Big Game Hunting

What firearm will work best is always one of the most heated discussions in coyote hunting circles. Whatever gun a guy has, it is the best. You’ll hear stories of 200 yard kills with 22 long rifles and coyotes that had a good hit with a 30-06 that sped away never to be found. The best coyote hunting firearm is probably someplace in between these two examples.

Your first decision is between a rifle and shotgun. A shotgun works great when you find yourself hunting in the thick cover with shots under 40 yards. I use a 12 gauge Mossberg 835 with either #4 buck or a load called “deadcoyote." This combination will easily anchor a coyote out to 40 yards.

Which rifle and which caliber is also a heated topic of discussion. I believe the caliber of gun is a personal preference. These are some of the more popular calibers .22-250, .204 Ruger and .223. I have successfully killed coyotes with all these mentioned calibers. I can’t say one is better than the others. They will all get the job done as long as the distance is appropriate and the shot placement is good. At the moment, my weapon of choice is a DPMS LR243. This is an AR style rifle chambered in .243. This caliber will definitely anchor a coyote and if you select the right bullet, much to my surprise, it is quite fur friendly.

There is also considerable discussion over using a bolt style gun or the increasingly popular AR style. I have used both and I will tell you right now that I’m a diehard fan of the AR for coyote hunting. Sure, the bolt gun will get the job done as effectively as an AR and I’ve killed many coyotes with a bolt gun. I had a bolt action as my first coyote hunting gun .22-250. I really like the accuracy of the new style ARs and the ability of a quick follow-up shot on multiple coyotes and, yes, even on that occasional first round “coyote fever” miss.

The bottom line is, you want to carry a firearm that you are comfortable and confident with and that will dispatch a coyote quickly and efficiently. You’ll want to understand your gun’s shot distance and your own shooting capabilities. Your gun needs to be accurate and dependable with a proven track record. Any of the guns and calibers mentioned above would be a great place to start.

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This entry was posted on Monday, May 4th, 2009 at 3:32 am and is filed under Hunting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.