Long Range Coyote Hunting

[HunterChasse]

 hey guys i need an opinion on what to buy for coyote.....i know my calibers and know that a .204 ruger, .220 swift, .223 and the .22-250 are very good and up to 500 yards......but would anybody suggest a .257 WBY MAG for 100-4 or 500 yard shots on coyote??? I'd just like to know if it's settable for those ranges......if not then any good recomendations for a coyote caliber, id like to purchase one within the next week so and opinions??
                                         -Hunter Chasse -- .300 WBY MAG-

[kfrog]

Yes the 257Wby will work great for coyote.

[curthopson]

Greetings;
I love my 257 as a coyote gun.  What other caliber will shoot an 87gr bullet at 3800 fps with 19" drop at 500 yards.  I could pull out my 243 Winchester, but the best I can do is 3200fps with a 90gr bullet.  I realize the 22 caliber guns have good performance, but I personally like a gun that is a bit more versatile.  The 257 weatherby is a gun you will find all sorts of resons to love, coyote hunting is just one of them.  Good luck---Curt

[goodgerald]

I have a 22-250 and use 50 grain bullets (it is what it likes). I considered the 204 but decided to get the 22-250 because it is about as fast and flat plus gives you a little weight to handle wind.

I recently went to AZ and hunted coyote with my 22-250. In my other hunting I generally reccomend using the largest gun you can handle considering the game. Coyotes and bobcats are no exception.

Killing coyotes and tracking them is not a big deal but if you get a long shot at a bobcat you want to anchor him where you shoot him because they are very difficult to find if they run off.

I would think the 257 weatherby would be great choice as would a 240 weatherby.

You will undoubtedly be walking a bunch and setting up numerous times each day (even though the first few setups in the morning are usually the most productive). So rifle weight will be a consideration. While I don't own a Weatherby Ultralightweight (yet) next time I go west for predators I will probably take a 257 or 240 weatherby. I really like the accuracy and relaibiity of weatherbys.

[zonie]

Me and my friends do a lot of varmit calling here in mts of AZ, and there is a lot of different situations which may call for different ideas and guns. First let me say any good flat shooting rifle will work and the 257 is no exception. I used a 270 for years and both make a good all around choice for a multipurpose gun. I finally settled on a 243 win shooting 60 gr hp @ 3800 fps or 55 gr sp @ 4000 fps, these are stiff loads, but will dump a dog like right now if you hit it right. The last bobcat I shot was with a 270 and like to tore him in 3 pieces, pelt was destroyed. My very good friend uses an old savage 24 combo gun 12 ga/223.  It's a very good idea if you hunt in thick and open areas while walking around.  Another rifle I use is an ar-15 with a burris b-plex and is dead on to 500 yds, this is great for multiple dogs coming in at the same time. OK I know it sounds bad, but it works. One situation where I would recommend a heavier calber such as a 257 or 270 is where we live we have a lot of mtn lions, bear and a few mexican gray wolves, the wolves are protected,  several times I have called in lion and bear, I didn't shoot them just sat and watched, pretty cool, but makes me wonder just how many times I didn't see them, especially the cats, very sneeky.  Anyway one of these days I will dump one. A friend of mine shot a lion a couple yrs ago while calling , had the call in a bush, hit the call and the cat,  got very excited, got the cat stuffed and still hasn't got a new call. Another younger friend shot a mtn lion in the head at 12 ft with a bow which snuck in on him while elk hunting last yr, this cat was going to attack, he was very lucky. If I had to choose a long range howler gun it would probably be a 243, 6mm, 240 WBY, 257 or 270 but the last 2 are a little on the heavy side for my likeing, but if it works it works.  PS when I do go into lion country I always carry a hot 10mm auto as back-up. Good luck on your choice.

[EVMIII]

Let me toss in another option - 25-06.  Great round to reload and very good balistics.  I'm shooting 100 gram Nos Spitzer rounds.  My range is only 300 yards but I am shooting sub MOA at 300 yards with it.  I could us a lighter 85 gram bullet and generate more muzzle velocity, but it is no real advantage at 500 yards and my gun doesn't seem to like them as much.  Also, not much recoil so you can shoot all day.  Just anothr thought.

