The Ultimate Coyote Gun

[fredhorace77]

Im planning a build for the ultimate coyote gun. It will be a rem.700 action and hart barrel with a small taper cut at 24inch. My problem is i can't decide on what cart. to go with. I would like to shoot out to 500yrds or so with confidence. my options are

22-250
22-250 Ackley
243
243 Ackley
22-243
6mmBR

I do have a concern with the 6BR about feeding thru the magazine...Does anyone know if this cart. feeds ok in a standard rem.700 action

Id like to hear what you all think.

 

[1holeaddict]

I am a straight up 243 guy. You can use it for both short and long range.I own several and they all shoot great. All the cartridges you mentioned are fine and would all perform just fine. I am a firm believer of sticking to the oldies but goodies and learn your weapon. Knowing your weapon and your loads performance will be more valuable than pondering the idea of a standard caliber versus a wildcat to gain 100+ feet a second. I do own several 6br's and a 22-250 and also love these calibers.

 

[5spd]

The .243 will do it all to 600yds with ease. My Savage 22" sporter puts my 70g loads into .430"-5.60" @ 100yds, average 2.5" @ 400yds. On top of that its very easy to load for with no magazine issues.

 

[gmorganal]

You guys wrote what I was thinking. For the type of use you have stated, the .243 Winchester will be hard to beat.

 

[fredhorace77]

yea lawrence all of my hunting is mainly by myself...Maybe once or twice a year i get a friend to go

5spd what powder are you using with the 70s

 

[alf]

I'd like to hear what you all think.

I've put a lot of thought in this same subject for quite awhile......

I used a 22-250 for starters a long time ago, standard 14 twist varmints with the usual 55 grain slugs. Tough on fox, but drop coyotes well, still hard on hides, which wasn't a concern then.

Move up to a 22-243, but built it wrong, as the damn thing weighed 13 1/2 pounds alone. Was a lazer though, 55's at 4100, just never killed much with it due to not carrying it much.

Never played with the 243/243 AI's at all. Still a favorite for the contest guys, where hides are second to killing numbers.

I had a couple of 22 Dashers. Shot strictly the 40 Ballistic Tips at 4200. Killed 40+ and only had two exits, due to shot placements, one too high, the other too low. It's just a 22-250 in a different package. Both fed like shitt through a goose.

I'm down to (up to?) three favorites for coyotes.

I built an 8 twist 22-250 Ackley a couple of years ago. Really like this one, but then most will turn into a favorite when they're as accurate as this one. 75 grain VLD's are the pill of choice now. Started with the 75 A-Max, and had a nasty blowup that turned me off of them, so have yet to drop a dog with the VLD's.

I put together a 6 Dasher also, so to me, it replaces the 243. Running 95 VLD's at just under 3100, and is a coyote's worst nightmare. Can be tough on hides on a shoulder shot, small exits on broadside shots, and only an entrance on frontals. This one is scary accurate as well. I've done several 6 Dashers and they have all fed just fine. A requirement, of course, for a calling gun.

My latest new favorites are 22-204's running 75 VLD's at 3075. Killed a couple of handfuls this past winter, and these two, at this point, will be the last to ever be sold. A twin to a 223 Ackley performance wise, but no fireforming. Another big reason is I feel I built them right. 22" 8 twist # 2 barrels, McMillan Classic stocks, Talley rings/bases, and Leupold 3.5-10 CDS's. Weights come in around 7 1/2 pounds.

 

[1holeaddict]

The .243 will do it all to 600yds with ease. My Savage 22" sporter puts my 70g loads into .430"-5.60" @ 100yds, average 2.5" @ 400yds. On top of that its very easy to load for with no magazine issues.

Go on Grey bulls site and watch the 1017 yard shot on a coyote with a straight up 243win. I tried copying the link but couldnt get it to copy.

 

[K22]

Another vote for the 243, a great cartridge and easy to reload. Fine selection of long range bullets also.

