To the wise ones on the board- I want to add a varmint rifle to my arsenal. I have every deer and up caliber of bolt action you can imagine, several ARs, shotguns out the wazoo, etc.

What would caliber would you choose for a nice bolt action varmint rifle (coyotes and down)? May suppress but not required. Say 300 yards-ish given realities of my property.

Thanks

I always liked the 2506 for deer when I hunted in northern Kentucky.
I took coyotes here in Georgia with it but they were within 100 yards.
That caliber will stretch in open country with the right glass.

I also use a .25-06. Mine is a Remington 700 BDL Varmint special.

Great gun.

If I'm gonna have a dedicated varmint rifle, it's gonna be a burner. 22-250 or even better, a 220 Swift. I'll never shoot it enough to burn out a barrel.

What calibers do you already have?
I’d expand on that.
You already have an AR? Go with a 5.56 bolt action.
300BO? Go with a bolt action 300…

All your doing is just getting more of the same caliber of an existing platform.

To me, venturing off into a different caliber gets too expensive and takes up more space.

My usual vote is for a 223, share ammo with some other rifles. One should use a firmer bullet for coyotes.

My favorite though would be the 22-250, especially if one hand loads ammo. For mostly casual use, I would pass on the newer, less common chamberings, Valkyrie & such.

A downloaded 243 works too. I go prairie dogging at times, the 223 & 22-250’s get used.

For small stuff, coon/possum sized varmints, inside 75 yards, I like the 17 HMR.

Coyotes on down to 300 yards is critical to the choice of the cartridge. As you probably know, large powder charges and high velocities burn out barrels more quickly. When I hunted prairie dogs decades ago I used a Ruger 77 in 22-250, and it did very well, but I never went on one of those “safaris” in the Dakotas that I’ve read about in which hundreds of shots could be fired in a day. If, however, your shooting will be limited to a few shots at odd intervals, then barrel life is of much less concern.

I haven’t ever hunted coyotes, but I believe that the 223 Remington cartridge is fully adequate for them, and certainly for anything smaller. Larger calibers can of course be used for smaller animals (I knew a guy who used his 7mm Remington Magnum for prairie dogs), but there are drawbacks with no real benefits. Cartridges like the 22-250 or 220 Swift that allow bullets to be driven at higher velocities offer the advantage of requiring less accurate range determinations at long distances, but laser rangefinders are a vast improvement over the methods I had to use long ago.

Something to keep in mind about rifles chambered for 223 Remington is that some of them should not be used to fire 5.56mm NATO ammunition. Most AR-type rifles are chambered for 5.56 which allows shooting 223 with no problem, but the opposite is not always the case. My Tikka T3 handles 5.56 with no issues, but that’s not true of all 223 bolt actions. Normally military FMJ or even something like the IMI 77 grain open tip load is not used for hunting, but sometimes people buy a 223 with the thought that they can use cheap(er) 5.56 for plinking and practice.

As for the rifle, I am very happy with the Tikka and Sako rifles I own and have owned, including one chambered for 223.

I would look at a 20" ar platform with a 10 round mag and bipod.

6.5 Grendel, and 5.56 would be great options out to 300 yards. In most states, you can hunt with the 6.5 Grendel.

Both rounds can take a coyote no problem.

I thought I would need a varmint rifle here on our property. Every varmint I have dispatched has been with a subsonic 22lr and a can. It turns out that the varmints seem to like to get within 50 yards of the house.

I aim for a simple double lung shot, if I can't get that I wait for another day.

Another that would recommend the 22-250. A lot of versatility with good barrel life.

Have HB bolt action varmint rifles in 223, 22-250, 220 Swift, 243, and 25-06. The 25-06 is my least favorite. The 22-250 is my most favorite.

I've only shot paper with a 22-250, but apart from ammo cost, I'd love to add one to the safe.
My trigger time with one was a Ruger M77 MkII Target. Huge boom, with 22lr-like recoil.

2nd choice, and much more affordable (at least in ammo costs), I'd go with a .223/5.56

I have 3 rifles I use for varmint hunting, primarily prairie poodles. We shoot out to as far as a 1000 yards at times.

-- .223 40gr fodder in a 1:12 twist 22" H&R SB2 Ultra for relatively short distances
-- .243 80gr fodder in a 1:10 twist 24" M70V for intermediate ranges
-- .308 168-175gr for way out there fun. 10FP 1:10 twist 20"

That vintage 1966 M70V with a Canjar two stage 2oz trigger is the bomb.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bald1,

Nothing wrong with the 22-250, but my suggestion would be my favorite rifle, the 257 Weatherby. Good for everything from dogs to elk.

I'm a fan of the 22-250 as well, but since you said 300 yards, the 223 will do just fine with cheaper ammo and longer barrel life.

Here’s what I have for varmints:
22lr savage MKIII that’s threaded. 100 yds Hollywood quiet
17 hornet CZ 523 threaded. 100-200 ydsbut small critters
223 ar also threaded. 400yds and coyote sized…

243 REM700 for deer or enemy officers/ncos (wolverines!)


Uhhh, sorry got carried away there. But really if you have a AR or 223 already just load up some sierra Blitzkings and have at it..I’ve rolled a few coyotes back in NC with them.

Never shot a coyote with this caliber, but I am gonna throw out the .17 Fireball. 20gr bullet going 3900-4000 fps. Bullet explodes an the ground if a miss so no chance of skipping on flat ground. Shot prairie dogs with mine, nothing but chunks and red mist out to 300 yards.

In my Groundhog hunting days, my go to rifle was an Anschutz 54M in .22 Magnum. What a great gun. I kept distances for it around 100 yards and it was very effective. For longer distances, I had a Ruger Heavy Barrel M77 in .220 Swift. High accuracy and effective out to 300 yards. But hard on barrel throats. If I was going Varmint hunting these days, I would opt for the .223 for its wide availability of excellent ammo and rifles. Lots of Coyote hunters in the Yoop use the .22 Magnum to limit hide damage.

Thanks guys. Great info. I think I’m gonna go with a 22-250. While I have an AR that would work great, I’m a bit of a kit diva. Just love to buy rifles and stuff to go with them.

My main predator gun is a Savage model 25 in 17 hornet. We shoot mostly fox with coyotes mixed in. Most shots are under 300 yards with it with minimal damage since I sell the fur. We have tried 204, 223, and 22-250, but the damage is too bad on anything smaller. That being said my backup is a 223 bolt gun.

Hopefully this drift will be okay as the OP has decided, but who buys coyote hides?