... 2-4 extra pounds can feel like 20 after a long walk. I even bought these dual rifle slings for 11 bucks... which really help.

and... I feel like I don't have to walk as far... if I can shoot further...LOL.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AU6KH0M/?tag=accuratescom-20

 

[daniel brothers]

Hey Idaho-Lefty... my rifles are lefties as well...LOL.

 

[AckleymanII]

How far do you hike? If your on flat ground and covering less than 5 miles I wouldnt think about weight, heavier rifles are steadier. If your in mountains or hills and covering a lot of ground that rifle can start to get heavy. Just depends on your hunting style. In my experience the only thing a light rifle does better than a heavy one is carry nicer.

Well said!

the current trend to carry a ton of stuff out to the coyote stand to the point to where you need a mule makes one want to carry a sling shot!

I like Rem sporters,pick a caliber!

 

[Coleridge]

A double sling with flush cups in the side (were rifle lays flat and scope weight isn't trying to spin gun under your arm) sure does make weight of rifle less noticeable...

 

[searcher]

Seems every time I opted to take a light rifle for ease of carry - I'd run into a situation where I wished I had the heavy-barreled A/R with a muzzle brake so I could have a great chance of putting down coyotes in pairs at long distance - which is a pretty regular occurrence in my "lack of the woods". Light guns carry great but suck when trying to maintain sight picture after the shot for follow-ups, especially when laying down shots on a running coyote. I'm getting to be an older geezer and am not in the prime of my life, for sure. I'll still opt for the heavy gun and walk slower and take breaks in the form of a new stand. My idea of a heavy gun is about 10 pounds, all up. I don't tend to walk more than six or eight miles a day, though.

 

[AWS]

You really have to look at how you hunt. I hunt flat desert and do a number of stand-up stands and a heavy rifle is a bear. Calling in the thick stuff short and light are really handy. Even in big open country I have a Rem 722 with a LVSF barrel on it in 22-250, not overly heavy but enough for steady holding.

Today I was out with a Howa Mini 20" HB that is a good compromise fairly light with the weight out front.

The Howa this morning Meopta 1.5-6x40mm

Short and light Sako 222 Rem Leupold 1-4x20mm

 

[msalm]

I've been going lighter with the Howa Mini's in 22 and 6mm Grendel/LBC. Light at less than 6lbs before optics. They ARE trickier to shoot well with as has been mentioned above...a heavier rifle holds much better. I just love the lightweight and handy carrying aspect of these little rifles though. Finally have the reamer and need to build a 20 Grendel next, 1-11tw 23" light profile barrel. 40gr BIB's will be the pill of choice.

 

[okie]

Back when I used to really tear it up, my primary rifle was a Rem 700 Sporter ADL in 222. BUT-- I also packed a 12 ga 870. I had slings for both, and frequently had to use them as I packed a dead coyote back to the rig.

I no longer need to slaughter everything that I call, and have turned the rifle into a heavier barreled 20 cal. I put it into a slender tupperware stock which is very grippable for carrying, and even though it's heavier, it doesn't feel too bad. I'll leave the shotgun behind these days, and with the rifle on the sling, it's fine.

If I did a lot of open country long range calling, I'd have a bipod or shooting sticks. For my normal style, I'm shooting 200 max, and usually half that. jd

do you sell the hides??

 

[jds holler]

do you sell the hides??

Used to sell them all. Any I get these days (which isn't many) are saved for tanning. We had the idea of making a comforter. Tanning is pretty spendy, and I'm pretty tight. They sure are beautiful after tanning though. jd

 

[AWS]

Moyle Mink and Tannery charges about $20 to tan a coyote with the fur on. I have them do a half-dozen every year. They need to be dried to send them in.

moytown.com/