 

[Fordnutter]

Ultimate & 243 doesn't sound right in the same sentence :

At least supersize that 243 to an AI

How about a 6-284 or 6mm Ackley improved? Now your talking 8)

 

[5spd]

yea lawrence all of my hunting is mainly by myself...Maybe once or twice a year i get a friend to go
5spd what powder are you using with the 70s

40.5g Varget, cci 200 primer, 2.625" col, average fps of 10 rounds over the chrony is 3374 fps.
This fills the case about 85%.
Nosler book says 42g is most accurate, (I have not tried that yet), but the way it is with 40.5g Im happy as heck.

 

[djporter]

6MM Remington

 

[1holeaddict]

6MM Remington

Another good choice. But what will it do that a 243Win wont??

 

[fredhorace77]

I am a straight up 243 guy. You can use it for both short and long range.I own several and they all shoot great. All the cartridges you mentioned are fine and would all perform just fine. I am a firm believer of sticking to the oldies but goodies and learn your weapon. Knowing your weapon and your loads performance will be more valuable than pondering the idea of a standard caliber versus a wildcat to gain 100+ feet a second. I do own several 6br's and a 22-250 and also love these calibers.

Thanks for all the feedback guys...i have decieded to go with the standard .243win. It will do everything i need it to do. and 1hole i agree so much with your above statement...thats the direction im going...ill find out later when gun is built and coyotes are down if it was the correct choice but i feel if i spend the time and practice with this gun,,,,hitting shouldnt be a problem as far as the cart. goes...biggest problem is going to be the loose nut behind the stock...lol...thanks again

 

[1holeaddict]

As far as the barrel i live 20-30 minutes away from Harts shop and i see a large amount of Hart barrels and they do shoot. I own 3 of them myself and am very happy with them.

 

[xdeano]

The question should be asked; Are you shooting for fur or just to kill them?

If you just want to kill them then the 243 is a great round. Now if you want minimal pelt damage, the 243 is going to give you a little bit of damage. You should decide on what kind of damage you want to create. There are other calibers that'll do the same distance with less damage. I'm shooting a 6SLR, with a 105g berger hunting VLD and i don't care about fur damage. I had my gunsmith up for a weekend here this last winter and he brought up his 22-243 loaded with an 80g berger vld. He ended up shooting a couple of coyotes and the damage was less then i'd thought it would be. The exits were about the size of a quarter. His velocity was 3500fps, you can do the math on drop and drift, it's a lot less then anything that i'm shooting and it could easily do 500yds. But if you're going to take it out to a pdog town and shoot, you'll be wasting barrel life. At around 1K per barrel you make each shot count.

But the 243 can be a decent round. I'd suggest trying some of the heavy bullets with it, the small bullets tend to be very frangible and the velocity really rips up the hide. I use to shot a 243 with a 87g HPBT with really good results on less damage. THe 85g HPBT did well also and so did the 85g SPBT. There is a Speer 85g that has a very decent BC. may be worth a look also.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/614059/speer-bullets-243-caliber-and-6mm-243-diameter-85-grain-spitzer-boat-tail-box-of-100

You'll like the 243, with the right bullet it can do the job.

xdeano

 

[1holeaddict]

The question should be asked; Are you shooting for fur or just to kill them?

If you just want to kill them then the 243 is a great round. Now if you want minimal pelt damage, the 243 is going to give you a little bit of damage. You should decide on what kind of damage you want to create. There are other calibers that'll do the same distance with less damage. I'm shooting a 6SLR, with a 105g berger hunting VLD and i don't care about fur damage. I had my gunsmith up for a weekend here this last winter and he brought up his 22-243 loaded with an 80g berger vld. He ended up shooting a couple of coyotes and the damage was less then i'd thought it would be. The exits were about the size of a quarter. His velocity was 3500fps, you can do the math on drop and drift, it's a lot less then anything that i'm shooting and it could easily do 500yds. But if you're going to take it out to a pdog town and shoot, you'll be wasting barrel life. At around 1K per barrel you make each shot count.