[arkansasweatherbyman]

i would love to see how many shots it would take someone to hit a coyote at 500 yards.  i would also like to see how many boxes of shot it would take to hit a bobcat.  at 500 yards for 99 out 100 people who talk about shooting that far, me included, a crossbow would be as good as any of calibers mentioned. 

[Charles B]

You might be surprized at how many could drill one at 500yds and further. 

Personally I very seldom have the oppurtunity for long shots,  but have taken a few woodchucks out past 300yds from the prone and sitting positions. 

[zonie]

Thanks Charles: You are right people can and do shoot coyotes at 500 yds, Myself included,  How many boxes of shot it takes to hit a bobcat at 500 yds is in reference to varmit hunting at in your lap ranges in heavy cover. You just have to know your weapon and shoot a lot. Just an accurate steady rifle, know your range and wind and aim a little high.  Fact is years ago a bunch of us guys got so good at shooting ground squirrels which are about 3' wide by 9' tall when sitting up, anything under 200 we just aimed at their head. When they were from 200 out to 500 we aimed at the rock they were sittting on and grenade the bullet just where they were sitting,  some one was always spotting,  we called it the opollo moon shot just to see how far we could get them to fly. The squirrels had the plague flea on them,  We would take sm v-8 cans and set them at 400 yds  just for fun,  I taught my kids  when they were young , but big enough to handle the larger calibers to shoot at 9 " ballons off hand with the wind blowing @ 100 yds  with 270"s and 30-06's until I was satisfied they were ready to hunt big game. Now my kids have all got multiple  bull/cow elk, bear, deer and african game.  Yea we burned up some ammo until they got really good at it.   Practice Practice Practice. 

[sravinger]

Good advise zonie. My .257 will shoot 4.11 inch @ 500 yds w/ 115 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip,
Yes a little heavy for varmint, but varmint country is no place to be undergunned. the .25-06 Rem. or .257 Wby w/ 100 & 115 gr. bullets respectively are very hard to beat at longer distances (need proper optics) & plenty of practice. good hunting

[wyldgene]

...the Marine Corps "Modified B" required you to shoot a man-sized silhouette prone @ 500yds. w/ a M-16 shimmed up w/ matchbooks so it would shoot the same direction 3 times, to qualify. Shooting coyotes w/ good optics & a capable rifle isn't too much of a stretch, it just requires some practice & a little fore-sight.If you plan on a lot of long range shooting opt for a higher power scope, lots of good choices out there in the 4.5-14/ 6.5-20 that are still suitable for a hunting rifle. Build a drop table for the round you plan on using & check it @ ranges, use  a rangefinder & your vertical scope adjustment when you can, it will add a couple hundred yds. to your effective range. It helps to range recognizable features in advance, even sketching a map, if you're "setting up".

[rockville]

I have seen some of the rifles from boot camp. Some of those rifles were gray not black. The guys who had them loved them when it came time to break them down and put them together. I don't how much they liked them when they got to the rifle range. The one I had in boot camp was a fairly new one. The handguards were still hard to get off.

[Oregon Jim]

You asked "but would anybody suggest a .257 WBY MAG for 100-4 or 500 yard shots on coyote???"

If your target is sitting still and does not move, a 500 yard shot with a .257 Wby. is not very difficult, but coyotes don't generally stay still very long, and in the half-second or so that it takes for your bullet to arrive, a coyote can be in the next county. Also, wind is a big factor, as a gentle 10 mph breeze may put you well beyond a foot off target at that distance.

Just so you know, the .257 Wby. is in my opinion the rifle everyone should own. It is an excellent choice.

[telemaster]

I use my 22-250 and 257 Roberts AI,a 257 weatherby would work very well. growing up in SW ND close to the Mont border shot coyotes with everything from a 22 lr to 30-06.
as for 500yd shots I went thru basic training at fort Leonard wood,mo in feb mar & apr,1964 with an m14 and at that time training ranges were from 50 to 500 meters and weather didn't matter when it was your range day. targets were head and shoulders silouete 250 meters and under and waist up 300 to 500 meters. targets were at 50 meter intervals.
qualification was 112 rounds and they would pop up anywhere at 5 sec intervals and stay up for 5 sec.60 was minimium score. this with the open peep sight on the m14. and it was really fun.and not that hard to do.
after 2 weeks on the ranges you had 2 chances to qualify.