coyote round for .243

[sks]

We are going to Texas to do some coyote shooting soon and I was wondering what a good coyote round would be in .243. I have never shot coyotes and have zero experience with this. The gun I have is a Remington 700 .243 with a Leupold 3x9.

All opinions appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Buzzcook]

You'll be fine.
Just use the rounds that are most accurate out of your rifle.

 

[castnblast]

My answer is more of the same...any and all rounds...I whack em w/ my 22-250 and 50 or 55 gr, although any in that cal will whack em good. If you are going to keep the pelts, I'd go heavier and stay away from ballistic tips, etc, or try to get a head shot. If you are just going to blast, pick you poison and have at it...

 

[trooper3385]

Unless your hunting for the furs, use whatever. I shot coyotes with everything from a 223 to 300 win mag.

 

[Yithian]

If you're hunting for furs, use a soft point or FMJ.
If it's no big deal, and you can afford it, use Hornady V-max bullets.
Stop into any Walmart that still sells ammo and they can special order you some.
If you use the V-Max, do not expect small holes. They explode about one inch under the hide, like a grenade.

 

[Art Eatman]

Generally, lighter is better. I have found that the Federals with the Sierra 85-grain HPBT give me as tight a group as my handloads with that bullet: About 3/4 MOA, easily. And they spread coyote innards over maybe a half-acre. Ruinacious.

No reason the 55-grain or 70-grain bullets wouldn't work equally as well. I got lazy and quit the 70s, just using the 85s for anything from deer on down. I found that the 55s do horrible things to prairie dogs, though.

Art

 

[kenjs1]

Art- me too in my 6mm. 85grain hpbt (handloads) ought to shoot flat enough and hit hard enough way out there.

 

[tyrajam]

I load 65gr v-max in my 6mm, they are very accurate, but pretty messy! Just loaded up some 70gr nosler ballistic tips, can't wait for the snowstorms to stop so I can try them out.

 

[sks]

Well we have no interest in the fur except to see it fly, so that won't be an issue. Thanks for the posts. I'll try to take a mixture of different bullet weights and see what happens. Our trip is in May and if I remember I'll post the results.

Thanks again,

 

[Art Eatman]

sks, be sure you write down whtever different points of impact you get for each bullet, for a given point of aim at sight-in. That way, you don't have to keep messing around with scope adjustments.

Art

 

[sks]

Good thought Art. Thanks for bringing it up. We will be a friend's ranch and also hunt some exotic deer so I'm really looking forward to it.