But the 243 can be a decent round. I'd suggest trying some of the heavy bullets with it, the small bullets tend to be very frangible and the velocity really rips up the hide. I use to shot a 243 with a 87g HPBT with really good results on less damage. THe 85g HPBT did well also and so did the 85g SPBT. There is a Speer 85g that has a very decent BC. may be worth a look also.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/614059/speer-bullets-243-caliber-and-6mm-243-diameter-85-grain-spitzer-boat-tail-box-of-100

You'll like the 243, with the right bullet it can do the job.

xdeano

Would love to hear about your 6SLR. I have been pondering the idea of building one for several years now. What type of velocities and accuracy are you getting. Which one of the reamers did you go with?

 

[fredhorace77]

I furgot to mention that..hehe. no dont want the pelts so pelt damage is ok

 

[K22]

I am a straight up 243 guy. You can use it for both short and long range.I own several and they all shoot great. All the cartridges you mentioned are fine and would all perform just fine. I am a firm believer of sticking to the oldies but goodies and learn your weapon. Knowing your weapon and your loads performance will be more valuable than pondering the idea of a standard caliber versus a wildcat to gain 100+ feet a second. I do own several 6br's and a 22-250 and also love these calibers.

Wow! Common sense - hard to find these days with all the cartridge mania!

Just about all will work and work fine - the real difference is what 1holeaddict alluded to - know your gun and I will add practice a lot USING THE METHOD (i.e. bipod or sticks, etc.) THAT YOU WILL BE USING IN THE FIELD at the distances you expect to shoot.

 

[xdeano]

Fred,

Well if pelts don't matter, I can tell you that the 105 amax does some hard core damage. I do ADC work and to me pelt damage isn't much of issue for me either, the bigger the hole the deader the coyote. The 105g Berger Hunting VLD leaves about a 50 cent size hole, the 105 amax leaves about a fist sized hole. If you want something a little lighter, the 87g vmax does some nasty damage. But the heavies do the best for long distance.

1holeaddict,
I'm stuck on the 6SLR, it gives me a little more velocity over a standard 243. I'm getting 3150fps out of a 24" barrel with the 105g bergerhunting vld. Accuracy is just unreal. My ES/SD's are consistently under 10. I'm just using win or rem brass and it's unreal accurate. It's a fast little critter. I got the LR/S reamer, for a short action without having the round to long. I hadn't planned on using the 115's, so i'm happy with the shorter throat with a 1-8"twist. I've put up a long post on Nodakoutdoors.com;
http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=96261

hope that helps.
Deano

 

[1holeaddict]

Fred,

Well if pelts don't matter, I can tell you that the 105 amax does some hard core damage. I do ADC work and to me pelt damage isn't much of issue for me either, the bigger the hole the deader the coyote. The 105g Berger Hunting VLD leaves about a 50 cent size hole, the 105 amax leaves about a fist sized hole. If you want something a little lighter, the 87g vmax does some nasty damage. But the heavies do the best for long distance.

1holeaddict,
I'm stuck on the 6SLR, it gives me a little more velocity over a standard 243. I'm getting 3150fps out of a 24" barrel with the 105g bergerhunting vld. Accuracy is just unreal. My ES/SD's are consistently under 10. I'm just using win or rem brass and it's unreal accurate. It's a fast little critter. I got the LR/S reamer, for a short action without having the round to long. I hadn't planned on using the 115's, so i'm happy with the shorter throat with a 1-8"twist. I've put up a long post on Nodakoutdoors.com;
http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=96261

hope that helps.
Deano

Wow that is a great article you posted there. I have been very interested in going somewhat the same route when i toast a few 243 barrels. Just not sure i want to reinvest $200 + into new dies to squeeze 100-150 fps outta her. Im about an hour away from Robert and Fred who does alot of chambering of the 6SLR so if i do decide i will take a trip to see these guys.