Is .22-250 the BEST gun for coyotes?

[EO caller]

I have to go back to what my old man used to use. 25-06. You can load, I wanna say as low as a 87 grain bullet and maybe even lower. They shoot flat, go fast and tons of knock down for the longer shots. Even a poor shot and you'll usually have a dead dog. Great all around caliber for anything from Coyotes to deer to elk with the right gr. bullets. Here is a video of my buddy Cameron busting a coyote at around 400 yards with his 25-06. I think I've posted it before but its pretty cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES0cH_V5pZ4[/video]

[CoyoteAssassin]

That is a cool video.. i enjoy watching them. That was a nice shot!

Thanks for all the replies!

[CoyoteAssassin]

What would you guys say about a 204 Ruger or a 223 rem, Remington AR-15 style..? Which one would you get?

[Tim Anderson]

I would go with the 204 over the 223 any day. As for the AR platform I never liked the one I had and would rather use a good bolt gun....

[barebackjack]

Ditto with Tim except caliber. Ditch the AR, unreliable in cold (unreliable in general).

If you reload, get a bolt gun in .22-250.

If you dont, get a bolt gun in .243.

[CoyoteAssassin]

Why only .22-250 if you reload?

[barebackjack]

Not quite the factory ammo selection in .22-250 as there is for .243. A reloader can milk a lot more coyote killing performance from a .22-250 than a guy stuck with factory offerings. .243 has LOTS of factory ammo choices out there.

[CoyoteAssassin]

Well Ive always wanted to reload my cartridges. What do you recommend for the bullet and the grain?

[barebackjack]

Ive been shooting 50 grain Nosler ballistic tips in my .22-250 for quite a while with good results, very accurate, kills coyotes, and decent on fur. But as per another thread on here, im apparently wrong.

[CoyoteAssassin]

Yea.. haha its all opinion really.. thanks

[CoyoteAssassin]

I look some more at guns when I got home today. I found a gun very similiar to the AR-15s. Its a Remington Model R-25. It comes as 243 Win., 7mm-08 Remington and 308 Win. Would the 243 be your first chose and do you thing it is still too unreliable? Bolt action be the way to go?..

[DustyC]

I thought I might chime in on this for a second. I own a Remmington vr-15. It's a good gun but still not the accuracy or reliability of a bolt gun. My opinion on caliber varies. If your after fur go smaller. If you want them dead go bigger. I shoot a 22-250 with 52 gr Bergers for a fur gun. Does great. Little damage. Nothing a needle and dental floss can't hide. In the summer I go with what I learned off of this site and shoot a 22-6mm Ackley Improved. DAMN sure not a fur gun but they are really dead!!!!!!!!! Shoot what you like. That's what's important.

[barebackjack]

Ive had the displeasure of shooting an AR platform rifle in lots and lots of different conditions. Lets just say, theres a reason the real high speed guys in the military that are so high speed and low drag that they get to PICK their weapon usually arent picking M16s. They can be quite accurate (if you spend enough), but what good is accuracy if it dont go boom when you need it to? Bolt guns can be much more accurate for half the cost.

All of those calibers you listed would be good picks, for killing coyotes. If you're saving fur .243 is probably your best choice of the three. 7mm-08 and .308 are excellent performers (and at long range too), but, theres a lot of guys taking the .243 out for some long walks with the right setup too.

[Coyotehunter]

I did shoot the 55 gr vmax out of my ackley for a bit with great results. I know some guys don't like them but..............once I had them all shot up I went back to the 52 gr Sierra. I had bought a box of 500 of the vmax years ago for a very good price. So I shot them for awhile. anyways just a comment.

[Skinny Indian]

Must...not...debate AR....

Anyways, I was hoping this thread would help me make up my mind if I wanted to get a .243 or a .22-250. Maybe it's me, but it seems as if it's really just splitting hairs, so I'll get whichever I can find a better deal on. I'm still debating if I want to get a bolt such as a Marlin or Savage or if I want to get another barrel for my T/C Encore. They're all about the same price so I guess I'll just HAVE to go to the gun store and handle various rifles...SIGH......