Buying a Coyote Rifle: Under $400- What would you do?

[Pilgrim]

Been exchanging PMessages with another member about buying a coyote rifle under $400. I suggested we bring it to the forum and see what some of you guys would do.

What are the possibilities under $400?

Here's what I came up with:

1) A NEF Handi Rifle in .22-250 or .243. They cost $250 new with scope rail and will likely never lose a nickel. Heck, they were $150 a few years ago. When you upgrade it can always be useful to girlfriend/wife, kids... and they can shoot deer with it.

2) Remington 700 ADL new-in-box in .204, .223, .22-250, or .243. Can be found on Gun Broker or Guns America for $400 or less if you pay attention. The 700 action is worth near $400.

3) Save your money for what you want. A bit more than $500 will get you a heckuva new Savage or CZ, whatever.


Not sure about the rest of you guys but a used coyote caliber bolt rifle under $400 doesn't gel with me. What do you guys think?

[Prairie Ghost]

I paid $367 for my CZ in a 204 about five years ago but i doubt you can get them for that anymore.

Out of the two choices i would go with the remington like you said the action alone is worth that and a lot can be done with it down the line.

[bucksnbears]

ditto on the 700 or a savage 10. ugly and not real well put together but they usually shoot real well.

[Fallguy]

Weatherby Vanguard.

I paid 380 for mine...without the scope.

Does the 400 include or not include a scope?

I think the vanguards are tremendous rifles. I will buy another.

[Daryl]

Howa M1500. $550 out the door with the scope. Oh and Howa makes the Weatherby Vanguard action.

[Pilgrim]

I'll yield to Fall Guy's suggestion.

There are a few Weatherby Vanguard Synthetics on Gun Broker for $381- New-in-box 22-250, 223, 243.

Daryl's deal might start looking good once you add up the scope/rings/bases.

[lyonch]

Every gun will go bang and shoot. What i would look for is how much you are willing to spend now versus down the road. I use to buy the cheapest thing all the time only to wear it out sooner, than if i would have spent that extra few bucks to get a better one. I would highly recommend the model 700 action. You can do so much with that action and its been tried and true. The action will last you a life time and you can always add a custom barrel once you wear out the rifling. You can always take the sope off of your 30-06 for the time being to get you by. You might have to get a different set of rings though. Fallguy and Daryl both have very good suggestions as well. Whichever route you go let us know. If you dont have a bi-pod or shooting sticks already, that is something you will definitely want to invest in or make. if you want to know how to make a set of shooting sticks just post the topic somewhere on the site and im sure many people will give you insight on how to make a pair. We all had to start somwhere

[Coyotehunter]

I would see about picking up a used remington that the barrel is shot out. remington will rebarrell for about $130. should be able to find a used rem. for $250-$325 if you work through some used guns shops and maybe a gun show or two. I have a 7-08 rem. heavy barrel that I picked up for $325 that is a great shooting gun.

[Pilgrim]

FYI:
Received a Cabela's mailer yesterday. Advertisement shows brand new Rem 700 ADL in .243 w/scope & hardware for $459 after a rebate of sorts.

[EO caller]

I use a Weatherby Vanguard .204. Its got a tan synthetic stock splattered with black paint so its already camo'd up. It has a 22 inch medium bull barrel, extremely accurate. I paid around 425$ .

[wolfpup30]

I have a NEF .223 with a Barska 6-24-44AO. The total cost was right around $400. It has been an awesome gun for me. I needed a varmint gun right out of college so I had a low budget but I love it for the price. If you have not bought a gun yet, check out there website. They have a ultra hunter rifle with the thumbhole stock that looks pretty awesome. I went with the ultra hunter with the 24" barrrel.

[1Shooter]

I've read some reviews about these rifles and it seems to me that some are dead-accurate and some are impossible to get 1" groupings at 100 yards. I've also read that the barrels are not free-floated. Is this true in your case wolfpup30?

[Pilgrim]

1shooter

When my girls were babies I had thoughts to own a handi rifle in .243. They were $150 new and a hoot (my friends that worked at a gun wholesaler had them). I've kicked myself ever since for losing interest.

If I did buy one it would most likely be a laminate with a chrome-moly 22" bull barrel in any cal I could teach a kid to kill a deer with so .223 or .22-250 or .243. Another thing is I wouldn't worry for a second whether accurate or not- They are too straightforward not to be correctable. Trigger and crown would be quick and low cost remedies. I also would not buy a used one (unless it were a proven shooter). If it doesn't shoot you can chalk it up to one more reason not to buy into advice from some anonymous stranger on the Web. Then again, at least you'll have some hardware to show for it.

The BEST part is it's a single shot, which will subject you to:

1) valuable shooting discipline.

2) much greater likelihood of doubles and triples. That's just the way it works out, especially when you're young and still willing to be practical.

[cb186]

i just bought a Stevens 200 in 22-250. it is a stripped down Savage with a cheap stock, basic trigger and matte blued barrel/action. i got it for $325 OTD. i have a Busnell 3200 scope in a 4-12x, which was around $160. neither component is top of the line, but after doing some work on the trigger, extending the bolt and filling the stock/fore end(to give it some more weight) , it is very nice to shoot and even with my limited rifle experience. the great thing about the Savage/Stevens is that they are so easy to work on.

[wolfpup30]

1Shooter, I am pretty sure it is not free floated, but I am not sure any single shot is... As for the groupings, I can get dimes at 200 yards and don't hesitate at 500 yard shots with my .223. I will say that I believe the ultra hunter/ varminter are the only models that eject the cartridges rather than having to pull the cartridge manually. The handi rifles you have to remove manually, which is no biggie for prairie dogging, but it is sure handy when you have multiple dogs coming hard. My personal best is three by myself with this particular gun.