22Lr or 17Hmr For Coyote's?

[YoteHunter]

Which is the better caliber for coyote and varmit hunting? Im buying a Model 981t Marlin and Im not sure which would be the better choice.

[noneck180]

22 LR for gophers

No rimfires for coyotes unless its a 22 mag and even then you should probably use a Centerfire..IMHO

[DOGFISH]

Go with the 17 hmr, the ballistics are the proof in the pudding and you would be good out to 100 yards or so.

[YoteHunter]

thanks ill remeber that when I make my final purchase and does the 17hmr got more power to it? than the 22.

[packhuntr]

Originally Posted by noneck180

22 LR for gophers

No rimfires for coyotes unless its a 22 mag and even then you should probably use a Centerfire..IMHO

That about nails it. I love the 22mag, it will just get it done on called dogs, and good little beaver gun. 17hmr, think wasted money, just my opinion. For coyotes, think "hit em hard". Once again, just my opinion.

[YoteHunter]

so am I better off to go with the 17HMR or the 22WMR for coyotes right?

[Got Juice?]

Originally Posted by noneck180

22 LR for gophers

No rimfires for coyotes unless its a 22 mag and even then you should probably use a Centerfire..IMHO

Subscribing to this thread. I'll post pics tomorrow of a 135lb alpha wolf male shot by my dear old dad tomorrow.

285 yards (0@200) uphill! Heart lung shot, dead in its tracks. .22WRM

[H380]

just my opinion but little guns don't cut it where you will be hunting ( probably shots over 200 yds. and probably some wind) go with a 22-250 and maybe even a 243 .. hides aren't worth any thing anyway so help the deer and antelope fawns out and put a big hole in some dogs..

[Popcan]

Originally Posted by YoteHunter

Which is the better caliber for coyote and varmit hunting? Im buying a Model 981t Marlin and Im not sure which would be the better choice.

Hey YoteHunter,

22 & 17 are great varmint guns but they just don't have the Juice needed for predator hunting. Intentionally going out to try and hunt coyotes in the real world with these small caliber machines is just an all around bad decision. Sure they'll take down an animal the size of a moose. We've all herd the stroies Don't do it man. Save up or buy used... 22-250 or 223 pack a much better punch for predators. You'll enjoy a much better success rate too. That being said. I wish you the best of luck and have fun out there

22-250 & coaxer.jpg

[hayseed]

My 2 cents.. I'd leave the .22 and the .17 in the safe, and grab my .243, might be expensive on ammo, but at the end of the day, some good long range shootin.

[buckbrushoutdoors]

I killed lots of coyotes with a .17 hmr back when i was in high school and couldnt afford to buy a .223 it works just fine within a 100 yards (i used a 20gr bullet as they where a bit more robust) but there are far better cartridges for coyotes, 22 hornet 223, 22-250, 220 swift, 243, if you want to stay in the varmint cartridge category. If you already have a favorite deer rifle use that if pelt damage isnt an issue, and at 5$ a pelt trust me it shouldnt be an issue.
If you care about the pelt for whatever reason use a heavy grain to caliber bullet, they tend to open up less on soft tissue like a coyote and will almost fmj through them if you dont hit bone. just my 2 cents

[sevenmil]

Originally Posted by YoteHunter

Which is the better caliber for coyote and varmit hunting? Im buying a Model 981t Marlin and Im not sure which would be the better choice.

If it's mainly a gopher gun and an occasional coyote at fairly close range I would say whatever but if it is just a coyote gun and you want something that is relatively cheap to shoot, and provides better range and has good barrel life, I would say a .223 remington. You could still whack gophers with it and have a blast. There are more potent varmint cartridges obviously but they might be a little expensive in the gopher patch.

[timsesink]

neither. Unless your in a cattle pen and they're 20 yards away. With the price of some of the budget rifles (stevens, Marlin) you can get a .223 for about the price of a higher end 22lr. Just my two cents.

[noneck180]

I don't have a 22LR under $1000?? you have to have a Rimfire and Centerfire..IMHO to have a good Varmint arsenal.. after that,, answer these questions

1) do I reload?
2) how many rounds am I going to fire?
3) do I want to kill or wound the animal?
4) How much do I want to spend on ammo?

These should give a decent idea on what to buy,

[timsesink]

both are esstial, I'm not sure what your refering to noneck?

neither, get a 22 mag for a rimfire or go to a 222, 223 or 22-250.

[nightmagic]

I have tried the 22lr and the 17 hmr i would recomend against it. I ended up picking up a stevens .223 and hamming them at 200 yrd easily they are cheap on ammo if you buy surplus and you know when you hit them that they aren't going to suffer unless your a bad shot

[noneck180]

Originally Posted by timsesink

both are esstial, I'm not sure what your refering to noneck?

A Rimfire and a Centerfire...there is no such thing as a do it all gun, there have been many of us who have tried,, it doesn't work..

[yamaha 1]

You need to go bigger for coyotes, even if it's just for the long shots,because if your planing to call them out ,the yotes just do not always come in on your lap.There is lots of long shots,you have to remember your are hunting a predator they are very smart.I bought a Savage 22-250 just after X-mas and I shot 7 Coyote so far all but one was a 100 yards and better, the longest was 330 years ,the 55 gr.hornady V max put the smack down on him he was dead before he hit the ground. Do what you will but I would go bigger.

[wheeler]

I agree there are better choices for a Coyote "only" gun, but must say that I have personally taken a Coyote at a distance of about 40 yards with my old .22 that I owned. I had a Lakefield 64B. Shot the Coyote with a CCI Stinger. One shot and it was down hard. I followed up with the other 9 in the clip. It is all about placement and what shells you use.

I'm going to use my 10/22 full custom on Coyotes. I'm going to call them in as close as possible and giver a go.... I myself will be investing in a higher power rifle though too.....

[marlin1]

so the other 9 were just for fun? how did the stingers feed in your 10/22

[Tracker34]

I think a 22 would be o.k. if you can get the coyotes in to 50 yards or less. I've taken a couple with mine. But, like buckbrushoutdoors said. If your not worried about pelt damage, use you deer rifle. I can't wait to get a crack at one with my 300 win mag.

[aulrich]

22lr is out unless it is in a trap. 17 hmr would work I guess and folks have done it, but I have seen yotes take too much damage from centerfires and keep going, to have a good feeling about either of the rimfire mags.

Too many better options out there.

As far as I understand you can use stingers in regular factory barreled 10/22's but not the T version. The long case of the stingers are not recommended in the tighter chamber.

[jim-bo]

throwing a vote in for 223, cheap, light and fast (very fast). You can take yotes with a 22lr, I have done it. Really like my 223 though for abundant cheap ammo.

[Slash8]

[QUOTE]You need to go bigger for coyotes, even if it's just for the long shots,because if your planing to call them out ,the yotes just do not always come in on your lap.QUOTE]

I agree100%, I wouldn't think of using a rimfire, I like quick ethical kills. I'm not saying that a .17 or .22 LR or Mag won't do what they are intended to do but in my own personal opinion I prefer to use something bigger. .204, .223, .243. 22-250, .22 Hornet. There are lots of choices out there. I watched a friend of mine shoot a Yote with a .22 when we were kids 20 some years ago. Needles to say he didn't kill it with the first or the second shot. I have always kept that in the back of my mind. Save your money and get the right tool for the job.

[ryanhall]

While I am certainly not an expert on coyote calling and shooting, I have taken a large number of them over the past few years so I would like to throw in an opinion here. The 22lr I think is safe to say is out. It can be done for sure but it just would not be an ethical choice to go coyote hunting with. A 17hmr and 22WMR are both great beaver/gopher guns and do have the punch in close for us to use but how often have we seen the coyote hang up out at 150 or 200 yards? Personally I have started to use a 243 with 55grain bullets for coyotes and have had some great luck with it. I am looking to purchase a 223 to save the cost of ammo but to date the 243 does the job. Just something else to consider here too is Alberta is full of all types of predators that will respond to a call and personally a 17hmr or 22wmr looking at a hungry bear does not make me at all comfortable. So if your budget will allow it go for the heavier gun, not to knock the 17hmr I have one and love it for gophers but I just don't feel its enough to ethically take a yote. One gun that may be worth a look is the Savage 223/12gauge over and under. I haven't shot one to see if its accurate but the idea seems to have merit.

[wheeler]

Originally Posted by marlin1

so the other 9 were just for fun? how did the stingers feed in your 10/22

I have never fired a Stinger out of my 10/22 yet only Velocitors.

I had shot the stinger out of my old 64b I had. They worked great in that rifle.


I do believe a .22 with Velocitors is good out to 100yards with a good set up!!! I'm going to prove it!

[mrfidd]

I have shot 4 coyotes with .17 hmr 20 grain winchesters and not one of them took a step all shots have been heart lung shots I am impressed and untill I have a coyote that gets away I will be carrying my 17 for coyotes I should mention all 4 shots have been within 130 yards

[trapshooter]

Originally Posted by Popcan

Hey YoteHunter,

22 & 17 are great varmint guns but they just don't have the Juice needed for predator hunting. Intentionally going out to try and hunt coyotes in the real world with these small caliber machines is just an all around bad decision. Sure they'll take down an animal the size of a moose. We've all herd the stroies Don't do it man. Save up or buy used... 22-250 or 223 pack a much better punch for predators. You'll enjoy a much better success rate too. That being said. I wish you the best of luck and have fun out there

Attachment 21454

Agreed 100%

[winger7mm]

Cant go wrong with a 22-250. If you get good with it at distance, they are great all around yote guns. Find a good bullet to shoot and hide damage is minimal, if its a concern. That way you can still shoot a .22 cal but with a whack load more knock down power then a .22LR